Our story so far … Citadel and GS are two thriving Japanese restaurants.  Lotsa customers.  Opening nights, the stars come in after for the sashimi fugu.  Rolling in dough, so much that the local wiseguys even noticing.  Profitable, yep, but complicated to manage — a real hairball. Citadel’s top knife-wielder, guy named Misha, decides he can do better independently, so he and a couple of his buds leave and start planning to open a competitor called Teza.  Through the grapevine they hear about a pretty good sushi chef across town at GS, name of Sergey.  Teza courts Sergey and he…
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When Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says The violations alleged in this lawsuit are among the worst abuses of vulnerable consumers that I’ve seen in my time [as attorney general], you know he’s saying something.  Fraud in the real estate industry has reached new highs [or lows, depending on your point of view] here in recent years. The Attorney General’s Office filed a consumer fraud lawsuit in Pima County against 13 real estate agents and businesses. Affected were over 130 investors and 270 prospective homebuyers, multiple defrauded lenders and 130 properties in foreclosure: [Thanks M.R.!] The complaint states that the…
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Doomer V, who sent it along, thinks that this has a most fragrant odor to it. We’re not sure what it means that yesterday the Fed started loaning out agencies, but given that the cenbank Agency Debt holdings number we’ve been following here turned into custard 6 months ago it’s highly likely some further mischief is afoot. Meanwhile, the rather quaint post- 9/18 ’08 spectacle of early 1930s Soviet-style central planning by committees of Wall Street financial lobbyists is proceeding as usual. Twist sends this announcement of FHFA’s first Five Year Plan (PDF). This story arc would be funnier if…
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