Trader had family problems

According to the AP:

Managers who briefed Union officials on Thursday told them that the trader was having "family problems." The union official said the trader "might have lost his mind a bit"

One of his former teachers, Gisele Reynaud, described Kerviel as a "brilliant" student. She taught him at a university in Lyon, where he graduated in 2000 after an intensive year-long course in how to track, monitor and keep account of the type of trades that he went on to do at Societe Generale. She said the course was very technical and intense, and included accounting, information technology and law. "He was a nice guy," Reynaud said. "He was brilliant".

Rogue Trader's Mugshot

Well, we know what he looks like now, and that he was on a salary of around 100,000 Euros, bonus included, and that he didn't enrich himself in the process. With thanks to the FT for the shot.

Update:
Also we know that he completed a Masters of Market Finance (specialising in Market Operations) from the Lyon 2 University in France, and has been employed as a Trader at Delta One Products, a SocGen subsidiary since 2000. (from a Wink.com search)

Update 2: Again from the FT; Jean-Pierre Mustier, Head of Investment Banking at SocGen on how he did it:

Jean-Pierre Mustier, head of investment banking who had been seen as a potential successor to Mr Bouton, said the position occupied by the rogue trader was only expected to generate €20m of revenue a year. “The specific pattern of his transactions was that they used fake transactions rolled on a permanent basis,” said Mr Mustier.

Société Générale cops the Rogue Trader...to the tune of 4.9 Billion Euros

Société Générale this morning alerted the market that it had lost a significant amount from the actions of a Jérôme Kerviel, rogue trader....the words that send a frisson down the spine of any Hollywood producer, good ones. Less good frissons may be felt of those who worked around and above the as yet unnamed trader; people responsible for his oversight have also been relieved of duty. The trader has, according to a letter from the President of the SG group, been "mis à pied" (stood down).

Before we analyse this latest, let's take a walk down Rogue memory lane, and count the cost of each:

• Brian Hunter; Amaranth Advisors LLC: After studying weather patterns and other data Hunter, Head Energy Trader, made an enormous wrong-way bet that a Katrina-like hurricane would cause the difference between summer and winter natural gas prices to widen dramatically.Instead, a mild hurricane season caused that spread to collapse, wiping out about US$5 billion in value.
  
  Speculation is that Amaranth may have conducted most of its trading away from the Nymex in a bid to "corner" the long contract on natural gas futures. Regulators don't have the same amount of reach in Over the Counter markets as exchanges.
  
  
• Nick Leeson; Barings plc: Probably the most world famous case, inspiring a novel and movie. Leeson placed a short straddle (essentially betting that the Japanese stock market would not move significantly overnight) on Singapore and Nikkei exchanges. However, the Kobe earthquake hit early in the morning on January 17 1995, sending Asian markets, and Leeson's investments, into a tailspin.
  
  Leeson attempted to recoup his losses by making a series of increasingly risky new investments, betting the Nikkei Stock Average would make a rapid recovery. But the recovery failed to materialize, and he succeeded only in digging a deeper hole. Losses eventually reached US$1.4 billion, twice the bank's available trading capital. Barings declared insolvent, and sold to ING for the princely sum of £1.
  
  Sentenced to six and a half years in a Singapore prison, he was released in 1999. In 2005, soccer team Galway United FC named Leeson its General Manager. That same year, Virgin Books published his personal story/self-help book, titled "Back From The Brink, Coping With Stress."
  
  
• Yasuo Hamanaka, Sumitomo: Hamanaka was also known as "Mr. Five Percent," according to the New York Times, because he once bought as much as 5% of all the copper traded in the world each year. He pleaded guilty in 1997 to hiding more than US$2.6 billion in trading losses and served seven years in prison. Copper futures plunged in 1996 after it was discovered that Hamanaka had artificially propped up prices.
  
  
• John Rusnak, Allied Irish Bank: Rusnak lost millions for Allfirst Financial, an Allied subsidiary, by incorrectly gauging the movement of the Japanese yen against the dollar. He forged paperwork to cover further trades and losses he says he incurred in a failed attempt to win the money back for Allfirst, based in Baltimore. He lost US$691 million over five years before his activities were discovered in 2002.
  
  
• Unknown “fat-fingered” trader, Mizuho Securities: Trader sold 610,000 shares in job recruiting company J-Com Co. for 1 yen apiece, instead of an intended sale of 1 share at 610,000 yen. Mizuho said it was unable to cancel the order, causing it to lose about US$340 million. The mistake was attributed to the “fat-finger” syndrome, shorthand for gaffes made when traders hit the wrong button on a keyboard and lose a bundle.
  The Tokyo stock exchange later acknowledged that a glitch in its system made it impossible to cancel the trade. Mizuho and the exchange have discussed sharing some of the losses, but have so far failed to reach an agreement.
  
  
• Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt bought more than 100 million ounces of silver bullion in 1979 and 1980, causing silver prices to soar to a record of more than $50 an ounce before a sharp plunge. After the crash, the brothers were left with silver obligations of $1.75 billion and a silver hoard of 59 million ounces valued then at $1.2 billion, indicating a loss of US$550 million, according to the Journal. The Hunts, whose fortune was once estimated at $6 billion, filed for bankruptcy protection in 1988.

So if that's a hall of fame of the worst of financial trading losses, then this is a pretty bad one. I would suspect that he had a good working knowledge of the back room operations of the bank, and the exact limits on trading so that he could really make the most of his position. Although the bank has been batted around by the credit crunch, it has plenty of assets against which to increase its working capital, borrowing to "more than cover" its recent losses due to the activities.

Fitch has dropped its long term issuer rating from "AA" à "AA-" estimating that if the the fraud has happened in specific circumstances, it "raises questions on the effectiveness of (risk management) systems and creates a reputations risk for the company. S&P has will be reviewing its rating with a view to downgrade.

Update: His name is Jérôme Kerviel. More from the Wall Street Journal:

The bank identified the trader as Jerome Kerviel. Mr. Kerviel, 31, joined Societe Generale in August 2000 and was working as a trader on the futures desk at the bank's headquarter near Paris. He was in charge of futures hedging on European equity market indices, known as "plain vanilla" futures.

The bank said he was able to dupe the bank's own security system because he had inside knowledge of the control procedures gained from previous jobs with the bank. (Backroom knowledge pays in this case)

Though Societe Generale says it first learned of what it termed "massive fraudulent directional positions" on Jan. 19, it waited until it could close out those trades before going public with the problem. Winding down the trades, the bank said, resulted in a €4.9 billion write-down, making it potentially the largest loss ever from an alleged rogue trader. (Those recent equity market falls would not made the positions any smaller).

Star Power for Obama...

His warm-up acts came straight from the A-list: the singer Usher, the actress Kerry Washington, and the actor Chris Tucker. They walked on stage to deafening cheers. But they were here not as performers, but as recruiters for Saturday's primary.

He's really concentrating on making sure that his supporters turn out, especially youth who could be considered apathetic.

Can Gordon Hack the PMQs bear pit?

via Mike Smithson at PB.com

According to a report in the Independent yesterday Gordon Brown is telling friends that the public is being increasingly repelled by PMQs and that the Commons exchanges are now of little use in discussing the issues of the day. He’s reported as saying that “nothing prepares you” for the ferocity of a packed chamber in full cry” and that the weekly event is worse than it has ever been.

Tony Blair was a PMQ master, complete with his 'plastic fantastic' tabulated folder. If the answer didn't happen to be there, he just batted it off or made reference to the Tories' time in London. Brown's eyesight makes it difficult for him to use the same folder system, and maybe he isn't completely comfortable with the opposition benches vocally baying for his blood on a weekly basis.

However, if Westminster is the Mother of all parliaments, and the UK the greatest democracy, then the least that can be expected is vocal opposition in a healthy debate over the country. PMQ is also one of the few times that the Lib Dems and Tories can get traction on issues, such as the consistent Northern Rock question from David Cameron in the last couple of weeks. It can backfire though, as a PM on fire can really give heart to his MPs before they go home to their constituenties.

Although with the polls giving him a landslide loss, you could be forgiven for not wishing to front.

Update:
Here's a snippet of the "packed chamber at full cry".

Les 400 coups, or 314 of them?

In the movie "Les 400 Coups", a youngster played by Jean-Pierre Léaud is disowned by his parents and thrown into the state juvenile system for his crimes. "Les 400 Coups" literally translates as the 400 Blows. Today saw the leaking of a document prepared by Jacques Attali, a former advisor to Francois Mitterand, with 314 ways to "unleash economic growth" in France. Sounds good doesn't it?

To Bernard Fixot, the editor of this review who hoped that it would be launched in book form before being pre-empted on a news website, the leak was considered "Theft, concealment and forgery". Especially when it was to be launched amid great fanfare, and make some money for the (hard copy) publishers. That doesn't relate to the content though.

Mitterand once described Attali, the author of said report thus:

“I don’t need a computer; I’ve got Attali.”

The words of a past advisor to a socialist president wouldn't encourage great confidence in the majority of sitting MPs. However, he has come up with some good ideas to modernise France out of its (well earned) reputation for being a nanny state, and failing to make improvements in areas such as the public sector since the second world war. Despite the good idea, there is no 'mode d'emploi' (user guide) to go with the suggestions. The implementation is thus left up to the current Government, whose Prime Minister is now outpolling the President in terms of popularity.

Oh yes, and even the author has a bearish outlook on the state of the French economy:

“France remains very largely a society of connivance and privileges”, Mr Attali says, in a leaked draft of the report.

Some of the key suggestions include:

• Each child should have mastered French, English, the three Rs, Information Technology and the ability to work in groups by the time they complete their first year of high school.
• 10 centres of excellence for higher learning and research to be established around the country, as well as having the means for France to become a leader in fields to matter in the future.
• Link together towns and suburbs known as 'Ecopolis', integrating green and communications technology.
• Very high speed Internet for all, whether at work or at home.
• Reduction of old departements administrative set-up into more regional structures, and urban councils.
• Freeing up retail business to trade on their own terms. It is illegal to affix the word "Soldes" (sale) unless in the government mandated period. This is crazy.
• Freeing up quotas on taxis, hairdressers, vets and lawyers. A bit of competition would only benefit consumers wouldn't it?

Less bureaucrats, more flexible workforce, less waste. The suggestions also seem to rebalance the immense tax burden that is place on those in the private sector who subsidise the benefits, conditions and retirement of those who work in the public; a polarising gripe considering how large the layers of bureaucracy make the French public service. There will be a summer of discontent and riots if this plan is implemented too viciously, and the French will be up to their old tricks in taking to the streets.
Sarkozy is still acting on the strength of the mandate he garnered in his own election, and that of his parliamentary colleagues. He is acting, because he can see the fabric of the nation fraying under the weight of its generosity, built up over the post-war generations.

The final word goes to Marine Le Pen of the National Front (remember her father Jean-Marie?) tagging Mr Attali as Attila (boom boom):

"because this is a precise and organised plan for ensuring the death of the French nation as we know it”.

You know what, she's absolutely right. The French nation as it is cannot continue to survive: it must follow the Darwinian philosophy of evolving or dying.

Update: Sarkozy's Parliamentary Majority is 314. Coincidence?

Cabotage: Sabbotage or Sage?

Is the Australian government showing its first signs of shifting left, despite its promises of economic conservatism?

KEVIN Rudd will clamp down on overuse of foreign-owned ships to transport freight around the nation's coastline in a bid to bolster the shipping industry. The Prime Minister is also set to require foreign vessels in Australian waters to observe an International Labour Organisation convention guaranteeing fair pay and conditions for all seafarers. In a shift in approach from that of the previous Howard government, Labor will review coastal shipping laws to uncover ways to lift the domestic shipping fleet's share of the domestic freight market from its current level of about 80 per cent.

The last I remember of the ILO was when they scuttled attempts to man the wharves in Australia with non-union labour, circa Peter Reith and the early days of the docks crisis. The Maritime Union of Australia, at the time on the receiving end of those reforms, will certainly be the main beneficiary. Paddy Crumlin, the MUA secretary was certainly excited after meeting with Albanese:

"He said we'd be going back to the platform."

The platform in question consists of some ambiguously worded resolutions from last year's Labor national conference. My concern here is the inflationary effect of higher wages on the dockside (and at sea) being passed on to consumers and aiding inflation which is already rising. It is of such concern that the former Razor Gang could now be renamed the Axe Gang. Furthermore, as foreign operators are locked out of operating domestic cargo routes, a regime of quasi-protectionism begins to appear. Cabotage is not a good policy for a government that had promised to be freer of union influence than its predecessors, and this looks suspiciously like payback.

Explanation of Cabotage: The right of a country to operate internal traffic, especially air traffic, using its own carriers and not those of other countries

Update: Preview Clip from the ABC(AU) dramatisation of the events on the waterfront.

Hillary Wins again...Bring on South Carolina

The New York senator had 51 percent of the vote to Obama’s 45 percent, with nearly 90% precincts reporting. Edwards faded to a distant third place with 4 percent of the vote.

The holding of the Casino Caucuses have been a real dog fight. Firstly agreed month ago by the Democrats, only to be challenged in court by supporters of the Clinton camp after the endorsement of the the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Local went to Obama. It was also the first time we saw Bill Clinton loose his cool on the campaign trail, specifically with regard to that lawsuit.


You'll have the South Carolina results soonish...I'm not going to pick between John McCain and Mick Huckabee.

Best of (other) Blog

Thought I might include some of the better blogs that I've come across my time on the interweb, and since I'm not explicitly commentating on politics myself, I've filed under non-political. It's also an exercise in waiting for the Democratic numbers to come through!
The criteria I've tried to judge by are:

• They are not the output or comment blog of a print/tv/radio outlet


• They occasionally morph into newsmakers, rather than newstakers (which this site truly is)


• They have something that distinguishes them from other, and are thought provoking.

Of course, you'd need to rank them across the political spectrum and by country. I've forgone the use of conservative, liberal so as not to confuse the readers from Australia. So:

US Left
Daily Kos: Particularly remembered for comments from Bill O'Reilly who declared that Satan was running the Kos, and that readers of such 'far-left websites' are devil worshippers. If Bill says it's that bad, it must be good.

The Huffington Post: Since its inception in 2005, by Arianna Huffington, this has blossomed into a must stop for left-learners, with many heavy hitters and celebrities, as well as a core group of regulars make it worthwhile reading.

US Right
The Drudge Report: Although missing the punch for big stories that appeared (such as the Newsweek's' withholding of the Lewinsky story), there are still little nuggets of gold on a site that is very 'link heavy', and a little difficult to navigate (Thank god for tabs in browsers, I still keep heading back there).

Power Line:A triumvirate of lawyers press the conservative cause here, with Time Magazine's Blog of The Year award, and there is always interesting content, some which may feature here by link. No long winded personal rants here, it's pretty succinct and crisp. These guys aren't soft on Republicans either, and will call them for working against America and its interests

UK Left
Recess Monkey: Parliamentary Insider's blogs, that always has the who, what, where, and how of apparently anything that moves inside and around the Palace of Westminster. Although previously not allowing comments to focus on their output, they've opened up the blog, and have "interesting" photos of MPs at events.

Newer Labour: Simple blog advocating how a post Blair Labour party should advance, which will be particularly interesting when the election really starts to get on the boil. Interesting links from someone who clearly has an insight inside. Self described as Labour's soft left.

UK Right
Guido Fawkes (Paul Staines): In his younger days, the now unmasked author of this blog described his politics as 'Margaret Thatcher" on steroids. A critic of the cosy relationship between media and politics, he often obtains documents from political insiders, such as Peter Hain's leadership documents.

Conservative Home: Although not official Conservative fodder, this does give coverage of UK politics from a conservative perspective, with lots of extra policy material and updated regularly, you do get a flavour of politics from the right

AU Left
Larvatus Prodeo: I would have put Red Rad in here, had it not retired in 2005. LP is a broad and broadly inclusive and occasionally cutting blog, with many contributors, who all think before posting, which makes a change from other blogs on the interweb. I might fail on that criterion right there.

John Quiggin: An older statesman of the blogosphere, Quiggin's insight into economics is not to be sniffed at. You can find him in the AFR, but the blog is certainly seperate, and it's not always serious, thick and boring (as far as economic commentary goes)

AU Right
Andrew Landeryou: Shaming the nameless, and naming the shameless. Landeryou takes his readers through an American prism of commentary on Oz Politics, never short of patriots, traitors and hacks. Interesting relationships with university pollies haven't stopped his ability to scoop, or his distaste for left MSM.

Tim Blair: What hasn't Tim Blair done over the last few years? Opinion editor for the Telegraph, Bulletin opinion writer. He won't be blogging for a while, as he's going under the knife for abdominal cancer. Maybe the surgery will mellow him out? His painkillers at one stage allowed him "to watch Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth without twitching." I wish him all the best.

Romney Wins again....Democrats Counting

Romney takes gold again, but other candidates had gone to South Carolina, where delegates are automatically awarded to the winner, this not being the case in NV:

“Today, the people of Nevada voted for change in Washington. For far too long, our leaders have promised to take the action necessary to build a stronger America, and still the people of Nevada and all across this country are waiting. Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.”

Counting for the Democrats has begun: Hillary and Barack neck a neck with 6% counted. Results as they come in available here

Horse Trading and Brokered Conventions

Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post ponders what the outcome of Super Tuesday would make towards the respective conventions to be held in Minneapolis/St Paul for the GOP, and Denver for the Democrats.

We're reminded of 'The Superdelegates' (hell of a title to have), and their impact on the nomination of Walter Mondale:

There was just one glitch: Mondale was about 40 delegates short. Hart had won California; even worse, Mondale had not done well enough there to pick up as many delegates as the campaign had counted on. So frantic Mondale aides hit the phones to the superdelegates. These were the Democratic insiders who had been given a big new voice in the process, a change to party rules engineered by Mondale backers anticipating the need for just such a firewall. Mondale managed to pull it off that day.

Although John Edwards may be out of the main game, by picking up the rudimentary amount of delegates with 15% of the vote, he can have significant sway as to whom these votes will flow to. A stronger than expected vote for Edwards could mean the end of Hillary, and by that I mean off the ticket.

Edwards and Obama have acted in unison of late, particularly in the New Hampshire Debate, where they both took debating potshots at Hillary, while defending each other slightly. If Edwards had to choose to park his delegates with one of the front runners, it would certainly be Barack. Note that when a candidate withdraws, their slate of delegates is no longer bound, but the recommendation of the person they were originally bound to vote for would hold a lot of sway.

Here's where the horsetrading becomes interesting. It is not implausible for a gentleman's agreement to cut Hillary out. Edwards delivers his candidates to Obama, and Obama, obligingly, invites him to run for Vice-President on his ticket. The task is now especially difficult for HRC, as she is competing with an electoral beast with two heads. Taking on one of the remaining candidates leaves another to creep forward, with complacency not achieving anything. Hillary's results on Super Tuesday are hence vitally important, not only for keeping her competitive, but to see off the other two

This opens up a further hypothetical, of whom Hillary would select as her vice-presidential running mate. If there is bad blood between the trio, HRC may select outside, bringing into the range the possibilities range Kuccinich, Richardson and Biden. Which raises another question; just how important is the quality of a VP candidate on a ticket, and if the scenario follows, it be a "HILLARY CLINTON/candidate x" campaign.

Back to the Superdelegates, who account for one-fifth of the votes on the floor and are made up of:

• All Democratic members of the United States Congress
• Democratic governors
• Various additional elected officials
• Members of the Democratic National Committee

Clinton currently leads the list of congressional endorsements, and could play havoc with the strange goings on discussed above. Legal challenges from states that have had their delegates 'unseated' could also play. Can't say the race is boring anyway.

As for the Republicans, well, Michigan's results hasn't helped anyone sorting the proverbial from clay. Writing before the Michigan vote, Peter Baker of the Washington Post gets caught up in brokered fever:

If Romney wins his home state today(and he did), then the first three major contests will have produced three winners after former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's victory in Iowa and McCain's triumph in New Hampshire. Even if McCain wins today in Michigan and manages to keep the momentum rolling into South Carolina on Saturday, Rudy Giuliani waits in Florida, and if the former New York mayor wins there on Jan. 29, the Republicans could head into Super Tuesday on Feb. 5 with no clear front-runner.

I've also come across delegate widgets from socialmedia.biz via my direct democracy, I find them quite handy! Get your own here
Note the Democratic counter exclude those superdelegates.

Romney Wins...GOP Favourite Lacking

Mitt Romney won convincingly in his birth state, beating elder senator John McCain into second, to really throw open the nominations field for the Republican presidential nomination.

• Romney: 38.92%


• McCain: 29.67%


• Huckabee: 16.1%


• Paul: 6.27%


• Thompson: 3.7%


• Giuliani: 2.75%


• Hunter 0.33%

On the Republican side, as noted previously, Hillary's only danger was to be outpolled by the 'uncommitted' voters (ie not Hillary or anyone else on the ballot), and she saw that off easily, taking over half of the vote. The nearest actual candidate was Dennis Kucinich on 3.66%.

Update:
Romney's victory speech.

Guess what they're -- guess what they're doing in Washington?They're worrying.
Because they realize -- the lobbyists and the politicians realize that America now understands that Washington is broken and we're going to do something about it.

You see, America -- America understands that Washington has promised that they'd secure our borders, but they haven't.
Washington told us that they would live by high ethical standards, but they haven't.
Washington told us that they'd fix social security, but they haven't
Washington told us that they'd get us better health care and better education, but they haven't.
Washington told us they'd get us a tax break for the middle income Americans, but they haven't.
Washington told us that they'd cut back on the earmarks and the pork barrel spending, but they haven't.
And Washington told us they'd reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but they haven't.

And who is going to get the job done? We are.
[...]

American voters said that knowing how America works is more important than knowing how Washington works. And what we're going to see in the next few days is the Democrats saying that they're the party of change.
[...]
And I think they would bring change to the America -- just not the kind we want. You see, I think they take their inspiration from the Europe of old -- big government, big brother, big taxes. They fundamentally in their hearts believe that America is great because we have a great government. And we do have a great government, but that's not what makes us the best nation, the strongest nation, the greatest nation on earth. What makes this such a great nation is the American people. I take my inspiration from Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush.

Michigan Only Matters to the Republicans

When the democrats moved their convention forward, their sanction from the DNC was for all their delegates to be rules invalid. There hence has been no campaigning or advertising in Michigan from the Democratic Party, leaving independent voters the choice to choose "none of the above" on the Democratic ballot (as none of the major candidates is on the papers, bar Hillary) or turn their attention to the Republican Race, and make their mark on the battle between McCain and Romney. The independents came hard for McCain in New Hampshire, but this is Romney's fathers' state, and he should pray for a win that keeps him in the game. He would hope that his father's brand flows down even now. If he doesn't poll well, he's dead man walking.

Update:
First Wave of Exit Polls
Per Ambinder:
GOP Primary Voters: 68% Republican, 25% Indy, 7% Dem
Majority of GOP primary voters say economy the #1 issue
More (57%) care about stance on issues than leadership qualities (40%)
44% say they decided in the final week

Update 2:
Democrats want a contest!

HRC wants to dance, can she keep in step with Obama?

Normal Service Resumed

In an undoubtedly difficult and cutting interview with Tyra Banks (cough), Hillary Clinton has revealed she would prefer to be on Dancing with the Stars, failing herself when it came to ANTM and American Idol. Interestingly, she notes that "plus ça change":

Asked whether she does any of a number of popular dances, including hip-hop, Clinton said she’d heard of them and that they were “variations of what I did like 30, 40 years ago.”“Everything gets recycled and gets a different name,” Clinton said.

Could HRC be accused of being Bill Clinton recycled with a different name?

Oh Corey...

I wouldn't normally descend into this crass story, but I can't help but have my two cents worth; I've even created a new tag to go with this!

Young Corey Delaney, a sixteen year old resident of Narre Warren in Melbourne's south east (Australia), did what every teenager dreams of: He threw a party. But Corey is a member of generation z, who know exactly how to harness the power of Web 2.0, and advertised it openly on his myspace account, and no doubt details were forwarded by that other tool of modern technology; SMS. Either that, or he's foolish enough to underestimate it's reach.

In the end, 500 yoofs arrived, and like any party where gatecrashers tend to fill it, got out of control. It's the same all over the world: gathering of teenagers+alcohol+lack of supervision= trouble. The neighbours called the local constabulary, but the first patrol was repelled with missile thrown by a thronging mob. The air wing and dog squad had to be deployed to convince guests that it was well beyond last drinks. The Commissioner of Police wishes for $AU20,000 to be repaid for the extra call-outs. His exploits garnered him international attention, with grabs all over the world, even on Sky News (UK). Have a gander here.

Parents obviously distressed, and wanting to talk to their child. Probably embarrassed too, to have to deal with their son through various media forms, as he's not returning their calls and has decided to hide with friends while the heat dies down.

I'm a little sad that the media hasn't gone after him, and I bloody hope there'll be no outlets paying him for an exclusive; it'd just encourage him further. Glad that I'll forever be more eloquent than him:
Corey Worthington Delaney wrote at 1:20am

:take it:BREAKIT ^luvin dis shit^
Ur all Tha GOOD type !!!~~~Every1 HiT up
tha C-nut
Fkn (maKe) me a groUp Offica!
Sik.

Corey's Myspace Profile is here, but I'm not sure if it's him being over the top, or an ironic joke being put together by people who aren't fans of his. His facebook profile looks to be no better, with his last status update suggesting he is "rearranging his tackle".

Is this a reflection of a society that gives celebrity status to anyone who causes mischief. I hope his star fizzles as quickly as it appeared. He's blown any chance of a normal job, but he maybe he didn't want that in the first place. He's also an enterprising little bugger, who was charging $1 donations until the venue was full, and then $10 for any late comers. Business acumen...next he'll be fronting motivational seminars. A (non-idolistic) gem from Yok who sums it up perfectly:

I fail to see what is so cool about a bunch of idiotic teenage gobshites worshipping some preening tool who is leeching fame from fucking up, shirking responsibility, hiding in his house when shit went down and hiding like a bitch from his patents, to be honest.but if you all want to live in your own little world, feel free, just remember that you'll be bagging my groceries for the next 20 years.

Hain and Osborne seperate cases, but both wrong on donations

For perspective, let's take the word of Learn Direct, and say the base salary for Westminster MP is £60,675. This is corroberated by Tim Loughton, member for East Worthing and Shoreham, who despite being a lovely chap I'm sure, could use some help with the photo on his website; his eyebrows are positively haunting. As I'm assuming that both MPs are not fiddling their own expenses, the total income should remain the same.

Now to the two cases. In Peter Hain's, he has been accused of failing to declare £103,000, towards his tilt at the deputy leadership of the party. Now, being slightly ignorant, I hadn't realised that leadership positions in the UK Labour Party were not just the premise of its parliamentary wing (PLP), but of the wider party, including trade unions.
Quoth wikipedia:

The election took place using Alternative Vote in an electoral college, with a third of the votes allocated to MPs and MEPs, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainly trade unions.

So there is lobbying to be done, rather than hitting the phones over the weekend. Publicity needs money and the need for it is now clear. However, Hain's donations are approaching double his base salary, not to mention that his own funding was twice that of the eventual winner; something to be said for a lack of effective, "grassroots" campaigning on his part.

Half the donations flowed from a think tank called Progressive Policies Forum, which as far as I can tell, is an empty tank. I haven’t found anything published from searches of academic and other journals, and the only web hits come from the recent scandal itself. The conclusion to draw is that his bid was funded through a front think-tank, because front companies just don’t cut it anymore.

Hain has slightly obfuscated when he emerged and read a statement :

“I reasonably believed that the arrangements in place for my deputy leader campaign would be sufficient to ensure compliance with reporting requirements, but as it transpired, due to administrative failings this was not the case after early May.”

The Times seems to disagree with Hain's explanation, asking him to resign in their leading article:

The departure of a Cabinet minister from office for his failure to treat the rules with the honour they deserve would send a strong if belated signal that they will not be treated with disregard in future. [...] The search for legal loopholes would be discouraged. In different circumstances, Mr Hain might have ended up as deputy prime minister last summer. He should not remain as the Work and Pensions Secretary this winter.

David Cameron was naturally eager to bring the blowtorch to bear on Hain, but had forgotten to check whether his own party was in order. It emerged that his shadow chancellor had himself received £500,000 from the Conservative Party Central office, but had not registered it in his House of Commons personal register. Seven times his base salary. Emails have now been released, that show George Osborne’s attempts to have the matter clarified, and in an administrative sense, he appears to have done the right thing. However, such a large donation should be declared as a matter of course in a Members’ Register, so that his transparency and accountability is untarnished. The motivation to seek clarification seems to only to have occurred after the funding scandals that had rocked the Labor party (Lord Levy & Co).

So, as is often the case in politics, the lesser of two evils principle must be applied. Is it worse to be less than honest when accepting and then clarifying a donation that was made with specific conditions beneficial to Osborne? Or is accepting money from a think tank whose reasonable sole purpose is the provision of deputy leadership contest money?
The worst is Hain, but not far behind is Osborne. The minister of the crown, particularly with as large a portfolio as work and pensions, must consider his position. Osborne, should lodge the donation immediately in his register.

Media Performer of the Week

The timing of the Federal election in Australia, and the change of government before the first sitting of parliament creates a vacuum, which can be filled with other news, or politics can be firmly put on the agenda. Kudos then to new Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen, who has managed to inject himself into debates and even occasionally trump his boss, Wayne Swan.

The member for Prospect in Sydney's East, and member of the NSW Right faction, has excelled where his predecessor Peter Dutton always lived in the shadow of Peter Costello. Appropriately, Dutton has been given a shadow finance shadow position.
Let's take a look:

January 13 2008
The Age: Whale hunt on as Greenpeace finds Japan's killer ship
Restraint urged on both sides of the conflict.

January 12 2008
The Australian: Labor to hunt wealthiest tax cheats
Rich tax cheats to be targets.

The Age: Decline no reason to raise rates: Bowen
Reserve Bank independent, but US market troubles should not have banks raising rates.

Herald Sun: Costello to challenge Nelson?
Jumps on Costello for not making clear his leadership ambitions, and hedging with a Macquarie Bank position.

Sydney Morning Herald: Ad crackdown to 'add balance': govt
Airlines and Telcos would need to advertise more inclusive prices so as not to deceive customers

January 11 2008
Fin 24: Clampdown on price-fixers
Cartels face jail time for colluding.

January 10 2008
Money Management: Govt to undo tax changes
With regard to clearing up the treatment of scrip for scrip transactions

So for creating more news than the Treasurer, he wins the Media Performer of the Week, although politics tends to have few performers, so there is no guarantee this will be awarded every week. He can't be accused of being lazy. In the guise of a boxing title belt, consider Bowen to hold the title unless someone outdoes him.

Nice work, if you can get it....

News reports are splashing that Tony Blair will take up a part time position with New York based JP Morgan Chase, on a salary of US$987,000. For ten to fifteen days a year, no doubt to impress clients, or get the inside track on Middle Eastern politics, it works out very nicely. It'll go some way to paying off the mortgage on the house he purchased in Connaught Square, late in his premiership.

"We operate our business all over the world, and Tony Blair will bring our
leaders and clients a unique and invaluable global perspective that is
especially critical in turbulent times like these," said Jamie Dimon, chairman
and CEO of the company.

Good on him for making the most of life after 10 Downing Street. For those politicians who claim they are underpaid, this should be stark motivation to make it to the very top, so that opportunities such as this open up. Either that or make sure that your safe seat, stays safe and that you keep it.

It's down to three

Bill Richardson has dropped out of the Democratic Presidential race, leaving three runners for two spots. Richardson's poor showing in both Iowa and New Hampshire contests certainly made things difficult, despite his wish to carry on until the Nevada primary and beyond. His positive nature was evident throughout the debates, but his fundraising and inability to compete with the popularity of the other candidates who are big name draws. He has already ruled out accepting an offer to become one of the remaining triuvirate's Vice Presidential partner, saying that he loves being Governor of New Mexico.

The NY Times Caucus blog had provided one of his campaign videos, that ranks up there with the most savvy I've seen so far.

Obama Concession

Obama is working is way through the crowd, and approaching the podium. He looks in a good mood still. U2's City of Blinding Lights is playing in the background.

Crowd still chanting O-Ba-Ma.

I love you back! I am still fired up and ready to go!

Barack congratulates Senator Clinton on her win. Speaks of views of a few weeks ago, where coming second would not have been possible, voters came out in record numbers for change.

In this election, there is something happening in America. There is something happening when men and women come in the snows of January for blocks because they believe in what this country can be. People young in mind and spirit, they know in their hearts that this time must be different.When they vote, they vote not just for a party but for their hopes, they are ready to take this country in a fundamentally different direction: Change is happening in America!

Crowd chants "We want change"

All of you who put some much heart and soul into this campaign, you can be the new majority, leading this country. We can disagree without being disagreeable. If we mobilise our voices, we can reach for something better, there is no destiny we cannot fulfil.Drug and insurance companies will get a seat at the table, but will not be able to buy every chair. Our new majority can end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Pathways for success of kids, more pay and support for teachers. We can harness the ingenuity of farmers and scientists from the tyranny of oil and save the planet from the point of no return.

When I am President of the United States, we will end this war in Iraq and bring the troops home, we will finish the job against Al-Qaeda, care for veterans, we will never use 9/11 to stir up votes.

Praises other candidates, and patriots who serve the country honourably.

Our campaign has always been different because it's not just what I will do as President, it's what you, the citizens of the United States, the people who can do something to change it.Tonight belongs to staffers, volunteers, and organisers. No matter what obstacles stand in our, nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change. They will grow louder and more dissident in the months to come. There has never been anything false about hope.

A simple creed: Yes, we can.(Crowd...repeats and chants Yes we can)

It was a creed written into the founding documents, whispered by slaves in the night, sung by immigrants who pushed westward against the elements, women who reached for the ballot, and a king who took us to the mountain top, and said yes we can do justice and equality.Yes we can to opportunity, prosperity, to heal this nation, to repair this world.

Tomorrow we go south and west, struggle of textile workers not so different to the dishwasher in Las Vegas. We are one people, we are one nation and we will begin the next great chapter in American history, from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea with three words...Yes we can

Barack leaves to Stevie Wonders' Signed Sealed Delivered.