Google CEO Dumping a Third of a Billion Dollars in Shares [Wall Street Journal] "Eric Schmidt, who is stepping aside as Google Inc.'s chief executive, has filed paperwork to sell company shares currently worth $335 million this year, his first such sale in more than three years. The sale will represent a 6% drop in Mr. Schmidt's Google stake, and comes as the Internet giant said co-founder Larry Page will replace Mr. Schmidt as CEO in April. Mr. Schmidt will become executive chairman." (Dude, if I were liquid to nine figures I would do absolutely nothing with the rest of my life: You'd have to drag me over an XBox and a duvet encrusted with discarded lobster tail shells just to get me out of bed.)
"Obama Adds to Emphasis on Business with Adviser Choice" [NY Times] "President Obama, sending another strong signal that he intends to make his White House more business-friendly, traveled to this industrial city on Friday to appoint a prominent corporate executive as his chief outside economic adviser, and to spotlight his efforts on job creation, in advance of next week’s State of the Union address." How much good will do you think it will buy him?
Are The Media Missing the Significance of State Bankruptcy Debate? [Forbes] "The oddly passive headline on the New York Times Page One story today ('A Path Is Sought For States To Escape Their Debt Burdens') obscures a very active behind-the-scenes battle in Washington."
Life is Rough When You're Selling Your Yacht [NY Times] Particularly if it has a helipad: "In boom times, yacht enthusiasts would order a new dream boat and keep their old one for the two or three years the builder needed to complete the new boat. Then, they would quickly sell the older yacht to impatient new millionaires and billionaires eager for their requisite status symbols. But that equation changed with the financial crisis two."
"Beware the Shadow Office Space"[CNBC] CNBC's Diana Olick on the phenomenon of vacated office space: "Now that the office market appears to be taking a turn for the better, that shadow space will start to fill up, and in most places it will have to fill well before the company looks to take on additional space. Today Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate services and investment company, put some numbers to the scenario."
The Bizarre Saga of an Execution Drug [Wall Street Journal] "The sole U.S. maker of a key execution drug has decided to permanently halt production of the drug, which could lead many states to face delay in carrying out the death penalty. The decision made on Friday by Hospira Inc. caps months of controversy over thiopental sodium, an anesthetic that has long been used by states as a part of a cocktail of drugs administered during a lethal injection. Hospira's decision puts a wrench in the nation's capital-punishment system. States can attempt to use another anesthetic in place of thiopental, but such a switch likely would need to be approved by courts and possibly state legislators."
Dating 'Goldman Sachs Women' [EconomicPolicyJournal.com] Dating Goldmna girls doesn't sound like a lot of fun: "Goldman Sachs women don't laugh, they operate, and part of that operating means that you must take Goldman seriously all the time. Now on dates, when I am bored, I will prod and probe. With Goldman women, you can get bored pretty fast. They hold on their face what I would call a corporate version of a hare krishna smile. You can say the most absurd thing and they will hold that smile. You can say the most insightful thing and they will hold that smile. It's almost as though they don't know the difference between absurd and insightful, so they just smile."
David Einhorn Smack down on Ben Bernanke on Inflation[DealBreaker]