Saturday, January 17, 2009

24/7 Wall St.: Creditors Obstruct GM Rescue: Detroit Becomes Too Big To Fail

24/7 Wall St.: Creditors Obstruct GM Rescue: Detroit Becomes Too Big To Fail:

"The UAW has been dragging its feet, assuming that a Democrat-controlled federal government will not eat its own by abandoning labor. GM's creditors are making sure that the restructuring of the auto companies will fail. They are doing so by ignoring the mandate from Congress to take less than $1 for $1 on the debt obligations of The Big Three."



According to the FT, 'General Motors has signaled it might be unable to meet a key condition of the $13.4bn lifeline extended by the US Treasury requiring a two-thirds reduction in the carmaker’s unsecured debt.'

The intransigence of the UAW and GM bond-holders could put both the company and the new administration in a position to make good on their threat of throwing the corporations into bankruptcy court by violating their agreement to have cost cuts in place by the end of March. But,that won't happen."

Friday, January 16, 2009

Insurance giant to pay $350M in med bill case

Insurance giant to pay $350M in med bill case

"In the center of the alleged ripoff scheme is Ingenix, the largest billing information provider that sets "usual and customary" rates for medical procedures.

Instead of relying on market prices, Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary, gave lower reimbursement figures than what the patients paid. This allowed insurers to make smaller payments.

"It was a blatant fraud," Cuomo said. "It was an obvious fraud." "

Thursday, January 15, 2009

AIG Not on potential bankruptcy list of 24/7 Wall St.

They're not in the top ten anyway. I'll take that as a positive.

24/7 Wall St.: The 24/7 Wall St. Chapter 11 Watch (SIRI)(GM)(CHTR)(MNI)(F)(NYT)(BAC)(C)(MOT)(AMD)

Obama's Billionaires - Forbes.com

Good read. Ridiculous comments.



Obama's Billionaires - Forbes.com

ICE Emerges as Credit-Default Swap Clearinghouse Frontrunner

Bloomberg.com: News: "Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the second-largest U.S. futures market, is emerging as the leading candidate to run a clearinghouse for the $29 trillion market for credit-default swaps.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley and CreditSights Inc. said this week that Atlanta-based Intercontinental, also known as ICE, will likely be the industry choice to back the contracts because of its partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,JPMorgan Chase & Co. and seven other banks that account for over 80 percent of the trading. A clearinghouse may earn as much as $400 million in annual revenue, according to Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc."

SEC Moves on Swaps Clearinghouse | Market Features | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com

SEC Moves on Swaps Clearinghouse | Market Features | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com: "Traded in a $60 trillion market that is unregulated and secretive, credit default swaps have come under scrutiny by Congress and federal regulators in the wake of the financial and credit crises that have plunged economies around the world into recession. The idea behind a system of central clearinghouses -- promoted by a White House advisory group of regulators -- is to bring transparency to the market, possibly reducing risks to the financial system."

An art hoax unites Europe in displeasure - International Herald Tribune

An art hoax unites Europe in displeasure - International Herald Tribune: "The piece, an enormous mosaic installed in the European Council building over the weekend, was meant to symbolize the glory of a unified Europe by reflecting something special about each country in the European Union.

But wait. Here is Bulgaria, represented as a series of crude, hole-in-the-floor toilets. Here is the Netherlands, subsumed by floods, with only a few minarets peeping out from the water. Luxembourg is depicted as a tiny lump of gold marked by a 'for sale' sign, while five Lithuanian soldiers are apparently urinating on Russia."

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Judge OKs streaming of music-swapping hearing

Judge OKs streaming of music-swapping hearing

"BOSTON -- A federal judge will allow online video streaming of oral arguments in a civil lawsuit that pits a Boston University graduate student against the music recording industry."

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Funniest Comment Ever

The comment section is usually the place for over the top ignorance and anger but this guy actually has some half decent sarcasm going on.



Obama has dinner with conservative columnists | KansasCity.com Prime Buzz: "Conservative columnists?
Submitted by jeetzwillager on January 13, 2009 - 8:51pm.

"Oh please, this is a who's who of droopy faces. I even think these guys need a personality makeover!

Do they even blink? The four lost brothers of Kathleen Sebelius?""