$$$ Obama’s Too Small Steps On The Economy [TDB]

$$$ Paolo Pelligrini: The US Continues To Dig Its Hole Deeper [BI]

$$$ Bedbugs Make Selves Home In Greenwich [GT]

$$$ Russian Girls Invade Hamptons In Hopes Of Becoming Trophy Wives [TDB]

“People quitting all over the place here. Lots of guys leaving sales/trading/research, mostly for hedge funds, probably because none of us are getting paid this year. Management setting expectations very low.

The pole-dancer wife of accused Ponzi schemer Ken Starr claims private eyes for Wesley Snipes have been stalking her in a bid to find evidence to clear the actor of tax charges.

What? How? How does this make sense? What sort of evidence is the pole dancer going to have that will somehow prove Wes did not in fact fail to pay his taxes? And let’s just pretend she did have something [even though she doesn't], say, in her br– why does she have to be stalked to get it? Am I insane or is he?

Also, I don’t know if this is relevant to the situation but: “I’m talking with pay-per-view TV about a pole-dancing competition. I ran one last year and it will soon be screened on a Romanian sports network,” Passage said.

One argument that men’s cosmetics are going mainstream: some men are not even self-conscious about using them. Jeffrey Lederer, 63, a principal in several investment partnerships and a former Wall Street trader, openly applies Menaji products — including a Bronze Star facial bronzing gel, concealer and anti-shine powder — after his workouts at a private Manhattan club.

“People are reticent to ask what they are, even though I think they’re interested,” Mr. Lederer said. “It does take a certain amount of self-confidence to use it in public.” Mr. Lederer, who wears tailor-made suits from Milan, called himself an “aesthetic person” who attains an “airbrushed look” from the cosmetics. “As I get older, the one thing you never want to do is look foolish, like dying one’s hair, which I think is probably the most obvious and egregious thing a man can do,” he said. “But I don’t think any of these products in any way makes the user look less respectable, or foolish, or less manly.”

Cosmetics Becomes A Bull Market [NYT]

SEC Charges Wharton Buddies (WSJ)
Mr. Self regularly called Mr. Goldfield from his cellphone while going to and from work at Merck, the SEC said. In one conversation, Mr. Self said that “the weather was in the 50s” or words to that effect, conveying that Mr. Self’s company’s bid for MedImmune was going to be in the $50s, the complaint said. At the time, MedImmune shares were trading in the $30s.

Goldman Sachs Invests To Get Its Image Right In China (Telegraph)
In what is thought to be a rare move for the bank, Goldman used Brunswick to carry out a reputational study in China shortly after hiring the company to be its retained public relations firm in the country last October. The short-term project, the findings of which are not publicly known and are unlikely to be released, was ordered ahead of the bank’s civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the fallout which followed. Ironically, news of Goldman’s interest in its public perception comes as the latest piece of anti-Goldman literature has become a bestseller in China. Goldman Sachs Conspiracy, by financial journalist Li Delin, is said to have sold more than 100,000 copies since it was released on June 1, making it something of a hit. The content is inflammatory to say the least, with the book branding Goldman as having the “cruel nature of a Manchurian tiger,” and “the IQ of an Israeli Shar Pei dog.”

RBS Cutting 3,500 Jobs (UTU)
Rob MacGregor said: “The news that the Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 3,500 staff from across the UK is a horror story. It will be a specially bitter pill for staff to swallow as RBS has decided to move some of the jobs abroad to the Far East, India and America.”

Romer: US May Need Stimulus II (NYP)
Departing White House economist Christina Romer said the US must find the political will for more action, beating back the bugbear of high deficits in favor of a second stimulus bill that would boost the economy and create jobs. “We have tools that would bring unemployment down without worsening our long-run fiscal outlook, if we can only find the will and the wisdom to use them,” Romer said in a speech at the National Press Club. “The United States still faces a substantial shortfall of aggregate demand. GDP by most estimates is still about 6 percent below trend,” she said.

Lehman Says Two Units Need Help To Avoid Failing (Reuters)
Aurora Bank FSB, formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank, has struggled to meet capital requirements as regulators have limited its ability to offer new certificates of deposit. The other banking unit, Woodlands Commercial Bank, faces similar restrictions from the regulator due to capital requirements, complicating efforts to sell the units.

3G Capital To Buy Burger King (WSJ)
The New York-based private investment firm is expected to acquire Burger King Holdings Inc. for $24 a share, people familiar with the matter said. The total deal, including both equity and debt, is around $4 billion. Banks are expected to finance about $2.8 billion of that sum.

SEC Probes Role Of Canceled Trades In Flash Crash (WSJ)
The SEC is seeking to learn whether orders known as “sub-penny pricing” are used to manipulate the market, a person says, which would be illegal. At issue is whether the practice could artificially torpedo stocks’ prices or help make it appear that there is more trading volume in a stock than there really is, allowing sellers to profit when demand for the stock appears elevated. The agency has identified about half a dozen investment firms to question regarding “sub-penny” orders, this person says, and the inquiry is expected to take months to complete. The firms identified aren’t necessarily suspected of wrongdoing, and it is unclear whether there will be a formal investigation.

$$$ White House Economist Calls For More Stimulus [Reuters]

$$$ J.P. Morgan Names CFO for Investment Bank [WSJ]

$$$ Sneak Peak at Steven Rattner’s Overhaul: Auto Triumphs of “Unshaven, Sockless Men” [NYO]

Subject: Meeting Request: Reality Television Potential

Entertainment Executives,

My name is Jon [redacted]. First off I enjoy your company’s work which is why I’m writing to you. I’m from North Carolina and “moved” to the city a couple weeks ago and started working at a media company in NYC last Monday. I say “moved” because currently I am going from couch to couch from NYC to Hoboken until I find a place. The girl that I’m staying with is the focus of this email. Her name is Bobbie and she’s 25 years old. What I’ve seen her do in the last month is so amazing it’s something that has to be shared. She has managed to play 4 different men, one being an NFL star, and live the most unreal life anyone could live while still being low profile. I met her at my last job when I worked in Charlotte, NC and she’s cool as hell so we’re still really good friends. Only friends. But just seeing the craziness in her life is something that anyone would love to see and I know you would feel the same way. This is NOT a joke. Please continue reading.

[...]

Then there’s a 34 year old Asian American VP at Goldman Sachs. This is not her type of guy at all. She loves a big black man who’s in shape and has a little thug in him. That’s all she’s ever dated. So why is this guy in the picture? Because he has spent over $50,000 dollars on her in the last 2 months. When she first got here she went to a bar by herself a few times and got hit on by a few people when she went but wouldn’t really give them the time of day. One night this guy comes up to her and she was just like fine, and for some reason said yes when he asked her out on a date. When he came to pick her up he picked her up in a Maserati and she said well maybe I can get used to this. They went to dinner at that restaurant in the city that’s high in the air and that floor rotates so you can see all of NYC while you eat. He bought 2 $650 bottles of Champagne during dinner. She has still been “talking” to him but has no attraction to him. He has taken her on shopping sprees and whenever she mentions wanting something he usually has it for her the next day. Louis purses, a $6,000 dollar limited edition Coach purse, 2 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, the iPhone, Blackberry Torch and Evo and pay for her lines on 2 of them. She has gotten much more than that but there is a picture attached showing a few of the things I mentioned. The crazy thing is that the only thing they’ve ever done is kiss. Never past that. She has him on a string and only sees him when she feels like it. And she has other guys to worry about. When I started drafting this email I was at her apartment and she left with this guy to get a massage and go shopping in the city. Attached are a couple of pictures of her getting into his car. She came back with over $1,000 worth of clothes and shoes. I actually like this guy a lot. I had drinks with him the other night because maybe he can help my company in some way because he’s very smart and and knows all things digital. He’s meeting with our business development team next week.

The Craziest Reality TV Pitch You’ll Hear This Week [Gawker]

A) Kenny reimbursed 500M in fees after the year that shall not be named and B) I know what this person is hinting at and does he in fact have photographic evidence of KG performing a Roman Helmet or clown facing a group of investors? Unless he does I don’t think this is valid. Nevertheless, Anonymous Investor is hurting, so is there anything Griffin could do to show he really does care? Would breakfast in bed do the trick? Or hey! How about he recreates the walking over the crack ad but this time he’s carrying a bunch of clients on his back? Suggestions are welcome at this time.

In addition to the Mr. Sensitive, at least one person who’s never brought it up to Steve’s face but only has the balls to say it through a voice scrambler is of the opinion that SAC’s fees are “extremely high and transparency poor.” So what should Stamford do about that? I’ll tell you what: raise the fees from 3&50 to 5&75 and let it be known that the next time anyone makes a peep about any of that, and every time thereafter, they go up 5 percent. And you want to know something else? For airing the fund’s dirty laundry in public, when you’re supposed to keep that shit in the family, this is a little preview of what’s in store for everyone at the next investor dinner.

Is Mayor Bloomberg being wooed to join the Obama administration? Asked about last weekend’s four-hour golf game with President Obama on Martha’s Vineyard, Bloomberg told reporters yesterday, “The economy was the main subject, other than discussing golf.” Now there are whispers that the president went even further and sounded out Bloomberg about whether he would join his foundering economic team as treasury secretary, replacing prime blame-target Timothy Geithner.

Insiders say multibillionaire Bloomberg, who was on the short list for the gig in 2008, has the star power and credibililty to help Obama. “It’s been the focus of a lot of discussion,” said one Democrat. “He’s very well-liked and well-respected on Wall Street.”
Even more, a move to Washington would be a package deal for the mayor. His girlfriend, Diana Taylor, a former New York state banking superintendent, has been eyeing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair since 2006, when it was rumored that the National Rifle Association scuttled her chances because of Bloomberg’s anti-gun stance. Current FDIC chair Sheila Bair’s term will be up next year.

“It’s the proverbial cherry on the sundae,” a source says. “It’s all kind of pieced together.”

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/white_house_flirts_with_mike_vhSHkgJStfQyIXZTdV6RYK#ixzz0yIkIjqn3

11 Warren Buffett (4)

15 Larry Fink (6)

23 Lady Gaga

30 Jamie Dimon (9)

54 Gretchen Morgenson (with the note that: After being roughed up in one of Morgenson’s blistering accounts of A.I.G.’s demise (some of which she co-wrote with Louise Story), Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein compared the experience to being “waterboarded.”)

58 Jay-Z

69 Bill Gross

76 David Tepper

98 WANG CHUANFU (WB’s boy and possible successor)

100 Lloyd Blankfein (1)

Related: Paul Krugman: Dan Loeb & Co Are Mad At Obama Because They’re A Bunch Of Petty Little Rich Boys

CEO’s Who Fired More, Earned More In ‘09 (CNBC)
The CEOs of the 50 U.S. companies that laid off the most workers between November 2008 and April 2010 were paid $12 million on average in 2009, or 42 percent more than the average across the Standard & Poor’s 500, according to a study by the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington think tank.

Man Walks Out of a Bar, Loses $1.4 Million Portrait by Corot, Lawsuit Says (Bloomberg)
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s 1857-58 “Portrait of a Girl” is missing, according to a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court. And the last man with possession can’t recall where it is after a night of heavy drinking, the suit says. After inspecting the painting, Waterman, the dealer, asked to examine it further with ultraviolet black light, often used for authentication, the suit said. That evening Doyle carried the painting to the midtown bistro Rue 57, where he met Haggerty. Doyle told Haggerty to deliver the artwork to Waterman at the Upper East Side Mark Hotel. From here, the suit says, we rely on security cameras and an investigation by the owners: At 11 p.m., Haggerty leaves the painting at the front desk and enters a hotel bar, followed by Waterman. At 11:30, the two exit the bar and retrieve the painting and put it on a bench. They talk. Waterman leaves. At 11:34, Haggerty returns the painting to the front desk and re- enters the bar. At 12:50 a.m., Haggerty exits the bar and collects the painting from the front desk. He “tumbles out the front door, colliding with the doorman as he is exiting the hotel,” the suit says. At 2:30 a.m., a security camera at Haggerty’s apartment building shows him arriving — without the Corot. “The next morning, Haggerty informed Doyle that he did not have the painting, and could not recall its whereabouts citing that he had too much to drink the previous evening,” the suit says.

FDIC Finds 829 Banks At Risk (WSJ)
The FDIC said 829 of the nation’s roughly 7,800 banks were on its “problem list” at the end of June, up from 775 at the end of the first three months of the year. Already 118 banks have failed this year, well ahead of the pace set last year when 140 were seized by regulators.

China’s First Officially Registered Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
E Fund Management Co., China’s second-largest asset management company, plans to start the nation’s first officially registered hedge fund after the securities regulator eased rules in July. E Fund will be able to raise money from high-net-worth individuals in separate managed accounts and use the same investment strategies as hedge funds in what the money manager with about 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) in assets says will be the first institutional hedge-fund product in China.

SEC drops probe into Moody’s (FT)
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday warned credit rating agencies that it now had the authority to bring fraud cases over conduct outside the US that has “foresee­able effects” in the country. The US regulator signalled its determination to enforce new rules requiring agencies to have proper internal controls over how investment products are rated. The shot across the bows of the industry came as the SEC dropped a potential fraud action against Moody’s Investors Service, citing “uncertainty” over whether it had jurisdiction to pursue the action in the US.

Funds of Funds Face Bleak Future (Reuters)
Firms with $1-2 billion or less look particularly vulnerable as they try to meet higher due diligence costs since Madoff, with institutional investors expecting much more. “I think there will be a risk of closures amongst smaller groups — they are always the most vulnerable,” said another industry executive who asked not to be named.

In Japan, Real Men Go To A Hotel With Their Virtual Girlfriends (WSJ)
Since the marriage rate among Japan’s shrinking population is falling and with many of the country’s remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia’s Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men—and their handheld devices. In the first month of the city’s promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends. The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. played on Nintendo Co.’s DS videogame system.