Some old emails are getting passed around the halls of Congress. They suggest that people like Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke did, in fact, pressure Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis to buy Merrill Lynch despite all the red ink on Merrill’s books. Lewis will give his “They made me do it” defense on the Hill today.
According to emails released Wednesday that pull back the curtain on heated negotiations, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had suggested to another Fed official that “management is gone,” if BofA managers tried to flee the deal and later on needed further government assistance.
Should B of A shareholders cut Lewis any slack on this?
Elsewhere, Fortune explains how you can still retire rich.
Businessweek looks at explanations for why oil prices are surging again.
Judy Woodruff at PBS’s Newshour has a nice back and forth on the proposals for monitoring executive compensation.
The LA Times wonders whether any of the piles of cash sitting in low-interest money market accounts will flood the stock market.
And then there’s this story — a man in Delray Beach, Florida has turned a closet into his apartment:
The rent is $150 a month and to furnish his pad, a whopping $64.
“I have just become very well-fitted here,” he said.
The “room” is equipped with a small microwave oven and a mini-refrigerator. He shares a community bathroom with other renters on the same property. The closet is part of a living space above a restaurant.
As the story says, one man’s closet is another man’s castle…
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