Shares of SunPower (SPWRA) are down 14 cents, or 0.7%, at $21.24 after the company last night met pre-announced Q1 results but forecast the current quarter’s revenue below analysts’ expectations and said that it will revise its full-year forecast later this quarter.

The company is in the midst of going through a tender offer by oil company Total (TOT), which plans to buy up to 60% of the stock.

This morning, there’s one downgrade of the stock, from Buy to Hold, by ThinkEquity’s Colin Rusch, who cut his price target to $19 from $22. He cut his 2011 estimate to $1.13 in EPS, down from $2.15 previously, and cut his revenue estimate to $2.44 billion from $2.86 billion.

“While we are bullish on SunPower’s position and believe the company is executing well on its cost reduction and should benefit from the flexibility of its business model as the solar industry rationalizes, we are lowering estimates for 2011 and 2012 to reflect a more cautious outlook,” Rusch writes. Rusch expects the company may need to write down “at least a portion of its SunRay acquisition,” even though it should be able to monetize its land and permits, he thinks. He also thinks SunPower will move closer to 75% of shipments coming from modules, versus an expectation previously of just 50%.

Bullish!

Robert Stone, Cowen & Co.: Reiterates an Outperform rating, while raising his revenue estimate for this year to $2.83 billion from a prior $2.39 billion, and cutting his EPS estimate to $2.05 per share from a prior $2.11. He also cut his numbers for revenue and profit for next year. He sees the company benefitting from a shift to rooftop installations in Italy and away from utility-scale projects: “About 15MW of UPP projects (vs. 130MW planned) are expected in Italy. But, new FIT policies should favor SPWRA’s strength in rooftops; it is #2 in Italy with 500 dealers, and the small system segment is uncapped.” The company’s North America business, 45% of revenue in the quarter, should help as well, he thinks.

Ben Pang, Caris & Co.: Reiterates an “Above Average” rating and a $24 price target. “The near term performance of SPWRA shares will be capped by the offer from TOT,” he writes, though he expects “no roadblocks” to the offer. As for the expected forecast update, he thinks it will be below the current consensus estimate of $2.8 billion in revenue and $1.92 EPS. Hence, Pang cut his 2011 estimate to $2.65 billion and $1.81, from a prior $2.85 billion and $2.11. “We do not expect any new bidders to come in above TOT’s offer of $23.25, but a resolution to some of the overhanging legisla- tive issues should be an additional positive catalyst.”

Bearish!

Mark Bachman, Auriga Securiites: Reiterates a Sell rating and a $13 price target. The Total bid puts a floor under the stock, and he wouldn’t recommend shorting the shares, but, “but we do suggest existing holders of SPWRA and SPWRB tender their shares and/or consider selling June or July calls against any shares at these levels given risk of the deal possibly not completing.” The Q1 report was “the worst we have heard so far this reporting season,” he writes. SunPower has gone from net cash to net debt on the balance sheet, he writes, while inventory days tripled. “In short, this is not the company of a few years ago and investors looking for exposure to the solar space are encouraged to look elsewhere.”

Timothy Arcuri, Citigroup: Reiterates a Hold rating on the shares and a $16.50 price target. “While inventory should begin to clear given resumption in the Italian rooftop and a seasonally better German market,” he writes, it will come at a price because Chinese solar modules are selling for about $1.40, below the $2 per watt or so that SunPower is used to getting. “So we see further risk in estimates.” Arcuri is maintaining his 87-cent EPS estimate for this year.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

Have you been suspecting that your husband or wife may have involved him or herself in some insider trading? Are you worried that the Feds may know too? While there’s not much you can do short of getting out of town or finding a safe house and laying low, you can arm yourself with the knowledge of what’s in store and mentally prepare accordingly.

Today’s tips come from Arlene Drimal, wife of accused insider trader Craig Drimal. Craig, who segued from a job as a bouncer at The Roxy to a gig at Galleon several years back, pleaded guilty to securities fraud yesterday. The FBI used wiretaps to catch him in the act, and while they were there, couldn’t help but listen in on some “deeply personal and intimate discussion about [the Drimal's] marriage,” including “intimate aspects of the relationship.” So, that’s Number 1: Government officials will be listening when you discuss spicing things up with the furry dice.

Number 2: Rudeness and ‘tude:

The FBI officials told Mr. Drimal they “had recorded his conversations for a very long time, that they knew ‘everything’ about him and his family and friends and mentioned other personal factors leaving the distinct impression that our phones were currently tapped,” Ms. Drimal wrote. The agents asked him to cooperate in their investigation and threatened to arrest him if he didn’t, she wrote, adding that they said he could spend 25 years in prison. The couple “went up to our bedroom to discuss how to ensure privacy,” as they discussed how to find a lawyer, Ms. Drimal wrote. “Feeling trapped, I recommended that we go to CVS [a drugstore] in Westport to buy a prepaid phone,” Ms. Drimal wrote. “Immediately after I said that, FBI agent, David Makol, called and asked to speak to my husband. He warned him not to go out and get a prepaid phone,” she wrote. “That terrified us and we felt panicked.”

Number 3: Late night visits:

On Nov. 2, 2009, Mr. Drimal met with agents and prosecutors asking for his cooperation, she wrote, which he declined to give. Three days later, the couple—along with their 11-year-old son, who had crawled into their bed during the night—was awakened by the lights, bullhorn and pounding on the door, Ms. Drimal wrote. “I hurried down to the front door … on which they were impatiently banging as they hollered,” she wrote, holding back their German shepherd and Staffordshire terrier. “As soon as I opened the door, numerous agents filed into the house,” she wrote. “I noticed some of them touched their weapons, eyeing the Staffordshire in particular. I stood there crying silently, barely dressed and attempting to cover my chest with my arms and assured them the dogs were friendly,” she wrote.

Number 4: PTSD and paranoia:

Ms. Drimal wrote that she has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. She worries about her children, including a daughter who asked recently if her father’s legal troubles would affect her ability to get into law school or gain employment. “Just looking out my window in the morning when I wake up,” she wrote, “reminds me of that arrest and violations of my privacy every day.”

When The Feds Are Watching [WSJ]

Earlier: Federal Agents Couldn’t Help But Listen In On Weight Lifter Turned Accused Insider Trader Craig Drimal’s “Deeply Personal” Conversation With His Wife

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Deutsche Bank Loses Swaps Case (WSJ)
The German Federal Court of Justice ruled that Deutsche Bank inappropriately advised bathroom-supplies company Ille Papier Service GmbH on the risks involved in buying a complex financial derivative known as a “spread-ladder swap,” which the company purchased in 2005 to limit interest payments on its loans. The court ruled that Deutsche Bank must pay €541,000 ($769,356), plus interest, in damages.

Steam Rises from Japan Plant; New 6.4 Quake off Coast (Reuters)
According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck near the east coast of Honshu. The earthquake struck at 6.19 pm (0919 GMT) 90 kilometers east of Iwaki, Honshu at a depth of 27 kilometers, the USGS said…Smoke and steam rose from two of the most threatening reactors at Japan’s quake-crippled nuclear plant, suggesting the battle to avert a disastrous meltdown and stop the spread of radiation was far from won.

Altman’s Evercore Climbs Wall Street’s M&A Ranks With AT&T Coup (Bloomberg)
The company’s stock jumped 12 percent yesterday as investors anticipated a boost in fee revenue from the firm’s work on AT&T Inc. (T)’s $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA, this year’s biggest acquisition. “We are not a small boutique anymore,” Altman, 64, said in an interview. “We now have advised on three of the five largest global merger agreements of 2011.”

Pimco Said to Raise $1.5 Billion for Fund Targeting Bank Assets (Bloomberg)
The Pimco Bravo fund, short for Bank Recapitalization and Value Opportunities, will buy debt such as troubled commercial and residential mortgages, and may invest directly in banks through securities including warrants and convertible debt. Pimco is still accepting money and expects to raise $2 billion to $3 billion in total before a final close later this year.

Goldman Partnership Memo Stirs Succession Talk (Dealbook)
Goldman sent a brief e-mail to employees on Monday announcing that Michael S. Sherwood would succeed the firm’s president, Gary D. Cohn, as chairman of the partnership committee.

Japan Maintains Threat Of Further G-7 Action (WSJ)
Japanese currency officials on Tuesday maintained the threat of further yen-selling intervention by the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, saying joint action isn’t limited to last week’s coordinated market intervention.

AIG May Face Rivals in $15.7 Billion Bid for Assets Held by Fed (Bloomberg)
Barclays is among investors considering making a counter offer, the Financial Times reported.
“We have been told that someone else was putting together a bid,” AIG Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche, 66, said in an interview. “I think we can offer a little more, but the price we offered is about it. Until I see a competing bid, I’d have to wait and see.”

Man arrives to Sullivan court for DWI hearing drunk, carrying beer (Times Herald)
A Swan Lake man facing a felony driving while intoxicated charge showed up to Sullivan County Court on Monday with a bag full of beer and was promptly thrown in jail without bail. Keith Gruber, 49, had a scheduled 10:30 a.m. pretrial hearing. Gruber came to court about an hour and a half late carrying a black bag that contained four cans of Busch beer. He also was carrying an open can of Busch beer and was drunk, authorities say. He tried to throw away the can.

US Banks Oppose Tighter Money Rules (WSJ)
Even as governments freeze assets tied to regimes in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, U.S. banks are resisting efforts to tighten international rules to prevent the flow of money from corrupt politicians. The Financial Action Task Force, part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that sets international standards for money-laundering laws, is conducting a review of its guidelines aimed at closing loopholes.The review, due to be completed later this year, comes amid criticism of banks for holding billions of dollars in assets allegedly belonging to regimes in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. Swiss bank regulators are looking into whether a dozen Swiss banks followed antimoney-laundering laws in accepting money from officials in those three countries.

Gaddafi Attacks Rebel Towns, US Plane Down (Reuters)
A U.S. Air Force F-15E crashed in Libya overnight and one crewman had been recovered and the other was “in the process of recovery,” the U.S. military said. The crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire, it said.

King of Rabbits: Ancient, Gigantic Bunny Discovered (LS)
Just in time for Easter, the skeleton of a giant rabbit has been discovered, one that was once about six times the size of today’s bunnies. The fossils of the giant were discovered on the island of Minorca off the coast of Spain, a fact reflected in the rabbit’s scientific name, Nuralagus rex, “the Minorcan king of the rabbits.”

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

He yelled at them to “get a job” as a colleague apparently laughed at the not particularly funny joke made slightly more amusing by the fact that Chuckles’ buddy may be out his own.

Mistaking medics chanting “Save Our NHS” and “No More Cuts” for an unemployed mob, he sneeringly mouthed: “Get a job.” A laughing friend shares his sick joke. Last night the smirk was wiped off the banker’s face after the Sunday Mirror showed the picture to German giant Deutsche Bank in London.
Bosses at the firm where investment bankers are on a basic of £350,000 – plus bonuses averaging £54,000 – immediately suspended him. Angry Dr Ron Singer, chairman of the Medical Practitioners’ Union, who was on the NHS Day X march on Tuesday, said: “It was shocking to see people acting in this way when we passed the bank. Nurse Sonia Thomas added: “When I saw what they were doing – waving money at us – it left me so angry. They clearly have no idea of the problems faced by people in the real world.” The banker’s antics came in the week it emerged that taxpayer-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland is paying boss Stephen Hester £7.7million for last year, even though it made a loss.

Banker suspended after Sunday Mirror challenges Deutsche Bank over £10 taunt to nurses and doctors [Mirror]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

US Jury to Hear Gripping Opening of Rajaratnam Trial (Reuters)
A jury of New Yorkers on Wednesday will hear U.S. prosecutors outlining how they believe Sri Lankan-born Rajaratnam broke the law by designing a complex web of stock tippers who helped him reap $45 million in illicit profit between 2003 and March 2009. For the first time, the jury and observers of the high-profile case will be given an insight into the defense trial strategy, which faces seemingly overwhelming evidence of leaked corporate secrets, tapped telephones and friends-turned-government witnesses.

Arrests Made Over Icelandic Bank Collapse (WSJ)
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office, or SFO, said Wednesday that it has arrested seven individuals as part of its ongoing investigation into the collapse of the Icelandic Kaupthing Banking Group. The arrests were made after searches at two business properties and eight residential addresses in London. They follow extensive searches in London and Reykjavik, which the SFO has carried out in tandem with the City of London and Essex Police and with the assistance of Icelandic investigators.

RBS’s Hester Earns Half A Diamond (Guardian)
A pay package of £7.7m, including a £4.5m bonus, for Stephen Hester at Royal Bank of Scotland can hardly be described as modest. But one way to view this sum is as a half-Diamond: it’s a little more than half the package awarded last year to Barclays’ chief executive, Bob Diamond.

Buffett Takes $2.25 Billion in Burlington Dividends Since Biggest Takeover (Bloomberg)
Berkshire Hathaway took $2.25 billion in dividends from Burlington Northern Santa Fe in less than 13 months of ownership, almost triple the railroad’s payout rate prior to the February 2010 acquisition.

Man Group Hopes German Mandate Will Stem Outflows (Reuters)
The firm has won a mandate to run 1.2 billion euros (1.0 billion pounds) for German pension fund BVK, as the world’s biggest listed hedge fund firm tries to woo clients after bleeding assets during the crisis.

The Most Expensive Town In America (WSJ)
The average home price in Aspen has increased over the past four years, to $6 million in 2010 from $5.4 million in 2006, according to multiple-listings data. The median price for single-family homes is now the highest in the country at $4.6 million, says San Francisco-based Altos Research, surpassing the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach.

Demand Grows for ‘Synthetic’ Junk Bonds (FT)
Hedge funds are buying the riskiest parts of instruments linked to bonds. This demand reflects more bullish views on the US economy, which investors believe will translate into lower corporate defaults. “We see much interest in synthetic high yield, more than we would have predicted just a few months ago,” said Sivan Mahadevan, managing director at Morgan Stanley.

Jon Cryer “A Turncoat, A Traitor, A Troll,” Sheen Says (CBS)
Charlie Sheen has already lashed out at his “Two and a Half Men” bosses, and now he has some harsh words for costar Jon Cryer. “Jon has not called me,” Sheen said Tuesday. “He’s a turncoat, a traitor, a troll… Is it gonna take me calling him a ‘traitor, juvenile and scared’ for him to get it?” “Like I said: You’re with me, or you’re with the trolls,” he added of Cryer. “Obviously he’s with the trolls.”

UBS Says Asia Profit Margins May Shrink as Banker Pay Rises (Bloomberg)
Staff expenses are increasing faster in Asia than in any other region, Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, co-head of UBS’s Asia-Pacific operations, said in an interview in Sydney yesterday. China, India and Indonesia are among “hot markets” where employee costs are climbing, he said. “Unless your revenues are running at significantly higher levels than that, this may lead to a risk of margin compression,” said Wilmot-Sitwell, 49. “If history is any guide, it will likely persist for a year or two.”

Americans Oppose Government Shutdown, Fault Cuts in Poll (Bloomberg)
Almost 8 in 10 people say Republicans and Democrats should reach a compromise on a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit to keep the government running, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. At the same time, lopsided margins oppose cuts to Medicare, education, environmental protection, medical research and community-renewal programs.

Europe Blinks On Bank Test (WSJ)
The new European Banking Authority, which is running the tests on 88 of Europe’s biggest banks, has told regulators and bankers that the exams are likely to rely on each country’s definition of an important capital ratio known as Tier 1, according to people familiar with the matter. If the plan goes through, some skeptical bankers and regulators worry, it could undermine the effort to end the European financial crisis. They fear a rerun of one of the key weaknesses in last year’s stress tests by the European Union. Those results were widely panned for giving passing grades to almost all banks, including some that subsequently required taxpayer bailouts.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Insider Trading Probe Sends Clients Fleeing Without Arrests (Bloomberg)
“The practical reality is that if everyone else is going to pull out, then you have to pull out,” said Craig Slaughter, executive director of the West Virginia Investment Management Board, which had $50 million of its $12.5 billion in assets invested with Level Global. “When the feds knock on your door, it’s game over,” said Brad Alford, head of Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which invests in hedge and mutual funds on behalf of wealthy clients. “Integrity is all you have in this business.”

Roubini: ECB April Rate Hike Would Be A ‘Mistake’ (CNBC)
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday a rate hike in April was possible but not certain and revived the bank’s old coded warning of monetary tightening by using the phrase “strong vigilance,” often heard during the tightening cycle between 2005 and 2007. “In my view that’s a mistake … I think that the ECB is rushing too fast into hiking rates,” Roubini said in an interview.

Madoff Trustee, ‘Net’ Winners Face Off (WSJ)
Former investors of Bernard Madoff and a trustee recovering money after his giant Ponzi scheme argued before an appellate panel Thursday over who constitutes a victim entitled to claim losses in the fraud. The judges grilled attorneys for the investors on whether to uphold a decision by the trustee, Irving Picard, to approve claims based on how much of an investor’s principal deposits with Mr. Madoff were lost, or whether Mr. Picard should instead use the much higher final account statements fabricated by Mr. Madoff.

Fired workers burn Indian executive to death (AP)
Indian police detained two people after an angry mob of fired workers burned to death a senior executive of a steel factory, an official said Friday. After learning they were laid off, about a dozen workers attacked a vehicle carrying Radhey Shyam Roy as he was leaving the factory in eastern Orissa state on Thursday, dousing the Jeep with gasoline and setting it on fire, said police Superintendent Ajay Kumar Sarangi.

Banks Face More Loan Writedowns (WSJ)
Most loan modifications have focused primarily on reducing monthly payments by lowering the borrower’s interest rate and extending the loan term. The code of conduct would require banks to first consider reducing loan balances in certain instances before modifications or foreclosure. Those new terms are a “big deal,” one person who saw the document said.

Merkel Risks Clash Over Irish Bailout in Euro Rescue Push (Bloomberg)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is resisting calls to ease Ireland’s bailout terms, underscoring the gulf on crisis-fighting steps that persists even among political allies.

Chase Take On Madoff: $907 Million (NYP)
JPMorgan Chase made $907 million in pretax profit from deposits held at the bank by imprisoned Ponzi scheme operator Bernard L. Madoff, a study said. The Madoff firm’s balances in its JPMorgan account generated the profit from 1986 to 2008, according to Linus Wilson, an assistant finance professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A JPMorgan spokesman, declined to comment.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Deutsche Bank Receives Six-Month Ban on Derivatives Trading in South Korea (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG was banned from proprietary stock and derivatives trading for six months in South Korea after regulators blamed the firm for triggering a stocks rout that wiped out $26 billion in market value. The Financial Services Commission will ask prosecutors to investigate five Deutsche Bank employees, Choi Kyu Yun, standing commissioner of the regulator, told reporters in Seoul today. Deutsche Bank is “disappointed” by the recommendations, and will cooperate with Korean authorities, it said in an e-mailed statement. The ban starts in April.

Blankfein Fought Raising Base Salaries Before His Tripled (Bloomberg)
“Salary is another form of guarantee, so we would like low salaries and high contingent comp,” Blankfein said in the interview. “We think the world is going in a poor direction. We think having high fixed salaries for people, or guarantees for people and lower contingent comp actually is worse behavior.”

Libya Evacuation Largest in Turkish History, Davutoglu Says (BusinessWeek)
Turkey evacuated 5,099 people in the last 72 hours, using only the airport in Tripoli, the capital, because the rest of Libya’s airports are closed, Davutoglu said in a televised press conference in Ankara today. Libya rejected Turkish requests for extra evacuation flights, he said. Turkey activated a “Plan B” to run ferries between Turkey and Libya to evacuate some of the 25,000 Turks working in the country, he said.

Wall Street Often Slow To Disclose Brokers’ Sins (Dealbook)
Like those of this guy.

SEC Probes Private-Share Trade (WSJ)
The SEC is investigating potential conflicts of interest in the fast-growing market for buying and selling shares of private companies such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. The move is part of a broadening probe by the U.S. agency, still at an early stage, of the thriving bazaar that has sprung up largely beyond the reach of regulators and traditional securities firms. Trades handled by SecondMarket Inc., SharesPost Inc. and other market makers specializing in privately held shares are conveying eye-popping valuations on some companies while disclosing little about their financial results.

Nasdaq Weighs Own NYSE Bid (WSJ)
The New York company, under Chief Executive Robert Greifeld, is assessing whether it can compete against Deutsche Börse to buy the NYSE, people familiar with the matter said. If it decides it can’t mount a strong rival bid, Nasdaq is looking to buy another exchange or sell itself to avoid marginalization in the wake of the tie-up between the NYSE and its German suitors, these people said.

Boutiques Set to Capitalize on Del Monte `Slap’ at Wall Street (Bloomberg)
Barclays, which represented the fruit-juice and pet-food company on its $5.3 billion sale to a KKR & Co.-led group, deceived its client by failing to disclose until late in the process plans to provide financing for the purchaser, Chancery Court Judge J. Travis Laster said in a Feb. 14 opinion. Del Monte would probably have hired another bank if it knew Barclays, the U.K.’s third-largest bank, planned to “double- dip” for fees by working for the buyers, he wrote.

Harry Reid Calls For Ban On Nevada Brothels (WSJ)
“If we want to attract businesses to Nevada that puts people back to work, the time has come for us to outlaw prostitution,” Mr. Reid told the Nevada state legislature in Carson City.

Apple Vote To Test Waters On Investors’ Rights (FT)
Apple elects directors under a “plurality” voting system, which allows directors in unopposed elections to be elected by a single “yes” vote. It is fighting the proposal, arguing that a quirk of California law means it would lose discretionary powers to ignore a vote where a director has shareholder support, but does not gather enough votes to hit the required quorum level—just over 25 percent of a company’s shares. Apple shareholders “have always had the ability to remove directors with or without cause for any reason, including to express dissatisfaction with a particular director”, said the company in its proxy statement sent to investors.

Barclays Beats Lehman in $11 Billion ‘Windfall’ Suit (Reuters)
Lehman Brothers’ hurried sale of much of its U.S. operations to Barclays at the height of the financial crisis was fair, and its bankruptcy estate is not entitled to recover an $11 billion “windfall,” a federal judge ruled.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Goldman To Shut Down Global Macro Trading Desk (WSJ)
The trading desk, which made bets with Goldman’s capital in foreign-exchange markets, interest-rate markets, stocks, commodities and other fixed-income markets, will close out its trades in coming days. Goldman decided to shut the unit to comply with the Volcker rule, a provision of the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law that is intended to curb the ability of banks to take risks with their own capital. Some members of Goldman’s eight-person trading desk will leave the company, according to people familiar with the situation. Karl Devine, who ran the four-person staff in London, and others on his staff are in talks with London-based hedge funds, including Brevan Howard, said people familiar with the matter.

In Prison Interview, Bernie Madoff Says Banks ‘Had’ To Know (NYT)
“They had to know,” Mr. Madoff said. “But the attitude was sort of, ‘If you’re doing something wrong, we don’t want to know.’ ”

NYSE Takeover Faces Touchy Issues (WSJ)
“You keep saying it’s an acquisition,” Mr. Niederauer told reporters Tuesday. “It is a merger. … I don’t know how many more times we can say that.” A joint news release called the deal “a business combination agreement.”

Borders Files For Bankruptcy (Bloomberg)
In its filing U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the company listed debt of $1.29 billion and assets of $1.28 billion.

Fairholme Will Move to Oust St. Joe Board (WSJ)
Fairholme Capital Management LLC will move to replace St. Joe’s board by written consent of the majority of the company’s shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.

SocGen Net Quadruples on Russia, Investment Bank (Bloomberg)
Societe Generale rose as much as 4.2 percent after saying today that net income climbed to 874 million euros ($1.18 billion) from 221 million euros a year earlier, beating the 865 million-euro average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Anthem man, 84, talks about being stranded in desert for 5 days, drinking windshield wiper fluid (AZC)
He had only a small portion of pasta with him, which he did not eat because it made him thirsty. When his thirst got strong enough, he broke the top off of the windshield wiper fluid container and drank the liquid.

Michael Lewis: Why Things Fell Apart (Bloomberg)
Wall Street leaders now understand that they made a mistake, one born of their innocent and trusting nature. They trusted ordinary Americans to behave more responsibly than they themselves ever would, and these ordinary Americans betrayed their trust. Amazingly, these ordinary Americans don’t even appear to feel guilty for their actions. Like wild animals that have lost their fear of humans, they continue to wander down from the hills to rummage through our garbage cans for sustenance.

Banks Make Loans Straight To Public Borrowers (WSJ)
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is devoting billions of dollars to direct loans this year to both refinance deals and for new projects, according to a bank official. Last year, the bank made a few hundred million dollars of direct loans to municipalities. Now, the bank would consider making a single loan for hundreds of millions of dollars, the official said. It also is dispatching teams to explain the concept to wary public borrowers. “This used to be unheard of,” says Eric Friedland, managing director of public finance at Fitch Ratings, noting that in the past, banks would occasionally loan a municipality less than $1 million to finance projects too small for a bond offering. For bigger loans, they would form a syndicate with other lenders.

Banks Demand Bigger Down Payments (WSJ)
The median down payment in nine major U.S. cities rose to 22% last year on properties purchased through conventional mortgages.

Merkel’s Man Confirmed as New Bundesbank Chief (Reuters)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Wednesday the nomination of her top economic aide Jens Weidmann as Bundesbank chief and stressed his independence, saying he would defend Germany’s “stability culture” at the European Central Bank.

Donald Trump Shows Interest In Ownership Of Mets (NYT)
Trump said Tuesday that he called Fred Wilpon, the Mets’ principal owner, about two weeks ago to arrange a face-to-face meeting to discuss the potential sale of the club. The meeting has not been held, said Trump, who made it clear that he would be interested only in buying a majority stake in the team.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Andrew Orlowski of tech site The Register, citing a report from a German publication, WirthschaftsWoche, writes that Nokia’s (NOK) recently appointed CEO Stephen Elop is planning to purge some key executives, which Orlowski calls a “Great De-Finnification.”
The German report apparently names names in a big way, though it’s not clear [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Roubini: Obama’s Spending Address Just ‘Spare Change’ (CNBC)
President Barack Obama proposed a five-year freeze on non-discretionary defense spending for five year to lower the deficit by about $400 billion. But more actions will be needed to seriously tackle the deficit, Nouriel Roubini said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The government will have to work on reform on entitlement programs like Social Security and “also eventually raise taxes for both the rich and the middle class,” he said. Until that happens, the Chinese will have to continue to buy US Treasurys, because “there is not alternative for them” and if they stopped their currency would appreciate sharply and hurt their exports and growth, Roubini said.

TARP Profit On Citi: $12.3 Billion (WSJ)
The U.S. is set to record a net $312.2 million from its sale of its final 465.1 million warrants to purchase common shares of Citigroup Inc., the Treasury Department said Wednesday. The sale of the warrants, expected to close Monday, will allow the government to dispose of the remaining stake in Citi it obtained through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Overall, taxpayers are expected to end up with a $12.3 billion profit on the government’s $45 billion investment in the company during the 2008 financial-sector bailout. Last year, Treasury sold its 34% stake of common shares of Citi.

Bernanke Gets 66% Approval From Investors Disliking QE2 (Bloomberg)
Sixty-six percent of investors have a favorable view of the 57-year-old former Princeton University economist, compared with 31 percent unfavorable, according to a quarterly global poll of 1,000 Bloomberg customers who are investors, traders or analysts conducted Jan. 21-24. Bernanke is more popular than his European counterpart, Jean-Claude Trichet, and scores higher than all other world political and economic leaders in the poll with the exception of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Getting Into Harvard Easier Than McDonald’s University in China (Bloomberg)
“I’m thrilled and proud to attend Hamburger University,” said Zhou, who in 2007 started as a management trainee in the central Chinese city of Changsha, a job for which she and seven others were among 1,000 applicants. That’s a selection rate of less than 1 percent, lower than Harvard University’s record low acceptance rate last year of about 7 percent, according to the school’s official newspaper.

Brevan Howard hires BofA Merrill prop trading duo (FN)
Brevan Howard Asset Management has hired two credit traders from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Jason Feasey and Jenna Collins) as hedge funds continue to take advantage of banks scaling back their proprietary trading activities in preparation for impending regulation.

Barclays Plans To Cut 1,000 Jobs In UK (WSJ)
The bank said 1,000 jobs in its U.K. retail-banking arm are under review to be cut as part of its plan to withdraw financial-planning services for retail customers.

China to create largest mega city in the world with 42 million people (Telegraph)
City planners in south China have laid out an ambitious plan to merge together the nine cities that lie around the Pearl River Delta. The “Turn The Pearl River Delta Into One” scheme will create a 16,000 sq mile urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London, or twice the size of Wales.

CEOs React To State Of The Union (WSJ)
CEOs did note a change in tone during Tuesday’s address, after years of Mr. Obama being criticized for being anti-business. “I heard a lot more about creating the right environment for business,” says Eric Spiegel, CEO of Siemens USA. “I think he got the message that business is where jobs will be created, not the government.” Mr. Guzzi said Mr. Obama was “more moderate” in his address.

At Davos, Era Of Contrition For Bankers May Be Ending (NYT)
After being on the defensive for the last two years, there were signs that bankers attending the World Economic Forum here were pushing back more assertively against attempts by regulators to cramp their style. At one of the opening panels on Wednesday, top executives from Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered warned that new restrictions on their businesses are either irrelevant or threaten to hurt economic growth.

Watch The State Of The Union In 4 Minutes (DI)
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Article courtesy of Dealbreaker