United States Attorney

• IMF Tells Central Europe to Spend More (WSJ)
• Tornadoes Blast Oklahoma (WSJ)
• Frenetic search for survivors as 91 feared dead in tornado-hit Oklahoma (Reuters)
• JPMorgan investors on edge over vote on Dimon; what if they win? (Reuters)
• Wealthy bank depositors to suffer losses in EU law (Reuters)
• Yen Slips as Amari Backtracks (BBG)
• Japan Ready for More Yen Weakness Despite Recent Comments (WSJ)
• IRS officials back on Capitol Hill hot seat over targeting (Reuters)
• Li Keqiang pledges China boost to India trade (FT)
• Europe's Recession Sparks Grass-Roots Political Push (WSJ)
• Obama and Xi to meet in effort to calm growing US-China rivalry (FT)
• Berlin plans to streamline EU but avoid wholesale treaty change (FT)
• France must reform or face punitive measures - EU's Oettinger (Reuters)

Or what happens when Wall Street Muppet A is vewy, vewy angwy with Wall Street Muppet B and desperately needs a ratings boost.

• Fed Pushes Into ‘Uncharted Territory’ With Record Assets (BBG)
• Next up in the currency wars: Korea - Samsung Drops on $2.8 Billion Won Profit-Cut Prediction (BBG)
• China Warns ‘Hot Money’ Inflows Possible on Easing From Abroad (Bloomberg)
• BOJ Shirakawa affirms easy policy pledge but warns of costs (Reuters)
• Merkel Takes a Swipe at Japan Over Yen (WSJ)
• Wages in way of Abe’s war on deflation (FT)
• Italian PM under fire over bank crisis (FT)
• Senior officials urge calm over islands dispute (China Daily)
• Spain tries to peel back business rules (FT)
• Rifts Over Cyprus Bailout Feed Broader Fears (WSJ)
• Soros Says the Euro Is Here to Stay as Currency War Looms (BBG)

Linda Green Bitchez!!!

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis (Nafis), 21, was arrested this morning in downtown Manhattan after he allegedly attempted to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb at the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan’s financial district. The defendant faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda. The arrest of Nafis was the culmination of an undercover operation during which he was closely monitored by the FBI New York Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The explosives that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public. The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Mary E. Galligan, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).

Slap one out of 1000 bankers on the wrist and make millions of muppets happy???

• Bundesbank’s Weidmann Says ECB Shouldn’t Overstep Mandate (Bloomberg)
• Hollande and Monti Vow to Protect Euro (FT) - be begging Germany to death
• Monti Calls French, Finns to Action as Italy Yields Rises (Bloomberg)
• not working though: Banking license for bailout fund is wrong: German Economy Minister (Reuters)
• Switzerland is ‘New China’ in Currencies (FT)
• Regulator Says no to Obama Mortgage Write-Down Plan (Reuters) - tough: there will be socialism
• Gauging the Triggers to Fed Action (WSJ)
• When domestic monetization is not enough: Azumi Spurns Calls for Bank of Japan to Buy Foreign Bonds to Curb Yen (NYT)
• Indonesia’s July Inflation Accelerates on Higher Food Prices (Bloomberg) - remember: the Deep Fried black swan
• China Manufacturing Teeters Close to Contraction (Bloomberg)
• Spain Introduces Regional Debt Ceilings to Achieve Budget Goals (Bloomberg) - yes, they said "budget goals"

The first arrest in the insider trading probe is Primary Global's Don Ching Trang Chu according to a complaint filed by the State Attorney's office. Per his biography, Chu "is PGR’s bridge to Asia experts and data sources. Don was a 25-year veteran in Data Communications Industry. He was with Bell Labs for more than 10+ years in data, wireless, and telecommunications arena. He has great view of technologies sector in Taiwan and China from fab, fabless through OEM/ODM players. Don intimately understands the wireless broadband communications industry, and has deep connections and relationships in the technology industry. Finally, Don is just a fun person to travel with on the highways and byways of Taiwan." Chu promises to be an even funnier bunk mate in minimum security prison, unless of course, he rats out all of his co-conspirators. Which he most likely will. Oddly enough, Chu is not in the biotech space, which is the bulk of the focus of the investigation seems to focus. We expect many more arrests imminently.

The noose is tightening, even though one could speculate the one doing the tightening ought to be on the other side of the rope as well. That said, we sure miss the days when Dick Bove used to provide instacommentary on Wells and Goldman, typically of the buy every dip format. That beard makes him look so wise and grizzled... That, or in dire need of grooming.

Bloomberg reporting that Sergey Aleynikov wants a dismissal of his criminal case. Whether or not Goldman, which woke the FBI at 3 am to get on the case stat, will agree with his view is a different view.

We have learned that Goldman has retained the exalted law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, to quash the Aleynikov subpoena request. The lead partner on submitted papers is Matthew Friedrich, former assistant attorney general at the DOJ and deputy chief of staff to fomer US Attorney General, Michael Mukasey.

Matt Goldstein over at Reuters may have just broken a story that could spell doom for if not the entire Goldman Sachs program trading group, then at least those who deal with "low latency (microseconds) event-driven market data processing, strategy, and order submissions." Visions of swirling, gray storm clouds over Goldman's SLP and hi-fi traders begin to form.