Since starting last Thursday, Schlichter said he has seen more than a dozen inquiries. For now, competition remains thin. "I think this is rather volatile and won't see a larger group of individuals enter into the field until it stabilizes," he told me via email. The model is to collect a 5-10% commission for hooking up the registered warrant buyers and sellers. And that, friends, is the free market at work.

5. News & Weirdness

Earnings Dropped Worldwide in Second Quarter as Job Losses Hurt Consumers  - Bloomberg
Where's the "decoupling" crowd when you need them? China’s economy is forecast to grow 7.8% this year, according to a Bloomberg survey. That compares with a decline of 2.7% in the U.S. and 4.3% in the euro zone. Remember too, PetroChina (PTR) is the world’s largest company by market value.

India Will Borrow Record $93 Billion to Fund Budget - Bloomberg
Wait, look! The decouplers, they're just like us! "India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced plans to borrow a record 4.51 trillion rupees ($93 billion) to fund budget spending on roads, power and aid for the poor."

Is It Possible to Pay People to Borrow Money?
Sweden: Negative Interest Rates and Quantitative Easing  - CreditWritedowns
The tidy summary here, in my view, is correct: "The thing is you can lead a borrower to the bank, but you can’t make him borrow. Do you even want him to borrow? The last time I checked, it was savings and investment which created long-term growth. In my view, people are terrified of over-borrowing now and no amount of easy money is going to change that overnight."

Phrase of the Year: "Precautionary Borrowing"
Microsoft Prepares for Worst as New U.S. Company Bonds Show No End to Fear  -  Bloomberg
Microsoft's (MSFT) $3.75 billion bond sale in May was its first ever and was done even though regulatory filings show the maker of Windows computer operating systems had $25.3 billion in cash and short-term investments as of March 31, according to Bloomberg. There were at least 262 non-financial borrowers in the first half of this year, the most since 2001.

Happy Co-Dependence Day!
Judge Approves Plan to Sell GM Assets - FT
The plan will allow General Motors' (GM) most profitable assets to be sold to a new company, which allow GM to emerge from bankruptcy... possibly even this week.

Department of Personal Finance Horror
Man Outlives Savings... Twice - Washington Post
Larry Haubner, 107, has outlived his savings twice.

Porn Downloads Strain Japan's Mobile Phone Network - Bloomberg
Global revenue from pornography on mobile devices is expected to more than double to $4.9 billion in the five years to 2013, while music sales are expected to grow by only a third.