Archive for April, 2012
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 30th, 2012 7:56 AM |
Six months and counting.
The lives of countless numbers of families and individuals are likely forever changed by what transpired at MF Global. Yet there remains no real accounting nor full retribution for the fiasco which unfolded within the walls of the firm that traced its roots to the late 1700s.
Certainly we can expect that trustees and regulators will put forth some thousand page reports trying to detail the minute by minute demise of MF Global. Do you think those reports will mean anything to the lives of the people impacted? I don’t. Why? How do you recapture trust? When there is NO real trust, there is NO real justice, and NO real closure. It is that simple. (more…)
Tags: Barack Obama and Jon Corzine, crony capitalism, Jeff Carter Chicago futures trader, John Roe BT Trading, john Roe Commodity Customer Coalition, MF Global, MF Global April 2012, MF Global customers, MF Global Edith O' Brien, MF Global history, MF Global Jon Corzine, MF Global lack of confidence, MF Global lack of trust, MF Global Leaves Industry Scarred, MF Global prosecution, MF Global regulators, MF Global The Sting, MF Global trustee, The sting, The Sting Paul Newman, The Sting Robert Redford, The World Project, This was a massive theft, Wall Street-Washington incest, what happened at MF Global
Posted in General, MF Global, Wall Street Washington Incest | 32 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 29th, 2012 12:41 PM |
I truly love gaining global insights and perspectives from highly intelligent people. I had just such a treat this morning in reading a Barron’s interview with the economic and financial historian Niall Ferguson.
What did this Harvard professor have to say on a topic which should be a MAJOR point of debate for our 2012 Presidential election? A lot. Let’s navigate.
Barron’s: There are once again concerns about U.S. growth. What factors are keeping the economy from reaching what you call “escape velocity”? (more…)
Tags: cost of crony capitalism, crony capitalism, greater economic growth, harvard professor Niall Ferguson, how do we generate economic growth, how to increase GDP, how to reach escape velocity, how to strengthen economy, investor protections, is America Becoming anAnti-Risk Welfare State?, keys to economic growth, Niall Ferguson, Niall Ferguson interview in Barron's, property rights, reducing corruption, rule of law, self-sustaining recovery, The World Justice Project, transparent regulations, unlocking more economic growth, waht point in history is like the current, Wall Street-Washington incest, what are the keys to economic growth, what is escape velocity, who is Niall Ferguson
Posted in Economy, General, Wall Street Washington Incest | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 28th, 2012 8:25 PM |
Continuing our weekend theme of critiquing the all-powerful Federal Reserve, let’s listen to one of the most informed and well spoken Fed critics, James Grant, editor of the widely read and highly regarded Grant’s Interest Rate Observer.
Interested in capitalism, monetary policy, historical Fed analysis, gold, quantitative easing, inflation vs. deflation, and our economy? The video below runs for 28 minutes, but it provides information and insights that will benefit you for a LOT longer than that.
For those who appreciate sense on cents, this interview with Grant is an instant classic and a MUST VIEW… (more…)
Tags: Capital Account, criticism of the federal reserve, David Einhorn jelly donuts, Grant's Interest Rate Observer, James Grant interview, James Grant interview Capital Account, James Grant on economy, James Grant on gold, James Grant on government policy, Jim Grant, Jim Grant interview on RT, Jim Grant on Fed policy, tail risk
Posted in General | No Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 28th, 2012 9:17 AM |
This commentary is a little lengthy but a great and absolute MUST READ!! LD
Who really runs America?
The media may actively and aggressively debate the pandering provided by those on both ends of the political spectrum. But to whom do these pols really answer? The American public? I do not think so.
The Washington establishment strikes me as little more than puppets played by the one controlling the money. Who might that be? The all powerful and, all assertions to the contrary, perpetually opaque Federal Reserve.
Let’s navigate deep into the chambers of the New York Federal Reserve. (more…)
Tags: Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, ceteris paribus, Federal reserve history, Federal Reserve policy, fractional reserve system, Friedrich Hayek, history of the Fed, history of the federal reserve, Long Term Capital Management, modern industrial economy, Modigliani, Modigliani and Sutch, Murray Rothbard, My Speech at the New York Federal Reserve, operation twist, Robert Wenzel, Robert Wenzel's speech at the New York Federal Reserve, Ron Paul sound money policy, speech by Robert Wenzel, success of federal reserve policy, The all powerful Federal Reserve, Wenzel on economy and monetary policy, Wenzel on Ludwig von Mises, Wenzel speech, who really runs America
Posted in Federal Reserve, General | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 27th, 2012 11:26 AM |
Think Spain is speeding on its way over the proverbial cliff? Let’s emphasize the “speeding”.
Continuing on our focus today of issues within the EU, Spain — merely the 9th largest economy in the world — announced today that its unemployment rate hit 24.4%. For purposes of context, that rate stood at a relatively mild 7.9% in 2007.
OUCH…24.4% unemployment is a whole lot of pain!!! (more…)
Tags: austerity in Spain, chance for civil unrest in Spain, downgrade of Spanish debt, economy in Spain, employment situation in Spain, EU, European Union, HSBC economist Stephen King, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, recession in Spain, Spain, Spanish economy, Spanish labor unions, Spanish unemployment, Spanish Unemployment Hits 24.4%, unemployment in Spain, What is Spain's unemployment rate, what is the Spanish unemployment rate
Posted in General, Spain | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 27th, 2012 9:11 AM |
The center of our global financial crisis squarely rests upon the Euro-zone in general and a number of peripheral sovereign states specifically. The movement in spreads within this market are often vicious.
The European Central Bank has thrown the kitchen sink in the form of its 3-year LTRO (long term refinancing operation) at the massive debt problem. The LTRO aside, do you get the sense that there is a far greater force at work behind the scenes driving these markets? I do. Who and what are really driving spreads within the Euro-zone?
Let’s navigate as the Journal of International Money and Finance addresses this critically important topic in its April 2012 issue. (more…)
Tags: Anne-Lauren Delatte Rouen Business School, Antonia Lopez-Villavicencio of University of Paris North, ban on naked CDS, cds vs cash basis, cds vs underlying cash bonds, credit derivatives, EU, Euro PIIGS, Euro-zone, European CDS, European PIIGS, European sovereign spreads, European Union, France sovereign spreads, Goldman Sachs, Greece sovereign spreads, Ireland sovereign spreads, Italy sovereign spreads, Journal of International Money and Finance, JP Morgan, long term refinancing operation, LTRO, Mathieu Gex University of Grenoble, naked CDS, PIIGS, Portugal sovereign spreads, Rouen Business School, sovereign spreads in Europe, Spain sovereign spreads, speculative trading of CDS
Posted in Euro, European Central Bank, European Union, General | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 26th, 2012 8:28 AM |
Yesterday’s story regarding the SEC inadvertently, or not, blowing the cover of a whistleblower generated a lot of interest here at Sense on Cents and elsewhere. So much interest, in fact, that parties in both camps, the SEC and the whistleblower, got right back in the ring to make their case.
While I have my own strongly held beliefs, stated yesterday, as to the real driving force within SEC Enforcement, fairness dictates that I highlight competing views as well. On that note, what does the director of the New York Office of the SEC have to say on this matter? Let’s review a letter to the editor in today’s WSJ: (more…)
Tags: George Canellos letter to WSJ, Milstream Strategy Group, New York Office SEC, Peter Earle, Pipeline Gordon Henderson, Richard Holwell, SEC attorney Daniel Walfish, SEC did Not Blow Source's Cover, SEC faces Questions About Tipster Policy, SEC Rebecca Katz, SEC whistleblower case Pipeline Trading, SEC whistleblower program, securities lawyer Rebecca Katz
Posted in SEC, whistleblowers | 11 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 25th, 2012 10:24 AM |
News this morning that an SEC attorney, in the midst of an investigation, blew the cover of a whistleblower might have been formerly thought of as inadvertent or unfortunate. America is no longer so naive.
The Wall Street Journal’s lead story today highlights, Source’s Cover Blown by SEC:
Federal securities regulators, in a sensitive breach, inadvertently revealed the identity of a whistleblower during a probe of a firm that ran a stock trading platform. (more…)
Tags: are whistleblowers protected, DOJ, Gary Aguirre, George Demos, matt taibbi, Peter C. Earle, Peter C. Earle West Point, Peter Sivere, Pipeline Trading, Preet Bharara Mary Jo White, SEC blows whistleblower cover, SEC case against Pipe Trading, SEC Enforcement Robert Khuzami, SEC exposes whistleblower, SEC whistleblower Dodd-Frank, SEC whistleblower practice, silencing whistleblowers on Wall Street, Source's Cover Blown by SEC, whistleblowers
Posted in General, whistleblowers | 10 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 25th, 2012 4:59 AM |
When Jeffrey Gundlach talks, I listen.
The perennial Morningstar Fixed Income Manager of the year and CEO of Doubleline Capital spoke yesterday at the Investment Management Consultants Association national conference. What did he have to say? A lot.
You may want to put down your coffee and dispose of any sharp objects prior to reading this. Let’s navigate as Investment News shares Gundlach’s wide ranging views on our economy, policy and investments in writing, Dour Gundlach Sees Dramatic Comeuppance for U.S., >>>>> (more…)
Tags: Gundlach, Gundlach Doubleline Capital, Gundlach IMCA, Gundlach view on debt, Gundlach view on Europe, Gundlach view on Japan, Gundlach view on United States, Gundlach's views on markets and economy, Jeff Gundlach, Jeff Gundlach Investment Management Consultants Association national conference, Jeff Gundlach talk April 24 2012, Jeff Gundlach we're going to jump the track
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 24th, 2012 7:23 AM |
Those engaged in massive strategic maneuvers know all too well that progress is typically made not in one fell swoop but painstakingly inch by inch.
With deficits beyond the scope of imagination but oh so very real, I cautioned people to keep a watchful eye on Uncle Sam. Where might the old man go to beg, borrow, or steal money to fill that enormous fiscal hole? Your retirement accounts. I first broached this topic in early 2010 in writing, Blueprint for Government Takeover of IRAs and Will Uncle Sam Takeover Your IRA?.
Fast forward and we now witness rumblings around Washington that the drunken sailors disguised as our political leaders are discussing how to make a move on your retirement savings. (more…)
Tags: 401Ks government takeovers, assault on Americans savings, Feds Eye Retirement-Fund to Cut Deficit, government scam, government takeover of IRAs, government takeover of our savings accounts, government takeover of retirement accounts, GSA scandal, Internal Revenue Service, IRAs government takeover, irs, New York Post, redistribution of incomes, retirement savings, Secret Service scandal, Solyndra, taxation without representation is tyranny, White House gallivanting, Will Uncle Sam Takeover Your IRAs Part II, William Gale economist
Posted in General, IRAs | 17 Comments »