The following post is by Dealbreaker reader and commenter Infinite Guest . President Obama has nothing to gain by negotiating with Republicans in Congress in order to raise the debt ceiling.

S.E.C. Case Stands Out Because It Stands Alone (NYT) But [Fabrice] Tourre’s world would soon be turned upside down.

$$$ Jim Chanos: “Lately, I have been taking a beating from some Chinese real estate developers including one very recently…These kinds of criticisms, these ad hominem criticisms are fine, but what people again don’t seem to be attacking are the facts. The property developer stocks that we’re short have been declining. This has been a good place to be short for the last 18 months…Actually, our team just got back from China…they actually came back saying we are not bearish enough .” (YouTube) $$$ How investing tips from Ira Sohn 2010 played out : Eisman, Arbess win big; Einhorn gets crushed; Tepper is so-so (AR) $$$ AIG Issues ‘ Clarification ’ on Presentation Before Share Sale (Bloomberg) $$$ GOP Plans Vote on Debt-Limit Bill (WSJ) $$$ Bill Gross: When Will He Be Right

For States, a Glimmer of Hope on Deficits (NYT) From stronger-than-expected tax collections in deficit-ridden California to projected surpluses in struggling states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, a growing number of recession-weary states are finally announcing a bit of good budget news for the first time since the downturn began. But it would probably be premature to pop the Champagne, or even the prosecco — or to otherwise declare the fiscal crisis that has hammered states to be over. Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital sows seeds for listing on NYSE (FT) Oaktree Capital Management is planning to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a deal that would value the asset manager at between $8bn and $9bn, people familiar with the matter said.

IMF chief claims consent in hotel ‘attack’ (NY Post) “The evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible encounter,” said Ben Brafman, the high-powered lawyer of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, at the suspect’s sensational arraignment in a packed criminal courtroom.

“I was eating souffle at Rise Restaurant with Laura and two buddies,” Bush said on Wednesday at the SALT Conference in Vegas, when asked what he was doing when he received the call from President Obama. “I excused myself and went home to take the call,” Bush said. “Obama simply said ‘Osama Bin Laden is dead.’” [ ABC ]

SEC Eyes Charges For Bond Players (WSJ) Securities and Exchange Commission officials are pushing hard as part of their ongoing probe of collateralized debt obligations and other mortgage-related products developed by Wall Street to bring charges against individuals, such as executives involved in selling the deals or outsiders who managed the assets, these people said. While the situation remains fluid, the agency also could file civil charges against hedge-fund managers who helped structure certain mortgage-bond deals but then bet against them. U.S.

“Once the steam stopped coming out of my ears, I’d be dropping so many subpoenas,” Spitzer told Matt Taibbi of the Levin report. “And I would parse every potential inconsistency between the testimony they gave to Congress and the facts as we now understand them.” [ Rolling Stone via BI , earlier ]

Defenders of Goldman have been quick to insist that while the bank may have had a few ethical slips here and there, its only real offense was being too good at making money. We now know, unequivocally, that this is bullshit.

The latest issue of New York contains a lengthy profile of Paul Kruman entitled “What’s Left of the Left: Paul Krugman’s Lonely crusade.” Writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells examines the Nobel Prize-winning economist’s position as “the leading exponent of a kind of liberal purism” (played out in his column for the Times and his blog, The Conscience of a Liberal); few peers or policymakers wholly agree with Krugman’s stance, making him a very “lonely” man (save for his commenters).