MORTGAGE DOUCHE BANKERS UNDER WATER

WSJ--Like millions of American households, the Mortgage Bankers Association found itself stuck with real estate whose market value has plunged far below the amount it owed its lenders.
But the trade group for mortgage lenders is refusing to say exactly how it extracted itself from that predicament.

On Friday, CoStar Group Inc., a provider of commercial real estate data, announced that it had agreed to buy the MBA's 10-story headquarters building in Washington, D.C., for $41.3 million. The price is far below the $79 million the trade group says it paid for the glass-walled building in 2007, while it was still under construction. The price also is far below the $75 million financing that the MBA received from a group of banks led by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to finance the purchase.

John Courson, chief executive officer of the trade group, declined in an interview Saturday to say whether the MBA would pay off the full loan amount. "We're not going to discuss the financing," he said.

WB7: I guess that answers the question.

Mind you, this is the same douche bag who in an interview late last year,  said he believed mortgage borrowers should keep paying their loans even if that no longer seemed to be in their economic interest. He said paying off a mortgage isn't only a matter of personal interest. Defaults hurt neighborhoods by lowering property values, Mr. Courson said. "What about the message they will send to their family and their kids and their friends?" he asked.

John Courson...

EUROPE RISKS ANOTHER GLOBAL DEPRESSION (HERE WE GO AGAIN?)

This is what baseline scenario has to say about the crisis of the Euro PIGGIES:

"The stronger EU countries are not willing to help – in part because they want to be tough, but also because they do not have effective mechanisms for providing assistance-with-strings.  Unconditional bailouts are simple – just send a check.  Structuring a rescue package that will garner support among the German electorate – whose current and future taxes will be on the line – is considerably more complicated.

The financial markets know all this and last week sharpened their swords.  As we move into this week, expect more selling pressure across a wide range of European assets.

As this pressure mounts, we’ll see cracks appear also in the private sector.  Significant banks and large hedge funds have been selling insurance against default by European sovereigns.  As countries lose creditworthiness – and, under sufficient pressure, very few government credit ratings will hold up – these financial institutions will need to come up with cash to post increasing amounts of collateral against their derivative obligations (yes, the same credit default swaps that triggered the collapse last time).

Remember that none of the opaqueness of the credit default swap market has been addressed since the crisis of September 2008.  And generalized counter-party risk – the fear that your insurer will fail and this will bring down all connected banks – raises its ugly head again.

Another Lehman/AIG-type situation lurks somewhere on the European continent, and again our purported G7 (or even G20) leaders are slow to see the risk.  And this time, given that they already used almost all their fiscal bullets, it will be considerably more difficult for governments to respond effectively when they do wake up.

Read the rest here.

OBAMA GOES TO WALL STREET

 

In a new push to show he understands how to handle Wall Street, President Obama announced that he will adapt the look of a floor trader every Monday morning.

GREEKS VERSUS THE GEEKS

BANZAI7 NEWS--Quantitative currency geeks are spending Super Bowl Sunday fine tuning their trading programs to hammer the Greeks and the euro.

The euro is likely to face further declines this week as concern over sovereign debt in Europe prompts investors to seek refuge in the perceived safety of the dollar and the yen.

Pressure on the common currency escalated last week, as worries about the soundness of debt issued by Greece spread to other fiscally stressed euro-zone PIGS, including Portugal, Ireland and Spain. Some commentators are saying that the real problem is the PIGGIES. Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Geeks, Italy, England and Spain.

FINANCIAL CONTAGION VACCINATION STILL RECOMMENDED

BANZAI7 NEWS--Health officials urged Friday that more countries get vaccinated against the H1A1G financial virus, sometimes referred to as financial contagion, which continues to kill.

Most economies were reporting only sporadic or local virus activity, but Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the Center for Immunization and Financial Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned against complacency, telling reporters the contagion is still a threat and is surging in parts of the European Union.

Treasury Secretary Geithner took issue, claiming there is no need for the United States to get a financial contagion vaccination.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS WE HAVE HEARD BEFORE

BANZAI7 NEWS--Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday that the U.S. wasn't in danger of losing its triple-A bond rating, in the wake of a warning from Moody's Investors Services about U.S. treasury-bond rating.

"Absolutely not," Mr. Geithner said in an interview with ABC News's "This Week" when asked about the prospect of the U.S. losing its top rating. "That will never happen to this country. By the way have you read this book?"

I SCAMMED EM MY WAY

“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.”
Sinatra Song Strikes Deadly Chord

I SCAMMED EM MY WAY
(My Way, Frank Sinatra)
WilliamBanzai7

And now the end is near
And so I face the final subprime curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state a quantitative case of which I'm absolutely certain

I've lived a Wall Street bankster life that's full
I've swindled each and every way but sideways
And more, much more than this
I scammed them my way

Regrets I've hedged a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I wanted to do
And did it through SEC exemptions

I planned each toxic course
Each innovative step along the ponzi highway
And more, much more than this
I scammed them my way

Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When we bought more securitised shlock than we could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I jacked the Fed and got bailed out, I escaped Lehman's final call
And I stood tall and scammed them my way

I've loved, I've laughed and lately cried
I've had my fill, my share of bankster screwing
And now as the Federal subsidies subside
I find it all slightly less than amusing

To think I did God's work
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I scammed them my way

For what is a Wall Street con man what has he got
If not $100 million bonus bucks then he has not
To see the things he truly steals
And the words of a slippery Wall Street eel
The record shows I took the populist blows
And scammed them my way

Yes it was my way...

WHY THE AIG/GOLDMAN SAGA IS NOT GOING AWAY

BANZAI7 VIEW--Are you sick of hearing every new detail about the AIG implosion,  Goldman Squid's predatory tactics, Goldman Squid's backdoor bailout, Goldman Squid's conflicting roles in shoveling subprime schlecht out to unwitting investors while shorting the product in the market, the impact of Goldman's Squid's tactics in accelerating the meltdown, Geithner's feeble negotiating tactics, Paulsen's ethical lapses, the smart idiots who ran AIG Financial Products, the dimwit CEOs that ran AIG...yadda yadda yadda. Don't be.

This story is a fine text book example of every single thing that can go wrong in a financial system. Disclosure opacity, misleading statements to the market, heavy handed consumer sales tactics, shoddy accounting,  innovation run amuck, insider trading, systemic risk, breaches of trust, conflicts of interest, rating agency misconduct,  ethical lapses, fast and loose selling tactics, improper influence over government officials, regulatory foolishness,  moral hazard, excessive compensation, poor corporate governance... The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on.

The problem is that no single official government investigation (duly empowered with subpoena power) is actively connecting all of the dots in the public interest.  Everything is coming out piecemeal. The dots are slowly being connected by journalists and bloggers. Congress is a three ring circus, the Justice Department is busy doing what?, Andrew Cuomo has a fixation with Bank of America and Ken "Screwless" Lewis, the SEC is busy investigating porn surfing by its employees, the Special Bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission conducts its theatrical investigation by surfing the internet. The only ones who seem to get the big picture are the SIGTARP Inspector General and Elliot Spitzer.

Wall Street is busy telling us that the Goldman Squid/AIG saga is yesterday's old news. We may yet learn that notwithstanding all the $hit that flew around, no one will be held accountable because no criminal laws were  violated. That may well prove to be the case. Wall Street makes its living by pushing the envelope.

But dear reader (sounds like Dear Leader), no matter how much of this you have heard enough of, one thing is absolutely certain: this whole sorry state of affairs has made a mockery of the American financial system, it has damaged millions of innocent Americans and the situation has only been exacerbated by the inept rodeo clowns in Washington.

It is not unfair to put the magnifying glass on Goldman Sachs. Their God fearing CEO Lloyd Blankfein led his company to subprime ground zero. Their failure to publicly own up to their extraordinary role in creating the subprime disaster does not foster confidence in American financial institutions. Mr. Blankfein's public relations act makes Mr. Toyoda look like a crisis management guru.

Don't let anyone tell you that financial reform is a big government hootenany. If you live in a trailor park and keep your last paycheck in a gun bag, that may be the case. But for the rest of us, it has to be unsettling that the drinking binge on Wall Street never ended.

Nothing has changed, but something has to be done.

DON'T SWIM WITH SHARK

When you swim with shark it is better to eat it before it eats you.

Chinese Proverb

BANZAI7 NEWS--Here is the link to an excellent article by Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, recounting the fencing match between Goldman Sachs and AIG beginning in the Summer of 2007 and ending with the now infamous back door bailout of Goldman in September 2008. Here is a handy time line provided in the article.

Read the article then ask yourself the following questions, for starters:

- At a December 5, 2007 quarterly presentation, Joseph Cassano, the head of AIGFP declared: "It is very difficult to see how there can be any losses in these portfolios." AIG CEO Martin Sullivan said in a related release: "AIGFP reported an operating loss in the quarter due principally to the unrealized market valuation loss related to its super senior credit default swap portfolio. Although GAAP requires that AIG recognize changes in valuation for these derivatives, AIG continues to believe that it is highly unlikely that AIGFP will be required to make any payments with respect to these derivatives.."

How could these statements be made as the company was already being strong armed into making good on $Billions of collateral calls by Goldman?

-Goldman apparently encouraged other counter parties to demand additional collateral, thus putting additional liquidity pressure on AIG. If this is the case (and it probably is, why hasn't AIG commenced a legal action against Goldman?

-On Aug. 18, 2008, Goldman’s equity research department published an in-depth report on A.I.G. The analysts advised the firm’s clients to avoid the stock because of a “downward spiral which is likely to ensue as more actual cash losses emanate” from the insurer’s financial products unit.

Bearing in mind that a rating downgrade was deemed a "credit event" requiring more collateral under the AIG credit default swaps, is this a conflict of interest? If not, does it smell good?

-AIG was historically a valued investment banking client of Goldman. We now see how Goldman lead the subprime gang bang of its valued client. Goldman claims that AIG was a "sophisticated investor"able to fend for itself. Is this the kind of positive economic benefit we should expect from a leading 2big2fail financial institution? Is this an example of the "enhanced liquidity benefits" provided by means of proprietary trading and hedging by investment banks? Is something wrong here?

-Would you want Goldman to be your trusted investment adviser knowing what you now know? How can a principal trader of this magnitude be considered a trusted adviser by anyone?

-When will Mario Cuomo figure out that this nefarious backroom heist is a bigger kahuna than Ken Lewis?  Poor old Ken,  Mr Outside.

-This is clearly a textbook case of a giant systemic predator "being all that it can be" under our existing regulatory circus framework. Why is it so difficult for Obama's crack team of Wall Street lackeys to connect the dots?

-What would happen if Sarah Palin ever figured out that a credit default swap is not a sex game?

"Yes, as through this world I've wandered / I've seen lots of funny men / Some will rob you with a six-gun / And some with a fountain pen."
Pretty Boy Floyd

"It is better to swim alone than with sharks."

Banzai7 Proverb

TODAY'S QUOTE

"YOU know we’re in trouble when we’re told that the economic problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain, the most indebted countries in the euro zone, are likely to remain safely contained in those nations.

After all, we heard the same nonsense in 2007 from United States financial leaders talking about the subprime mortgage mess."

Gretchen Morgenson NYT

GOLDMAN SQUID'S WORDS OF WISDOM

BANZAI7 NEWS--Stock markets will recover from the recent "so-called" correction due to improving economic indicators and company earnings. This presents a fabulous buying opportunity according to equity strategists at Goldman Squid Group Inc.

Remember, wherever you go to execute your trade, Goldman Squid's traders will be there waiting for you to lean over. 

GOOD READING

Through the Looking Glass (Steagall): Banks, Broker Dealers, and the Volcker Rule, by Raj Date and from the recently opened Cambridge Winter Center for Financial Institutions Policy. This is a highly recommended presentation on the Volcker Rule and its shortcomings. Enjoy...

H1NP

BANZAI7 NEWS--Fewer people are getting sick with the H1N1 swine flu than is typical for influenza rates this time of year - but public health officials are quick to warn that the pandemic threat has been replaced by the severe mental health peril caused by Sarah Palin's viral media blitz (H1NutcasePalin).

MR. T PARTY CONVENTION

BANZAI7 NEWS--The 600 delegates at the National Mr. T Party Convention feel taxed to death, bullied by their elected representatives and late night TV talk show hosts, and appalled at them federal fool's spending their money. Their anger has helped claim some political scalps, and they vow to "T-ake back A-merica." What is unclear to them, and to the political establishment watching warily, is how the T party A-Team might accomplish this.

Mr. T had this to say:

NEWS FROM RUSSIA TODAY

Pretty good, but can you hear the subtle accent of this financial babe-ushka?

DEUTSCHE BANK ON THE PIGS

Portugal Ireland Greece Spain (PIGS)

"The situation is increasingly reminding us of August/September 2008 when the credit market was sending out a strong sell signal to the equity market. Failing a quick sovereign bail-out, the credit markets (through peripherals) are sending out a similar sell signal.

In reality it seems that the market wants to accelerate an issue that the authorities were hoping that time would heal. The likelihood is that the EC will be forced to show more of their hands over the coming weeks or months. If a bail-out comes it may push out the problem and lead to a risk rally but this sort of risk will live on for many years around the Developed world until we see a combination of strong growth, big FX moves (a zero sum global game), higher inflation and/or Sovereign defaults."

A BETTER WAY TO BREAK UP THE BANKS

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW--The history of financial reform shows that simple is best. Glass-Steagall was crude but it worked—it was easy to understand and enforce. Whatever measures are introduced this time round need to be equally plain. President Obama's plan of trying to draw a line down the middle of investment banks' trading activities by splitting off proprietary trading fails this test. Why? Because it is very difficult to decide what counts as facilitation for customers and what counts as outright position taking.

A simpler and more effective approach would be to prohibit banks that traded for customers or for themselves from giving advice to clients. This would give rise two types of firm. Specialist trading firms would make a living by making markets for customers and would be free to carry out proprietary trading for their own account. They would not be allowed to advise investors or to be owned by firms that advise investors. Advisory firms, on the other hand, would not be able to trade for themselves but would have to deal for clients on an agency basis through the specialist trading firms or electronic order books. For complex deals they would structure trades and put together quotes for clients. These rules would apply to all asset classes and would extend to corporate finance work so that trading banks would not be able to advise on mergers, new issues and financial restructuring.

This system would be transparent and easy to police. The risk of one component contaminating another would be minimal. The message to banks from regulators would be straightforward: if you trade in markets, you cannot speak to clients. The integrated investment banks would have to decide which way they wanted to go, trading or advisory. Smaller, less connected institutions would result. The cost of capital might rise and markets might be less liquid but given the role played by the global trading frenzy in the credit crunch who is to say that this would be a bad thing?

As well as reducing the scale and systemic threat of the investment banks, splitting them in this way would also put paid to conflict of interest, still one of the nastiest features of modern finance. In few if any other businesses are firms allowed to work for both sides of a transaction and to take a principal turn out of the middle, yet in investment banking—provided basic compliance is followed—this approach is legal and unchallenged. This loads the dice in favour of the banks, helping to explain their high returns in normal market conditions. It may also shed some light on the uncomfortable truth that many investment banking products—mergers and acquisitions, new issues, complex derivatives—disappoint those who buy them.

Philip Augar

WB7 A Useful Definition of Modern Investment Banking: "Applying cutting edge technologies to mine client conflicts for profit."

LOST REFORM (FINAL SEASON)

BANZAI7 NEWS--The chairman of the Senate banking committee said Friday that efforts to reach a bipartisan consensus on sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system had "reached an impasse," but he said he intends to move forward even without Republican support.

For the second time since November, talks have stalled between Sen. Christopher J. Dodge (D-Conn.) said ranking Republican Sen. Richard Shellbrain (Ala.). Both men have expressed interest in reaching a consensus on a wide-ranging bill that would revamp regulation of the financial services industry. But after months of negotiation, they have yet to overcome a key hurdle: the proposed creation of a consumer protection regulator to focus on mortgages, credit cards and other such financial products none of which, along with proprietary trading by systemic bailout Queens, had anything to do with the financial meltdown.

Clues to the  fate of the legislation are hidden somewhere on the island. Can you find them before the seasons final episode this coming November.

BUST EM THEN BUST EM UP

BANZAI7 NEWS--New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo filed civil charges against  Bank of America and its former chief executive, Ken Lewis, over last year's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

ROOM 39 GETS NEW HONCHO

BANZAI7 NEWS--North Korea has recently replaced the director of a department of the North Korean Workers Party's Central Committee codenamed "Room 39," which manages leader Kim Jong-Liberaces's coffers, personal slush funds and FWMD hedging portfolio, it emerged Thursday.

A North Korean source said Kim Tong-un (75) has been dismissed and Joseph Cassano, the former head of AIG Financial Products (aka Room $180 Billion), has been appointed in his place. Cassano is eager to develop the nascent OTC market for Kim Chee Swaps.

JUST FOLLOW THE OTHERS....

BANZAI7 NEWS--Just as America’s recession begins to ebb, trouble is brewing in Europe that may prolong a downturn on the Continent and ricochet through the global economy as it struggles toward a recovery.

 

A rout in stock markets that began in Europe spread to Wall Street on Thursday and around the globe to Asia on Friday, amid fears that Europe may be the world’s next financial flashpoint. 

NOW FIRING

BANZAI7 NEWS--The Labor Department said that new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 8,000, to a seasonally adjusted 480,000. Wall Street economists had expected a drop to 460,000. The rise is the fourth in the last five weeks. Most economists had hoped that claims would resume the downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter.

The four-week average, which smoothes fluctuations, rose for the third consecutive week, to 468,750.
The figure is the highest in the last two months.

WB7: Instead of worrying about the statistical methodology of the Department of Labor, here is an effective short hand method for assessing the job situtation. For every headline you read about thousands of planned layoffs, how many headlines do you read about thousands of planned hires?

Of course you need to factor in the possibility of a data skew, such as Bank of America's plan to hire thousands of brokers. This could be inversely indicative the job situation for the rest of America.

Bank of America should be hiring thousands of lawyers to fight Mario Cuomo's latest fraud action.

WE DELIVER

BANZAI7 NEWS--Republicans are stepping up their campaign to win donations from Wall Street, trying to capitalize on an increasing sense of regret among executives at big financial institutions for backing Democrats in 2008.

In discussions with Wall Street executives, Republicans citing their successful business model in killing healthcare reform, are making the case that they are banks' best hope of preventing President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats from cracking down on Wall Street.

GOP strategists hope to benefit from the reaction to the White House's populist rhetoric and proposals, which range from sharp critiques of bonuses to a tax on big Wall Street banks, caps on executive pay and curbs on business practices deemed too risky.

WHO SCREWED EVERYBODY?

TORT-YOTA UPDATE

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, charged with getting to the bottom of Toyota Motor Corp.’s vehicle-safety crisis, served up more confusion than clarity yesterday.

At about 9:30 a.m., LaHood told reporters that drivers of recalled Toyota cars and trucks should “exercise caution” until repairs can be made. Then he told a House panel that owners should “stop driving” them.

What he should have said is this: Assumption of risk is a defense raised in personal injury lawsuits. The defense asserts that the plaintiff knew that a particular activity was dangerous and thus bears all responsibility for any injury that resulted.

Quiz: You already know driving your recalled Toyota maybe dangerous, what defense could be asserted if you attempt to recover for injuries suffered if your defective accelerator causes a crash?

DUDE!

BANZAI7 NEWS--White House Chief of Staff Ram-the-Manual apologized again Wednesday for using the word "retarded" during a private meeting last summer, telling advocates for the disabled that he will join their campaign to help end the use of the word, except when referring to actor Mel Gibson.

BLOGGING FOR ADULTS ONLY?

BANZAI7 NEWS--Blogging is slowly becoming the domain of adults, as a recent Pew study shows more teens abandoning the medium for social networks. 

The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, showed a decline in the number of teens who say they blog, from 28 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2009, when the study was conducted. Just 52 percent comment on their friends' blogs, versus 76 percent three years ago.

By contrast, the survey found that about 10 percent of adults maintain a blog, a figure that has remained unchanged.

IRANIAN SPACE ANIMALS

BANZAI7 NEWS--Iran says it sent a research rocket piloted by live animals into space Wednesday, prompting President Mahmoud I'm-a-Nutjob to hail the country's scientific achievements as "over the edge."

Iran's state-run Press TV said the rocket was crewed by a rat, two turtles, a belly dancing goat and worms. Iranian scientists are frantically attempting to translate communications transmitted by the crew's communications officer Lieutenant Wormura following lift off.

Mr. Nutjob said the research project is "mostly over the very edge of modern technology." He also said Tehran is planning the first orbital Twitter feed from the Iranian animal astronauts.

BOSCO the NASA space monkey was asked for his thoughts on this historic event. NASA scientists are frantically attempting to translate BOSCO's remarks, but it is believed that BOSCO is looking forward to his planned one way trip to Mars.

Iran says the launch involved a Kavoshgar (Explorer) 3 missile, which is capable of carrying a team of belly dancing goats to the moon.

GET READY FOR FINANCIAL REFORM JIHAD

BANZAI7 NEWS--Nine months after he penned a memo laying out the arguments for health care legislation's destruction, Republican message guru Frank Luntz has put together a playbook to help derail financial regulatory reform.

Language of Financial Reform -

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT ALL THOSE SCREENS ARE FOR?

GIANT SQUID INVASION

BANZAI7 OCEANOGRAPHIC NEWS--An invasion of giant Wall Street squids (Bailout Cephalopoda) has worried southern California fisherman swimming in rotten calamari.

The squids, which grow up to 6 feet long and weigh as much as 280 pounds, have been attracted into shallower waters, by the scent of record bonus payouts, say scientists.

During all night trading sprees, reeling in the thrashing Goldman squids can quickly resemble a scene from Hank' Paulsen's newly released book “I Need a Drink.”

“They’re extremely carnivorous – they eat everything, including themselves,” Corey Hall of Dana Wharf Sportfishing told California’s KABC. “So at times, you’ll be catching one and the other one will start eating the other one.”

BONUS ROUND OFF

BANZAI7 NEWS--The American International Group has agreed to round off employee bonuses by $20 million and will distribute about $100 million on Wednesday, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations. But the reductions may not be enough to appease the company’s critics, who do not accept the company’s argument that it has to honor contracts from before its government bailout in order to retain top talent.

SENATOR DOUCHE'S JOB HUNT IN PERIL

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee warned on Tuesday that the Obama administration’s new proposals to rein in Wall Street firms ran the risk of derailing months of delicate negotiations over overhauling financial regulations and finding a new job after he retires from the Senate.

Paul A. Volcker testified Tuesday about creating an agency to take control of a bank near failure.

“It’s not a movable feast,” the chairman, Christopher J. Douche, told Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who has become an influential outside adviser to President Obama. “It’s adding to the problems of trying to get a bill done,  and it does not help me in my job hunt” he said at the end of a hearing on the proposals, after all the other committee members had already left.


Mr. Douche, Democrat of Connecticut, added that the administration was “getting precariously close” to excessive ambition for the legislation. “I don’t want to be in a position where I end up not getting a cushy Wall Street job because we tried to do too much,” he said.

A MODERN GREEK TRAGEDY

 Tonight we dine in bailout hell!

BUSINESS WEEK--The markets are in a funk about the public-debt crisis in Greece. The country was clearly not ready for euro membership and now faces some hard choices: make savage budget cuts and plunge into a deep recession; default on its debts and lose its credit rating for a generation; plead for a bailout from its European Union partners; or quit the euro.

But, hey, there might be money to be made from this Greek tragedy. The way to do it is by swapping Hungarian bonds for Greek ones, shorting the euro, ditching Spanish and Portuguese assets, shorting the Athens stock market and booking this summer's Greek vacation now.

The Greek crisis is accelerating all the time.

NEED A LAUGH?

BANZAI7 NEWS--Actor Rip Torn was released on bail on Monday and was headed for rehab after police said they found him drunk and armed with a loaded gun in a closed Connecticut bank last week.


Torn's lawyer said the actor, whose most recent role has been as a network TV boss on NBC's comedy "30 Rock", was disoriented and believed he was at home at the time of his arrest. He was fond on Friday inside a bank in his home town of Salisbury, Connecticut.

"He will enter rehab on Tuesday," lawyer A. Thomas Waterfall (yes, Waterfall) said. "Mr Torn believed he was in his home and was getting ready for a role play game with his wife who likes to dress up as a naughty bank teller." Waterfall told Reuters. "Based upon that belief he would not have the necessary intent to commit a crime."

PIGS AT THE TROUGH

INVESTMENT BANKER SLIDE SHOW

A Funny Joke about an Investment Banker's Interview

View more presentations from Damen Choy.

HEALTHCARE REFORM DOA

BANZAI7 NEWS--Democrats say they never saw it coming, but the breakdown of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was abetted by their own mistakes.


It wasn't just a political fluke brought on by the surprise election of a Republican senator in true-blue Massachusetts.

Looking back, Obama and his congressional allies failed to appreciate the depth of frustration with Washington - people's desire for health care legislation that would respond to their anxieties, not the clamor of interest groups.

WB7:  You heard it here months ago.

CHINA BUBBLE WATCH

BANZAI7 NEWS--China's banking regulator has ordered banks to conduct checks to see whether any of their loans have illegally gone into the stock or property markets, a banking source told Reuters on Monday, the latest move in a clampdown on excessive bank lending and rising asset prices.

Jeepers! How could that possibly happen?

GREAT WALL OF WIND TURBINES

NYT--China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.

China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.

These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West will someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.

WB7: This is what happens while the United States wastes its time arguing about whether global warming is a real threat. Are you looking forward to being dependent on Chinese technology for your energy needs? Ni hao ma?