1. Facing Threat From WikiLeaks, Bank Plays Defense 6 minutes ago   permalink

NELSON / NYT

Since WikiLeaks threatened to “take down” a major American bank, Bank of America has been hunting for signs that its systems have been compromised.

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DEALBOOK / NYT DealBook: Bank of America Settles Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Claims   —  The bank announced on Monday that it would take a $2 billion charge stemming from an agreement with the two entities that centers on loans sold by Countrywide Financial.

2. Wall Street Starts New Year on the Run 9 minutes ago   permalink

REUTERS / NYT

Shares got a lift from the “January effect” when fund managers are no longer engaged in year-end window dressing and focus on stocks they find attractive.

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Owillis / Oliver Willis Wall Street Journal Joining Establishment Effort To Kneecap Palin?   —  I’m not sure about that, but it’s pretty odd to see the Wall Street Journal editorial page come out in defense of Michelle Obama versus Sarah Palin: “Health-care reform on an individual basis is often just this simple: We could save a lot of money and a lot of grief by making smarter choices,” Mrs. [...]

3. Majority of RNC against Steele 6 hours ago   permalink

Www.politico.com

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month, as a majority of the RNC’s 168 members indicate that they will not support the controversial chairman for another term.

discussions

Daily Kos / Daily Kos :   Midday open thread

Owillis / Oliver Willis :   A Steele Disappointment

4. Bits: After Apple Says Otherwise, iPhone Alarm Still Remains Silent 31 minutes ago   permalink

NICK BILTON / NYT

IPhone customers were still confused and upset after the phone’s built-in alarm failed to go off for the third day in a row.

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Dondodge.typepad.com 2011 The Year Of Android vs iPhone - who wins?   —  Prediction season has started early this year. Fortune, Techcrunch, Scoble, Louis Gray, and others are already picking winners in the Smartphone market, which most see as a two horse race between iPhone and Android. My prediction? Both will win because they are playing different games. Android will win the market share battle, but Apple will ... Ryan Kim / GigaOMTech :    Apple Holds Smartphone Lead, But Android Is Gaining

5. Obama Could Use Signing Statements On Gitmo Issue 1 hour ago   permalink

Owillis / Oliver Willis

This is interesting: The Guantanamo provisions, which include limits on where and how prisoners can be tried, were attached to a spending bill for military pay and benefits approved by Congress late last year. White House aides are recommending that President Obama sign the spending bill and then issue a “signing statement” ...

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Www.propublica.org Administration Prepares to Defy Efforts to Limit Obama’s Options for Guantanamo   —  President Barack Obama looks out the window in the Blue Room of the White House on Nov. 3, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Obama administration officials say they plan to reject Congressional efforts to limit the president's options on Guantanamo, setting the stage for a confrontation between the president and the new Congress on ... Owillis / Oliver Willis :    Obama Could Use Signing Statements On Gitmo Issue

6. December 2010 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® 9 minutes ago   permalink

Www.ism.ws

DO NOT CONFUSE THIS NATIONAL REPORT with the various regional purchasing reports released across the country. The national report's information reflects the entire United States, while the regional reports contain primarily regional data from their local vicinities. Also, the information in the regional reports is not used in calculating the ...

discussions

REUTERS / NYT :   Wall Street Starts New Year on the Run

7. Itineraries: What Gift to Bring the Kids? 9 minutes ago   permalink

LIZ GALST / NYT

Experts urge parents returning from a business trips to be careful about giving gifts to children, and some say teaching them to handle a parent’s absence is the best of all.

8. 2011 State Of The Union Date 15 minutes ago   permalink

Owillis / Oliver Willis

According to HuffPo, the date will be January 25, 2011. My guess is it’ll probably be at 8pm EST?

9. Siemens Invests in Expanding Wind Power, Despite Risks 18 minutes ago   permalink

JACK EWING / NYT

The business is one of the fastest growing at the German engineering giant, despite a slump in the U.S. market and the rise of strong competitors in China.

10. You're the Boss: My Resolution: The 24-Burger Strategy 19 minutes ago   permalink

BARBARA TAYLOR / NYT

The last 12 months confirmed something I’ve known about my industry — and my business — for a while now: we cannot help everybody.

11. Frequent Flier: Rewards, and Weird Experiences, Discovered in Developing World 19 minutes ago   permalink

HIROKO TABUCHI / NYT

Brian Mullaney, a co-founder of Smile Train, an international charity, says thinking of the children he is helping makes the weird travel experiences tolerable.

12. So long, broadband duopoly? Cable's high-speed triumph 22 minutes ago   permalink

Ars Technica

Broadband users have long been skeptical of the duopoly situation in the US Internet market, which often feels like “pick your poison”: telephone company or cable company. "Where's the real competition?" they cry, pointing to other countries with healthy ISP markets thanks to regulated line-sharing or even direct government control ...

13. Poll: Tax hikes on rich the first step toward balancing budget 36 minutes ago   permalink

Thehill.com

Increased taxes on high earners should be the first step toward balancing the federal budget, a new poll suggested Monday. Raising taxes on the rich beats out cuts to defense spending, Medicare and Social Security as U.S. adults' top preference on how to close the deficit, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.

discussions

Daily Kos / Daily Kos :   Sixty-one percent of Americans say raise taxes on wealthy to cut deficit

14. Economix: Health Care Is Already Rationed 37 minutes ago   permalink

DAVID LEONHARDT / NYT

There is no choice but to ration health care. A commentary by Norman Ornstein offers yet another example. The choice is how to ration.

15. West 'didn't learn anything' from chief of staff stepping down 1 hour ago   permalink

Thehill.com

Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) said Sunday that a radio host who stepped down as his chief of staff who stepped down after controversial comments was a victim of an attack by the left.

discussions

Daily Kos / Daily Kos :   Midday open thread

16. O’Donnell 2010 = Palin 2012? 1 hour ago   permalink

Owillis / Oliver Willis

Not only was Christine O’Donnell’s race in 2010 a national joke, but it was a mess for Delaware Republicans in the way it spiked Democratic turnout. In 2012, a lot of voters will again be voting for President Obama, but it would certainly juice the results to have a lot of them voting against an [...]

17. Player Pathetically Convinces Self He'll Be Even Better After Surgery 1 hour ago   permalink

The Onion

NEW YORK—In an extremely depressing case of denial Monday, a professional athlete about to undergo season-ending knee surgery told reporters that following the complex, four-hour-long procedure, he could be even stronger and faster than he was prior...

18. Media Decoder: John Roberts Goes to Fox 1 hour ago   permalink

BILL CARTER / NYT

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

19. Kinect designers to debut motion controller for PCs 2 hours ago   permalink

Ars Technica

The debut of a motion-sensing controller designed for PCs has been announced by PrimeSense, the creator of the Kinect for XBox 360. The company has teamed up with Asus to make the device, which is in turn creating a dedicated online store for selling compatible apps. The controller goes by the name "WAVI Xtion," and will enable gesture controls ...

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Www.wired.com Kinect Hack Turns World of Warcraft Into Full-Body Grind   —  A Microsoft Kinect hack lets World of Warcraft players cast spells, fight opponents and maneuver their characters using simple hand gestures and body movements. Ars Technica :    Kinect designers to debut motion controller for PCs

20. Is Microsoft becoming a security slacker? 1 hour ago   permalink

InfoWorld News

Nine years ago, Microsoft drew a line in the sand and told customers it would focus on making its code more secure and its software development process more transparent.