Free Republic

A former manager of one of George Soros' investment funds has been accused of human trafficking, violent rape and assault in an extraordinary $27million lawsuit filed by three Florida models. Howard 'Howie' Rubin, 62, is accused of sexually assaulting three women, two of whom are former Playboy bunnies, at an $8million penthouse in Manhattan in 2016 which contains a secret 'dungeon' of sex toys, masks and BDSM 'apparatus'. The women claim Rubin and his associates lured them to New York on JetBlue flights after contacting them on Instagram. Once in Manhattan, they say he drugged them then violently beat them...

<p>A portfolio manager for an investment fund founded by financier George Soros sexually abused women at a Manhattan penthouse dungeon, according to a $27 million Brooklyn federal court suit. Howie Rubin, 62, whose high stakes dealing was featured in the best-selling books “Liar’s Poker” and “The Big Short,” rented the lavish Metropolitan Tower pad in Midtown to indulge in brutal sex with women whom he paid between $2000 and $5000 per session, according to the suit filed Thursday.</p>

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Citigroup chief executive officer Vikram Pandit is nothing if not an optimist. Shares of his big bank soared as much as 27% early Tuesday after reports circulated about a memo Pandit sent employees Monday night that extolled Citi's virtues. In the memo, obtained by CNN Tuesday, Pandit said the troubled bank, which has already received $45 billion in government assistance, was profitable during the first two months of 2009. Investors have been wondering if surging loan losses will lead to a fourth round of federal aid that could wipe out common shareholders and perhaps lead to...

Michael Lewis, the brilliant author of "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball" pens a lengthy story for Portfolio where he looks at: [T]he willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital—to decide who should get it and who should not. Believe me when I tell you that I hadn’t the...

<p>Berkeley, California, April 9 (Bloomberg) -- It's astonishing how much easier it has become in America in just the last few weeks to hate the French, even for those who shouldn't.</p> <p>A random sampling of three friends who disapprove of the war in Iraq and enjoy a good Burgundy reveals that all of them are inclined more than ever to detest our former ally. Trouble is, they don't know how to do it.</p>

<p>Anyone who is honest will admit it's impossible to know if this is a good war or a bad one. That is, if it will contribute to, or detract from, the sum total of human suffering.</p> <p>The success of the war against Iraq depends on how long it lasts, how many and what kind of people die, and how young Arabs and old North Koreans react. None of that is knowable. The violent war protesters on the streets of San Francisco are so moronic because they are certain when certainty is not possible. This war is a matter of subtle calculation, of weighing ever-changing costs against ever-shifting benefits.</p>