“Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) designed a derivative for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA at the height of the financial crisis that obscured losses at the world’s oldest lender before it sought a taxpayer bailout.

Germany’s largest bank loaned Monte Paschi about 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) in December 2008 through the transaction, dubbed Project Santorini, according to more than 70 pages of documents outlining the deal and obtained by Bloomberg News. The trade helped Monte Paschi mitigate a 367 million-euro loss from an older derivative contract with Deutsche Bank. As part of the arrangement, the Italian lender made a losing bet on the value of the country’s government bonds, said six derivatives specialists who reviewed the files….”

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“(Reuters) – Dow Chemical Co is preparing to defend itself at trial against allegations it took part in a conspiracy to fix prices of chemicals used to make a wide range of foam products found in cars, furniture and packaging.

Dow was one of several chemical company defendants named in a class action lawsuit that started nine years ago. But Dow was the only defendant not to settle and is scheduled to go trial on Wednesday in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.

The stakes are high. The plaintiffs, direct purchasers of the chemical products, estimate damages exceed $1 billion. Under federal antitrust law, damages are trebled so the final judgment against Dow could exceed $3 billion.

The lawsuit alleges that Dow, along with its competitors, began fixing prices for urethane chemicals no later than 1999 when the market was falling and the industry was plagued by excess demand. The conspiracy to keep prices high continued into 2003, according to the plaintiffs.

At trial, the plaintiffs plan to call at least five witnesses who they say will provide direct testimony supporting their case of a price-fixing agreement. Those witnesses include executives of the companies allegedly involved in the conspiracy. The class representatives are Seegott Holdings Inc, Industrial Polymers Inc and Quabaug Corp.

Dow has denied engaging in any price-fixing conspiracy. It has contended that no witness from any of the defendants in the case has testified that they actually entered into an agreement to fix prices….”

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NATO to the rescue?

“(Reuters) – Islamist fighters have opened an international front in Mali’s civil war by taking dozens of Western hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert just as French troops launched an offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali.

Nearly 24 hours after gunmen stormed the natural gas pumping site and workers’ housing before dawn on Wednesday, little was certain beyond a claim by a group calling itself the “Battalion of Blood” that it was holding 41 foreign nationals, including Americans, Japanese and Europeans, at Tigantourine, deep in the Sahara.

Algerian media said a Briton and an Algerian were killed in the assault. Another local report said a Frenchman had died.

One thing is clear: as a headline-grabbing counterpunch to this week’s French buildup in Mali, it presents French President Francois Hollande with a daunting dilemma and spreads fallout from Mali’s war against loosely allied bands of al Qaeda-inspired rebels far beyond Africa, challenging Washington and Europe.

A French businessman with employees at the site said the foreigners were bound and under tight guard, while local staff, numbering 150 or more, was held apart and had more freedom.

Led by an Algerian veteran of guerrilla wars in Afghanistan, the group demanded France halt its week-old intervention in Mali, an operation endorsed by Western and African allies who fear that al Qaeda, flush with men and arms from the defeated forces of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, is building a haven in the desert.

Hollande, who won wide praise for ordering air strikes and sending troops to the former French colony, said little in response. In office for only eight months, he has warned of a long, hard struggle in Mali and now faces a risk of attacks on more French and other Western targets in Africa and beyond.

The Algerian government ruled out negotiating and the United States and other Western governments condemned what they called a terrorist attack on a facility, now shut down, that produces 10 percent of Algeria’s gas, much of which is pumped to Europe…”

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“NEW YORK (Reuters) – An escalating series of mishaps on Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner has dealt engineers pushing for a new contract a strong card to play at the negotiating table.

The engineers are considered by aviation experts to be crucial to a safety review of the 787 that the Federal Aviation Administrationlaunched last week after a fire, fuel leaks and other failures sparked widespread fears about the new jet.

The safety concerns threatened to turn into a full-blown crisis for Boeing on Wednesday when Japan’s two leading airlines grounded their 24 Dreamliner passenger jets when one of the aircraft made an emergency landing after instruments indicated a battery error and smoke. [ID:nL1E9CGFCI] The Japanese aircraft account for nearly half the 50 Dreamliners now flying.

On Wednesday, the union made a “best and final” offer to Boeing, proposing to incorporate areas where the two sides had already agreed into the expired contract and extend it for four more years.

This would end “protracted and increasingly contentious negotiations that appear headed for a strike,” the union said and allow Boeing and its workers “to focus on reaffirming confidence and proving the 787 is the reliable and safe product employees know it to be.”

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the offer.

Experts said a walkout by engineers would impede both the safety review and Boeing’s ambitious effort to double production of the 787 this year because key people with knowledge of the aircraft and the clearance to certify that production lines are meeting FAA requirements would be taken away….”

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“TALBOT COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) — Some parents on the Eastern Shore say school officials there went too far in disciplining a couple of six-year-old boys. Derek Valcourt explains the boys got into trouble for bringing an imaginary weapon to school.

What started as a recess game of cops and robbers at a Talbot County school turned into a controversy after two six-year-old boys were suspended for using their fingers to make an imaginary gun.

Many say a suspension is going too far.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Julia Merchant….”

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[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I 450 300]

B.I. says over a 100 charts have surfaced in the last 24 hours on $AAPL and pointed out 4 key charts for you to keep in mind.

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“Apple’s warranty plans have drawn the ire of a Belgian consumer watchdog agency, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats. The group has filed a complaint against the company over how AppleCare is sold and marketed to customers, who in the EU by default are entitled to a free two-year warranty with any consumer electronics purchase. The complaint says Apple markets its warranties in a manner which doesn’t properly explain consumer rights to Belgian gadget shoppers.

The decision to pursue legal action comes only after Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats decided to join up with 10 other Europe-based entities to make complaints about how Apple operates its warranties, but now the group feels it is time to escalate to a court case after efforts to petition the Mac maker have gone unheard. The move also follows successful action in Italy regarding the same exact issue, a case which the Belgian watchdog cites as a precedent, noting that Apple not only had to pay a €900,000 penalty in that case, but also modified its practices for the Italian market….”

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“Apple and Google have long dominated the smartphone market. Now a new giant, Tizen, is rising to challenge their dominance. The Linux-based operating system is gaining steam faster than expected, with Samsung confirming that it will launch a number of Tizen-based devices this year. This suggests that it has the potential to make a major dent in the current market leaders’ share.

Right now, Google’s GOOG -1.62%  Android holds about 70% of the smartphone market, and Apple’s AAPL -3.41%iOS holds about 14%. Google generates only a small percentage of its revenue from Android, so Tizen is not likely to have much impact on the company’s stock. However, Apple could get hurt. A market-share loss of even 2%-3% will hurt Apple shares; moreover, if Tizen takes off, it will add to the negative perceptions about future growth prospects. Microsoft, Nokia and Research In Motion are other companies that could be adversely affected.

Tizen is an open-source operating system offering a uniform user experience across a variety of devices, including tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, and in-vehicle entertainment. The company itself has a long history behind it. Samsung’s collaboration with the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL) for years was known as LiMo, or the Linux platform for mobile. LiMo’s name was then changed to Tizen in 2011 when Intel joined the project, with Sprint also agreeing to become part of the association. Shortly thereafter, an alpha code called Magnolia was released, with Tizen 2.0 expected to be released this month.

One of the chief advantages of the operating system is….”

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“The belt-tightening in American corporations that made relics of pension plans, in-house cafeterias and even many holiday parties is squeezing another victim:American Express Co.’s AXP +0.73% travel business.

Responding to the rise of do-it-yourself policies that ask employees to book work trips online rather than calling an AmEx travel agent, the New York company is trimming its corporate-travel operation.

The overhaul, announced last Thursday, will result in the loss of 5,400 jobs as the company invests more in technology to handle customer-service functions.

The move is the latest in a series of hits to the company. Long known for peerless customer service, global cachet and its throwback traveler’s checks, American Express was tarnished in the financial crisis by an ill-timed bet on less-affluent credit-card customers and last year was slapped by regulators for alleged billing missteps. AmEx said last week it would spend $153 million to make amends with wronged customers….”

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“The Internet genius behind the popular Web site Reddit.com committed suicide at his Brooklyn home today, police sources and friends said.

Cops discovered Aaron Swartz unconscious at 9:30 a.m. and are now investigating whether he hanged himself, law enforcement sources said.

Swartz helped create Reddit and drafted an early version of the RSS format, a “Web feed” that syndicates popular headlines.

Friends yesterday called him a prolific intellectual — and a computer geek legend — who had long suffered from depression.

“We have lost someone today who had more work to do — and who made the world a better place,” his pal Cory Doctorow wrote on the blog Biong Boing.

Swartz was also an avid Internet activist, who pushed to make web files open to the public. He opposed the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” which keeps hackers from swiping web content such as music and movies.

But that mindset got him into trouble in June 2012, when federal officers arrested him for allegedly downloading academic journals on the subscription-only website JSTOR.com.

He pleaded not guilty to fraud in 2012 — but the case remained open at the time of his death. He faced decades in prison and a fortune in fines….”

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Source

“(Reuters) – Transocean Ltd (RIG.N) has disclosed that billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has acquired a 1.56 percent stake in the offshore rig contractor and is looking to increase that holding, according to a statement on its Web site.

Icahn is seeking regulatory approval to acquire shares worth more than $682.1 million, according to the statement. If he gets approval, Icahn would become one of Transocean’s largest shareholders with just over 5 percent ownership in Transocean, based on its closing stock price of $54.09 on January 11.

Transocean’s biggest shareholder is Capital World Investors, a division The Capital Group Companies Inc, which owned 5.12 percent of Transocean as of October 15, according to Thomson Reuters (TRI.N) data.

Icahn’s move comes less than two weeks after Transocean agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over BP Plc’s (BP.L) massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2012 . Transocean employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident.”

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Just a taste here….

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“Lawmakers in Washington can at least take solace in the fact that they’re more popular than meth labs and gonorrhea.

But the fact is Congress’ popularity among voters continues to reach new lows, not just in terms of statistics but also when compared to unsavory aspects of life.

Public Policy Polling asked more than 800 respondents whom they liked more or less, and in many of the matchups, Congress lost.

Lawmakers were less popular than root canals (32% to 56%), lice (19% to 67%), colonoscopies (31% to 58%), cockroaches (43% to 45%), traffic jams (34% to 56%) and used-car salesmen (32% to 57%)….”

Read more of who congress lost out too

“(MoneyWatch) JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is likely to face a major regulatory actionconnected with firm’s anti-money laundering and compliance programs. The banks two main regulators, the Office of the Comptroller and the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve, are expected to announce the action as early as today, according to Reuters, which would likely be in the form of a cease and desist order. A cease and desist order is the harshest form of enforcement action that the OCC can issue. While the bank is not expected to pay a monetary penalty, the order could potentially limit the bank’s business activities and strategic opportunities. Additionally, the bank will be required to enhance its monitoring and risk surveillance systems and procedures.

JPM CEO Jamie Dimon can’t blame this on a “flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored” strategy, like he did when the bank lost $6.2 billion on the so-called “London Whale” trade, which was disclosed in May of last year. At that time, the lapse was described as an uncharacteristic black eye for its charismatic CEO.

In many ways, the current potential regulatory action is worse than any trading loss, because it indicates a systemic lapse in controls. Regulators, who heightened scrutiny in this area months ago, appear to have found a company-wide lapse in procedures and oversight connected to anti-money-laundering (AML) surveillance and risk management. AML controls are intended to deter and detect the misuse of legitimate financial channels for the funding of money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal acts.

The JPM sanction would be the fourth major AML action in the past 12 months….”

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“(Reuters) – Merck & Co Inc said it would withdraw its cholesterol drug Tredaptive from markets worldwide after European regulators recommended that marketing of the drug be suspended.

The drug was under review in Europe after the failure of a major study raised safety concerns.

Merck recommended that physicians stop prescribing the drug and review treatment plans for patients taking it.”

“TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner jet suffered a cracked cockpit window and an oil leak on separate flights in Japan on Friday – the latest in a series of incidents testing confidence in the sophisticated new aircraft.

All Nippon Airways Co said a domestic flight from Tokyo landed safely at Matsuyama airport in western Japan after a crack developed on the cockpit windscreen, and the plane’s return to Tokyo was cancelled.

The same airline later said oil was found leaking from an engine of a 787 Dreamliner after the plane landed at Miyazaki airport in southern Japan. An airline spokeswoman said it later returned to Tokyo after some delay. No one was injured in either incident.

The world’s first carbon-composite airliner, which has a list price of $207 million, has been beset by problems this week. Some analysts say these are normal teething issues as a new plane enters service under close scrutiny. Others say the incidents could erode public confidence in the mould-breaking aircraft.

U.S. transportation officials will hold a press conference in Washington at 0930 EDT (1430 GMT) to discuss issues related to recent electrical problems on the new plane, one person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Bloomberg News said the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would announce a review into the jet’s power system.

U.S. regulators have raised questions about the plane’s reliability on long transocean routes, the Wall Street Journal reported….”

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“These girls have a right to wine about this cruel prank.

The Japan-based site Rocket News 24tricked five young women into drinking ttongsul, a traditional Korean beverage also called “feces wine” because, in addition to medicinal herbs, it also has fermented human poop in it.

The girls, who are members of the all-girl air band, Doppelganger, were told they would be sampling a Korean herbal wine with strong medicinal properties. Before they knew it had feces in it, the ladies’ reactions were quite positive.

“Oh, wow. When I heard this was medicinal herb wine I thought it would taste strong, but I was completely off the mark,” Mami Hoji said. “This is really good, and easy to drink.”

Hoji’s bandmate agreed. “It’s much easier to drink than I thought,” Asami Oda said. “I keep finding myself sipping away at it.”

Unsurprisingly, when they found out the drink had fermented human poop in it, the girls did not find it so appetizing, according to Food Beast…”

Full article and video

“WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Lawmakers on Thursday released emails that appeared to show Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke knew as far back as 2005 of allegations that company representatives had bribed Mexican officials.

The emails appeared to contradict the company’s public statements about a bribery scandal tied to its Mexican affiliate, Wal Mart de Mexico. Lawmakers said Wal-Mart Stores Inc did not dispute the authenticity of the emails.

In two reports last year, the New York Times described how Walmex used large bribes throughout Mexico to open stores it would otherwise have been unable to launch, and how Wal-Mart headquarters had stifled an early internal probe.

The second report focused on how Walmex allegedly paid $52,000 to change a zoning map so it could open a store near the ancient pyramids in Teotihuacan.

The company has maintained its senior executives did not recall mentions of bribery allegations related to the Teotihuacan store….”

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