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We've got to congratulate Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, for his tough stand on bank bonuses. He plans to make some bank bonuses illegal, according to a Bloomberg article.

Regulators will be given "powers if necessary to tear up contracts that would result in payments being made that would cause instability," according to the Sunday Telegraph. Not only that, but the paper reports that City Minister Paul Myners told Sky News that "if those contracts are written, they will be voided under law."

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared to a new annual high Thursday morning after the chipmaker settled its antitrust case against rival Intel (INTC). Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will shell out $1.25 billion to AMD, and will abide by a new set of rules for conducting business. The pact also includes a renewed cross-license agreement between the two chip titans.

In prepared comments, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer called the settlement a game-changer. "We are optimistic that it will usher a new era for our industry," he said. "We recognize that it will take time for people to understand how the operating conditions in the processor business have changed. But make no mistake -- they have changed."

The latest litigation has Intel Inside.

The State of New York is going after Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) over antitrust allegations. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is accusing the largest chip manufacturer in the world that it is trying to secure a global monopoly for microprocessors.

For several years, Cuomo said that Intel has pushed the likes of Dell (NYSE: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to agree to the exclusive use of Intel's gear in exchange for billions of dollars in payments. The hefty cash outlays have given what Cuomo called a "stranglehold" on the market.

Another player in the Bernie Madoff saga has fallen. His longtime auditor, David Friehling, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the SEC, and obstructing or impeding the administration of the Internal Revenue laws (among others).

Despite the plea, Friehling still told U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, "At no time was I ever aware Bernard Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme."

All it takes is a little patience. F. Scott Yeager, a former Enron executive, got some good news from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which ruled that it wouldn't revisit his case. So, he no longer has criminal charges related to financial fraud hanging over him. Yeager has been acquitted on all counts. This follows a June ruling by the Supreme Court, which tossed a previous 5th Circuit Court ruling that could have resulted in a new trial.

The ruling said, "Today, ... it is clear under our initial ... analysis the jury made a finding in acquitting Yeager that precludes prosecution on insider trading and money laundering." Samuel Buffone, who was one of Yeager's attorneys, stated that his client shouldn't have been indicted to begin with and didn't do anything wrong. It has taken them seven years to get to this point.

Yeager landed in hot water because he sold stock in Enron for more than $54 million before it began the plunge that would ultimately end with its bankruptcy in 2001. He faced 125 counts, was acquitted of five (four for wire fraud and one for conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud) and wound up with a hung jury for the remaining 120, which included insider trading and money laundering. He was later indicted again on 13 counts of insider trading and money laundering.

On Wednesday, Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam told employees via letter that the company is going to wind down all of its hedge funds. In a Wall Street Journal article (subscription required), a person familiar with Galleon said that one of the alternatives the company is exploring is selling out to another firm.

These alternatives were approached by Rajaratnam in his letter, as he told employees that it is "in the best interest of our investors and employees to conduct an orderly wind down of Galleon's funds while we explore various alternatives for our business."

So, I was flipping through some articles in Rolling Stone, when I found a very interesting economic story - yes, in Rolling Stone. The article, "Wall Street's Naked Swindle," takes a look at what happened in the options pits leading up to the death of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. According to the article, an unknown option buyer made "one of the craziest bets Wall Street has ever seen," by shorting Bear Stearns. The unknown trader felt that Bear Stearns would lose "more than half" of its value in nine days or less, a bet that one financial analyst likened to buying 1.7 million lottery tickets.

What is crazy is that this bet paid off, leading to only one conclusion: insider trading (cue dramatic music). When Bear Stearns dropped from roughly $63 to $2 per share on March 17th (just six days later), the person purchasing the options made roughly $270 million. Senator Chris Dodd from the Senate Banking Committee thought that something wasn't on the up and up with this trade, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) promised it would look into the trade. Of course, nothing has happened since.

Raj Rajaratnam's life has just changed profoundly. The 52-year-old founder, fund manager, and partner at the Galleon Group has been accused of insider trading, conspiring with others (now named as defendants with him) to trade shares of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Hilton (OTC: HLNQ), and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), among others. Rajaratnam generated $25 million in profits on these trades, but that's moot now.

Rajaratnam, who is #559 on the list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of $1.3 billion, now faces fines of up to $250,000 and from 5 to 20 years in prison. I doubt he'll be in the same slot on next year's list of billionaires.

Two New York investors have filed a lawsuit against the Securities & Exchange Commission, accusing the SEC of a "pattern of incompetence" in failing to detect and put a stop to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme.

"Had the SEC carried out its functions with even a minimum of reasonable due care, many, if not most, of Madoff's victims would have been spared the financial ruin they face today," the complaint said.

There is a bill making rounds on Capitol Hill that would provide a tax break for up to $3,500 for pet expenses. Does Fido really deserve a tax deduction? Do we really need to subsidize pet ownership in this country?

The recession has been extra hard on pets as people have abandoned pets at shelters they are no longer able to properly care for them. Pet can be very expensive between food, visits to the vet and increased rent. Those of you who think dog food is expensive should try to feed a horse sometime!

The Securities & Exchange Commission is appealing a judge's dismissal of the commissions insider trading lawsuit filed against billionaire Mark Cuban.

Bloomberg reports that "The SEC today filed a notice of appeal at U.S. District Court in Dallas without indicating what arguments it may make. A judge had dismissed the agency's lawsuit in July, saying Cuban's alleged promise to keep information confidential about Mamma.com Inc. didn't bar him from trading the company's stock."

Will the Fed enforce new tough credit card rules? Maybe. Let's look at the new rules.

First, we must recognize that Congress passed laws regulating credit card companies back in May. It was called the Credit Card Act. It required that:

• Credit cards issuers must provide more transparency by disclosing the terms of their customer agreements.
• Credit card rates would not be raised unexpectedly.
• There would be no rate increase during the first year after a new account is opened.
• Cards could not be issued to persons under age 21, unless the borrower can make the payments or has a parent co- signer who can make the payments.
• Consumer consent is needed before creditors could charge fees for transactions that exceed their credit limits and curb fees to sub prime cards for customers with risky credit.
• "Two cycle' billing is banned where a creditor raises an interest rate and charges the higher rate for a customer's previous borrowing.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) will be making corporate governance changes soon as a result of a lawsuit settlement.

Dell did not admit any wrongdoing (naturally) after a recent lawsuit accused certain Dell directors and employees of engaging in insider trading practices, as well as making false statements about the state of the company's business.

fJoseph Hirko, the former CEO of Enron's internet division, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in what was at the time the largest securities fraud case in United States history.

Mr. Hirko pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain. He apologized for his crimes before being sentenced. He will also pay $8.7 million in restitution. According to the New York Times, "Mr. Hirko, who now owns a business that rents tables, chairs and other equipment for parties and other events, will remain free on bond until he reports to prison in the next few months."

Will the owner of a party rental business be able to satisfy an $8.7 million judgment? Who knows.

Accused Ponzi scheme perpetrator R. Allen Stanford was hospitalized Thursday following an altercation with another inmate. He was hospitalized in an undisclosed location, according to U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Alfredo Perez, and is expected to be released on Monday.

Stanford, who is 59 years old, sustained only superficial wounds, according to Perez. Given the limited physical damage, the reason for the extended hospitalization is unclear. Stanford's attorney, Kent Schaffer, says that a doctor was going to MRI Stanford but expected problems because of a metal stint. But, he has not linked the MRI to any specific condition.