Enron

Now that the previously reported "fine" of $400 million which the firm just got slapped with following its manipulation of various energy markets, is fact...

• JPMORGAN AGREES TO PAY $410 MLN TO SETTLE U.S. ENERGY PROBE

... One may say JPM has just admitted it is the next Enron. One would be wrong: "JPMVEC admits the facts set forth in the agreement, but neither admits nor denies the violations." In other words, JPM is a Schrodinger Enron: it admits the facts that the company best known for manipulating electricity - a charge which in 2000 was enough to crush the company, and which is now a fine equal to 0.4% of the firm's $99.5 billion in revenues - but neither admits nor denies this. But the biggest question plaguing Jamie Dimon this morning, is whether he will pay the $410 million FERC find with a personal check... or petty cash.

Lets face it, shysters exist....it's our job to ensure we stay well clear of them. Here are some RED FLAGS to look out for!

While Chanos' last year's short on HP has not been a tremendous success (yet), it seems the market is more acquiescent to the famous China bear's short call on CAT (among other things due to its infamous major exposure to China). As we noted in detail most recently first two months ago and then one month ago, things at the industrial company are not going at all well, but Chanos notes some more important concerns:

• CHANOS: SHORT CATERPILLAR INC.
• CHANOS: SAYS CATERPILLAR HAS ‘ACCOUNTING ISSUES’
  
• CHANOS SAYS CATERPILLAR IS TIED TO WRONG PRODUCTS IN WRONG TIME
• CHANOS: WILL FACE A SERIES OF SUPERCOMMODITY HEADWINDS
• CHANOS: ACCOUNTING FOR BUCYRUS DEAL MAY HAVE BOOSTED CAT EPS
• CHANOS: EARNINGS DRIVER FOR CAT MAY HAVE BEEN ONCE IN LIFETIME

For now, CAT is down around 2.2% on the day and while he believes global growth (and CAT's geographic bets) will hurt, it is the accounting for Bucyrus which makes the Enron billionaire most nervous.

Larry Summers has been failing up since he entered the public sphere. The reults have been catastrophic for many main street Americans.

The last two weeks oil inventories fell by a record 20 million barrels, this event has never happened in 30 years of historical data.  Something just doesn`t add up here...

Big Banks Move Into Uranium Mining, Petroleum Products, Aluminum, Ownership and Operation Of Airports, Toll Roads, and Ports, and Electricity

When Charles Ponzi was around, it took just a tad longer to rake in the cash and commit financial fraud, escaping with the proceeds to better climates. Today, the internet and the power of the virtual world have made the transfer of funds so much quicker.

• Bonds Tumble With Stocks as Gold Drops in Rout on Fed (BBG)
• Bernanke Sees Beginning of End for Fed’s Record Easing (BBG)
• Gold Tumbles to 2 1/2 Year-Low After Fed as Silver Plummets (BBG)
• PBoC dashes hopes of China liquidity boost (FT)
• U.S. Icons Now Made of Chinese Steel (WSJ)
• Emerging Markets Crack as $3.9 Trillion Funds Unwind (BBG)
• Everyone joins the fun: India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail (Reuters)
• China Manufacturing Shrinks Faster in Threat to Europe (BBG)
• More on how Syria's Al-qaeda, and now US, supported "rebels", aka Qatar mercenaries, operate (Reuters)
• Echoes of Mao in China cash crunch (FT) - how dare a central bank not pander to every bank demand?
• French watchdog tells Google to change privacy policy (Reuters)

Bulls and Bears. It’s all about predicting when that upturn or that downswing in the market is going to take place and when you need to sell or buy that stock to hit the jackpot and make the millions. People have been doing it for centuries and that doesn’t look like it is going to stop right now. There have been dozens of financial crises over the centuries and each of them has had an effect on the lives of people to varying degrees.

And Other Stunning Facts I Learned Last Night ...

Through most of the 20th century, America led something of a charmed life, at least when compared with the disasters endured by almost every other major country. We became the richest and most powerful nation on earth, partly due to our own achievements and partly due to the mistakes of others. The public interpreted these decades of American power and prosperity as validation of our system of government and national leadership, and the technological effectiveness of our domestic propaganda machinery - our own American Pravda - has heightened this effect. Author James Bovard has described our society as an “attention deficit democracy,” and the speed with which important events are forgotten once the media loses interest might surprise George Orwell.

• Obama's Counsel Was Told of IRS Audit Findings Weeks Ago (WSJ)
• North Korea fires sixth missile in three days (Reuters)
• Enron No Lesson to Traders as EU Probes Oil-Price Manipulation (BBG)
• Don't cry for me, Eurozone: Thinking the Unthinkable - Quitting a Currency (WSJ)
• H-1B Models Strut Into U.S. as Programmers Pray for Help (BBG)
• Gold Bear Bets Reach Record as Soros Cuts Holdings (BBG)
• Yahoo has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr (WSJ)
• JPMorgan Holders Led by Chairmen-CEOs to Vote on Dimon (BBG)
• Apple faces grilling over US tax rate (FT)
• Nissan to Sell First Joint Minicar to Expand in Japan Market (BBG)
• Fierce battle for corporate loans sparks US bank risk concerns (FT)
• Microsoft Updates Xbox as Apple to Facebook Gain in Games (BBG)

• Einhorn's advice to investors: don't take my advice (Reuters)
• Next: floating dead vegetables: Chinese inflation rises on soaring vegetable prices (FT)
• The scramble for the bottom dollar is on: McDonald's, Wendy's Battle for Value-Centric Customers (WSJ)
• Cheaper iPhone coming after all: Apple supplier Pegatron boosts China workforce by 40 percent in second quarter (Reuters)
• House set to pass tactical Republican debt bill (Reuters)
• Underwriting bonanza: Goldman Said to Earn $500 Million Arranging Malaysia Bond (BBG)
• G7 finance chiefs to discuss bank reform push (Reuters)
• Big Banks Push Back Against Tighter Rules (WSJ)
• University endowments trim holdings in US Treasuries (FT)
• Ex-Pakistan PM's son abducted as Taliban threaten poll (Reuters)
• China Dowry Filled With Gold Signals Gains for Jewelers (BBG)
• As discussed here over a year ago: China inflation data shows central bank policy dilemma (Reuters)

As we reported a month ago, when we reported that Enron CEO Jeff Skilling may be released from prison early, moments ago we just learned that, to nobody's real surprise, the mastermind of the biggest US bankruptcy in the early 21st century may be behind bars for just four more years, cutting his total sentence, which was scheduled to expire in 2028, by 11 years. From Bloomberg:

• ENRON'S SKILLING AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACH SENTENCE DEAL
• ENRON'S SKILLING MAY BE RELEASED IN 4 YEARS, LAWYER SAYS
• ENRON'S SKILLING WAS SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 23 YEARS IN PRISON
• ENRON SENTENCE DEAL ALLOWS OVER $40 MLN RESTITUTION PAYOUT
• ENRON'S SKILLING HELPED MASTERMIND MASSIVE FRAUD AT ENERGY FIRM

Indeed he did: which is why it is surprising he served any prison time at all.  So in brief: justice for all, except for those who have $40 million set aside for "restitution payments."

QUESTION: Why do idiot shareholders think Jamie Dimon deserves to continue in the dual role of Chairman and CEO? ANSWER: "Because I am richer than you are!"