“Barclays fined £2.45m after IT errors - Computer Weekly” plus 4 more |
- Barclays fined £2.45m after IT errors - Computer Weekly
- Analyst Picks and Pans: McDonald's, Palm, Capital One - BusinessWeek
- EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 9) - Forbes
- Con Edison on Dow Jones Sustainability Index - Market Wire
- Ambitions & Ambiguities: A new, new start -- but what if you can’t ... - ABC News Blogs
| Barclays fined £2.45m after IT errors - Computer Weekly Posted: 09 Sep 2009 02:57 AM PDT Barclays' investment arm has been fined £2.45m by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to report its investment details correctly. The problems were caused by errors in the bank's IT systems which interact and send information about trades to a central system for reporting. The faults at Barclays Capital emerged during an 11-month period during 2007 and 2008, when the bank made almost 60 million transactions. Barclays Capital said in a statement, "We have worked constructively and in full cooperation with the FSA throughout the investigation. The regulatory reporting errors were caused by inaccuracies in our data feeds to the FSA. No counterparties, clients, or financial reports were affected in any way." The FSA said accurate reporting is essential for the watchdog to look out for potential market abuse. Alexander Justham, FSA director of markets, said, "Complete and accurate transaction reports are an essential component of the FSA's market monitoring work. Barclays' reporting failures could have a damaging impact on our ability to detect and investigate suspected market abuse. Investment firms must send reports about trades to the FSA at the end of every day. The reports rely on many complex systems linking together. Changes to one system can cause problems for others. Barclays Capital has fixed the problems.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Analyst Picks and Pans: McDonald's, Palm, Capital One - BusinessWeek Posted: 09 Sep 2009 08:48 AM PDT What Wall Street analysts are saying about selected stocks in the news WednesdayMcDonald's (MCD) Barclays keeps overweight McDonald's posted a 2.2% rise in August global sales and 1.7% rise in U.S. sales. Barclays analyst Jeffrey Bernstein said the fast food chain's August U.S. sales disappointed Wall Street, with pressure on formerly more resilient dayparts, while Europe sales remain strong. Bernstein says escalation of discounting in quick service restaurants (QSR) remains a concern, though less than the "burger wars" of a decade ago. While McDonald's EPS growth is tempered by the broader macro environment, fundamentals are stronger in QSR. He says while world-wide volatility remains, McDonald's continues to outperform QSR. He kept an overweight opinion, and has a $68 price target on the stock. Palm (PALM) Credit Suisse downgrades to neutral from outperform Credit Suisse analyst Deepak Sitaraman lowered his rating on Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Palm to neutral from outperform, saying the company's choice of Sprint Nextel (S) as the exclusive carrier for its new Palm Pixi smart phone may hinder sales of the device. Palm announced Wednesday that a new phone called the Palm Pixi will be available in time for the holidays, although it did not say how much the new phone will cost. Sitaraman called Palm a "credible competitor" in the emerging smart phone market, but said near-term sales are likely to disappoint without AT&T Inc. (T) or Verizon Wireless (VZ) offering service for the phone. Sitaraman cut his target price on the stock to $12 from $18. He now expects Palm to sell 6 million smart phones next year, down from a previous estimate of 8.1 million. That estimate also includes sales of the Palm Pre, the phone Palm launched earlier this year as part of an effort to regain its footing in the competition with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and the BlackBerry from Research in Motion (RIM). The Pre is also carried exclusively by Sprint. Capital One Financial (COF) Citi Investment Research upgrades to buy from hold Citing an expected improvement in credit losses, Citi Investment Research analyst Donald Fandetti raised his rating on Capital One Financial to buy from hold and his share price target to $44 from $28. "Though management has been cautious about the credit outlook, we believe the worst is behind the company in terms of credit card charge-offs, which should lead to lower loan-loss provisions and potentially a less bearish tone from management near-term," Fandetti wrote in a research note Wednesday. Charge-offs are loans that are written off as not being repaid. Credit card charge-offs often mirror unemployment, which has risen steadily throughout the recession. Last week, the Labor Dept. said the nation's unemployment rate hit 9.7% in August, a 26-year high. Because of its increasing banking operations, Fandetti said Capital One's strong capital base should allow it to handle future losses and still maintain adequate reserves to help diversify its portfolio and eventually grow its loan base. He left his 2009 and 2010 forecasts for Capital One unchanged.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| EU mergers and takeovers (Sept 9) - Forbes Posted: 09 Sep 2009 08:55 AM PDT
BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The following are planned mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS: -- German media group Bertelsmann AG and U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP take joint control of Newco, to manage music rights (approved Sept. 9) -- French banking services provider Credit Mutuel to acquire French online retail banking and insurance company Monabanq (approved Sept. 8) NEW LISTINGS: -- British investment fund RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Fund LP, managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank; energy group BP Plc; Spanish diversified company Ente Vasco De La Energia EVE; and Repsol YPF SA, a Spanish petroleum firm, acquire joint control of Bahia De Bizkaia Gas SL, a liquid natural gas regasification company in Spain, currently jointly controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA, BP, EVE and Repsol (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9) -- German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG and South Korean counterpart LS Industrial System Co Ltd take joint control of LS Power Semitech Co Ltd, a new joint venture to make and market molded intelligent power modules used in consumer applications (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES: None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE: SEPT 11 -- Italian oil and natural gas company Eni SpA to acquire sole control of Tuscany-based supplier of natural gas Toscana Energia Clienti SpA, jointly controlled by Eni and Toscana Energia (notified Aug. 7/deadline Sept. 11/simplified) SEPT 15 -- French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis to acquire U.S. animal pharmaceuticals and vaccines company Merial (notified Aug. 11/deadline Sept. 15/simplified) -- Japanese electronic products company Panasonic Corp to acquire Japanese counterpart Sanyo (notified Aug. 11/deadline Sept. 15) SEPT 16 -- Danish natural gas firm Dong Naturgas AS, controlled by Danish energy company Dong Energy AS, to acquire German energy supplier Kom-Strom AG (notified Aug. 12/deadline Sept. 16) SEPT 17 -- Spanish roads and railways construction company Dragados, belonging to Spain's ACS Group, to acquire Polish construction services company Pol-Aqua Group (notified Aug. 18/deadline Sept. 17/simplified) SEPT 22 -- Japanese consumer electronics maker Sony Corp to acquire control of the small- to mid-size TFT-LCD display business of Japanese maker of printers and LCD panels Seiko Epson Corp by purchasing shares (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 22) -- Bermuda-based reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd to acquire sole control of French-listed Paris Re Holdings Ltd by buying shares (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 22/simplified) -- Swiss drugmaker Novartis to acquire Austrian company Ebewe SP Group by buying shares (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 22) -- U.S. publicly traded company active in management and services BlackRock to acquire British global asset management products and services company Barclays Global Investors (notified Aug. 18/deadline Sept. 22) SEPT 25 -- German engineering group Robert Bosch to acquire German aloe products and silicon-based solar modules company aloe solar and German thin-film solar modules company Johanna Solar Technology (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 25/simplified) SEPT 29 -- Greek Piraeus Bank and French bank BNP Paribas acquire joint control of Greek wealth management undertaking Piraeus Wealth Management AEPEY and Swiss wealth management services undertaking Piraeus Wealth Management (Switzerland) SA (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified) -- French financial services firm Predica, owned by Credit Agricole, to acquire together with French real estate management company SFL, which is already jointly controlling French real estate company Parholding, joint control over the latter by way of purchase of shares currently owned by IDF (notified Aug. 25/deadline Sept. 29/simplified) SEPT 30 -- British investment fund RREEF Fund, ultimately managed by Germany's Deutsche Bank, and Spanish Union Fenosa Gas to acquire joint control of Spanish liquid natural gas regasification company SAGGAS (notified Aug. 26/deadline Sept. 30) -- German mail delivery firm TNT Deutschland, belonging to the Dutch group TNT NV, and German publishing, electronic media and mail delivery company Holtzbrinck acquire a number of joint ventures registered in Germany and active in regional mail delivery (notified Aug. 26/deadline Sept. 30/simplified) OCT 1 -- U.S. private equity investment company MD Investors Corp, indirectly controlled solely by U.S. Carlyle Group, to acquire parts of U.S. metal components manufacturer Metaldyne Corp (notified Aug. 27/deadline Oct. 1/simplified) OCT 2 -- South African foodservice products firm Bidvest to acquire Czech/Polish counterpart Nowaco Group (notified Aug. 28/deadline Oct. 2/simplified) OCT 6 -- U.S. auto maker General Motors to acquire parts of U.S. automotive components firm Delphi (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6) -- Test Tasit, a newly incorporated company ultimately controlled solely by British private equity investor Bridgepoint Capital Group Ltd, to acquire joint control of Tuvturk Kuzey, Tuvturk Guney and Tuvturk Istanbul, involved in vehicle inspections in Turkey, with existing parent companies Tuv Sud of Germany and Dogus Holding of Turkey. Test Tasit also to take sole control of Adana, a Turkish vehicle inspection firm (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6/simplified) -- Czech energy firm International Power Opatovice a.s., controlled by Britain's International Power Plc; the City of Prague; and German energy group EnBW, which is jointly controlled by French and German energy firms Electricite de France and Zweckverband Oberschwaebische Elektrizitaetswerke, take joint control of Czech energy provider Prazska Teplarenska a.s. (notified Sept. 1/deadline Oct. 6) SECOND-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE: -- U.S. software maker Oracle Corp to acquire the whole of computer hardware maker Sun Microsystems Inc (notified Aug. 3/deadline Sept. 3/in-depth investigation opened on Sept. 3/new deadline Jan. 19, 2010) GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified -- that is, ordinary first-stage reviews -- until they are approved. (Brussels Newsroom, Tel:+32-2 287 6830; Fax:+32-2 230 7710; brussels.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Neither the Subscriber nor Thomson Reuters warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by Thomson Reuters and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither Thomson Reuters nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Con Edison on Dow Jones Sustainability Index - Market Wire Posted: 09 Sep 2009 08:48 AM PDT SOURCE: Consolidated Edison, Inc. List Spotlights Corporate Leadership NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - September 9, 2009) - Con Edison ( NYSE : ED) has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for North America, an elite, annually issued list that analyzes corporate performance in order to highlight leading companies from an economic, environmental, and social perspective. The DJSI's best-in-class approach identifies sustainability leaders from each industry on global and regional levels. The analysis is conducted by SAM, an investment boutique focused exclusively on sustainability investing, with its results announced together with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Ltd., two leading global index providers. SAM assesses a company's strategy and implementation with regard to issues that include corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate change mitigation, energy consumption, knowledge management, supply chain standards, and labor practices, measuring sustainability criteria in 58 different categories. "Listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is another important benchmark for us," said Randolph S. Price, vice president of Environment, Health and Safety at Con Edison. "Our corporate commitment on environmental, health, safety, and sustainability issues is a definitive part of our company and all its operations. The 14,000 people who work together at Con Edison understand how integral that commitment is to everything we do." Ongoing company objectives include continually improving safety performance, ensuring Environment Health and Safety (EH&S) compliance, enhancing relationships with stakeholders, identifying and reducing EH&S risk potential, and promoting the wise and effective use of natural resources. Placement on the DJSI follows a series of favorable, multi-year environmental recognitions for Con Edison that include separate accolades from public agencies, private financial institutions, as well as a nonprofit environmental group dedicated to carbon emissions reduction. In two succeeding years, Innovest Strategic Value Advisors gave Con Edison a number one and two ranking in North America, respectively, over a score of multi-utility companies for its environmental and social performance. (Innovest is dedicated to conducting performance analyses of companies that uncovers hidden value for investors' consideration.) As part of its commitment to sustainable business practices, Con Edison has achieved a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2000, stemming from a commitment to continuously improve infrastructure. The company has reduced sulfur-hexafluoride emissions from electric distribution equipment, replaced generating equipment with natural-gas-burning combustion turbines, and has implemented cogeneration technologies that reduced greenhouse gas emissions per energy-output unit, among other actions. Recently, Con Edison received recognition from both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the company also received the Financial Times/Citi Private Bank Environmental Award two years ago for the greatest improvement in carbon efficiency by a large corporation in the Americas. The global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) also placed Con Edison among its top-most U.S. utility rankings (1st and 3rd, respectively) during the last two years for "Climate Governance," citing the company's approach to addressing climate change and its transparent disclosure practices on the issue. Con Edison also is continuing a number of initiatives to enhance environmental responsibility, including:
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through its two regulated utility subsidiaries and its three competitive energy businesses. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Consolidated Edison, Inc.'s Web site at www.conedison.com. The Power of Green site, www.coned.com/thepowerofgreen, also provides more than 100 energy-saving tips, news about the company's environmental efforts, and links to information about renewable energy and green power. To learn more about going green, find us on Facebook at Power of Green.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ambitions & Ambiguities: A new, new start -- but what if you can’t ... - ABC News Blogs Posted: 09 Sep 2009 08:48 AM PDT September 09, 2009 8:19 AM
That "reset" that they've been calling for just might be taking place -- albeit not entirely on terms of their choosing. The narrative of President Obama's message gone flat -- of a legislative push that came to shove and is left in chaos -- is so well-established that it's primed for a rewrite. That's where Wednesday night comes in: When the president enters the House chamber at 8 pm ET, he gets another big moment to rescue his biggest legislative initiative. And it comes as Sarah Palin jumps back into the health care debate -- maybe not an opponent Team Obama minds having just now. For all the noise, the president returns to speak in front of a back-from-break Congress pushing a reform effort that's just about where it was a month ago. The "Gang of Six" is still meeting. There are still five bills pending. Yes, he's sought new momentum before, again, and again. It hasn't crystallized into law -- and yet it all hasn't crumbled into pieces, either. As for the most-anticipated item . . . asked by ABC's Robin Roberts if the nation will learn whether he would sign a health care reform bill without a public option, the president said: "Well, I think what the country is going to know is exactly what I think will solve our health care crisis." Roberts asked twice whether the public option is a must-have part of the bill, but Obama didn't answer (and might that be an answer?): "There are some core principles that I've already laid out previously," he said. "We're going to be providing a much more detailed plan," Obama said on "Good Morning America Wednesday. "There are some principles that, if they're not embodied in the bill, I will not sign it," the president said, citing budget-neutrality (and not the public option). Mistakes made? "I, out of an effort to give Congress the ability to do their thing and not step on their toes, probably left too much ambiguity out there, which allowed, then, opponents of reform to come in and to fill up the airwaves with a lot of nonsense --everything from this ridiculous idea that we're setting up death panels, to false notions that this was designed to provide health insurance to illegal immigrants," the president said. Where we (still) stand: Take out the row over the public option (yeah, we know) and you've got broad support for health care reforms -- along with broad consensus that something will ultimately get done. Confidence from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: "Both leaders told the president that despite the difficult rough and tumble of the legislative process in the last few weeks, they are optimistic that both the House and Senate can pass health care reform legislation," per ABC's Jake Tapper. Said Reid (in a sentence where every phrase is worth unpacking): "We're going to do our very best to have a public option or something like a public option before we finish this work." Tapper, on "GMA": "The White House is confident that if the American people understand what is in the bill, they will support it." And what happens if the president isn't clear on the public option Wednesday night? What happens in the sandbox if you still can't read all the lines in the sand? "The White House set a high bar for the rare presidential address to a joint session of Congress, acknowledging the huge stakes and creating big expectations about the level of specificity Obama would provide," the AP's Jennifer Loven reports. And death panels live -- as an argument advanced by you-know-whom: "Given such statements, is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by -- dare I say it -- death panels?" Sarah Palin writes in a Wall Street Journal column. Palin continues: "Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans. Working through 'normal political channels,' they made themselves heard, and as a result Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling in this cost-cutting context. But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration." (If this was normal, what's abnormal?) It's another Louisiana Republican offering the formal GOP response: "U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany will step into the national spotlight tonight to offer a rebuttal to President Barack Obama's speech on health care," Jeff Moore writes in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. "A retired cardiothoracic surgeon, Boustany has emerged as a leading figure in the health-care debate." Pre-buttal watch: House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are planning a joint news conference around lunchtime Wednesday (after McConnell attends Supreme Court arguments) to discuss "the need for responsible, bipartisan health care reform in advance of the President's address to a Joint Session of Congress." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., wants separate bills: "The president has a real opportunity, so take a deep breath, and step back. Not try to sell the country on one bill, with one solution with 1300 pages, but instead offer to work on good ideas, good approaches with the whole country, and to do it in a series of smaller bills," Gingrich said in remarks fed out via satellite Wednesday morning. Your new narrative: "While the month of August clearly knocked the White House back on its heels, as Congressional town hall-style meetings exposed Americans' unease with an overhaul, the uproar does not seem to have greatly altered public opinion or substantially weakened Democrats' resolve," Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports in The New York Times. "Critical players in the health care industry remain at the negotiating table, meaning they are not out whipping up public or legislative opposition. "Despite tensions between moderate and liberal Democrats, there is broad agreement within the party over most of what a package would look like." "Depending on how this plays politically, I think there is the foundation for building support for broader legislation," said Dr. Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare and the FDA under President George W. Bush. Time's Michael Scherer and Karen Tumulty: "This is what Barack Obama does. Back him into a corner, get the press in a frenzy, send his poll ratings plummeting, and the aging basketball player responds again and again with the same move: he delivers a major speech. And why not? It keeps working." What if August wasn't a disaster? "The more I think about the events in August, the more I think of professional wrestling," The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder writes. "Lots of chair shots, blood and taunts, plenty of theater, but at the end of the day, everyone goes back to the locker room, changes out of their tights, and goes to the bar for a drink." The stakes: "Amid a summer of setbacks, President Obama's speech tonight before a joint session of Congress is a crucial moment that could determine whether he will be able to reestablish his presidency as what John F. Kennedy called the 'vital center of action' in the government," Peter Nicholas reports in the Los Angeles Times. The details: "The president is likely to make clear that a government-run insurance plan, known as the 'public option,' will not provide a level of subsidies that give it an unfair advantage over private insurers, according to aides familiar with the speech preparations," Jonathan Weisman and Janet Adamy report in The Wall Street Journal. "Big questions are likely to remain. Mr. Gibbs said the speech wouldn't be 'accompanied by truckloads of paper and our own piece of legislation.' " Back to those questions: "But a Democratic leadership aide who sat in on an administration briefing Tuesday said that while Obama will offer support Wednesday for a public option, the president will not insist on it," per The Hill's Mike Soraghan, Alexander Bolton and Sam Youngman. Said the aide: "I think he's going to be a bit noncommittal." "He will continue to equivocate like he and his staff have been doing recently," an "informed congressional source" tells the New York Daily News' Kenneth R. Bazinet and Michael McAuliff. Education time: "White House officials said that Mr. Obama would provide new details of what he would like to see in a final health care measure when he addresses Congress and the nation Wednesday, but that his chief focus would be on conveying to the public the need for a health care overhaul," Carl Hulse and Robert Pear write in The New York Times. The headline that should sound familiar: "Obama Speech Aims To Reenergize Effort." Yet, for context: "Two prominent House Democrats backed away from a public option Tuesday, providing at least some leeway for Obama," The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery report. "Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.), a leader of the 52-member Blue Dog coalition, said he could no longer support a government-run plan, a shift from his position a few months ago that suggests the divide between liberal and conservative Democrats may have widened in the wake of raucous town hall meetings last month. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said he still supports a public option but could back legislation without it -- a remark that ran counter to Pelosi's insistence Tuesday that a government plan 'is essential to our passing a bill.' " From the other side: "We want him to know that his biggest supporters don't just like a public option, we absolutely require it in a health care bill, and would consider anything short of that not 'change we can believe in,' " Adam Green, cofounder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which organized a rally of Obama campaign staffers and volunteers outside the White House, tells The Boston Globe's Lisa Wangsness.The PCCC is turning a letter signed by 400 former Obama staffers and 25,000 former Obama volunteers into a full-page ad that will run in The New York Times. A preview is HERE. "We're not raising a white flag and surrendering on the item," Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said of the public option, on ABCNews.com's "Top Line" Tuesday. Knowing the limits: "With Bill Clinton as a guide, the evidence suggests that a good speech, in and of itself, won't do it," ABC Polling Director Gary Langer writes. "One reason cuts to the challenge of presidential speechifying. These addresses to some extent represent an exercise in preaching to the choir, or at best to choir applicants; people who tune in tend to be favorably inclined, or at least willing to lend an ear." Advice from one who's gone here before: "I wouldn't even worry about the Republicans. I'd worry about executing," Bill Clinton tells Esquire. "All we have to worry about is getting things done and doing them as well as we can. Don't even worry about the Republicans. Let them figure out what they're going to stand for. 'Cause as long as they're sitting around waiting for us to mess up, they don't have a chance." Oh, and "even though" . . . "Do I think he's doing the right thing, even though he's jamming a lot of change down the system? I do," he said. "So there's a lot that's like my first year, but it's going to have a different ending -- he's going to get health care reform." Advice from one who's been in the inner circle: "I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it's doing right now," said Steve Hildebrand, Obama's former deputy campaign manager who oversaw the campaign's field organization, tells Politico's Ben Smith. "I want change just as much as a majority of Americans do, and I'm one of the many Americans who are losing patience." "Less Spocky, More Rocky," says Maureen Dowd: "In the absence of more vivid presidential leadership, the Democrats have reverted to their old DNA -- self-destructive scrapping and spending. . . . Just as he let Hillary breathe new life into her faltering campaign in New Hampshire, Obama let the moribund Republicans revivify themselves in the slashing image of Limbaugh and Palin." "Mr. Obama has proved that he can be inspiring. But at this point, what he needs to inspire most of all is fear," Bill Schneider writes for Huffington Post. Remember when the Senate Finance Committee was the center of the universe? Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., wants finality before he loses relevancy: "The Senate Democrat overseeing negotiations on a bipartisan health care bill said he hopes to reach an agreement in principle on the legislation by the time President Obama begins his speech to Congress tonight," USA Today's John Fritze reports. New part of the deal? "Now, it seems, malpractice reform may be back in play," ABC's Jonathan Karl reports. "The reason: Olympia Snowe, the sole Republican Senator who seems inclined to support Democrats on health care reform, wants it." A new Web video from the National Republican Senatorial Committee focuses on the public option: "Government-run health care. . . Democrats in disarray. . . . They pushed a public option. . . The American People rejected them." Annals of bipartisanship: The Bipartisan Policy Center and Better Health Care Together are sponsoring a forum at The Newseum in Washington Wednesday, starting at 11:30 am ET, focusing on "areas of agreement among political, business and labor leaders in the health reform debate." Featured: Former senator Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; SEIU's Andy Stern; and Walmart's Leslie Dach. Staying put: "Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will announce on Wednesday morning that he will remain as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, opting not to take over as chairman of the health panel," per The Hill's Silla Brush, J. Taylor Rushing and Jeffrey Young. "Three Washington sources said Tuesday evening that Dodd has decided not to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee." Fresh on the docket, for your new nine: It's Hillary, the argument. "The Supreme Court returns on Wednesday to consider ending long-standing limits on corporate and union spending in political campaigns -- a move critics say could give big money more influence over U.S. elections," Reuters' James Vicini reports. "Proponents say the case, which involves a movie critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, represents a basic issue of free speech. But a decision by the nation's highest court in the case could reshape the rules on how money can be spent in presidential and congressional elections, which already break new spending records with each political cycle." Shopping for a new cause, anyone? "President Obama's nominee to oversee bioterrorism defense at the Department of Homeland Security has been nagged since the early 1990s about her membership with a reading group that once described itself as Marxist," the Washington Times' Amanda Carpenter reports. "Dr. Tara O'Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, came under fire from conservatives in 1993 when she revealed she belonged to a study group called the Northeast Feminist Scholars, originally known as the Marxist-Feminist Group 1." On Sen. Mel Martinez', R-Fla., last day, a rough start already for his successor: "Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek joined union workers Tuesday in blasting incoming Republican Sen. George LeMieux over his law firm's role in bringing in Mexican laborers to build a high-rise hotel and condominiums in Miami," Beth Reinhard reports in The Miami Herald. Latest Mass. maneuverings: "Republican Christy Mihos said last night that he is on the verge of dropping his campaign for governor to run for the US Senate, adding to a frenzied day of political activity as the field of contenders for the seat of Edward M. Kennedy came into sharper focus," Frank Phillips reports in The Boston Globe. "Amid the jockeying, a new name emerged from outside the sphere of politics: Alan Khazei, the 48-year-old cofounder of City Year, the nationwide community service program for young adults, said he was seriously considering jumping into the Democratic primary. Though Khazei lacks experience in elective office, he would have access to liberal donors, the ability to deploy an army of young campaign activists, and the possibility of claiming the Kennedy mantle of public service." Plus: Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., is making a play to the left -- and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is among the last big names on the fence, with former Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., out. From the comeback files: "Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley was scheduled to tape the first broadcast of a new radio show he's launching from Palm Beach County. 'Inside the Mind of Mark Foley' was billed by the station as a program that 'will expose the inner workings of Washington D.C.' It will air for the first time on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. on WSVU 960 AM," per the Palm Beach Post's Michael C. Bender.
"During these incredibly changing times, it's important that we hear the voice of a true Washington D.C. insider." -- WSVU-AM General Manager Chet Tart, announcing the hiring of Mark Foley. "At this point, you know everything about me." -- Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, D-N.Y., at his weekly lecture at CCNY.
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