1. JPMorgan lost $7 Billion More Than They Told Us
The investment bank let it be known that anticipated $2 billion losses from a trade gone wrong could actually reach $9 billion.
The markets will not be distracted from the news, but the bank seems to be trying to minimize the public relations impact of having, its critics say, gambled bank deposits because it knew that taxpayers would be forced to bail it out again in a pinch.
2. News Corp Will Split in Two
Rupert Murdoch is expected to discuss the split — a humiliating move welcomed by investors — in an interview scheduled during the 10:00 a.m. hour on Fox News today, just minutes after a health care ruling ensures that nobody will pay much attention to what he says.
The move will sever ties between News Corp.'s lucrative film and television businesses and the money-losing newspapers that built Murdoch's empire but have now become a target of international investigations and a sink of losses.
3. The Republican Party Is Suing to End Limits on Campaign Cash
Republicans seem to want unlimited money from their donors — but not unlimited publicity on the topic.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday night on a federal lawsuit aiming to lift the current contribution caps and allow a single donor to give as much as $2 million to a range of federal candidates, as long as he spreads the contributions thin.
The P.R. move indicates that while the party is winning its campaign against campaign finance limits in the courts, it realizes the public is sick of money in politics.
4. Ann Curry Leaves The Today Show
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Curry, the Today Show co-host, was being pushed out of her job after only a year.
She made it official last night in an interview with USA Today, expressing distaste for a very public series of leaks from inside NBC that she was going to be forced to leave the show. Curry has bristled at becoming the news and her official announcement today ensures that she won't be the headline for very long.