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HomeWho Really Deserves to ‘Pay’ for Bernie Madoff’s Fraud?
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 9th, 2010 8:04 AM |
Bernie Madoff is back.
While news of deficits, tax packages, currency devaluation, and the like capture the business headlines, is there any doubt that far more people in our nation are interested and intrigued by what is going on with the Madoff scam? I have no doubt.
I have very mixed feelings about Irving Picard, the trustee assigned to recover funds for those victimized by Madoff’s Ponzi scam, going after Wall Street institutions and foreign banks who knew or should have known of Madoff’s operation. Mixed feelings? Am I going soft? Shouldn’t these institutions be held to account? Let’s navigate. (more…)
Operation Broken Trust Missed “The Big One”
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 8th, 2010 7:55 AM |
$8 billion is a lot of money, right? Right.
But when is $8 billion NOT a lot of money?
$8 billion is NOT a lot of money when it is compared to $35 billion, $135 billion, or $335 billion. Agreed?
Agreed. Thank you. Let’s continue.
Sense on Cents is a huge proponent of exposing and prosecuting financial fraud wherever it occurs. To this end, I was happy to see that the Feds have had their ‘street cleaners’ operating overtime the last few months. The results of the Fed’s ‘street cleaning’, also known as Operation Broken Trust, is a not insignificant collection of 231 cases totaling $8 billion in losses. Well done. In all sincerity, I commend each and every individual involved in this effort. While those arrested deserve due process, they also deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If guilty, I hope they receive maximum sentences.
Regrettably, though, the street cleaners missed “The Big One.” Which scam is that? A scam which by any measure could reasonably be described by any of those much larger figures referenced above. (more…)
Fooling Some of the People All of the Time
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 7th, 2010 9:21 AM |
Who is willing to stand up and call out the companies, the financial regulators, and others who both enabled and embodied the practices which brought about our financial crisis?
There have been and will continue to be many well written books highlighting some of the finer points from this economic period. Will there be any books written which truly take off the gloves and call out the individuals and institutions deeply involved in the ‘Wall Street-Washington incest’ central to our economic demise? One book I plan to read seems to address this very theme. I thank a regular reader of Sense on Cents for bringing David Einhorn’s Fooling Some of the People All of the Time to my attention.
To those involved in the financial industry, Einhorn needs no introduction. To those in the general public, let me inform you that David Einhorn–more than any other individual– publicly called out Lehman Bros. as a disaster waiting to happen, and well in advance of anybody saying the same. What does Einhorn have to say now? What does he address in this book? Let’s navigate. (more…)
Will Ireland Deliver a ‘Bomb’shell on December 7th?
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 6th, 2010 5:14 AM |
December 7, 1941
A day which will live in infamy.
The course of world events changed forever that day.
Although there is no meaningful comparison between the loss of life and any amount of turmoil in the markets and global economy, we should be fully aware that December 7, 2010 has the potential to be an earth shattering day on our global financial and economic landscape.
The military ‘bombshells’ delivered 69 years ago on our military base at Pearl Harbor had ramifications far and wide. Financial and economic ‘bombshells’ may very well be delivered in the Emerald Isle this coming Tuesday, December 7, 2010.
Anybody with even a passing interest in our markets and economy would be well advised to watch results of this coming Tuesday’s budget vote in Ireland very closely. What are the consequences of this vote? (more…)
Will States, such as California, File Chapter 9?
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 3rd, 2010 6:38 AM |
Are those large waves roiling the world of municipal finance–and centered on California–to be feared?
Are they an indication of an oncoming tsunami? Or are they to be discounted and taken as just another “Hey, dude, don’t worry. Surf’s up!!”
Well, perhaps those less concerned about what is just ‘off the coast’ may care to ‘break out their boards’ but prudence dictates we take a harder look at what is causing the recent waves in the world of municipal finance. These factors include: (more…)
How Did FINRA Know the ARS Market Was Failing Well Before 2007?
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 1st, 2010 10:24 PM |
If you knew a market were starting to fail, would you step in and purchase that asset?
If that market were failing, but simultaneously being propped up by underwriters, do you believe regulators should protect you?
If that market were failing and a regulator charged with protecting you actually dumped some of those failing assets from its own portfolio, how would you feel?
If you owned some of these securities, do you think you might be protected by the regulator? The government?
Let’s reenter the world of auction rate securities and continue to bang the drum for those investors in America who have been so badly mistreated by the financial industry, the regulators charged with protecting them, and our government.
Although I have written voluminously on the auction-rate securities market, I was never fully aware of when auctions started to fail. Until now. (more…)
Lessons Learned Growing up in Boston, MA
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 1st, 2010 10:21 AM |
I loved growing up in Boston. My beloved knows how often I think back to the lessons learned and ‘education’ received in those formative years of the 1960s and early ’70s.
While growing up as a youth in Boston, my friends and I experienced plenty of situations that shaped our characters and our outlook. I know for a fact that my youthful experiences also had a profound impact on shaping my instincts.
What did I learn growing up in Boston? What did I learn riding those city buses and trolley cars? What were the lessons learned at Hynes, Fallon, and Billings Fields? What will I never forget when my friends and I ‘hustled’ our way into sports venues (gaining entry to the Boston “Gaahden” via the fire exits, sneaking into Boston College football games amidst the college band)? (more…)
Which U.S. Bank Will Wikileaks Expose?
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 30th, 2010 6:28 AM |
Truth, transparency, and integrity.
If I had a nickel for each and every time I wrote those prized virtues here at Sense on Cents, I would have a lot of nickels. I not only espouse these principles in my writing. I strongly believe that the pursuit of these virtues is the foundation for real economic success, if not life itself.
While each of these principles may be defined differently depending on one’s perspective, in terms of transparency, most people would be able to say, “Well, I’d know it if I saw it.” The world is now beginning to see a lot more transparency and accompanying material. How so? Wikileaks. Who is Wikileaks and what are they getting ready to release? (more…)
Hungary To Nationalize Pension Funds: “This is Open Blackmail”
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 29th, 2010 7:34 PM |
Might Uncle Sam try to take control of our retirement assets?
“What’s that, LD? Lose control of our retirement assets?” That is, could the “grand ol’ man” unilaterally swap our retirement assets for government sponsored IOUs?
This past January, a regular reader of Sense on Cents provided us a Blueprint for Government Takeover of IRAs. In February, I interviewed Ron Holland regarding his report, “Plan Now to Escape Obama’s Retirement Trap.”
Many readers of the aforementioned commentary and listeners to the aforementioned interview were blown away by the mere thought that our government may possibly look to nationalize our individual retirement assets and accounts. Argentina implemented such a drastic policy but certainly not the United States, right? Do not be so sure.
Would any other nations dare go to these lengths? Well, thanks to our supporter Comrade Joe for bringing a new development to light in this corner of our economic landscape. How so? (more…)
