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HomeWall Street Regulation: Different Day, Same Dog$hit
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 3rd, 2012 9:05 AM |
Despite a wealth of political bluster that Wall Street has been reformed, we awake this morning to see that very little has really changed on this front. Financial regulatory reform? Not today, folks.
The simple fact is when it comes to Wall Street regulation, investors, consumers, and the American public at large are being fed the same helping of dog$hit.
We need look no further than a meeting held just yesterday of industry executives and securities regulators to see exactly this. (more…)
JP Morgan Mortgage Fraud: Comments and Questions
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 2nd, 2012 8:58 AM |
Is yesterday’s announcement that the New York Attorney General (on behalf of the President’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities working group) is suing JP Morgan for fraud in selling mortgage-backed securities during 2006 and 2007 America’s long overdue call for justice?
Here is a copy of the suit. A few comments and questions.
First off, the activity in question occurred at Bear Stearns and not JP Morgan. JPM purchased Bear in the spring of 2008. I have long believed that selected parts of the mortgage origination process on Wall Street rose to the level of a racketeering enterprise. (more…)
From the Archives: Stifling the Truth Is Abuse of Capitalism
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 1st, 2012 6:14 AM |
Given the strong and varied response to a few of my most recent commentaries, I thought it may be insightful to take a look back into the archives. In September 2011, I took a bit of a sabbatical from writing. I would like to rerun the first post back from that break which ran in early October 2011. Has anything really changed from where we were a year ago this week? I think not.
In fact, I think the issues our nation has in finding, embracing, and revealing the truth are now more troubling than ever. What does that say about us as a people and a society? One reader the other day equated us to mushrooms being “fed manure and kept in the dark.” With no desire to sit idly by being fed a daily dose of dung, I welcome the challenge of continuing to pursue the truth as we navigate the economic landscape. LD
From the archives written here at Sense on Cents on October 6, 2011
Information is everything.
Access to information combined with fair and open markets are cornerstones of our free market capitalist system. With our economy continuing to lag, I have witnessed an increase in the stifling of the truth. (more…)
Caddell: Lack of Truth is “Fundamental Threat to Democracy”
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 28th, 2012 6:58 AM |
Gut check.
Those who have played competitive sports know there comes a point in time during the game when one needs to dig ever deeper for the intestinal will and fortitude to press on in pursuit of victory.
As a nation, I firmly believe we are at that very point. Will we answer the call or allow our opponents to determine the manner in which the game is played and seriously influence the outcome? The fact is the “game” I talk about today is in fact no game at all. I am talking about the future of our nation. . . . and I am pissed off and sick and tired as I think about this topic. What topic? (more…)
Obama’s Failure to Reform Wall Street: “The Letter”
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 27th, 2012 7:20 AM |
Yesterday’s commentary addressing the gross injustice of an SEC attorney walking away largely unscathed after having blown the cover of a whistleblower resonated far and wide. What is it about this story of the whistleblower Peter Sivere having his confidence violated that consumes me and strikes right at the core of America?
Sivere was victimized by those charged with upholding our laws, protecting our values, and promoting a system of free and fair trade. Peter Sivere’s story epitomizes the essence of the Wall Street -Washington Incest which I have railed on for the last three years.
Yet, Peter Sivere awakes again today a victim with no real justice. While he bears the brunt of the pain of being victimized, the simple fact is Sivere is every good and decent man and woman in America. As Sivere suffers, so do we all.
It does not have to be this way. How might it begin to change? (more…)
Obama’s Failure to Reform Wall Street: SEC No Evil Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 26th, 2012 5:51 AM |
While listening to the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates and you hear selected politicians make the case that they have reformed Wall Street, I recommend you get yourself a barf bag and think of the story I share with you today.
I introduced readers of this blog to whistleblower and former JP Morgan Chase compliance officer Peter Sivere in early 2010. For those unaware, Mr. Sivere had his identity revealed — that is, his confidence was violated — by an SEC attorney while in the process of blowing the whistle in an after hours trading case ongoing at JP Morgan.
Going on three years later Sivere and America still wait for the SEC to make proper amends in his case. Why is that fact and this case so important? (more…)
Libor Scandal: RBS Managers Condoned/Participated
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 25th, 2012 7:11 AM |
Crisis management 101 would maintain that during periods of turmoil a problem should be ring-fenced and a proper firewall developed so that the fallout does not spread. I believe that senior Wall Street management is utilizing that exact game plan in the midst of the Libor-manipulation scandal.
Wall Street would welcome paying token fines and sacrificing a handful of ‘rogue traders’ for the rigging of Libor. Those penalties would be exceptionally cheap prices to pay for the largest financial scandal in Wall Street history. If token fines being levied and a small cadre of traders being fired and perhaps prosecuted are how justice is defined in this scandal then American justice and America itself will have sunk to a new low. (more…)
Sheila Bair Rates Wall Street’s CEOs
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 25th, 2012 5:51 AM |
Few people had as much interaction in the heat of battle with financial CEOs than former FDIC chair Sheila Bair. What does Ms. Bair think of both past and current chief executives on Wall Street?
American Banker provides a riveting review of the good, the bad, and the ugly according to Ms. Bair in writing, What Sheila Bair Really Thinks of Big Bank Execs,
Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair was always known for speaking her mind, even when she ran the agency from 2006 to 2011. (more…)
The Best Investment Advice Ever: Saying “No”
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 24th, 2012 7:31 AM |
Large parts of the financial industry spend lots of time, effort, and money to develop plans and programs all under the guise of offering investment advice. Much of the investment “witchcraft” comes with a slew of hidden fees and expenses. That fact and those figures more often than not are conveniently avoided.
In the midst of many a discussion I have with young professionals launching their career, I work the conversation toward what I deem is the best investment advice ever. I firmly believe the specific insight I offer them is not only appropriate for a young professional but also for all investors. So what is “the best investment advice ever?” (more…)
