General Motors

• The Man Who Broke the Middle East (Politico)
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• GE Clears Last French Hurdle to Clinch Alstom Deal (BBG)
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• Lawmakers Skeptical GM Bosses Were Unaware of Defect (WSJ)
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• House Panel Is Subpoenaed as Trading Probe Heats Up (WSJ)
• GM Officials Ignored Alert on Car Stalling (WSJ)
• Russia’s $20 Billion Bond Void Filled by China to Mexico (BBG)

Following the release of the  "deeply troubling" 315-page "Valukas Report" and the firing of 'all' those responsible for multiple deaths from GM's 'Kevorkianesque' cars, CEO Mary Barra is back on the Hill to face the music once more from The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Having explained in her previous testimony that she could answer their questions as she did not have the information, Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) noted, now "we will have the chance to get those answers and compare the company's findings to our own." Of course, one wonders if the politicians will ask about how GM silenced a whistleblower.

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• Obama to tout manufacturing gains, highlight economic progress (Reuters)
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• Russian $8.2 Trillion Oil Trove Locked Without U.S. Tech (BBG)
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• M&A talk lifts stocks, Iraq tensions ease slightly (Reuters)
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• Argentina vows to service debt despite new legal blow (Reuters)
• Allergan's Bitter Pill for Morgan Stanley (WSJ)
• Islamists kill 50 in Kenya, some during World Cup screening (Reuters)
• American Express Revs Up Pursuit of the Masses (WSJ)

This entire bailout farce is now beyond simply criminal and purely ridiculous: as of this moment, GM has recalled more than double the number of cars it sold in all of 2013, or, another way of putting it, more than the total number of cars it sold in 2013 AND 2012 combined.

• Iraqi Drama Catches U.S. Off Guard (WSJ)
• Al-Qaeda Offshoot on NATO Border Threatens Turkish Rally (BBG)
• It's just the snow, people: U.S. Economic Recovery Looks Distant as Growth Lingers (NYT)
• Freed Taliban leaders may remain in Qatar beyond one-year travel ban (Reuters)
• BNP Paribas Executive Chodron de Courcel to Quit Post (WSJ)
• Greenmail is back (WSJ)
• Facebook Places Multiple Bets to Win Messenger Wars (BBG)
• ECB easing to benefit Ukraine, Russia corporate bonds (Reuters)
• Rome Shows the World How Not to Run Bike-Sharing Program (BBG)

• World Bank Cuts Global Growth Forecast After ‘Bumpy’ 2014 Start (BBG)
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• Fed Prepares to Keep Record Balance Sheet for Years to Come (BBG)
• EU investigates tax rulings on Apple, Starbucks, Fiat unit (Reuters)
• Cantor Loss Shocks Republicans, Dims Immigration Changes (BBG)
• More surveillance: Google to Buy Satellite-Imaging Startup for $500 Million (WSJ)
• Tea Party activist who defeated Cantor focused on budget, immigration (Reuters)
• Airbus Suffers Worst Order Loss as Emirates Deal Scrapped (BBG)
• Amazon.com plans local services marketplace this year (Reuters)
• Amazon Stops Taking Advance Orders for ‘Lego’ and Other Warner Videos (NYT)

As student loan bailouts rain down from Washington, we thought it may be useful to consider where the world's wealthiest University alumni are. As Private Wealth reports, following a survey of 70,000 millionaires around the world, eight of the top ten universities with the highest number of rich alumni are based in the U.S., with the U.K. home to the other two. Engineering degrees produced the most millionaires, although most engineering grads made money as entrepreneurs, the study revealed. MBAs, law, accounting, and finance degrees also led to financial success.

• Ukraine, Russia Fail to Reach Deal in Natural-Gas Talks (WSJ)
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• He is holding out for the Zuckerberg overbid: Donald Sterling says LA Clippers not for sale (WSJ)

• Attorneys Known for Large Civil Settlements Line Up to Sue GM Over Company's Handling of Defective Ignition Switches (WSJ)
• Pakistani Taliban attack airport in Karachi, 27 dead (Reuters)
• U.S. Official: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Has Declined to Speak to His Family (WSJ)
• Ukraine Gas Talks Resume in Brussels to Avoid Cut-off This Week  (BBG)
• China's Central Bank Flexes Muscle (WSJ)
• China says Vietnam, Philippines' mingling on disputed isle a 'farce' (Reuters)
• World Needs Record Saudi Oil Supply as OPEC Convenes (BBG)
• Kraft Raises Prices on Maxwell House, Yuban U.S. Coffee Products (BBG)
• United Continental: One Sick Bird (WSJ)

• Canada Aims to Sell Its Oil Beyond U.S (WSJ)
• ECB Unanimity May Prove Fleeting (WSJ)
• Chinese military spending exceeds $145 billion, drones advanced: U.S. (Reuters)
• France to sell 10 warships to Russia next? BNP Executive Firings Sought by Top New York Bank Regulator Amid Probe (BBG)
• Vodafone says governments have direct access to eavesdrop in some countries (Reuters)
• Home Price Gains of 20% Vanish as Hottest Markets Cool (BBG)
• G-7 Heads Warn Moscow Before Facing Putin (WSJ)
• Barclays Fine Spurs U.K. Scrutiny of Derivatives Conflict (BBG)
• "Or Costs" - Obama Says Putin Running Out of Time Over Ukraine (BBG)
• Banca Monte Paschi Falls After Offering New Stock at 35.5% Discount (BBG)

Former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas report on GM's SNAFU is proclaimed as "extremely thorough, brutally tough, and deeply troubling," by CEO Mary Barra; but finds no collusion or conspiracy to boost bottom line at the expense of customers' lives. However, the report did find "a pattern of incompetence" and actions must be taken...

• *GM REPORT CONFIRMS BARRA DIDN'T KNOW OF ISSUE PRIOR TO RECALL
• *BARRA SAYS 5 EMPLOYEES DISCIPLINED
• *GM'S BARRA SAYS 15 REMOVED FROM CO FOLLOWING VALUKAS REPORT

Of course, none of this matters as easy credit is fueling the sale of more Kevorkianesque GM cars than ever before...

• Inside the White House's decision to free Bergdahl (Reuters)
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• Jobs Are on the Line as Banks' Revenue Slides (WSJ)
• Wall Street Adjusts to the New Trading Normal (WSJ)
• Nothing like objective, intense probes: GM recall probe to clear senior execs, finds no concerted coverup (Reuters)
• ECB ready to cut rates and push banks into lending to boost euro zone economy (Reuters)
• China Should Resist Further Stimulus, IMF Says (BBG)
• Carney Finds Ally in Draghi as Key Rate Kept at 0.5% (BBG)
• Assad wins Syria election with 88.7 percent of votes (Reuters)