Fatboy Sez

2012-10-11

Food Inflation To Surge, Goldman Warns

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-10/food-inflation-surge-goldman-warns

2012-10-10

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: I was Naive to Think I Could Get Away with Orgies

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/9599236/Dominique-Strauss-Kahn-I-was-naive-to-think-I-could-get-away-with-orgies.html

Surge in Part Time Jobs Creation Due to Obamacare?

In hopes of reducing the impact of Obamacare, Olive Garden and Red Lobster are reducing hours and studying the impact
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/10/prepping-for-obamacare-olive-garden-and.html

2012-10-08

Two Suicides of Those on the "Lagarde List"

Greek Government "Loses" List of Tax Evaders

"[T]he parliament has ordered a full inquiry into how the list slipped through their fingers. It was supplied two years ago by the-then French finance minister Christine Lagarde who, as IMF boss today, is one of Greece’s lead creditors."
Can't Fool the Fatman

Greek government chief found hanged

(UKPA)–4 days ago

A former government official has been found hanged at his home in central Greece.
Leonidas Tzanis, 57, a former socialist politician and deputy interior minister from 1999 to 2001, was found dead by his wife in the town of Volos, said a police official.
The official said Mr Tzanis's death is being treated as suicide but no suicide note has been found.
Mr Tzanis was on a list of 36 politicians that a local website claimed were allegedly under investigation by Greece's financial police.
An official with knowledge of the probe said Mr Tzanis had been under investigation following an anonymous tip-off but no indication of wrongdoing has emerged.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gAF6YVg7ntOD4VB1aM02k4ecUn6w?docId=N0051191349379242557A

A Greek businessman who had been accused of being part of the bribery and money laundering network involving former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who is in jail on charges of stealing as much as $1.29 billion from defense contracts has been found dead in a hotel room in Jakarta, Indonesia.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/10/08/businessman-in-tsochatzopoulos-case-found-dead/

2012-10-05

Ben & Barry's Funky Chunky Monkey Recovery

...[f]oodstamp usage for both persons and households, has jumped to a new all time record.
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More disturbing is that in the same month, the number of US households reliant on foodstamps rose by a whopping 99,493 to 22,541,744.
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Finally, and putting it all into perspective, since December 2007, or the start of the Great Depression ver 2.0, the number of jobs lost is 4.5 million, while those added to foodstamps and disability rolls, has increased by a unprecedented 21 million.

Ben and Barry's Chunky Monkey Recovery

http://www.johnlohman.com/WTF16/imag009.jpg

2012-10-04

Greek Government "Loses" List of Tax Evaders

World Food Prices at 2008 Crisis Levels

FAO's index is below a peak of 238 points hit in February 2011, when high food prices helped drive the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, but current levels are very close to those seen in 2008 which sparked riots in poor countries.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-food-prices-edge-sept-082921488.html?l=1

Thanks Bernanke.

2012-10-03

Q&A With Neil Barofsky

[A]nd, as we started discussing it, he gave me a warning. He said that I was doing myself real harm for my ”future prospects,” in his words. And by that, he explained that I had a very harsh tone. I was very critical of Wall Street and very critical of the Obama Administration as I was carrying out my job as SIGTARP and providing oversight. And he warned me that if I didn’t change my tone, it was going to hurt my ability to get a job after SIGTARP when I left the government, presumably to go get a job on Wall Street, that I was doing myself real harm. When I explained to him I wasn’t really interested in that, he then said, ”Well, even within the administration.” But then if I changed my tone, became a little bit more upbeat and positive, good things could happen to me. He mentioned even perhaps an Obama appointment as a -- as a federal judge, if only I would change my tone.
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I was once told by an IG pointblank that he wished he could do what I was doing, but he was afraid for his job, that he had kids in college and he had -- he couldn’t afford to lose his job. And that’s one of the problems. They live in fear of being fired if they’re too aggressive in carrying out their duties.
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Geithner was much more dismissive. I didn’t really meet with him all that often. Maybe a couple of meetings at times is very combative, at times very aggressive, at times profane.
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They kept their jobs. They kept their bonuses. They kept their rich compensation they received prior to their bailouts. They kept -- those bonuses were soon restored for those executives.
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/307720-1

2012-09-29

"[A]nother factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow."

"Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect."

2012-09-28

Spain's Banking Sector is Rock Solid. No, Really. Oliver Wyman Says It's So

From The NY Times:
[T]he number was within the range of previous estimates and well below the potential 100 billion euros, or $128.8 billion, in bailout money Spain negotiated with the other members of the euro zone union in June.

And of the 14 banks assessed by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, half are not in need of any emergency funds, including Santander, BBVA and La Caixa — the country’s three largest financial institutions.

and the European Commission both issued statements Friday, applauding the audit and expressing support for Spain. “This is a major step in implementing the financial assistance program and toward strengthening the viability of and confidence in the Spanish banking sector,” the commission, the administrative arm of the European Union, said in a statement.

The independent report, which Oliver Wyman based on its own work...

But wait. Let's check out some other results from Oliver Wyman:

Re-Post From 11/13/2010

2012-09-25

Today We Are All Spaniards In Support of Liberty

Democracy.. is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty ... is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. -- Benjamin Franklin

A protester holds a sign that reads 'Without fighting, neither bread nor freedom'
Picture: Reuters

2012-09-22

Jesse M. Unruh. A Great American

Jesse pulled a young fellow politician off to the side one sunny afternoon and offered this sage advice regarding lobbyists: "If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women and then vote against them, you have no business being up here."