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23 Dec 2010 14:12

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Biz: We hear Google bought this NYC building for over a billion dollars

  • See this building right here? It’s iconic in NYC – the former Port Authority building in the city. Guess who now owns it? That’s right, Google. In what could be the largest real estate deal in the U.S. this year, Google reportedly spent $1.9 billion on this building, which the company already uses for offices and data centers. Just to be meta, we grabbed the image using Street View. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 23:29

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Biz: Dear Glenn Beck and Co.: Gold is old news. Invest in copper, guys

Copper prices hit a record high today, and one trader on the London Metal Exchange owns $3 billion in copper. Excuse us while we melt pennies in our garage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 10:17

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Biz: Revised numbers: GDP improves handily, but not fast enough

  • 2.6% third-quarter boost; good, but not good enough source
  • » What is “good enough,” anyway?: We’ll leave this assessment to someone who knows a little more about banking. “Growth really needs to be closer to 4% for a couple of years to bring down the unemployment rate,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo. So, in other words, we’re getting there, but this isn’t cooking with gas. This is the pilot light on the oven staying out for an extended period. The economy needs a spark.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 09:30

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Biz: Kinda like burglary: Are banks unjustly breaking into homes?

This lady right here, Mimi Ash, had all of her possessions in this vacation home thrown out and taken away by Bank of America. Including her dead husband’s ashes. Yeah. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2010 21:47

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Biz: Walgreens offers great deal for those without health insurance

  • 350,000 free flu shots for the uninsured source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2010 11:35

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Biz: Bank of America jumps on board the “screw over Wikileaks” bandwagon

  • what Bank of America has decided to follow in the footsteps of such companies as Amazon and Paypal and will remove Wikileaks’ access to their banking systems.
  • why Beyond all the obvious-if-you-watch-the-news stuff, we think the rumor that Wikileaks has stuff to nail Bank of America to the wall has something to do with it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2010 11:14

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Biz: Current score: Who’s still getting screwed by Bernie Madoff?

  • 16k number of people claim to have been affected by the breakdown of Madoff’s ponzi scheme, which left many of the victims destitute
  • 60% of victims may never see any of the money because they put their money into Madoff’s care indirectly, though feeder funds
  • 400 investors were sued for taking more than they were worth from Madoff’s ponzi scheme (though some of them are broke, too) source
  • » Not every victim is getting helped: Only around $5.9 billion in losses has been recognized by the trustee so far, which much of the rest of the money owed indirectly by hedge funds that need to pay back the money they withdrew first.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Dec 2010 12:16

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Biz: Madoff trustee scores big settlement for victims in Ponzi scheme

  • $20B the amount investors lost because of Bernie Madoff’s massive ponzi scheme over the years
  • $2.3B the amount that had previously been gained back through auctions and other means
  • $7.2B the amount earned in a settlement with the estate of Jeffry Picower, a Madoff investor source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2010 11:10

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Biz: In the market for toxic assets? Bank Of America is having a fire sale!

  • $1 billion in toxic mortgages for sale; it’s a fire sale! (OH MY GOD) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2010 10:35

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Biz: Could Bernie Madoff get out for his son’s funeral? Unlikely.

  • I would question whether they’d grant him a furlough because of heightened publicity. He could be a target. He could be shot.
  • Federal Prisons Consultants managing director Ed Bales • On Bernie Madoff’s chances of being allowed to go to his son’s funeral. Madoff has two things against him here: A handbook that generally only allows furloughs for prisoners with two years or less in their terms, and (since that’s usually waived for white-collar criminals) a level of notoriety that would probably mean an appearance like that would endanger his safety. On a side note, this story is from the New York Post, which used an “end of his rope” pun to explain Mark Madoff’s death on its front page recently. We’re sure they’ve hit lower depths, but we can’t remember when. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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