There is strong evidence that what has been suspected is true – the Big Banking Game is Fixed. And you thought the top US Banks had to fight to survive in one of the toughest and most coldly efficient banking markets. But diverse financial media players like China Post, Bloomberg, Iranian Financial Times, NYTimes, and […]
Is the Wall Street Banking Game Fixed ? Read More »
The NewYork Times in an editorial today has published its bottom-line financial reforms. This past week Takethe5th also listed the financial reforms and prosecutions that had to be implemented to dispel the notion that Congress had been bought out by Wall Street. After all, Financial Industry lobbying and campaign contributions have exceeded $110 million for
Financial Reforms List: Comparison NYTimes vs Takethe5th Read More »
The pillory or public whipping post went out of fashion in England and Europe by the 1830’s but non-public whippings, usually in prisons, occurred until the 1960’s in various jurisdictions including the US[see wikipedia for back-ground reference here]. However, the US has not abandoned Verbal Whippings in Congress. Congress has used its Congressional Hearings mechanisms
The Public Whippings of Goldman Sachs Read More »
Here is something I did not expect to print here – Republican Senator Corker from Tennessee is offering a Financial Reform idea that has real bite: Corker said on “This Week” that he plans to introduce a “claw-back” provision which would take away the personal earnings for the past five years of the corporate officers
GOP Financial Reform Idea That Works! Read More »
What is becoming increasingly apparent and broadcasted ever more widely across all media is that the culture at the top tier US banks, hedge funds, and financial firms is an anything goes, casino gambling culture. $50B fraudster Bernie Madoff was not an isolated aberration but symptomatic of Wall Street’s greedy gambling addiction. Just one example,
Wall Street’s Made-off with the Money Culture Read More »
Tea Party members are riled to the point of rabid protest by one simple fact – Wall Street still trumps Main Street. Wall Street bankers are a) bigger than ever and more likely to fail catastrophically than before; b)are bonusing and compensating themselves bigger than ever before while still being on the dole for Fed
Wall Street Still Trumps Main Street Read More »
Given the huge cost to taxpayers for the Financial Bailout[and not just in TARP funds but the much bigger recession costs to governments at all levels due to loss of tax revenues while having to make increased safety net expenditures], Tea Party Members should have meaningful Financial Reform at the top of their agenda. But
The Tea Party and Meaningful Financial Reform Read More »
The NYTimes has done a really solid reporting and profile of the Tea party. based on a joint poll with CBS News and extensive interviews the story and follow up discussion shed enormous light on the nature of Tea Party supporters and their sometimes contradictory demands. Here is why NYTimes did the poll: The Tea
The Tea Party Poll Read More »
Frank Rich in a NYTimes editorial entitled No One Is To Blame skewers two notions – 1)that Liberal Media lacks punch when confronting the Democrats and the Obama administration with their misdeeds and 2)elite political and economic leaders are a)spreading the blame and b)getting away with gross negligence if not outright misconduct without suffering any
Spreading the Blame Read More »
One of the problems of the Financial Reforms before Congress is that simple things are not being done. It harkens back to the days of the Antitrust case against Microsoft. All sorts of breakup scenarios were tried-ballooned and then time ran out as Bush was declared President. Simple things like saying the IE browser and
Simple Financial Reforms Read More »
The New York Times Business section has a review of the book Green Gone Wrong in which the reviewer finds the book partially on target. Much like Bill Maher’s If You Drive Alone, You Drive With Bin-Laden, the major complaint with Green Gone Wrong is that it does not level with the reading public on
Going Green Shorted in the Ideas Market Read More »
It is very puzzling how the Republican Party can maintain so much party discipline and consistently obtain so many unanimous all no votes in both Houses of Congress. Perhaps the recent dismissal of Republican Analysts David Frum from the AEI-American Enterprise Institute may shed some light on this incredible solidarity in GOP voting. One current
GOP Unanimity in NO Read More »
The idea of a independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency is gaining traction again as seen in this Huffington Post . Could the following LOL comic skit be contributing to the momentum? The problem for the GOP opposition is that they do not want to be on the opposite side of popular and Tea Party sentiment
Consumer Financial Protection Agency as Humor Read More »
Tom Friedman at the NYTimes has an absolutely great post on the toxic nature of the leadership in Afghanistan by Hamid Karzai. It appears the Obama Administration has gotten themselves tied to two “leaders” of very dubious value in MidEast and Terrorist politics[think Karzai and Netanyahu]. The key questions the Obama Administration has to answer
Karzai like Netanyahu? Read More »
UPDATE: Netanyahu Nyets any Accommodation/Freeze on Israeli Settlements on Palestinian Lands The US and UN will have to look at Plan B to rein in Israeli Intransigence Despite warnings from the US and Rebuke from Britain, Israel continues to increase Jewish-only settlements in disputed territories in Palestine/Israel. Despite several warnings from various US leaders the
Leverage on Israeli Defiance on Settlements Read More »
Bob Hebert has written an article, An Absence of Class, that officially puts the GOP on notice for being the most dysfunctional party in the USA. The Republican Party is clinging to a strategy of divisiveness, intolerance, and calculated fear-mongering with little recourse to moderation nor providing substantive alternative policy. Here are some of the
UPDATE: Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not the Mensch the US seeks. Netanyahu declares that Israel would not stop Jewish settlements around Jerusalem. Yet again the New York Times reports of this macabre dance in Israel: Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians in West Bank This is the same damned dance of death that
Israel’s Toden Tanz Read More »
Barry Blitt and Frank Rich have a great commentary today on what is next on the Obama agenda – Financial Reforms. And Frank implies in his editorial that given the public mood Obama has a decided advantage in making these reforms – the almost unanimously opposing Republicans will be sealing their status as the Party
Next on Obama’s Agenda: Financial Reforms Read More »
Today is the day when Senator Chris Dodd reveals his final package for Financial Reforms – it should be as interesting as the Microsoft reveal is also today on Web Standards. Redmond decrees what, how much and how quickly it will embrace both old[promised but never delivered] and new Web Standards its going to embrace
Today: Financial Reform Reveal Date Read More »
Update: NYTimes reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu Offers Apology, but No Shift in Policy This blog has mixed no metaphors in saying that the Jewish Settlement Policy on the West Bank and in Jerusalem has been one of the greatest detriments to US Foreign Policy in the important Islamic World. The current map of Israeli
Israel Missteps Grossly Read More »
Who pays what in taxes is about wealth and whether it pays its fair share of taxes – leave aside the question of whether the distribution of income and wealth is equitable. Here is the distribution of wealth in America as of 2007: Here is the distribution tax payers in the US as of 2009:
Who Pays the Taxes ? Read More »
Here is a “Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, Know what I mean, Know what I mean” story from the New York Times that one has to take with a big dash of ironic humor.
Iran and Sanctions Read More »
Just in case Messieurs Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas , and ” LaScalia” need a reminder, here is telling evidence that Money Talks Disproportionately [oh and another reminder, 5% of the US population of have 67% of its Wealth]. James Pethokoukis describes in Agents of Influence on BreakingViews, how successful the Too-Big- Too-Fail-Banks lobbying has been
Money Talks Disproportionately Read More »
Republicans in Congress are getting a well polished reputation as Nope-A-Dopes. Take two of the most recent examples, Senators Richard Selby R-AB and Jim Bunning R-KY. The former has been holding up over 100 Presidential Appointments while the latter is holding hostage to a 30 day extension to a Financial Payments Bill – so they
The Republican Nope-A-Dope Strategy Read More »
The New York Times Opinionator Blog has a challenging posting by Stanley Fish on ” What is the First Amendment For?” Here is the Crux of the argument: When [dissenting Justice] Stevens writes “has long been recognized,” he is invoking the force of history and asking us to take note of the reasons why many
Supreme Court Unlimited Campaign Financing Debate Read More »
The US Health Care debate has turned on a curious combination of compexity and obscurity. But the bitter reality is that current health rules of the road are quite complex, the resulting care quite variabl[this is a must read link] and the costs keep escalating. Kaiser, one of the major players in health care provision,
Health Care: Pre-existing Conditions and Cross State Insurance Read More »
The impressive rise of China as a major economic and political power has started to garner attention – number one country in numbers of new car sales, fastest growing major economy among developed countries, threatening both Germany and Japan as largest exporting county, etc. But one title that China has recently taken – second in
The US is having major problems in its national governance – voting in the Senate now requires not just a simple majority but a super majority of 60 votes. The Republican Party is playing a dangerous game of governance chicken by upping the ante on what bills will be filibustered – where they hold up
How Do You Recover From a Badly Flawed Supreme Court Decision? Read More »
“Stock Pickers Suckered” is the title of a very interesting article in the latest Economist. What it shows is how easily top CEOs are able to bamboozle supposedly tried and true equity analysts. The study published in the Academy of Management Journal in its February 2010 issue is best characterized by its title – “A
Stock Pickers Suckered Read More »
There is a battle going on in the Senate over Financial Regulation – and one of the skirmishes divides the Financial community on Fiduciary Trust. It is a case of Brokers versus Financial advisors. Brokers-dealers [think Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, etc] are resisting fiercely having to adhere to the Fiduciary Trust standards that Financial and
Brokers Battle Against Fiduciary Trust Read More »
Forget the MSNBC commercial at the beginning, here is President Obama speaking with the House Republicans for 1 very full hour. This is must see TV. The discussion is pointed, frank but polite – none of the Fox News Fair-and-Balanced stridency nor MSNBC name calling. The number of good ideas that get exchanged here is
Must See Political TV Read More »
Slate has some excellent commentary and investigation on how the Supreme Court reached the concepts of Money being equal to Speech and a Corporation is equivalent to an individual. These two concepts are the critical flaws in the Supreme Courts granting unlimited campaign funding rights to Corporations and any other special interest group. Here is
Money is Speech and a Corporations is equivalent to an Individual Read More »
