U.S. Probes Rating-Cut Trades Wall St Journal Securities regulators have sent subpoenas to hedge funds, specialized trading shops and other firms as part of a growing probe of possible insider trading before the U.S. government's credit rating was cut.

Editorial | How the Big Money Finds a Way In� �By EDUARDO PORTER� Published: September 17, 2011�� Companies, unions and other interest groups poured about $300 million into campaign ads in the 2010 Congressional elections after the Supreme Court�s Citizens United decision opened the sluices to unlimited spending by independent groups. That will look like a trickle compared with the gusher coming in 2012. Continued at �.. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/opinion/sunday/how-the-big-money-finds-a-way-in.html?src=recg

Utility Companies Give Themselves High Marks For Irene Restoration; Municipal Officials Disagree

Poll: Malloy Weathers Storm, But Gets Low Marks For Handling of Budget, Public Employees

Alabama gave out $247 million in improper unemployment benefits

Obama proposes new taxes on wealthy for half of debt plan
Washington Post

40% of consumers slash spending

America's Most Outrageous Teacher Cheating Scandals

by Lois Beckett | @loisbeckett� Sept 19. 2011 Many states still fail to follow up on evidence of teacher cheating. Here's our rundown of the long history of such cheating. http://www.propublica.org/article/americas-most-outrageous-teacher-cheating-scandals

New Evaluation System Pushes Out 34 Teachers In New Haven

COMMENTARY: Public unions plan raid on taxpayers and private business to fill pension gap Posted on September 15, 2011 �By Frank Keegan �They know they�re trillions of dollars in the hole for false government pension promises, and that tax increases required to fill it are politically impossible, so state and local government union groups Wednesday proposed a two-pronged attack on beleaguered private-sector workers and businesses. The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, or NCPERS, released �The Secure Choice Pension: A Way Forward for Retirement Security in the Private Sector.� A few hours later, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, or CSLGE, had a national press conference to announce �Strengthening State and Local Government Finances: Lessons for Negotiating Public Pension Plan Reforms.� Read complete article at http://www.franklincenterhq.org/2726/commentary-public-unions-plan-raid-on-taxpayers-and-private-business-to-fill-pension-gap/

More Pension Reports at http://PensionTsunami.com

From FCTO Board Member Tami W. Zawistowski, tami.z@resourcebooks.net - �This Saturday, September 24th, the American Warrior Day of Honor project will send its seventh group of World War II veterans to Washington, DC to see the World War II memorial and other monuments. This is an amazing effort by the American Warrior organization - http://americanwarrior.us/ - an all-volunteer organization that provides this opportunity at no cost to veterans. The welcome home for the veterans at Bradley Airport at about 8PM, at the US Air section of the main terminal, this Saturday is a big event, and includes the Marquess of Granby fife & drum corps, the American Patriot Guard and other entertainment designed to express honor and gratitude to these World War II vets. Just park in the garage and look for the crowd. If you know any World War II vets who might be interested in the trip, get an application from http://americanwarrior.us/. Understanding that nearly all of these brave men and women are at least 85 years old, there is medical staff on the trip, one guardian assigned to each two veterans, and wheelchairs available. So health issues are readily accommodated. The group also gratefully accepts donations to support their continued operation of these flights.

New Economic Perspectives: William Black: Why Nobody Went to Jail ... �During the Credit Crisis http://neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com/2011/09/william-black-why-nobody-went-to-jail.html

Soaring Poverty Casts Spotlight on 'Lost Decade' Sept 14, 2011 NY Times Another 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the United States last year, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, and the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it. Continued at �. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44513702/Soaring_Poverty_Casts_Spotlight_on_Lost_Decade

What's Happening With That Solar Company Scandal? Here's Our Guide on Solyndra by Marian Wang | @mariancw ProPublica� Sept 15, 2011

The bankruptcy of solar firm Solyndra has raised concerns that the Obama administration shouldn't have loaned the company money via a stimulus program. We break it all down. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/whats-happening-with-solyndra-heres-our-guide

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation�s income�an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

By Joseph E. Stiglitz Continued at �.

http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105

The Hill's 50 Wealthiest in Congress �By The Hill Staff - 09/05/11 Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has dethroned Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as the richest member of Congress, according to The Hill�s annual list of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers. McCaul reported a net worth of at least $287 million, by far the most of any lawmaker. Analysis for The Hill�s Wealthiest shows that 2010 was a banner year for many well-heeled members of Congress. Lawmakers including Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) saw gains of millions of dollars in their fortunes. Together, the 50 wealthiest lawmakers reported a minimum net worth of $1.6 billion, about $200 million more than the lawmakers who appeared on 2010�s list. Continued at �. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/179087-the-hills-2011-50-wealthiest-congress-rish-list

Taxes and debt: Left and right dare to agree

GOP might need Democratic votes on stopgap spending bill �Russell Berman 09/19/11 �The Hill - With federal funding set to run out on Sept. 30, the House on Wednesday is expected to vote on a bill to keep the government running through Nov. 18. The GOP measure also includes $3.65 billion in disaster aid, with $1 billion of the relief offset by cuts to a loan program for energy manufacturers.

Continued at http://thehill.com/homenews/house/182489-gop-might-need-democratic-votes-on-stopgap-spending-bill

CNN - Protesters hit Wall Street Modeled on the "Arab Spring" uprisings that swept through Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and other countries this year, Occupy Wall Street is a "leaderless resistance movement" orchestrated through Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools.�� Continued at �. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/technology/1109/gallery.occupy_wall_street/index.html

Video: Wall St. closed as protesters march

Demonstrators criticized the financial industry for the role it played in the economy's ills.he economy's ills.

SB10001424053111903927204576574130471400852.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet

News: For Politics, Bridgeport's In Its Own League http://articles.courant.com/2011-09-18/news/hc-op-mcenroe-bridgeport-elections-irregular-0918-20110918_1_mayor-bill-finch-bridgeport-democratic-registrar-foster-campaign

State applauds Malloy on Irene, but overall rating still low

Fund Withdrawals Top Lehman as $75 Billion Pulled From Stocks

GM, UAW Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

New rule would expand tight Obama lobbying rules to all federal workers

Lehman Three Years Later: What We Haven�t Learned | Op-Eds & Columns� Dean Baker The Guardian Unlimited, September 12, 2011Very little has changed about either the realities on the ground or the intellectual debate on economic issues in the last three years. The too-big-to-fail banks are bigger than ever as a result of crisis-induced mergers. Financial industry profits now exceed their pre-crisis share of corporate profits, and executive pay and bonuses are again at their bubble peaks. None of the executives who pushed and packaged fraudulent mortgages have gone to jail. Even those who have faced civil actions, like Countrywide�s Angelo Mozilo, have almost certainly still come ahead after making large payments to settle suits. Continued at �. http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/lehman-three-years-later-what-we-havent-learned

Obama Tax Plan Would Ask More of Millionaires� Jackie Calmes, The New York Times News Service: "President Obama on Monday will call for a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings as middle-income taxpayers, according to administration officials. With a special joint Congressional committee starting work to reach a bipartisan budget deal by late November, the proposal adds a new and populist feature to Mr. Obama�s effort to raise the political pressure on Republicans." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/obama-tax-plan-would-ask-more-of-millionaires.html?src=recg

Health-Care Reform Rules Would Restrict Public Reporting

GM, UAW Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Long arm of US law battles corruption overseas

Least Popular Deficit Reduction Measures Pursued By White House ... Congress, Poll Shows The survey, released Thursday and Friday, found that the most popular options for reducing the deficit was cutting Social Security benefits for high-income earners, with 64 percent favoring that idea. The third and fourth most popular ideas were raising the amount of salary subject to Social Security tax beyond the current $107,000 a year (52 percent) and gradually raising retirement age to 69 (49 percent). Yet the White House announced Thursday that President Obama would take changes to Social Security off the table when he makes suggestions for finding savings. "There will be no Social Security in the recommendations," said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage. On the congressional side, House Republicans have repeatedly declared that raising taxes is a non-starter -- a stance House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reaffirmed in a Thursday speech. Yet, the Bloomberg survey found that repealing the Bush-era tax cuts on households earning more than $250,000 is the second most favored idea, at 54 percent. Continued at �.. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/poll-white-house-congress-deficit-reduction-least-popular_n_966233.html

Tackling Reams of Bank Data Can Take Diligence, and Trust by Jesse Eisinger | @eisingerj� ProPublica� Sept 14, 2011 Jesse Eisinger looks at the dizzying proposition of trying to determine how many bad residential mortgage loans the big banks have on their balance sheets. Take Wells Fargo. About $41.3 billion, or 19.5 percent, of its $212 billion worth of residential first-mortgage customers were either late in paying or had been classified as �nonperforming,� according to the site. This was in line with calculations by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which estimates that about a fifth of residential loans on bank balance sheets nationwide are delinquent or in the process of being written off. Turn to Wells Fargo�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a full picture, according to Wells. It�s a happier, alternate universe in which $15.6 billion, or 7 percent of $223 billion, of first-mortgage loans are tagged late or �nonaccrual,� a charmingly opaque euphemism for bust. Continued at �. http://www.propublica.org/thetrade/item/tackling-reams-of-bank-data-can-take-diligence-and-trust�� More coverage: The Trade

Utility Companies Give Themselves High Marks For Irene Restoration; Municipal Officials Disagree

Poll: Malloy Weathers Storm, But Gets Low Marks For Handling of Budget, Public Employees

Alabama gave out $247 million in improper unemployment benefits

State applauds Malloy on Irene, but overall rating still low

Health-Care Reform Rules Would Restrict Public Reporting

Malloy to labor: 'Please, don't question my commitment'