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THE VULTURE BECOMES THE PREY! Paulson on the Brink

John Paulson already has lots to worry about: turbulence in the stock market, a rocky economy and volatile gold prices.

As the hedge-fund manager suffers through the worst losses of his career, Mr. Paulson now is facing a flock of vulture investors who hope he will be forced to conduct a fire sale of stock and debt holdings.

Rival hedge funds, brokers and other firms are combing through Paulson & Co.’s investments, trying to anticipate what Mr. Paulson might sell if he needs to return cash to investors.

According to traders, some firms have been selling investments they have in …

WSJ (password needed for rest)

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European Political Drama Continues With Doubts Merkel Gets Majority Vote on Leveraging EFSF

“……In an internal vote on Tuesday, 11 deputies from Merkel’s CDU/CSU group voted against the motion and two abstained. Coalition sources said they expected between 2 and 5 FDP lawmakers to vote against and up to 6 to abstain.

If more than 19 coalition lawmakers vote against or abstain, Merkel will be dependent on opposition votes in a political humiliation that could weaken her ability to push through future rescues……..

Leverage would make it possible to borrow more, probably from the European Central Bank, for financial firefighting without increasing the EFSF’s size, but critics say it would also raise German taxpayers’ liability for any losses.

Some lawmakers are concerned that EU officials are just waiting for them to approve what they were assured would be the final increase before pressing ahead with bigger bailout plans.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin made clear there were tactical reasons to avoid discussing how to boost the fund’s firepower before the German decision.

“It is out of the question to put forward, three days from the Bundestag (lower house) vote, the issue of whether we should increase the fund… Let’s not open Pandora’s box on something that is a red flag for Germany,” he said.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon told parliament France would set out proposals to step up the battle against “speculative attacks” on the euro zone once the German vote was over.

The fund’s status was bound to evolve but it was premature to say whether it might work “like an equity fund with a lever effect,” Baroin added.

Merkel assured Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou at a meeting on Tuesday evening in Berlin that Germany wants a strong Greece and would do everything necessary for that. She also said she was confident her coalition would have the votes on its own to pass measures boosting the euro zone rescue fund…….”

Full article

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Judge Allows Limited Clawback by Madoff Victims Against the New York Mets

A judge is allowing a lawsuit to proceed in limited form against the owners of the Mets by the trustee recovering money for investors who lost money to jailed financier Bernard Madoff.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said Tuesday the lawsuit brought by Trustee Irving Picard can seek to recover up to $295 million in profits that were paid out to the Mets’ owners during the multi-decade fraud. But he says Picard gain that sum only by proving the Mets’ owners were “willfully blind” to the fraud.

Rakoff says Picard’s claim otherwise would be limited to $83.3 million, the fictitious profits accumulated by the Mets’ owners in the two years before the fraud was revealed.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon

AP
Mets owner Fred Wilpon

Picard’s suit had been seeking up to $1 billion.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/judge_limits_madoff_related_suit_kzLd2rn7OLD7PAPkUWLyLI#ixzz1ZC7lslOU

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Former UCONN Basketball Hero Charged in Ponzi Scheme

Former NBA Player and CEO of The George Group Charged in Ponzi Scheme

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeSeptember 23, 2011
  • District of New Jersey(973) 645-2700

NEWARK, NJ—C. Tate George, former NBA basketball player and the chief executive officer (CEO) of purported real estate development firm The George Group, surrendered this morning to federal authorities for allegedly orchestrating a more than $2 million investment fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

George, 43, of Newark, surrendered in Newark to special agents of the FBI and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz in Newark federal court.

According to the criminal complaint unsealed today:

George, who once played for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, held himself out as the CEO of The George Group, claiming to have more than $500 million in assets under management. George pitched prospective investors, including several former professional athletes, to invest with the firm. George represented to these prospective investors that their money would be used to fund The George Group’s purchase and development of real estate development projects, including projects in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, and New Jersey. George represented to some prospective investors that their funds would be held in an attorney escrow account and personally guaranteed the return of their investments, with interest.

Based on George’s representations, investors invested more than $2 million in The George Group between 2005 and March 2011, which he deposited in both the firm’s and his personal bank account. Instead of using investments to fund real estate development projects as promised, George used the money from new investors to pay existing investors in Ponzi scheme fashion. He also used some of the money for home improvement projects, meals at restaurants, clothing and gas. In reality, The George Group had virtually no income generating operations.

If convicted, George faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

FULL STORY AT FBI WEBSITE HERE

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STATE OF THE UNION: Child Brings Mom’s Crack Pipe For Show-And-Tell

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SWEET SPRINGS, Mo. (CBS St. Louis) –– A recent show-and-tell at a northwest Missouri elementary school resembled something out of an episode of “Breaking Bad,” leading to the arrest of a kindergartner’s mother.

Michelle Marie Cheatham, 32, was arrested on Sept. 6 after her son pulled out methamphetamine and his mother’s crack pipe during a show-and-tell for his kindergarten class, according to a felony complaint filed in the Saline County Circuit Court. Later that day, a search warrant was obtained by the Sweet Springs police to conduct a search at Cheatham’s home, which led to the police reportedly recovering a crack pipe and a butane lighter, according to the Marshall Democrat-News.

READ MORE HERE

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LOL at 15 Chinese Burrito Stocks that were CRUUUUSHED Today

No. Ticker % Change Industry
1 GU -17.39 Chinese Burritos
2 SINA -15.00 Chinese Burritos
3 DATE -11.57 Chinese Burritos
4 VIT -10.60 Chinese Burritos
5 ASIA -10.05 Chinese Burritos
6 SPU -9.68 Chinese Burritos
7 DANG -9.10 Chinese Burritos
8 RENN -8.31 Chinese Burritos
9 CGA -8.21 Chinese Burritos
10 QIHU -7.68 Chinese Burritos
11 FEED -7.59 Chinese Burritos
12 HPJ -7.25 Chinese Burritos
13 ZNH -7.24 Chinese Burritos
14 OINK -7.04 Chinese Burritos
15 CIS -5.84 Chinese Burritos

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Greek Theatre: Greece to Exit Eurozone?

According to sources, Papandreou hopes that the outcome of such a vote would constitute a fresh mandate for his Socialist government to continue with an austerity drive backed by Greece’s international lenders — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Full article

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Late Night Fun: Alpha Male

[youtube:http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6AZvtUEQS0&feature=related 450 300] [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN1LHhDQMv0 450 300]

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