Bonus Bananas Apr 29, 2011

1) Taibbi Parses The Levin Report (Rolling Stone) - Carl Levin isn't exactly soft-spoken when it comes to the financial crisis. Matt Taibbi translates Levin's report on IB skullduggery into plain English, and it's worth a read. He also introduces the pricing structure of "X+Blankfein" meant to signify the extra couple inches of knife blade Goldman drove into cutomers' backs.

2) Why founding a three-person startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs. (AdGrok) - Great piece from last year by Antonio Garcia-Martinez, a former Goldman quant who left the firm to found AdGrok. It's not anti-Goldman, it's just pro-Start-Up. Particularly amusing: the annual White Castle eating contest where first year analysts and associates gorge themselves on a pallet of White Castle burgers until they puke. Good stuff.

3) Charting The Course To $7 Gas (Business Insider) - My post on higher gas prices this week got a lot of comments, so I thought I'd point this one out to you. J. Kevin Meaders makes the argument that $7 gas is all but a done deal thanks to monetary expansion. The scariest chart for me was the pimple of monetary expansion Greenspan enacted after the Dot Com bust versus the absolute hockey stick expansion we're currently experiencing. Pretty shocking to visualize.

4) Tattoo Takes Down Another Criminal (Funny or Die) - If you haven't heard of Anthony Garcia, he's a gangbanger convicted of murder because he tattooed the details of his crime on his chest. But it turns out Garcia isn't the only fan of self-incriminating ink. Who knew Lloyd Blankfein was tatted up like an outlaw biker?

5) John Paulson Loads Up On Distressed Debt (Guru Focus) - Speaking of willing accomplices (okay, that's not really fair), John Paulson is backing up the truck on distressed debt. He's picked up over $40 billion in Lehman Brothers debt for 10 cents on the dollar. If the current creditor plan is approved, he stands to make 24 cents on the dollar, or two-and-a-half times on his money. It was a ballsy play to be sure. He started buying Lehman debt the day they went bankrupt, and he was paying 35 cents on the dollar back then. But he got a bunch as low as 7.5 cents to bring his average cost to 10 cents. Nice.

6) The Fed Will Make Sure Obama Wins in 2012 (CNBC) - Obama's reelection is all but a done deal according to economists and Washington insiders, and the Fed will see to it according to Thanos Papasavvas of Investec Asset Management. He raises the specter of QE3 if the Pres needs a little help from his friends, and points out that GOP attempts to unseat Obama will likely be half-hearted at best. Sadly, I can see his point.

7) The Six Girls You'll Date in College (College Humor) - This was the early front-runner for video of the week. It's funny because it's true. If you haven't sampled a lovely from each category yet, what are you waiting for?

8) Amazon packing after South Carolina tax vote (McClatchy) - This really shows the clout some companies have today. Amazon is literally walking away from a one million-square foot distribution center in South Carolina before they even opened it because they didn't receive a sales tax exemption from the state. Amazon provides an object lesson in voting with your feet in this case.

9) From Tourist to Agent of Change: What You Need to Know About Voluntourism (BootsnAll) - I mentioned voluntourism in one of my Man Week posts and a lot of you reached out for more details. This article is a good place to start. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for laying out on a beach sipping umbrella drinks. But sometimes you want a vacation to mean something, and in those cases you can really make a difference in someone's life. I helped build a grocery store in a barrio in Mexico once, and I've never forgotten the experience.

10) Tucker Max Eats Like a Caveman (Adult Swim) - This one goes out to all my 4-Hour Body and Paleo Diet compatriots. Tucker Max sits down with Adult Swim to discuss the benefits of Paleo eating, MMA, and $6-a-dozen eggs. He says he's in the best shape of his life at 35 and that his body fat is at 8%, which is pretty stunning. Good intro to Paleo-style eating for those unfamiliar.

Well, it was really no contest for video of the week when this gem dropped yesterday. From the geniuses who brought us the first Keynes vs. Hayek video, Round Two is nothing short of awesome:

Have a great weekend, guys, and let me know what you think about the links!