Frontrunning: December 24

• No Christmas cheer for Goldman. Bear takes up the slack. (In Bailout Nation alumnus of bankrupt firms party harder than employees of the profitable) [bloomberg]
• Ford to sell Volvo to Chinese.  (Part of strategy to eliminate non-core auto manufacturing activities to concentrate on defined benefit and health care management units) [freep]
• Fannie and Freddie throw millions to politically connected senior execs. (Largest fiscal black holes emit Bekenstein-Hawking radiation in the form of salary. Perhaps evaporation will finally result?) [reuters]
• Obama sneaks COBRA extension into defense bill. (G.I. Joe shocked. "The More You Know" segment in the works). [washington post]
• Japan responds aggressively to counter fiscal crisis. (Better 20 years late than never). [reuters]
• Reid voted against it before he voted for it. (Reid can't read? "Reiding is fundamental?") [reuters]
• Basque Santa Claus (OlentZERO) appears with his sickle for annual Christmas throat cutting of children who stay up too late. (Blessed silence in Basque households) [wikipedia]
• General Motors simply not interested in bids so far. Hello Saab wind down. (What kind of name is Spyker anyhow?) [reuters]
• Recession (read: taxes) changes human migratory patterns. (Thank god we have experts to tell us this.  Hope you weren't depending on that tax revenue, Florida) [wall street journal]

Comments

[Sqworl]

Mudderfochers!!!..Your Honor and that's why we burn it to the ground...guilty as charged!!!

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/24/news/companies/fannie_freddie_pay/index.htm

[WaterWings]

One more story: 1,400 truckers put in limbo, overnight.

http://www.landlinemag.com/Special_Reports/2009/Dec09/122209-arrow-drive...

[Scooby Dooby Doo]

Talk about running the company on a ragged edge. No fuel to proceed to the next delivery destination? Wow.

[Scooby Dooby Doo]

Really great viewing posted earlier by geopol*. Scooby is fan of The Great Judge Napolitano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W12grSt50F8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdH6mVNW2F8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrcTizB4WNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8DesfG0zF4

Under the radar, Obama pushes for Patriot Act renewal
http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&Article...

* http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fed-has-officially-spread-itself-too-th...

[ptoemmes]

Probably old news, but contained in this piece on "Bring Us The Head of Rahm Emanuel"

http://firedoglake.com/2009/12/23/jane-hamsher-grover-norquist-call-for-...

I noticed this tidbit:

"The New York Times reports that the administration is negotiating to double the commitments to Fannie and Freddie for a total of $800 billion by December 31, in order to avoid the congressional approval that would be needed after that date. But there currently is no Inspector General exercising independent oversight of these entities. Acting Inspector General Ed Kelly was stripped of his authority earlier this year by the Justice Department, relying on a loophole in a bill Mr. Emanuel cosponsored and pushed through Congress shortly before he left for the White House. This effectively ended Mr. Kelly’s investigation into what happened at Fannie and Freddie."

Pete

[Scooby Dooby Doo]

Check your Bberg link Marla.

[Anonymous]

Looks like there's a problem with the Bloomberg link, Marla.

Maybe they pulled the story?

[fiasco]

marla, your tongue don't extend past your intelligence.  you're not the puttana i thought you were

good work this year for a supporting character

thank you jesus for starting time and ending the stupido idea of reincarnation of the barbarians

[Ruth]

I guess Goldman couldn't take the humility.

Fannie/Freddie just makes Christmas worse.

And I guess you vote, til ya don't.  Oh, just wait!

Basque is good for one more thing....Great Pyrs, ahhhhhh.

Love and cheers to Marla, Jana and da boyz!

Merry OlentZERO Hedgers!

[AnonymousMonetarist]

FT names Bankfiend Man of the Year...

If you haven't already read Thomas Adams' (of Paykin Krieg and Adams, LLP, a former managing director at Ambac and FGIC) forensic analysis of Goldie's crime of the century ... you should...

http://anonymousmonetarist.blogspot.com/2009/12/there-was-crime-there-was-victim-and.html

[Oso]

Ummmm, apparently we collectively missed this little diddy....

"IMF turns down $2bn loan to Ukraine"

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb7fa3ae-efca-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

[deadhead]

It's a victory for the bulls.

[tip e. canoe]

if anyone comes across the new issue of GQ (i do not recommend buying any magazine), there is article titled American Grotesque.  the artful writing is true to its title and will resonate long beyond your time on the throne reading it.

[Careless Whisper]

Gretchen Morgenson digging, digging, digging....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business/24trading.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1261678039-8EAIoUPE1CYNSWw46OtovA

[AnonymousMonetarist]

But Adams digs further ... see above

[phaesed]

With all the chinese purchases of US corporations, don't people wonder if perhaps it's the big corporations that are the communists?

[DaveyJones]

small business bankruptcies rise 81% in CA

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-smallbiz-bankruptcy22-2009dec22,0,3305684.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+(L.A.+Times+-+Business)

[Anonymous]

Bekenstein-Hawking radiation.

I don't know how you've managed to do it, but do it you've done. Working that in there like that. In a financial rag to boot.

Makes the stars shine brighter, she does.

-MobBarley

[Pork Fried Rice]

On fire with the humor Marla