Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 10th, 2010 8:30 AM |
I will spare you the fact that the drama playing out in Greece is likely to have a tragic ending. I will do the same in terms of housing and labor in our nation. Let’s focus on the positives which reside in the bubbling waters of a variety of market sectors. Are the bubbles intoxicating? You bet they are. Remember, though, do not drink and drive!!
Welcome to our Sense on Cents Week in Review where I provide a streamlined recap of the major economic data and news, along with month-to-date market returns. (more…)
Tags: april 10 2010 market review, bond market review april 10 2010, commodity market review april 10 2010, currency market review april 10 2010, DJIA return april 10 2010, economic week in review april 10 2010, equity market review april 10 2010, Larry Doyle, msci em index return april 10 2010, nasdaq return april 10 2010, s&p 500 return april 10 2010
Posted in General, markets | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 4:19 PM |
Former CEO of Fannie Mae Daniel Mudd took the stand today to get grilled by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Ooooohhh, ahhhhh….what did we learn from Mr. Mudd? Very little. Although Mr. Mudd fed at the Fannie trough for a good number of years and was paid tens of millions of dollars during his tenure, the fact is he only took over the reins in what amounted to the bottom of the eighth inning.
If the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission truly wanted to serve America’s interests, they would shine the bright lights on three former Fannie execs who cultivated a culture which, in my opinion and others, allowed for Fannie Mae to cook their books while effectively paying off their friends up on the Hill. Who are these execs? (more…)
Tags: daniel mudd april 9 2010, daniel mudd fannie mae ceo, daniel mudd fcic april 9 2010 m, daniel mudd tenure at fannie mae, Daniel Mudd testimony april 9 2010, Fannie Mae, fannie mae lobbying dollars, fannie mae overreported revenues under franklin raines, FCIC April 9 2010, financial crisis inquiry commission april 9 2010, Franklin Raines Barack Obama, Franklin Raines fannie mae, fraud at fannie mae, Freddie Mac under reported revenues re, James Johnson fannie mae, James Johnson Obama VP search committee, Tim Howard fannie mae, what happened to franklin raines, where is frankliin raines, where is tim howard
Posted in Fannie Mae, FCIC, General | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 11:16 AM |
Lessened competition in any industry will lead to wider margins and greater revenue and profit opportunities.
Wall Street circa 2010 is certainly a dramatically changed landscape with significantly lessened competition. Is Wall Street today an honest display of capitalism in which ‘to the victors go the spoils’? Or is Wall Street an oligopoly which is using its increased power and leverage to control, if not outright fix, prices for products and services?
In the midst of all the other issues Washington is facing, I think there is very little focus on this topic, but we overlook it at our peril. Why? Price fixing, or iterations thereof, is nothing more than a vehicle to transfer wealth from consumers to providers. (more…)
Tags: 13 Bankers James Kwak, Bank of America Mortgage, banks capital base, banksters, capitalism on Wall Street, Citi Mortgage, collusion on Wall Street, competition on wall street, how do banks rebuild capital base ilding, JP Morgan Chase Home Finance, leverage on Wall Street, Matthew Pineda of Castle & Cooke Mortgage, mortgage pricing, Mortgage Sellers Are fed Up with Megaservicers Oligopoly, No Quarter Radio Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle, oligarchy, oligopoly, price fixing on Wall Street, to the victors go the spoils, transferring wealth from consumers to providers, Wall Street leverage, Wall Street oligopoly, wealth transfers, Wells Fargo Mortgage
Posted in Bank of America, Banking Institutions, Federal Reserve, General, JP Morgan, Mortgage Crisis, Wells Fargo | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 9:12 AM |
Who in America is going to stand up and accept appropriate culpability for his/her contribution to our current economic crisis? Who in America is also willing to expose the incestuous nature of the Wall Street-Washington relationship which provided the cover for the activities which have debilitated our nation?
Let’s review what we have learned so far:
1. Blame has been directed at bank executives…but they got paid handsomely, and have not accepted full responsibility.
2. Blame has been directed at ratings agencies….but they also got paid handsomely to provide ratings, while not really knowing what they were doing. (more…)
Tags: Ben Bernanke, blame for crisis, Chris Dodd, culpability for crisis, Fannie Mae execs, FCIC, finger pointing, FINRA, Franklin Raines, Freddie Mac execs, Larry Summers, Leland Brendsel, mortgage originators, Phil Gramm, public service, public service and private wealth accumulation, ratings agencies, reasons for our economic crisis, regulators, Rham Emanuel, Robert Rubin, SEC, Tim Geithner, Wall Street executives, Wall Street-Washington incest, Washington, what is to blame for our economic crisis, who is to blame for our economic crisis
Posted in General, Wall Street, Washington D.C. | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 8th, 2010 11:51 AM |
On Christmas Eve 2009, the Obama administration provided a blank check to the wards of the state known as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. (“Fannie and Freddie’s Huge Christmas Bonus”)
What other quasi-government institutions have a very similar business profile as Freddie and Fannie? The Federal Home Loan Bank system, acronym FHLBs, commonly referred to within the financial industry as FLUBs. I will reserve comment on that moniker. Ten months ago, I questioned whether the dynamics at work within the FHLB system would be the equivalent of what has transpired at Freddie and Fannie. I wrote “Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Deja Vu?” and highlighted:
Can our economy absorb another financial hit of the magnitude of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae? (more…)
Tags: Bloomberg Jonathan Weil, Fannie Mae, FASB, FASB relaxation of mark to market, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHLB Atlanta, FHLB Boston, FHLB Chicago, FHLB Dallas, FHLB Des Moines, FHLB New York, FHLB San Francisco, FHLB Seattle, FHLB system, FHLB Topeka, FHLBs, financial accounting, FLUBs, Freddie Mac, Housing Crisis, Mortgage Crisis, mortgage problems, Putting Perfume on a Pig, shell game, Subsidyscope
Posted in General | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 8th, 2010 9:15 AM |
Robert Rubin
Perhaps no one single individual is more representative of the Wall Street-Washington incestuous relationship than Robert Rubin.
Today, Mr. Rubin will provide testimony to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission which is charged with investigating the root causes of the economic crisis which emanated on Wall Street. Will the FCIC allow Mr. Rubin to hide behind the veil of platitudes, unnamed consultants, unknown risks, and the like? Will the FCIC finally stand up for American citizens and drill Mr. Rubin to expose the deeply embedded, culturally corrosive nature of the incestuous relationship between Wall Street and Washington? (more…)
Tags: CFTC, FCIC, over the counter derivatives oversight, Phil Angelides chariman FCIC, Robert Rubin, Robert Rubin AIG, Robert Rubin Barack Obama relationship, Robert Rubin Brooksley Born relationship, Robert Rubin career, Robert Rubin career at Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin compensation at Citigroup, Robert Rubin FCIC questioning April 8 2010, Robert Rubin FINRA, Robert Rubin MAry Schapiro relationship, Robert Rubin relationship with Franklin Raines, Robert Rubin relationship with Freddie and Fannie, Robert Rubin relationship with James Johnson, Robert Rubin relationship with Leland Brendsel, Robert Rubin relationship with Sandy Weill, Robert Rubin Richard Bowen, Robert Rubin role at Citigroup, Robert Rubin role in repeal of Glass Stegall
Posted in FCIC, Financial crisis inquiry commission, General, Robert Rubin | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 7th, 2010 3:41 PM |
Does anybody have any doubt that massive fraud within our mortgage industry played a large part in our current economic crisis? America continues to suffer from the fakers and phonies within our financial regulatory structure (including Alan Greenspan) who fail to accept responsibility for their shortcomings and the resultant frauds.
The mortgage fraud grew over time in order to feed the Wall Street machine the collateral it needed to execute a wide array of structured transactions. This need for increasing volume of mortgage originations was a critical point in one of my earliest blog posts written in November 2008, “The Wall Street Model is Broken… and Won’t Soon be Fixed!!” I wrote: (more…)
Tags: Alan Greenspan, Citigroup, Citigroup consumer lending, Citigroup Underwriter Warned of Mortgage Lapses, David Bushnell, Fannie Mae, FCIC, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission April 7 2010, financial frauds, financial regulators, Freddie Mac, Gary Crittenden, Mortgage Crisis, mortgage fraud, mortgage originations, Mortgages, originate to distribute, private profit social loss, Richard Bowen, Richard Bowen testimony April 7 2010, Robert Rubin
Posted in Citigroup, General, Mortgage Crisis | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 7th, 2010 1:28 PM |
When in doubt, hire a consultant.
When something fails, blame the consultant.
Shirk responsibility and pass the buck.
When will somebody with a set of balls on Wall Street stand up and take responsibility for the massive failures of risk management and business execution which led to the economic crisis which brought our country to its knees? (more…)
Tags: CDOs, Citigroup, collateralised debt obligations, consultants at Citigroup, economic crisis, FCIC, Financial crisis inquiry commission, masters of the universe, super senior CDOs, the blind leading the blind, Tom Maheras, Wall Street Banks, Wall Street business execution, Wall Street risk management, what are super senior CDOs
Posted in Citigroup, General | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 7th, 2010 9:03 AM |
Shut up!!!
Imagine being in a situation in which you knew you had to be quiet in order to advance your own personal career, rather than speaking up and blowing the whistle on irregularities and improprieties within your firm. This message is consistently relayed by many a whistleblower who has suffered from having tried to do the right thing. What is the result? Firms tout their virtuous values of integrity, respect, and excellence while effectively muzzling those who would blow the whistle on crimes and illegal practices.
I believe this reality is all too present in many, if not most, industries in our society today. There is absolutely no doubt it is present on Wall Street. (more…)
Tags: Barney Frank, code of silence, Darrell Issa, David Kotz, FINRA, paul Kanjorski, POGO, project on Government Oversight, SEC OIG report on whistleblowers, SEC whistleblower, SEC whistleblower program, Wall Street, Wall Street business as usual, Wall Street regulation, Wall Street sro, whistleblowers on wall street, whistles on Wall Street
Posted in FINRA, General, POGO, SEC | 8 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 6th, 2010 1:42 PM |
Prior reports that Greece’s financial problems are now in the rear view mirror are exceedingly premature.
As we navigate ‘across the pond,’ we learn that the Financial Times’ Wolfgang Munchau believes Greece Is Going to Default but Not This Year:
Greece will not only have to make an extremely large public sector deficit reduction effort but it will also have to do this under a condition of disinflation, and possibly deflation, which would push its nominal growth rate to negative levels during the adjustment period. That, in turn, would jeopardise the debt reduction programme of both the public and private sectors. Under those circumstances, there is no way that Greece could ever stabilise its debt-to-gross domestic product ratio, no matter how hard the government of George Papandreou tries.
To get out of this mess, one of five things will have to happen. (more…)
Tags: a run on the banks in Greece, beware of greeks bearing gifts, Boston Latin School, EU, fall of the Euro, Financial times Wolfgang Munchau, fiscal deficit in Greece, George Papaconstantinou, George Papandreou, Greece, Greece debt to GDP ratio, Greece is Going to default but Not This Year, Greece Spain Portugal, Greek bonds, Greek deficit, Greek drama, IMF bailout of Greece, options to fund Greek deficit, timeo danaos et dona ferentes, Wolfgang Munchau
Posted in General, Greece | 4 Comments »
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