Greece Lifts a Page From Citigroup’s Playbook: Jonathan Weil Is it too much to ask for the world’s titans of government and finance to speak credibly when they open their mouths? Some of them sure seem to think so, judging by the latest news from the financial-crisis front.

Goldman’s Reputation Is Blankfein’s Job No. 1: Jonathan Weil Bashing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has been elevated from a national pastime to something far more serious: a bona fide threat to the company’s operations. Don’t just take my word for it, though. We have it from Wall Street’s highest authority. That would be Goldman Sachs itself.

Suing Wall Street Banks Never Looked So Shady: Jonathan Weil Next time you see some company complain its “mark-to-market” losses aren’t real, remember this name: the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. It used to claim that, too. And it couldn’t have been more wrong.

BofA’s New SEC Deal Smells Even Worse: Jonathan Weil (Update1) Here’s hoping Jed Rakoff hasn’t lost his nerve.

Lehman Justice Isn’t Blind, It’s Unconscious: Jonathan Weil It is so widely accepted that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s balance sheet was bogus that even former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson can say it in his new memoir. And still, the government hasn’t found anyone who did anything wrong at the failed investment bank.

Obama’s $6.3 Trillion Scam Is America’s Shame: Jonathan Weil Look through President Barack Obama’s proposed 2011 budget, and you’ll see a line calling for a $235 million increase in the Justice Department’s funding to fight financial fraud. Lucky for them, the people who wrote the budget can’t be prosecuted for cooking the government’s books.

Wells Fargo Hedges Misbehave at Just Right Time: Jonathan Weil A strange thing happened last quarter at Wells Fargo & Co. A bunch of derivatives that were supposed to act as hedges on other assets seemed to go berserk.

Wall Street Fix Is In at Bank-Crisis Coroner: Jonathan Weil When Fannie Mae hired former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman in 2004 to investigate how its accounting practices had gone awry, his law firm’s final report took 17 months to complete and cost the company more than $60 million.

‘Worthless’ AIG Shares Belie Company’s Books: Jonathan Weil Turns out the folks in charge of winding down American International Group Inc. are smart after all. They might be too clever by half, though.

Citigroup’s Crystal Ball Too Fogged Up to Work: Jonathan Weil When the Treasury Department shelved its plans to sell $5 billion of Citigroup Inc. common stock in a public offering last week, the news came only two days after the bank had said the sale was a go. The delay was a reminder that predicting the future can be a tough exercise.