“New Indicator:CFO Magazine gave Excellence awards to Worldcom’s Scott Sullivan (1998), Enron’s Andrew Fastow (1999), and to Tyco’s Mark Swartz (2000). All were subsequently indicted” — R. Lowenstein

1. Strauss-Kahn arrest clouds Greek bailout talks — Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF, was arraigned in Manhattan attempted rape charges.
2. U.S. hits $14.3 trillion debt limit — the government maxed out its borrowing ability, raising fears of a US default. To stave off a cash shortage, Treasury Sec’y Timothy Geithner diverted money to be invested in two big gov’t pensions for use elsewhere. He warned the US faces default by Aug 2 2011 if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.
3. Strauss-Kahn steps down as head of IMF — Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as managing director of the IMF following his arrest on sex-assault charges in the U.S. John Lipsky, the organization’s first deputy managing director, remains as the acting head.
4. Japan slides back into recession — Japan’s GDP fell 0.9% in Q1 2011 from the previous quarter as the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in March hurt business and consumer spending as well as supply chains. The fall was greater than a forecast drop of 0.5% and represented a 3.7% annualized decline. With GDP contracting 0.8% in Q4 2010 from the previous period, Japan officially entered recession in Q1.
5. European Central Bank threatens to pull the plug on Greek lending — The European Central Bank has threatened to stop lending to banks using Greek government bonds as collateral if Athens changes the terms of the debt, a move which could bring down the country’s banking system.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: