Dear Senator Corker: Meet The HVol 4 And Basis (Prop) Trades That Destroyed Merrill Lynch

In the past Zero Hedge had respect for Ten. Senator Bob Corker due to his opposition to the nationalization of the bankrupt automakers and making them yet another ward of the ever larger central-planning state. However, after today's hearing with Paul Volcker on the Prop trading ban, any respect we may have had for the Senator has promptly dissipated. While we understand that the pointless bashing of Volcker's proposal by Corker was predicated by his sizable lobby interest (over $21 million raised in the course of his career) and his talking points were undoubtedly a transliteration of a memorandum submitted by one of the Too Big To Fail banks that stand to experience substantial losses should the Volcker proposal pass, one line of argument in Corker's speech that is flagrantly flawed was Corker's naive rhetorical question whether there has been a single instance during the financial crisis where a commercial bank engaging in proprietary trading led directly to that institution failing or having to be bailed out by the taxpayer. Corker assumed the answer is no and kept pouncing on that answer. Well, Senator, you are wrong - meet Merrill Lynch, incidentally one of your biggest financial backers. Also, please meet Merrill's prop basis trade and its prop HVOL4 trade, which combined were the primary reason for the firm's $15 billion writedown in Q4 of 2008 and the subsequent bail out of the firm by Bank of America.

Obvious Insider Trading In Ann Taylor Options Ahead Of Earnings

At this point blatant episodes of insider trading are a weekly if not daily occurrence. While we still expect to hear back from our friends over at Mary Schapiro's woefully underfunded Syndicate Encouraging Corruption (SEC), regarding the previously disclosed insider trading in New York Bancorp, here is another one for Mary and her gray matter-challenged subordinated to mull, this time involving clothing retailed Ann Taylor.

Dodd Reverses Course, "Strongly Supports" Volcker Rule, Goldman Shares Slump

In a seeming reversal of yesterday's FT rumors that Chris Dodd would do everything in his power to undermine the passage of the Volcker rule, as part of his prepared remarks at today's hearing on high-risk investment activities by banks, Dodd said that he "strongly supports" a proposal to restrict large commercial banks from engaging in significant proprietary trading or owning hedge funds or private equity arms.

It's The Chart, STUPID

With every Tom, Dick and Harry convinced they can take on Goldman's Jim O'Neill and come up with a wittier, edgier, Gen Y/Z BRIC equivalent, Zero Hedge has decided to join the fray. We present the STUPIDs: Spain, Turkey, UK, Portgual, Italy and Dubai. We admit that while the BRICs and some the other more ridiculous sounding acronyms we have seen out there recently are a gauge into various countries' pent up "growth" potential, the STUPID index is merely a countdown to the inevitable sovereign debt implsion that so far has been postponed due to cash printers working on overdrive 24/7. And to make it simple for the armchair acronym specialists, since the index is in CDS, the chart will go up... but not on the pervasive permabullish sentiment.

Richmond Fed: "Bubble? What Bubble?"

The latest out of the Richmond Fed is a joke of a paper that while analyzing the possibility that the entire stock market and dollar carry trade is one zero cost of capital-funded bubble, skips over this possibility and instead goes on to analyze the "factors that could contribute to a fundamentals-based explanation for the recent rally in certain risky asset markets." Spoiler alert: No bubble - it's all based in sound reality.

Uncovering Liquidation Value... In Japan?

It is no secret that SocGen's Dylan Grice has not been a big fan of the Japanese economy, or stock market for that matter. We have highlighted his perspectives on the island nation in the past, and his concerns about a likely demographic-induced funding crunch have been picked up by the likes of Hayman Capital's Kyle Bass. So when Grice comes out with constructive suggestions on how to play Japanese relative value, especially if it is based on liquidation value considerations, one would do well to listen.

Live Webcast Of Tim Geithner Testimony Before The Senate Finance Committee On The 2011 Budget

Watch Tim Geithner's testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on the President's amusing 2011 budget live and commercial free, here. It is time someone asks why the GSEs continue getting the Federal Budget exemption.

We hope, although it is very unlikely, Senator Bunning somehow makes a guest appearance with some very directed questions.