“These things that happened in the past two weeks aren’t surprising for us.

When the Sanford Bernstein analyst closes his eyes, he pictures Lloyd and Co going out of their way to get on Carl Levin’s good side, possibly going so far as to praise his work. “As politicians continue to criticize the firm and the public scrutiny persists, we believe that Goldman’s clients will begin to rethink their relationship with the firm and the franchise will ultimately suffer,” he wrote. “With approximately 17 percent of the ownership in the hands of current and former partners, this control group has ample motivation to make amends with politicians and the public in order to reduce the threat to its franchise.” [ Bloomberg ]

Just, let him finish. I’m going to one-up Mark Twain in the quantity department and spin two yarns about jumping frogs, one which has been frequently told, the other not so much. Neither of them have anything to do with Samuel Clemens’ heralded short story, but both, metaphorically at least, describe our current investment markets and how to think about the future

Performance update.

S.E.C. Case Stands Out Because It Stands Alone (NYT) But [Fabrice] Tourre’s world would soon be turned upside down. In fall 2009, the S.E.C.

$$$ House Prices Fall to New Post-Bubble Low as More Rent (NYT) $$$ Consumer confidence drops in May (Reuters) $$$ House Set to Reject Debt Ceiling Hike Democrats Dismiss as “ Political Charade ” (ABC) $$$ Bernie Madoff Is Ruining Divorces Now, Too (Daily Intel) $$$ Obama names Bryson as commerce chief (WaPo) $$$ Primary Global Shuts Offices, but Says It’s Still Open (Dealbook) $$$ Spain Cuts Budget Deficit in Half (WSJ) $$$ Goldman shares climb on JPMorgan upgrade (Reuters) $$$ Ex-Galleon trader presents no defense at NY trial (Reuters) $$$ A Securities and Exchange Commission worker gave investors false and misleading information about an alleged Ponzi scheme that could have hindered investigation of a fraud in which he also was a victim, the agency’s watchdog said. The employee, based at SEC headquarters in Washington, shared nonpublic information with several investors during the SEC’s investigation and litigation of the case, SEC Inspector General H.

Planning on getting out of town most weekends the next few months but not going points further than a 300 mile radius? Perhaps out East, on Shelter Island or Martha’s Vineyard?

Zarti, reprising the role of Jake LaMotta In early 2008, Libya’s sovereign-wealth fund controlled by Col. Moammar Gadhafi gave $1.3 billion to Goldman Sachs Group to sink into a currency bet and other complicated trades.

If Einhorn wins Reyes must agree to play for a year’s supply of Shake Shack burgers with a player/team option to renegotiate for fries when his contract is up. When first told that Einhorn is a poker player, Pelfrey, an avid card player himself, said, “Tell him to come to the back of the plane—bring his wallet.” But a few seconds later, when told Einhorn finished 18th in the 2006 World Series of Poker, Mike Pelfrey had second thoughts, saying, “He can play with [shortstop Jose] Reyes then.” [ WSJ via BI ]

Last month, we noted that a group of UBS employees who “worked in operations and were responsible for securities movements and payments” had been escorted out of the building and told not to come back “pending an internal review into their conduct.” Now we’ve been informed they were recently told not to come back, period. If you’re a current employee or about to join the firm and are unclear on the rules, know this: it turns out UBS does in fact frown upon skimming some off the top for yourselves.