Two interesting items popped up Friday afternoon.
First, it appears that Tim Geithner, current head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is being tapped as Treasury secretary under Obama. See Jackie Calmes, Geither Said to be Chosen for Treasury, NY Times Politics Blog "The Caucus", Nov. 21, 2008. I'd say that's a much better outcome than others being suggested (such as Larry Summers, who carries baggage both as a proponent of deregulation of the financial system under Clinton and as a failed Dean at Harvard Law). The market jumped up almost 500 points on the news, refreshing news after the plunges in recent days to deep bear territory. Jack Healy, Stocks Soar in Late Afternoon Trading, NY Times, Nov. 21, 2008.
Second, Michael Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced a plea agreement with hotelier Stanley Tollman. Tollman pled guilty to a multimillion-dollar tax evasion scheme using foreign bank accounts. Tollman admitted hiding about $18 million in unreported income in Guersey bank accounts from 1994 to 1999. He'll pay more than $60 million in back taxes, interest and fraud penalties, and an additional $44 million to settle a separate civil forfeiture action. Four co-defendants were already convicted in 2004, and Tollman's son also pled guilty to tax evasion, back in 2003. See the DOJ press release (Download Tollman.Plea PR ), Tollman information (Download Tollman. Information ), and Tollman agreement (Download Tollman. Plea Agreement ).
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