Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

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November 1, 2011 -- 5:30 a.m. CET

Visit WSJ.com at U.S. | EUROPE | ASIA News by section: Front Section | Opinion | | Front Section |   FRONT SECTION 1MF Global Collapses as Books Questioned  MF Global collapsed into bankruptcy when a potential buyer bolted over a discrepancy of hundreds of millions of dollars in the beleaguered securities firm's books. • Heard: Dial MF for Mayhem • Mean Street: Next Steps for MF Global • J.C. Flowers Could Lose Nearly $48 Million • SIPC Appoints Trustee • MF Global: Margin Calls Threatened Liquidity • As MF Global Falls, Traders Call It a Day • Deal Journal: The Biggest Losers  Greek Vote Threatens Bailout  Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stunned Europe by announcing a referendum on his country's latest bailout—a high-stakes gamble that could undermine the international effort to preserve the euro.  2• What's News—  3• St. Paul's Dean Steps Down Over Handling of Protesters • New Kyrgyz Leader Faces Test to Bridge Ethnic Gap  4• Plan to Lift Wages Stirs German Feud • Bloc's Economy Edges Nearer to Recession  5• Economic Concerns Pressure Italian Leader • OECD Cuts Forecasts For U.S., Euro Zone  6• Russian Tycoon Faces Grilling • AGENDA: The Ins and Outs of Future European Integration  7• CAPITAL JOURNAL: Domestic Woes Sideline Foreign Policy • Cain Denies Allegations of Harassment • Obama Moves on Drug Shortages  8• Slow Recovery Feels Like Recession • As Jobs Vanish, Sticking to Knitting • Restaurant Gives Way to Food Truck  9• Blackouts Vex Northeast After Snow • Shale Gas Fuels Legal Boom • U.S. Investigates Fannie Mae  10• World Watch • Doubts Cloud Tokyo's Yen Intervention • U.S. Targets Bomb Maker in Yemen for Terror Ties  11• U.N. Group Admits Palestinian Authority • Thai Airport Offers a Haven • Doubt Cast on Military Trash Pits' Health Ills  12• Radiation Cleanup Confounds Japan    OPINION 14Turkey Turns on Assad  A new chance for the U.S. to support regime change in Damascus.  California's New Green Tax  As the world retreats from cap and trade, Sacramento signs on.  India's Road to Financial Freedom  A key interest rate is deregulated, but bank lending is still skewed.  15OPINION•  EDWARD P. LAZEAR: The Euro Crisis: Doubting the 'Domino' Effect • Of Bailouts and Incentives Perversed  16OPINION• A Dysfunctional French Democracy •  MAX BOOT: Obama's Tragic Iraq Withdrawal    FRONT SECTION 29How a Few Bad Apples Ruin Everything  What harm can a few incompetent employees cause? A lot more than you may think.  30• NBA Players Shoot for Global Tour • Tip of the Day  31• Eye of Newt and Wool of Bat Will Be Plentiful After London Olympics  View the latest What's News Online Past Editions of In Today's Paper 17Europe Crisis Takes Toll on Barclays  Europe's financial crisis is taking its toll on Barclays PLC, as investment-banking revenue fell sharply even as an accounting-related gain lifted net profit by 7% in the first nine months of the year. • Heard: Diamond Stuck in the Rough • The Source: Barclays Proves Resilient  CURRENT ACCOUNT One Analyst Is Detailing His 'Fight'  Wall Street is about to find out if the pen is mightier than the sword, writes Francesco Guerrera. • Mean Street: Every Bank for Itself  Olympus Targets Had Scant Histories  The three firms that are a focus of an Olympus controversy had no revenue and scant business history when the company started to invest in them in 2006.  18• A Very Rich Adieu for Nabors CEO • Chinese See Saab Auto Profitable by 2014 • Corrections & Amplifications  19• For Qantas, Challenges Still Loom • AOL Plays Mobile Catch-Up  20• Secret of Self-Publishing: Success • PBS Launches Channel in the U.K.  22• Corzine Races to Save Firm  23• Car Wreck: Honda and Toyota  24• Meet FN's Top 100 Women in Finance  25• China Push Splinters Iron-Ore Pricing  26• Europe's Markets Fall • Too Much Distress Over Banks' Woes?    32HEARD ON THE STREET Diamond Stuck in the Rough at Barclays  Barclays CEO Bob Diamond is determined that the U.K. banking giant will hit the bullish targets he set over a year ago. But for him to do so, a lot has to go right between now and 2013.  HEARD ON THE STREET Getting More Bang From Tokyo FX Policy  Tokyo's latest foreign-exchange intervention is like using a water pistol to put out a forest fire. Japan could get more bang for its buck by focusing on Europe instead. • Japan Intervenes on Yen  HEARD ON THE STREET Amid Europe Crisis, Dial MF for Mayhem  MF Global's demise might actually be encouraging if it didn't underscore just how easily Europe's problems can ricochet through the financial system.  Overheard: Vultures Flock to MF Global Clients  Hours after MF Global filed for bankruptcy, London-based SVS CFD, a unit of IG Group, sent emails targeting clients of the defunct broker. The subject line: "MF GLOBAL filed for bankruptcy on Monday morning in New York." The email goes on to pitch its services. Wall Street's vulture culture, it seems, is alive and well. *** The numbers keep getting bigger. While Tokyo didn't divulge the cost of intervention to weaken the yen Monday, traders estimate it sold around ¥7 trillion ($92.31 billion). But there are two big problems. First, it is unlikely to offer lasting respite for exporters. Second, it gives perfect cover for other Asian countries, particularly China, to continue intervening to keep their currencies weak against the dollar. Given that those are usually export rivals, Japan may not be doing itself any favors. *** Volatility is something many traders would rather leave at the office. But some just can't escape it. Advertisements for CBOE VIX options and futures recently appeared in Metro North Railroad cars, which ferry workers between Manhattan, Greenwich, and Stamford. The pitch: "VIX is more than a fear gauge. It's a risk powertool."