October 17, 2011 at 4:17pm
UPDATE 1-Dodgers’ McCourts settle divorce, back media sale
The club, which filed for bankruptcy in June, wants to hold
an auction of its broadcast rights, saying this can help
refinance the team. That would also enable Frank McCourt to
hold onto the team after the bankruptcy.But Major League Baseball has opposed the auction, disputed
the team’s need for bankruptcy and questioned McCourt’s
spending, launching a legal battle to control the bankruptcy
process.Earlier this month, it was disclosed that a retired federal
judge was appointed as mediator to try to bring MLB and Frank
McCourt together, according to an order from Delaware’s
bankruptcy court.The case is in Re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy
Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.A representative of the Dodgers declined to comment.
4:17pm
UPDATE 1-Dodgers’ McCourts settle divorce, back media sale
The club, which filed for bankruptcy in June, wants to hold
an auction of its broadcast rights, saying this can help
refinance the team. That would also enable Frank McCourt to
hold onto the team after the bankruptcy.But Major League Baseball has opposed the auction, disputed
the team’s need for bankruptcy and questioned McCourt’s
spending, launching a legal battle to control the bankruptcy
process.Earlier this month, it was disclosed that a retired federal
judge was appointed as mediator to try to bring MLB and Frank
McCourt together, according to an order from Delaware’s
bankruptcy court.The case is in Re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy
Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.A representative of the Dodgers declined to comment.
2:26pm
The infamous White House jobs chart
Using a handy graphic found in Mitt Romneyâs economic plan, Iâve updated the Bernstein-Romer jobs chart from 2009 while also incorporating (in green) Wall Street bank forecasts (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan) of where the unemployment rate might be headed.
Two things jump out at me: First, of course, is the incredible underperformance of the $800 billion stimulus. Second, note where the Obama White House thought the unemployment rate would be in 2012 even if no stimulus: around 6 percent or so. Reminds me of how dismissive Obamaâs economic advisers were in 2009 and 2010 of the thesis that downturns after financial crises can be nasty beasts. Maybe if they had taken the situation more seriously, they would have focused more on growth and jobs (and deep, permanent tax cuts) instead of healthcare and cap-and-trade.
Â
October 13, 2011 at 10:16pm
Judge reinstates Ambac fraud claim against Credit Suisse
* Judge reinstates fraud claim against Credit SuisseOct 13 (Reuters) - Ambac Assurance Corp won a
bid to reinstate a fraudulent inducement claim against a unit
of Credit Suisse Securities over a 2007 mortgage-backed
securities transaction Ambac insured.Ambac sued for what it called “pervasive and material
misrepresentations” in the mortgage-backed security transaction
pooling over 2,000 residential mortgage loans that Credit
Suisse underwrote and its affiliate, DLJ Mortgage Capital Inc,
sponsored.Credit Suisse may not have had a duty to disclose
certain information but New York state Supreme Court Justice
Shirley Werner Kornreich said in a decision filed Thursday that
the issue is “fact-intensive” and declined to dismiss the
fraudulent inducement claim “at this time.”In March 2007, New York-based Ambac issued a policy insuring
payment of the principal and interest due under the $175
million securitization of 2,563 adjustable-rate home equity
lines of credit.Ambac claimed that Credit Suisse misrepresented attributes
of the loans, applied more lax underwriting guidelines and less
due diligence than it had claimed. Ambac also alleged that
Credit Suisse said the transaction mirrored a prior
securitization while failing to disclose that loan pool was
filled with borrowers with little or no ability to repay.Ambac’s suit alleged that loans representing over 33
percent of the original loan balance, or more than $58 million,
had defaulted, requiring Ambac to make over $46 million in
claim payments.Credit Suisse countered in court papers that “Ambac could
have and should have known of the precise issues of which it
now complains. Indeed, if the problems with the loans are as
rampant and obvious as Ambac now alleges, then even minimal
diligence would have uncovered them.”Credit Suisse did not return a call for comment.The case is Ambac Assurance Corporation v. DLJ Mortgage
Capital Inc., 60070/2010, New York state Supreme Court
(Manhattan).
