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HomeStill Mad as Hell and Not Gonna Take It Anymore….Open Thread
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 25th, 2012 5:01 PM |
Have you had just about enough? What’s that, you say? You’ve had more than enough. You feel alone and disenfranchised while doing the best to navigate the economic landscape. You now finally appreciate that nobody is there to protect you.
You have a home here at Sense on Cents. Let’s navigate together.
In late 2009, I asked “What’s Fueling America’s Rage?” and people responded in spades.
In mid-2011, Jim Garvin’s message exploded across America that he was, “Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore”.
Just over the last few days, some regular readers, such as Coe and BR, have unleashed as never before. I commend them for speaking their minds so eloquently and aggressively. (more…)
Obama Acknowledges Congressional Insider Trading
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 24th, 2012 10:29 PM |
I will readily admit that I find President Obama to often be disingenuous in much of what he is delivering in his State of the Union.
He plays to an American public which remains severely challenged when it comes to financial literacy.
When he speaks about taxes, would he care to lay out why there is a difference between tax rates on long term capital gains versus ordinary income?
Does he know the difference and why the long term capital gains rate is lower? (more…)
Did Allen Stanford “Forget” State Secrets? Come On!!
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 23rd, 2012 10:09 PM |
Remember Allen Stanford?
Yes, we have waited close to three years for the once, but now dethroned, Sir Allen Stanford to come to trial for the charges brought against him in his management of a supposed Ponzi-scheme centered within his bank in Antigua.
While I imagine most readers of this blog certainly remember Allen Stanford quite well, the key question to be addressed in this trial is just how much does Stanford himself remember as to what truly transpired within his operation.
Scratching your head? Let’s navigate. (more…)
Will Principal Reduction Save Housing?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 23rd, 2012 12:53 PM |
While Washington has thrown everything and the kitchen sink to support our banking system and our economy over the last few years, Washington has been unable to prop up our housing market.
What do many in Washington and elsewhere believe needs to be done on the housing front? (more…)
Book Review: Reckless Endangerment: A Wall Street-Washington Incestuous Legacy and A MUST READ
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 21st, 2012 3:33 PM |
Years from now when people study what led to the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, they will have plenty of material to review. This is good.
Unlike our current era in which we clearly failed to learn from past crises, I hope future generations will not only study what led to our current crisis but then actually do something so it is not repeated. We have yet to begin that process.
On that note, let’s start right now to save our collective future. How so?
If we are to save our future, then let’s be brutally honest about our past and our present. (more…)
Rick Davis: Economic Navigator Extraordinaire
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 20th, 2012 11:12 AM |
How does one measure the real health of an economy that continues to adjust to massive structural changes and has become dependent on various lines of cheap funding provided by Uncle Sam?
Not easily.
It has been a little while since we have navigated upstream to get a real read on the pulse of our economy from one of our Sense on Cents favorites. I am speaking of Rick Davis of Consumer Metrics Institute, who recently penned a commentary entitled, Taking a Closer Look at Mixed Signals.
Rick always provides fabulous insights, and with this review he once again does not disappoint. His navigation system offers the following . . . (more…)
“Insider Trading Is Rampant and Routine”
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 19th, 2012 1:15 PM |
As much as Wall Street is the center of the financial services industry, it is really a simple business that revolves around people and information.
That basic reality makes this business so fascinating. The personalities, the pace, the flow of data, and ultimately the interaction between counterparties make everyday a fascinating experience.
In order for Wall Street to thrive, though, and for our markets and economy to prosper, there needs to be a premise and a pursuit of fair dealing on a level playing field. (more…)
Jon Corzine v Edith O’ Brien: Let’s Rumble
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 18th, 2012 11:41 AM |
Some of the largest financial debacles of our lifetime revolved around individuals who were able to effectively arbitrage, that is knowingly manipulate, their back office operations.
I refer specifically to the financial follies surrounding Joe Jett and Kidder Peabody in the early 1990s, Nick Leeson and Barings in 1995, and Yasuo Hamanaka and Sumitomo in the copper scandal of the mid 1990s.
I would maintain that due to a shortage of quality collateral in our financial system, it is highly likely that over the course of the last few years many of our large financial firms have knowingly manipulated their back offices and accounting operations. (more…)
US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Standard Investment v FINRA
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 17th, 2012 4:54 PM |
In the fall of 2009, I was asked by some Washington based attorneys if I was aware of a case known as Standard Investment Chartered v FINRA. I informed them that I did not know the case.
These attorneys shared with me information that seemed to expose that the merger of two regulators to form Wall Street’s current SRO FINRA was predicated on a proxy statement that included misinformation. I was enormously intrigued and tracked the case closely, including paying a visit into the federal courthouse in New York to observe a hearing on this case.
The crux of the case was that executives of FINRA improperly represented information in the proxy statement used for a merger of the NASD and the regulatory arm of the NYSE. (more…)
ARS Update: Lots of People Talking About Oppenheimer
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 12th, 2012 10:06 PM |
Last we checked on the ARS crisis two months back, we learned that the crowd at Oppenheimer was on pace to repay its ARS holders over the next 50 years. Yep, 50 years. How swell.
Well, one lucky Oppenheimer customer will get her money back a lot sooner than that. Who might that be? (more…)
