Shoe story media missed

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed



Charles Dharapak / The Associated Press: Aides hold up their hands to demonstrate what a basketball jump shot is as President Barack Obama makes an opening statement during his meeting with China's president in New York on Tuesday.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091009/NEWS/91009019&template=printart

Rep. Shuler faces Obama on the basketball court

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

You could call it the Obama All-Stars vs. the Capitol Hills.

President Barack Obama and a few members of his Cabinet played basketball Thursday night at the White House with a handful of House members, two of them Republicans.

Rep. Heath Shuler was one of about 16 who played a pick-up basketball game with Obama on Thursday evening for about an hour and a half. Other players included: Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

“The President is really good. He runs the court,” said Rep. Shuler, D-N.C. “And despite being the President, he’s not shown extra deference on the court.”

Obama picked the teams and always chose his personal aide Reggie Love, who played football and basketball at Duke University, said Shuler, who ended up guarding Love. The only game Obama lost was when his team played the Blue Dogs, said Shuler, the Blue Dog whip.

“I had a great, great time. The president kept wanting to play another game, and we couldn’t say ‘no,’” said Shuler, who rushed to make his flight home still in his gym shorts.

"We ran into a president with some serious game," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
Obama had "a sweet crossover move" and appeared to be in great shape, Inslee said. "He put a real nice move on me and beat me along the base line."

On the president's team were Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Also playing with Obama was his personal assistant, Reggie Love, once a forward for the Duke Blue Devils.
The game was closed to the press. Expected on the House side were Democrats Mike Arcuri of New York, John Boccieri of Ohio, Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill of Indiana, Inslee and Rick Larsen of Washington state and Frank Kratovil of Maryland, Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania. Republicans invited to play were Jeff Flake of Arizona and John Shimkus of Illinois.

After playing with Obama, Inslee said, "I'm glad we could take his mind off the turmoil in the world for an hour and a half."

Earlier in the day, reporters asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs why no women were invited to play, a point Gibbs called "well taken."

"The president, obviously, is someone who, as the father of two young daughters, has an avid interest in their competing against anybody on the playing field" Gibbs said. "The president's certainly played basketball and other sports with women in the past, and I anticipate he'll do so in the future."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20091009/pl_bloomberg/aoxjwos2fz5o_1

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed





"The show predicted the future of at least one real person: we’re told that Kobe Bryant has torn a ligament and is out for the rest of the season. On April 29, 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers will only have three regular-season games left, but that will definitely hurt them for the playoffs."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/flashforward-watch-a-little-lost-a-lot-of-british-accents/

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

http://www.tnr.com/article/economy/the-next-financial-crisis?page=0,0

http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2009/09/24/Sports/Basketball.Team.Meets.Attorney.General.Holder-3782069.shtml

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

UK finance minister Darling proposes blacklist for regulatory and tax havens (i.e. countries whose regulatory systems pose a risk to global financial system) at G-20 meeting today in Pittsburgh, PA. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a5NSEgQewNpI

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed


Shoe message gets NFL baller 25k fine. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...urn=nfl,190319

Former Interior Department secretary Gale Norton investigated by Department of Justice in oil corruption probe. http://www.wtkr.com/news/nationworld...,5484548.story

IRS extends deadine for those cheating on their taxes via offshore bank accounts from September 23, 2009 to October 2009. http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1245263.html

Lloyds of London under scrutiny by UK tax authorities for allegedly luring wealthy customers to avoid UK tax via accounts in Hong Kong. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...ce-allegations

Andorra freezes bank accounts linked to Hugo Chavez as part of U.S. led, international investigation into terrorism financing. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aXPekdUBGh38


Pitt makes fashion statement with monogrammed shoes.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/08/24/senior_ubs_official_key_donor.html?wprss=44

President Obama tees off his round of golf Monday as, from left, his friend Eric Whitaker, presidential aide Marvin Nicholson and UBS Americas president Robert Wolf await their turn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).


By Michael D. Shear
MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. -- One of President Obama's golfing buddies Monday was a top donor to his campaign and the president of a bank at the center of a U.S. investigation into illegal tax shelters.

Robert Wolf, the president of UBS Americas, a Swiss-based bank, joined Obama at the elite, and difficult, Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton described the two men as "friends."

According to news reports, Wolf and Obama met late in 2006 as the then-Illinois senator was about to launch his presidential bid. Wolf raised more than $250,000 for Obama's presidential bid, according to a Post report last year.

But Wolf's firm was caught up last year in a Senate probe of financial firms that attempted to shield millions of dollars in offshore accounts from U.S. taxes.

Last August, the Post reported, "The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations completed its report on UBS's role in helping wealthy investors shield money from federal taxes. Bank spokeswoman Rohini Pragasam said the donations were "categorically not
connected" to the Senate inquiry. The bank also is under scrutiny by the IRS and the Justice Department."

Just last week, though, the bank announced a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. In a release, the bank said the settlement will affect about 4,450 accounts, adding, "UBS will send notices to affected US persons encouraging them to participate in the IRS's voluntary disclosure practice."

"This agreement helps resolve one of UBS's most pressing issues," UBS Chairman Kaspar Villiger said. "I am confident that the agreement will allow the bank to continue moving forward to rebuild its reputation through solid performance and client service."

Obama golfed 18 holes with Wolf and two others Monday, spending about five hours on the links. He left the golf course at about 6 p.m. Eastern time, passing people who waved on the way home.

Seen along the way: horses, ponds, lots of greenery, one sign welcoming Obama family, and gas advertised at $3.27 a gallon.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_wEjSEl2u58

Stanford Indicted in $7 Billion Scheme With Antiguan Regulator

By Bill McQuillen, Justin Blum and Laurel Brubaker Calkins

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Texas financier Allen Stanford was indicted with a former Antiguan regulator on charges they helped direct a $7 billion fraud that U.S. prosecutors said put the “integrity of the markets” at risk.

Also charged yesterday in a 21-count indictment was Gilbert Lopez, the chief accounting officer at Stanford Group, and Laura Pendergest-Holt, Stanford’s chief investment officer, who was previously charged with obstruction. Stanford, 59, faces charges of conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud.

Stanford was arrested June 18 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at his girlfriend’s home. He appeared yesterday before a federal magistrate in Richmond, who ordered him sent back to Texas for a hearing on whether he should be held without bail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Hannah Lauck asked Stanford, who appeared in court wearing dark pants, a white, open-collar shirt, no jacket, tie or belt, whether he wanted to return.

“To go to Texas? Yes ma’am,” Stanford responded. Earlier, he repeatedly shook his head as the charges against him were read. He was led away in leg irons by two U.S. marshals.

The scam used Stanford’s bank in Antigua and alleged bribes to officials there to defraud at least 30,000 investors through the sale of certificates of deposit, the Justice Department said. The main indictment, filed in Houston federal court, names Stanford, Pendergest-Holt, 35, and Lopez, 66. Mark Kuhrt, 37, Stanford’s former global controller, and Leroy King, 63, were also charged.

Antiguan Regulator

King is the former administrator and chief executive officer of Antigua’s financial services regulatory commission.

A woman who answered the telephone at the commission declined to comment.

“Stanford’s investors were simply looking for safe investments and low risk,” said Robert Khuzami, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, at a news conference yesterday in Washington. “With Stanford they thought they had found such an opportunity. But what they actually found was a complicated array of phony financial statements, fabricated performance and sham audits.”

A second indictment, filed in federal court in Miami, names Bruce Perraud, 42, who was employed as a “global security specialist” for Stanford in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A criminal information, filed in Houston, named James Davis, 60, the company’s chief financial officer.

Lopez and Kuhrt appeared yesterday in federal court in Houston and were each released on $100,000 bond. They are to be arraigned June 25.

‘Misused and Misappropriated’

Stanford “misused and misappropriated” assets, including diverting at least $1.6 billion into undisclosed personal loans to himself, said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer. The scam put the “integrity of the markets” at risk, he said.

Stanford faces as much as 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious counts. In a statement, his defense lawyer, xxxx DeGuerin, said he will fight the charges.

“The present insolvency of the Stanford Companies was caused by the SEC’s heavy-handed actions, which have destroyed and continue to destroy much of the value of the Stanford Companies and consequently, the interests of investors,” he said in the statement.

Pendergest-Holt “will surrender to a summons in Houston some day next week,” Dan Cogdell, her lawyer, said on June 18.

The 57-page Stanford indictment contains 21 counts, including conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud, as well as 10 counts of mail fraud and a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and King are also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an SEC investigation.

Alleged Fraud

The SEC sued Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and Davis in February, accusing them of running the alleged fraud through Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.

Yesterday, the SEC said King helped Stanford conduct a Ponzi scheme in exchange for bribes.

King ensured the regulator “looked the other way” and conducted sham audits and examinations of Stanford’s Antiguan bank, the SEC alleged in court papers filed in federal court in Dallas. The agency asked the court to add King and two Stanford accountants to its lawsuit filed earlier this year.

The Stanford Group Co. sold $8 billion of certificates of deposit in Stanford International Bank. The company’s network of financial advisers told clients their money would be placed primarily in easily sold financial instruments monitored by more than 20 analysts and audited by Antiguan regulators, according to the SEC lawsuit.

‘Vast Majority’

Instead, the “vast majority” of the portfolio was managed by Stanford and Davis, who invested much of it in private equity and real estate, according to the regulatory agency.

Davis is cooperating with prosecutors, said his lawyer, David Finn.

“Davis will accept full responsibility for his actions,” Finn said, adding that he is in plea negotiations.

According to the criminal information filed yesterday against Davis, “The defendant and his conspirators would create false books and records containing artificial values” for the Stanford International Bank portfolio.

The bank touted “improbable, if not impossible” returns, the SEC said in its earlier complaint.

Richmond Magistrate

Christina Sarchio, Stanford’s attorney at the hour-long hearing yesterday in Richmond, said her client wasn’t a flight risk and that the government has known his whereabouts for months.

“His assets are frozen, he has no money, no means of fleeing,” Sarchio said. “He’s certainly no danger to the community.” Stanford had planned to make arrangements to voluntarily surrender himself in Houston prior to his detention, his lawyers said.

Steven Tyrrell, the chief of the Justice Department’s fraud section in its criminal division, said he was concerned Stanford would be in a position to obstruct justice if not in jail, as he had already “paid thousands of dollars in bribes.”

Tyrrell said Stanford is a flight risk based on the $1 billion that allegedly remains unaccounted for.

“The defendant is a serious risk of flight,” the prosecutor said.

Cogdell, who is representing Pendergest-Holt and Lopez, said he will step down as Lopez’s lawyer.

“Lopez absolutely maintains his innocence, and he believes the facts will bear that out,” Cogdell said.

At a bail hearing yesterday in Houston, Cogdell told U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy that Lopez is unemployed.

‘Not Going Anywhere’

Kuhrt responded when Stacy asked for a cosigner on his bond that he had voluntarily moved “back from St. Croix, my family is here, I’m not going anywhere.”

Stacy insisted Kuhrt’s mother co-sign his bond. Kuhrt and Lopez have surrendered their passports and the judge required them to find “verifiable” employment.

Kuhrt told Stacy he had been living on unemployment benefits of $459 per week until one week ago when he took a new job with a waste disposal company.

Stacy said she would appoint court representation for him. Lopez will have a new attorney by next week, Cogdell told the court.

Florida Appearance

Perraud is accused of hiring a commercial document shredding company to destroy a 95-gallon bin full of Stanford business records on Feb. 25, nine days after U.S. District Judge David Godbey in Dallas had issued an order barring Stanford group officers and employees from destroying or removing any books and records, according to court papers.

Perraud made his initial court appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Frazier in Fort Myers, Florida, said Steve Cole, a spokesman for Tampa-based U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton. Perraud was released on a $100,000 bond and will be arraigned in Fort Lauderdale, Cole said.

Pendergest-Holt was arrested by FBI agents on Feb. 26 and was charged with obstructing the SEC’s probe by making misrepresentations to its representatives while under oath.

On May 14 she entered a plea of not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy in Houston. The judge set a trial date of July 20 before U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore.

Stanford, a Mexia, Texas, native, was knighted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2006. He has publicly asserted his constitutional right against self-incrimination and refused to testify or provide documents to investigators.

Stanford has said he did nothing wrong.

“I’m not a damn swindler,” he told Bloomberg News in April.

605th Richest Person

Ranked by Forbes Magazine’s last year as the 605th richest person in the world, he had an estimated net worth of at least $2 billion, according to a March 2008 filing in a Florida paternity case brought by a mother of two children.

Godbey, who is presiding over the SEC case, in February froze the assets of the Stanford companies and those belonging to Stanford, Davis and Pendergest-Holt.

Sixteen members of Congress asked on June 18 for the SEC to release all documents in the Stanford probe. In a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, they requested internal memos and information the agency received discussing potential wrongdoing by Stanford and his associates.

The lawmakers also called for an audit of all expenses incurred by Dallas lawyer Ralph Janvey in his role as the receiver appointed to recover funds for Stanford’s clients.

The SEC case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Stanford International Bank, 09cv00298, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas). The criminal case is U.S. v. Stanford, 09cr00342, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston).

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill McQuillen in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia, at [email protected]; Justin Blum at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington at [email protected]; Laurel Brubaker Calkins in Houston federal court at [email protected].

Last Updated: June 20, 2009 00:01 EDT

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f200bec6-5c69-11de-aea3-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Italian Mafia cashes in on fake T-bills
By FT reporters

Published: June 19 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 19 2009 03:00

One summer afternoon, two "Japanese" men in their 50s on a slow train from Italy to Switzerland said they had nothing to declare at the frontier point of Chiasso. But in a false bottom of one of their suitcases, Italian customs officers and ministry of finance police discovered a staggering $134bn in US Treasury bills.

Whether the men are really Japanese, as their passports declare, is not entirely clear, but Italian and US secret services working together soon concluded that the bills and accompanying bank documents were most probably counterfeit, the latest han-diwork of the Italian Mafia.

Few details have been revealed beyond a June 4 statement by the Italian finance police announcing the seizure of 249 US Treasury bills, each of $500m, and 10 "Kennedy" bonds, used as inter-government payments, of $1bn each. The men were apparently tailed by the Italian authorities.

Yesterday the mystery deepened as an Italian blog quoted Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como provincial finance police as saying the two men had been released. The colonel and police headquarters in Rome both declined to respond to questions from the Financial Times.

"They are all fraudulent, it's obvious. We don't even have paper securities outstanding for that value,'' said Mckayla Braden, senior adviser for public affairs at the Bureau of Public Debt at the US Treasury department. "This type of scam has been going on for years.''

The Treasury has not issued physical Treasury bonds since the 1980s - they are handled electronically - though they still issue savings bonds in paper format.

In Washington a US Secret Service official said the agency, which is working with the Italian authorities, believed the bonds were fake.

Officials in Tokyo were nonplussed. Takeshi Akamatsu, a Japanese foreign ministry press secretary, said Italian authorities had confirmed that two men carrying Japanese passports had been questioned in the bond case, but that Tokyo had not been informed of their names or current whereabouts.

"We don't know where they are now," Mr Akamatsu said.

Italian officials, while pointing out that hauls of counterfeit money and Treasury bills were not unusual, were stunned by the amount involved. Investigators are looking into the origin and destination of the fakes.

Last month Italian prosecutors revealed they had cracked a $1bn bond scam run by the Sicilian Mafia, with the alleged aid of corrupt officials in Venezuela's central bank. Twenty people were arrested in four countries.

The fake bonds were to have been used as collateral to open credit lines with banks, Reuters news agency reported. The Venezuelan central bank denied the accusations.By FT staff in Rome, Tokyo, New York and Washington

Fall in jobless claims raises hopes

The number of US citizens claiming unemployment benefits fell for the first time since January, the labour department said yesterday, raising hopes the worst could be over for the stricken job market.

Continuing jobless claims declined by 148,000 to 6.69m in the first week of June, more than economists expected and marking the biggest weekly drop since 2001. The total number of US workers claiming unemployment benefits had hit new record highs for 19 straight weeks.

However, new jobless claims ticked up last week, offering a reminder that any employment recovery will be slow and that companies are continuing to cull workers as they cope with the recession. Initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 last week to 608,000 as layoffs mounted in the construction and car industries.

Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at MFR, noted the probability that "long-term unemployed are starting to fall off the rolls as the duration of their unemployment benefits reaches the statutory limit".

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE55I3NA20090619

Swiss tax deal to help cut tax evasion: Treasury
Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:00am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury on Friday confirmed it reached a deal with the Swiss government to revise a two-way income tax treaty to boost an information exchange aimed at combating tax evasion through offshore accounts.

The changes, the result of more than two months of negotiations, are a key step toward Switzerland's removal from an international "gray list" of tax haven states. An official signing of the new protocol is expected in the next few months, the Treasury said.

"This treaty will increase our ability to enforce our tax laws and will help bring an end to an era of offshore accounts and investments being used for tax evasion," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.

The treaty revisions strengthen the exchange of information agreement between the United States and Switzerland, the world's largest wealth manager, known for its strict bank secrecy laws. The U.S.-Swiss pact will now be in line with standards set by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has ordered Switzerland to improve cooperation in tax matters to avoid possible sanctions from Group of 20 members.

The United States and Switzerland have been renegotiating a tax treaty since April, part of the Swiss bid to secure 12 new bilateral tax treaties by the end of 2009 that will allow it to boost its standing with the Paris-based OECD.

In the background is a lawsuit by the U.S. government against Swiss bank UBS AG to retrieve tens of thousands of names of American clients with funds in Swiss bank accounts.

Switzerland, whose private banks manage around $2 trillion of foreign wealth, had asked Geithner to drop the civil suit in return for a tax deal. The Treasury's statement made no mention of the UBS case.

UBS is fighting the suit and says compliance would require UBS employees to commit fraud in Switzerland, which jealously defends its bank secrecy legislation.

UBS settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in February to avoid criminal charges by agreeing to pay a $780 million fine and provide a certain number of U.S. account holder names.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Kim Dixon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a62_boqkurbI

Suitcase With $134 Billion Puts Dollar on Edge
by William Pesek

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- It’s a plot better suited for a John Le Carre novel.

Two Japanese men are detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland. Details are maddeningly sketchy, so naturally the global rumor mill is kicking into high gear.

Are these would-be smugglers agents of Kim Jong Il stashing North Korea’s cash in a Swiss vault? Bagmen for Nigerian Internet scammers? Was the money meant for terrorists looking to buy nuclear warheads? Is Japan dumping its dollars secretly? Are the bonds real or counterfeit?

The implications of the securities being legitimate would be bigger than investors may realize. At a minimum, it would suggest that the U.S. risks losing control over its monetary supply on a massive scale.

The trillions of dollars of debt the U.S. will issue in the next couple of years needs buyers. Attracting them will require making sure that existing ones aren’t losing faith in the U.S.’s ability to control the dollar.

The dollar is, for better or worse, the core of our world economy and it’s best to keep it stable. News that’s more fitting for international spy novels than the financial pages won’t help that effort. It is incumbent upon the U.S. Treasury to get to the bottom of this tale and keep markets informed.

GDP Carriers

Think about it: These two guys were carrying the gross domestic product of New Zealand or enough for three Beijing Olympics. If economies were for sale, the men could buy Slovakia and Croatia and have plenty left over for Mongolia or Cambodia. Yes, they could have built vacation homes amidst Genghis Khan’s Gobi Desert or the famed Temples of Angkor. Bernard Madoff who?

These men carrying bonds concealed in the bottom of their luggage also would be the fourth-largest U.S. creditors. It makes you wonder if some of the time Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spends keeping the Chinese and Japanese invested in dollars should be devoted to well-financed men crossing the Italian-Swiss border.

This tale has gotten little attention in markets, perhaps because of the absurdity of our times. The last year has been a decidedly disorienting one for capitalists who once knew up from down, red from black and risk from reward. It almost fits with the surreal nature of today that a couple of travelers have more U.S. debt than Brazil in a suitcase and, well, that’s life.

Clancy Bestseller

You can almost picture Tom Clancy sitting in his study thinking: “Damn! Why didn’t I think of this yarn and novelize it years ago?” He could have sprinkled in a Chinese angle, a pinch of Russian intrigue, a dose of Pyongyang and a bit of Taiwan-Strait tension into the mix. Presto, a sure bestseller.

Daniel Craig may be thinking this is a great story on which to base the next James Bond flick. Perhaps Don Johnson could buy the rights to this tale. In 2002, the “Miami Vice” star was stopped by German customs officers as he was traveling in a car carrying credit notes and other securities worth as much as $8 billion. Now he could claim it was all, uh, research.

When I first heard of the $134 billion story, I was tempted to glance at my calendar to make sure it didn’t read April 1.

Let’s assume for a moment that these U.S. bonds are real. That would make a mockery of Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano’s “absolutely unshakable” confidence in the credibility of the U.S. dollar. Yosano would have some explaining to do about Japan’s $686 billion of U.S. debt if more of these suitcase capers come to light.

‘Kennedy Bonds’

Counterfeit $100 bills are one thing; two guys with undeclared bonds including 249 certificates worth $500 million and 10 “Kennedy bonds” of $1 billion each is quite another.

The bust could be a boon for Italy. If the securities are found to be genuine, the smugglers could be fined 40 percent of the total value for attempting to take them out of the country. Not a bad payday for a government grappling with a widening budget deficit and rebuilding the town of L’Aquila, which was destroyed by an earthquake in April.

It would be terrible news for the White House. Other than the U.S., China or Japan, no other nation could theoretically move those amounts. In the absence of clear explanations coming from the Treasury, conspiracy theories are filling the void.

On his blog, the Market Ticker, Karl Denninger wonders if the Treasury “has been surreptitiously issuing bonds to, say, Japan, as a means of financing deficits that someone didn’t want reported over the last, oh, say 10 or 20 years.” Adds Denninger: “Let’s hope we get those answers, and this isn’t one of those ‘funny things’ that just disappears into the night.”

This is still a story with far more questions than answers. It’s odd, though, that it’s not garnering more media attention. Interest is likely to grow. The last thing Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke need right now is tens of billions more of U.S. bonds -- or even high-quality fake ones -- suddenly popping up around the globe.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: William Pesek in Tokyo at [email protected]

Last Updated: June 16, 2009 15:00 EDT

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Shoe story media missed