Possible Senate candidate Harold Ford has been bashed by his likely rival for not disclosing whether or not he received a "taxpayer-backed bonus" from his job at Merrill Lynch. Turns out he didn't really need a bonus, because his unusual Wall Street contract promised him at least $2 million per year, regardless of his performance. more ›

Feel better, American taxpayers: Citigroup, which received $45 billion in bailout money, has reported a first quarter profit of $1.6 billion. However, Dealbook reports, "The earnings were helped by an accounting change that allowed the bank to post a one-time gain of $2.5 billion... Under the rule, companies are allowed to record any declines in the market value of their debt as an unrealized gain." ( You may remember that besides a $20 billion infusion from the government in November, it was only in February when the U.S. increased its stake in Citi to about 36%.) Some analysts are still worried about the financial firm's ability to retain top executives as well as their credit-default swaps. Citi's stock is up in pre-market trading. more ›

Perhaps inspired by yesterday's NY Post cartoon by Delonas, featuring Mr. Met watch CitField's name changed to Taxpayer Bailout Field, two politicians from State Island are proposing that Citifield be named Citi/Taxpayer Field. Because what better way than to pay tribute to Citigroup's $400 million investment in the Mets' new home, now that taxpayers are on the hook for about $350 billion with the Citi bailout. more ›

It appears that Judith Nathan, the current Mrs. Giuliani, may have been enjoying taxpayer-funded car service provided by the police while her affair with former Mayor Giuliani was unknown. Giuliani's admitted that he gave his girlfriend a security detail once their relationship became public because of possible threats against her, but it appears that Nathan was enjoying New York's Finest as a taxi service months before anyone even knew the two were involved with each... more ›

After some City Council members were caught red-handed using public funds to distribute self-promoting ads to voters--even in election years, which is illegal--the council voted 48-1 in favor of banning the practice. The vote comes on the heels of the release of a report [pdf file] by Citizens Union that showed elected officials spent $1 million in paid advertising singing their own praises during the last five years. According to The New York Sun, city... more ›