Citigroup reportedly is looking to raise additional foreign capital:
Citigroup is putting the final touches to its second big capital-raising effort in as many months, seeking up to $14bn from Chinese, Kuwaiti and public market investors.Under the proposal being discussed, the bulk of the money roughly $9bn would be most likely to come from China, people familiar with the negotiations say. The Kuwait Investment Authority would contribute about $1bn, while $2bn to $4bn would be raised through a public placement of shares.
The article, from the Financial Times, notes that Citigroup's attempt to shore up its finances by ...
Continue readingCongress to meet new patrons?
The New York Times reports that Merrill Lynch and several other big financial firms are seeking foreign investment to offset their losses brought on by their heavy betting on the subprime mortgage market, a development that may be troubling some in Congress:
To shore up its deteriorating finances, Merrill is now in discussions with investors in the United States, Asia and the Middle East, including American private equity firms, to raise about $4 billion in the coming days, these people said.The developments underscore the rising toll that the mortgage crisis is taking on many once-proud Wall Street banks. In ...
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New, improved Senate lobbying disclosure site is up and running
As I noted here, the Senate Office of Public Records lobbying disclosure site is officially up and running (and had been since New Year's Eve--apparently my browsers kept showing the cached version of the old site--which, for diehard fans of it, is still available here). Pam Gavin, the superintendent of public records, told me that about 90 percent of the 2007 midyear reports in the lobbying database were filed electronically, so much of the year's records will be searchable. And, going forward in 2008, all forms will have to be filed that way, greatly enhancing the value of ...
Continue readingOversight Committee Seeks for More Blackwater Documents
Rep. Henry Waxman's oversight committee sent out letters today to the Department of Defense, the Department of State and to Blackwater CEO Erik Prince asking for various sets of documents regarding contracts going back to 2003.
Among other issues, the seven-page letter to Erik Prince raises questions about all the no-bid contracts Blackwater has been given and asks the company to hand in documents detailing the hourly billing information that Blackwater charges the State department.
In the letter to DoD the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform touched upon an earlier letter from Mar. 31 ...
Continue reading(Federal) Help Wanted
Via the invaluable blog devoted to developments in federal government ethics, the IEC Journal, I came across this Web course for federal workers on the issues raised by working with government contractors:
Increasingly, private sector contractor employees are being used to accomplish the business of Government. This trend shows no signs of slowing down. These contractor employees can work either off-site or even in the same location as you. This may sometimes cause certain ethical issues to arise which you'll need to think about.It is important for you to know about the ethics rules and principles that focus ...
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Out of Compliance: Nonprofit with ties to Stevens’ PAC, Tardy on Paperwork and Fees to the State of Alaska
An Alaskan nonprofit foundation that raises money to make the records and mementos of Sen. [Ted] Stevens' career in public service" has failed to file registration documents or pay fees since 2004, according to the Alaska Department of Law. In response to a FOIA request to the department for all documents filed by the Ted Stevens Foundation (recently renamed the North to the Future Foundation), we received papers filed in 2003 and were told by department officials that none had been filed since then.
Any organization that is raising funds in the state of
Congressional financial disclosure forms now online
Today is the day that members of Congress must make their personal financial disclosure forms public. The Center for Responsive Politics has them up here. PoliticalMoneyLine, a division of Congressional Quarterly, has them online, in big, state-by-state PDFs. The House is here, the Senate here.
Continue readingFree PACER docket search from Justia
I stumbled across this site by accident, but I'm glad I did -- a free search that allows you to look up federal court cases without logging into the Pacer system. It seems to be a little more user friendly than the U.S. Party Case Index. To get the actual court documents, however, you'll still need a PACER account and will still have to pay eight cents a page to view filings...
Continue readingRep. Russ Carnahan tied to Arch Leadership PAC
Following up on this post, I spoke to Vince Currao, a political consultant for both Rep. Russ Carnahan and the Arch Leadership PAC. Currao said that Carnahan is the honorary chair of Arch Leadership PAC and that the Missouri lawmaker "raises money for" it.
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Looking into Arch Leadership PAC
Just for fun, I thought I'd take ten minutes and see if I can track down another mystery PAC for our friends at the Center for Responsive Politics--this time the Arch Leadership PAC. FEC filings list the PAC's address as 906 Olive St., Suite 1212, St. Louis, MO 63101. Googling it, I got a lot of links--the one that caught my eye was this campaign finance report from the Missouri Ethics Commission showing that Tom Carnahan, treasurer of a state-registered campaign committee for Robin Carnahan, lists that address. Googling Tom and Robin Carnahan, one comes across this bio ...
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