The mayor is also considering a tax hike of 29% immediately with a potential rise to 78%.

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Some fast food chains are now promoting soda during breakfast hours……

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“A U.S. judge has ordered JPMorgan Chase to explain why the court should not force the bank to turn over 25 internal emails demanded as part of an investigation into whether it manipulated electricity markets in California and the Midwest.”

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“Information has been leaked about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is being negotiated in secret by US Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Six hundred corporate “advisors” are in on the know, but not Congress or the media. Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate trade subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the TPP, has not been permitted to see the text or to know the content.

The TPP has been called a “one-percenter” power tool. The agreement essentially abolishes the accountability of foreign corporations to governments of countries with which they trade. Indeed, the agreement makes governments accountable to corporations for costs imposed by regulations, including health, safety and environmental regulations. The agreement gives corporations the right to make governments pay them for the cost of complying with the regulations of government. One wonders how long environmental, labor, and financial regulation can survive when the costs of compliance are imposed on the taxpayers of countries and not on the economic activity that results in spillover effects such as pollution.”

“A ‘zombie cannibal’ was tasered by police after he charged at them wielding a golf club.

Karl Laventure, 21, was believed to be high on bath salts when he tried to attack the officers in Lilburn, Georgia.”

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“Stan Nguyen was unhappy with the job his air conditioner repairman did on the unit at his residence, so Nguyen decided to hold the worker at gunpoint until the job was done right, sheriff’s officials said this morning.”

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Marketing unapproved drugs to kids…..shame

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“With Europe, the BBA, and virtually everyone shocked, shocked, that the global bank cabal schemed and colluded for years to manipulate interest rates, so far only America appears relatively blase, and totally ignorant, about the issue. Perhaps it is because the first bank exposed in the manipulation scheme so far is European, perhaps because it is just tired of all the endless crime coming out of the criminal complex known as Wall Street. It is unclear. Then again, America will soon have its own manipulation scandals to deal with: ”

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Con Edison has asked that thousnads of workers not show up for work after talks have broken down past deadlines. Not a good time given the heat wave and all, but maybe we will see the magic of technology compensate for the loss of workers.

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“NEW YORK (Reuters) – The FBI said on Friday it had arrestedPeter Madoff, the younger brother of swindler Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence for his multibillion-dollarPonzi scheme.

The arrest of Peter Madoff had been expected as he is due in federal court in Manhattan later Friday to plead guilty to charges related to his brother’s decades-long fraud.”

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Yesterday’s fine of Barclays has opened up renewed vigor to discover who else was involved  with manipulation LIBOR. Comments out of the U.K. suggest Osbourne will pursue U.S. banks and may bring criminal charges.

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“Securities regulators have sued Philip Falcone and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, accusing the hedge-fund manager and his firm of a raft of violations, including misappropriating client assets, manipulating bond prices and favoring certain customers over others.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges Wednesday against Harbinger, Mr. Falcone and Peter Jenson, the firm’s former chief operating officer, in U.S. District Court.”

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“NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling on health care reform, America’s doctors are debating a serious issue of their own — the possibility of going out of business.”

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“SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A judge late Tuesday ordered Samsung Electronics Co. to halt sales of itsGalaxy 10.1 tablet computer while the court considers Apple’s claim the South Korean tech giant illegally copied the design of the popular iPad.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said Apple Inc.’s lawsuit appeared likely to prevail.

“Apple has established a strong case on the merits,” Koh said.”

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Watch the video. Ignore for a minute that it’s horseshit and Delta is just booking tax offsetting losses (I know, I know. This isn’t a loss at all. They’re just cherrypicking a gross data point in a net world…). Or that Delta can now try and lock in lower prices along the entire length of the futures curve, more than compensating the “loss”.

At around 50 to 55 seconds in, Kate Kelly tries to argue that “analysts” thought losses related to hedging would be worse for Delta.

Pardon me, but a move from $100 a barrel – which had been there for 6 months – back to a price of around the $70s, or roughly where it was last September, would have destroyed ALL hedges. At least, any that weren’t on the books from before 2010 when oil could still be purchased for $40 a barrel.

What “open” positions is she talking about?

Delta Air Lines, which Tuesday morning announced that busted fuel hedges had resulted in a $155 million second-quarter loss, became the first in what could be a series of major carriers to take pain from an unexpected plunge in crude prices.

WTI crude futures have fallen more than 27 percent since their February high, taking the market by surprise and rendering airline hedges – originally intended to ease the economic pain of higher fuel prices – largely ineffective.

At Delta (DAL), the gyrations in crude not only created a loss related to fuel hedges that settled during the June quarter, which ends Saturday, but also contributed to what the company estimates will be an $800 million charge for its open hedging positions, which run through 2013.

United Continental Holdings (UAL), the nation’s largest carrier by available seat mile, is in a parallel position – though probably with smaller absolute losses, according to information from filings and people familiar with the matter. The airline has hedged between 31 and 36 percent of its expected consumption through options and collars on diesel, jet fuel, and other energy markets, according to securities filings, and was originally positioning for higher crude prices.

In keeping with its usual practice, United will issue second-quarter investor guidance in the coming days to reflect how sales and costs have impacted its performance over the past three months. That release, which could come as early as Wednesday, is likely to include new estimates for United’s overall seating capacity, how expensive jet fuel has been, and how revenue has held up, say the people familiar with the matter – all of which will impact overall results.

“BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is considering splitting its business in two, separating its struggling handset manufacturing division from its messaging network, The Sunday Times reported.”

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An important debt solving summit in Brussels will go on without the Greek prime minister as he is recovering from eye surgery.

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“Major banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. (C) were the subjects of the largest number of complaints to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2011, according to data obtained through a public records request.

Bank of America accounted for about 13 percent of the 13,210 complaints, mostly about credit cards, to the bureau between July 21 and Dec. 31, 2011. JPMorgan and Citigroup each accounted for about 11 percent, Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) represented about 8 percent, and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) accounted for about 5 percent. The number of complaints was roughly consistent with the size of the banks’ credit card business.”

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See you later chump!

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“(Reuters) – The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has brought formal doping charges against U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong and he has been immediately banned from competition in triathlons as a result, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, denied the charges in a statement: “I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one.”

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