TalkLeft: The Nordquist Strategy: Part 2 Starts in February

Wonk Room: Why the individual mandate is not like forcing everybody to eat brocolli

Corrente: MERS and accounting control fraud

The Talking Dog: The comedy stylings of Tom "the billionaire" Friedman

Rants From The Rookery: Wheee...

onegoodmove: Links with your coffee

The Dylan Ratigan does a pretty good job of explaining the 2200 page report that exposes the Lehman scandal. It shines a bright light on why we need financial regulations and serious reforms.

The NY Times:

The bankruptcy examiner’s report filed by Anton R. Valukas on the 2008 demise of Lehman Brothers discusses some accounting gimmicks that are eerily reminiscent of how Enron tried to prop up its balance sheet back in 2001 before it collapsed. Both companies appear to have played right along the edge of properly accounting for transactions designed to make them appear much stronger than they turned out to be, becoming steadily more aggressive as they teetered on the brink of ruin.

The examiner’s report discusses potential claims that the bankruptcy trustee can bring against Lehman’s former officers and outside advisers and does not mention potential government law enforcement action.

Reading his report, however, gives strong indications that at a minimum the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to pursue civil charges for securities fraud, and that criminal charges are certainly possible against Lehman’s former top executives. The examiner’s report gives us a new term for hiding problems on a corporate balance sheet that may become common parlance: “Repo 105.” Starting in 2001, Lehman Brothers engaged in repurchase agreements, called “repos,” which were described by DealBook as “what amounts to a short-term loan, exchanging collateral for cash up front, and then unwinding the trade as soon as overnight.”

Read here for more of the story.

Market Watch:

The report, which runs to 2,200 pages, said former top officers including ex-CEO Dick Fuld and Chief Financial Officers Chris O'Meara, Erin Callan and Ian Lowitt could face legal claims for negligence of breach of duty.

Auditor Ernst & Young could also potentially face a professional malpractice claim for not challenging Lehman's non-disclosure of the off-balance sheet transactions, the report said. See full story on the Lehman report.

Lehman's collapse in 2008 really got things going.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US investment bank, has filed for bankruptcy protection, dealing a blow to the fragile global financial system.

The news led to sharp falls in share prices around the world, and officials took measures to reassure markets. Lehman had incurred losses of billions of dollars in the US mortgage market.

--

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the US was "working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past excesses".

But he added: "The American people can remain confident in the soundness and resilience of our financial system."

However he warned that uncertainty remained and it was likely that there would be further "rough spots" ahead before the market was corrected.

Turmoil would continue in financial markets until the housing correction was completed, he added.

Mr Paulson said he was committed to working with regulators in the US and abroad, as well as policymakers in Congress to take the necessary steps "to maintain the stability and orderliness of our financial markets".

But he gave no details of what such steps might mean.

And remember these magical words by President George Bush?

Earlier in the day President George W Bush said: "In the long term I am confident that our financial markets are flexible and resilient and can deal with these adjustments."

This BBC article brings back really bad memories, but I hope they remind the Congress to get financial reform done, now.

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Well, you'd think Bill O'Reilly would at least be a little embarrassed that Fox News Channel was the only news entity on cable TV not to broadcast last week's "Hope for Haiti" concert.

But no. Instead of apologizing or even mentioning some kind of lame excuse why Fox didn't air it, on his show last night O'Reilly actually went on the warpath against the benefit and its organizers, demanding "transparency" and a full accounting of where all the money's going.

What really got his dander up? The benefit's organizers "wouldn't or couldn't" provide a spokesman to come on his show and explain himself.

In my dreams, the answer O'Reilly's people got when they called was this: "WTF? You want us to find someone to take time out of the hard work we're doing here just to satisfy Bill O'Reilly's ego? Get stuffed! If one of the participating channels wanted transparency, we'd be delighted to open the books for them. But we don't owe Fox News Channel a goddamn thing. Good-bye."

The National Republican Congressional Committee’s accounting scandal has been percolating for a couple of weeks, but given the scope of the controversy, it’s now front-page news. What started as an embarrassing criminal controversy involving one staffer has become something of an election-year crisis for the GOP’s House campaign committee.

The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars — and possibly as much as $1 million — of the organization’s funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday, describing an alleged scheme that could become one of the largest political frauds in recent history.

For at least four years, Christopher J. Ward, who is under investigation by the FBI, allegedly used wire transfers to funnel money out of NRCC coffers and into other political committee accounts he controlled as treasurer, NRCC leaders and lawyers said in their first public statement since they turned the matter over to the FBI six weeks ago. [...]

The committee also announced that it has submitted to banks five years’ worth of audits and financial documents allegedly faked by Ward, some of which were used to secure multimillion-dollar loans. It is a violation of federal laws to obtain loans through false statements; the crime is punishable by up to $1 million in fines and 30 years in prison.

The reason this is especially significant right now, is that before yesterday, the NRCC had only acknowledged “irregularities” and announced that Ward was the subject of an FBI probe. Now, however, we know that the NRCC may have lost as much as $1 million.

And it may yet get worse for the party: “The magnitude of the alleged fraud staggered Republicans, who are bracing for the final accounting from the forensic audit in six to eight weeks. Many said they expect a total far greater than the minimum cited yesterday.”

Ironically, all week, the NRCC has argued that Democratic House candidates shouldn’t have anything to do with contributions from Eliot Spitzer, because he was involved with a sex scandal. By this logic, should Republican House candidates reject NRCC funds in light of the committee’s massive fraud scandal?

Sadly, no. As this Australian news report acknowledges, Dubya just gave The Chasers all new material.

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To remind Bush what APEC actually is (from their website):

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

Since APEC's birth in 1989 it has grown to encompass 21 members spanning four continents, and represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of the world's population, 56 per cent of world GDP and 48 per cent of world trade.

The 21 APEC Member Economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States and Viet Nam.

Nope, can't see why that would be worth getting right, can you?

In the "glass half full" category, APEC leaders, led by Canadian PM Stephen Harper, agreed to working on curbing global climate change. In the "glass half empty" category, the agreement--made with the top 4 biggest polluters (US, China, Japan and Russia)--is non-binding.

WaPo :

Federal health officials yesterday scuttled the largest piece of the Bush administration's two-year program to counter bioterrorism, canceling an $877.5 million contract with VaxGen to develop an anthrax vaccine after the company missed a deadline to begin human testing.

The decision, delivered in a one-page letter, ends a troubled effort by the small California firm that has come to symbolize the failures of the government's ambitious $5.6 billion Project BioShield. The termination occurred on the same day President Bush signed legislation attempting to salvage the program by reorganizing its management and pumping more money into firms doing the work.

Continue reading »

Mike's Blog Round Up

spychips.com: Radio Frequency ID chips are now part of the immigration debate. A government-sanctioned chipping program could quickly be expanded to include U.S. citizens, as well. (thanx to reader JByrd)

Tristram Shandy: Will the U.S. execute a Marine?

Looking for Someone to Lie to Me: Lay & Skillings are going to jail for crimes The Decider has now decided are OK...sometimes. The president has bestowed on his intelligence czar, John Negroponte, broad authority, in the name of national security, to excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and securities-disclosure obligations. Red State Diaries...Kommandos Project...David Newberger’s Blog

Can you say "Watergate"?: Not only are the AG, the Deputy AG, and the FBI Director prepared to resign in protest if Bush orders them to return the materials seized in the Jefferson raid, they're almost openly on the warpath against the Republican majority in the House.

Talk Left: "Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, along with Senators Dick Durbin, Charles Schumer and Debbie Stabenow, wrote this letter (html) yesterday to President Bush, asking for "an accounting of Mr. Abramoff’s personal contacts with Bush Administration officials and the official acts that may have been undertaken at his request...read on"

Meanwhile, the White House is stonewalling on releasing contacts with Abramoff.

Tbogg has a funny and insightful accounting of a trip to Le Target.

Superhappyfun Blog

That's the title of this exciting article at Business Reform Magazine, the business journal of WorldNetDaily.

You may remember that Ebbers, the former CEO of WorldCom, was convicted on Tuesday of taking part in an $11 billion accounting fraud, the largest in U.S. history.

Well, this didn't sit well with Business Reform, who only two years ago had named Ebbers as their "#1 Christian Entrepreneur."  Let's see if they've changed their assessment of him now that he's a convicted felon (long story short: Sadly, No! ):

In introducing the original list, Business Reform did not clearly define the criteria, but seemed to hint that candidates needed to be professing Christians and needed to "have been recognized by the world as successful entrepreneurs - each had an idea, saw a problem, took steps to serve others in his respective corner of the market, and then did so in such a way that provided well for himself, his immediate family, and his progeny. Innovation, business savvy, and an attunement to legacy - each of these qualities was rooted in each man's faith and led to the success of both his life and the life of his company."

With the exception of providing well for his progeny (he's childless), I'd argue that Mr. Ebbers belongs at the top of that list!

Right, so as long as you say you're a Christian, make a lot of money and aren't gay, you have Business Reform's approval.  It doesn't matter that Bernie ruined a lot of people's lives, because the Bible doesn't really discuss proper accounting methods (which is why True Christians generally let Jews handle such ungodly matters).  Plus- he's not gay.Business Reform Magazine, the business journal of WorldNetDaily.

You may remember that Ebbers, the former CEO of WorldCom, was convicted on Tuesday of taking part in an $11 billion accounting fraud, the largest in U.S. history.

Well, this didn't sit well with Business Reform, who only two years ago had named Ebbers as their "#1 Christian Entrepreneur." Let's see if they've changed their assessment of him now that he's a convicted felon (long story short: Sadly, No! ):

In introducing the original list, Business Reform did not clearly define the criteria, but seemed to hint that candidates needed to be professing Christians and needed to "have been recognized by the world as successful entrepreneurs - each had an idea, saw a problem, took steps to serve others in his respective corner of the market, and then did so in such a way that provided well for himself, his immediate family, and his progeny. Innovation, business savvy, and an attunement to legacy - each of these qualities was rooted in each man's faith and led to the success of both his life and the life of his company."

With the exception of providing well for his progeny (he's childless), I'd argue that Mr. Ebbers belongs at the top of that list!

Right, so as long as you say you're a Christian, make a lot of money and aren't gay, you have Business Reform's approval. It doesn't matter that Bernie ruined a lot of people's lives, because the Bible doesn't really discuss proper accounting methods (which is why True Christians generally let Jews handle such ungodly matters). Plus- he's not gay.

Undoubtedly, a few of you will argue that there's no way Bernie Ebbers should be considered a great Christian Entrepreneur. By the time you read this, it's possible that the jury will have returned a verdict in the government's case against Bernie Ebbers. As I'm sure you know, poor Bernie faces charges on securities fraud that could send him up the river for the rest of his life.

Ooh, poor Bernie!  All he did was bankrupt his company after lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission about his earnings!  Sure, his shareholders and employees lost a fortune, but nobody put a gun to their head and made them invest in WorldCom!  read on...

We Also Recommend...low culture...go look!

Undoubtedly, a few of you will argue that there's no way Bernie Ebbers should be considered a great Christian Entrepreneur. By the time you read this, it's possible that the jury will have returned a verdict in the government's case against Bernie Ebbers. As I'm sure you know, poor Bernie faces charges on securities fraud that could send him up the river for the rest of his life.

Ooh, poor Bernie! All he did was bankrupt his company after lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission about his earnings! Sure, his shareholders and employees lost a fortune, but nobody put a gun to their head and made them invest in WorldCom! read on...