Nutrition activists want to retire Ronald McDonald, fast food corporate spokesclown since 1963. Critics claim his TV ads target children and lure innocent infants into obesity by making unhealthy foods look like fun. They want Ronald to saddle up Joe Camel and ride into the sunset.
It could be worse for the burger-mongering buffoon. A crazed Internet mob has stormed Sesame Street, trying to starve Cookie Monster to death. Ronald is in no danger there; he’s no longer welcome in that neighborhood.
Is Mr. McDonald already history? Even now, youngsters are auditioning for his job:
The respected AP Stylebookannounced (via Twitter) that “Web site” should now be written as “website.” This would cause newspaper copy editors great excitement, if there wereany newspaper copy editors anymore.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Goldman Sachs with defrauding investors with a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) based on subprime mortgages. Goldman failed to disclose that it structured these unregulated instruments in partnership with a hedge fund that was also shorting these securities — betting against them. The CDOs failed to the tune of $1 billion, and investors and bond insurer MBIA were stuck holding the bag. Goldman made $15 million on the deal; the hedge fund made $1 billion when the CDOs went bad.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent a letter to a score of bank CFOs asking if they used the same maneuver as Lehman Brothers to cook the books during quarterly reporting periods. In the trick, called Repo 105, a bank uses a short-term contract (a Repurchase Agreement) to exchanges assets for cash, agreeing to buy them back later at 105 percent of their value, but the firm reports the resulting cash as if it were a straight sale. This gives the temporary illusion of bank soundness and profitability.
More:
“SEC: Did others use Lehman accounting gimmick?” AP via Salon.
“SEC to Banks: Who Else Used Repo 105?” Marian Wang, ProPublica.
“Do other firms use Lehman’s accounting ‘drug’?” Alistair Barr, MarketWatch.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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More people left Iceland in 2009 than in any year since 1887. Some of those who remain line up in charity food lines. A country can expect this after its economy becomes “zombulated” by unregulated financial institutions and a right-wing, laissez-faire government. In the words of current Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, “the ideology of an unregulated free market utterly failed.”
This month’s Washington, DC Blogger Meetup is Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 7 PM at a Dupont Circle watering hole (near Metro). RSVP by 4 PM Wednesday (requires free Meetup registration).
Founded in 2002, this Meetup provides opportunities for Metro DC area blog writers and readers to share experiences and tips, drink beer, socialize, drink beer, and plan collaborative blogging projects and other events. Did we mention that beer is available?
Spend a couple of hours with other DC bloggers this Wednesday. You can blog about the Nucear Security Summit afterwards.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Hank Williams has won a Pulitzer Prize, 57 years after his death. The late Mr. Williams was awarded a Pulitzer “Special Citation” for his “craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.”
In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded a similar citation to a Hank Williams admirer, Bob Dylan.
Hank Williams biography from American Masters (PBS).
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
