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HomeNY Fed’s Dudley Indicts Banks’ “Lack of Respect for Law, Regulation, Public Trust”
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 8th, 2013 7:33 AM |
Wow, just wow.
It is not often if ever that a major Federal Reserve governor will turn on his own banking bedmates, but we witnessed just that yesterday in an address delivered by New York Fed governor William Dudley at the Global Economic Policy Forum in New York City.
Dudley’s talk was intended to provide an outline for ending the ongoing ‘too big to fail’ reality of our major banking institutions.
Hey, wait a second. I thought Dodd-Frank ended too big to fail, didn’t it? President Obama told us so. Well, he also told us that if we liked our health care plan and our doctors and our hospitals that we could keep them . . . and we see where that got us. Back to Dudley’s talk in which he let slip a statement that should unnerve Wall Street and Washington to their very core. (more…)
Wall Street Proctology: Morgan Stanley Doctors Are In
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 10th, 2013 9:02 AM |
With interest rates at artificially low levels (thanks to the Fed’s quantitative easing program) and investors increasingly leery of navigating into the shark infested waters of the high-frequency dominated equity markets, what is an investor to do?
More and more investors have been sold on the idea of allocating more capital to alternative investments. One needs to be exceptionally careful when engaging the practitioners engaged in these pursuits. Really? Oh yes.
In what might best be compared to a visit to an unlicensed proctologist, Bloomberg provides a wide angled view into the incredibly expensive and dark world of managed futures as practiced by the “doctors” at Morgan Stanley. (Caution: the mental images here may be upsetting) (more…)
Wall Street’s SRO Police Take MAJOR Hit
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 3rd, 2013 8:58 AM |
Did you feel a sizable tremor running between Washington and Wall Street overnight? I did.
At the epicenter of this tremor was the first meaningful questioning of the practice of self-regulation on Wall Street by their governmental overseers at the SEC.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White opened the door to a potential overhaul of financial-market oversight, saying the special regulatory status of U.S. exchanges may not best serve investors or public companies.
Wow. That simple statement may never lead anywhere, but the mere fact the SEC issued a statement of this sort is a tidal shift of epic proportions. Who else echoed the sentiments of this seismic activity? (more…)
Richard Bowen: The Corruption Extends to the Highest Levels of Government
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 23rd, 2013 10:02 AM |
I thank the many devoted readers of Sense on Cents who made sure I was aware of a riveting, must-read article in yesterday’s New York Times written by Bill Cohan, a Wall Street-Washington critic without peer.
Cohan writes of the travails of Richard Bowen, former whistleblower at Citigroup, who ran headlong into the fortress manned by Robert Rubin and friends. Bowen was a Citi employee who blew the whistle regarding the preponderance of defective mortgages running through the Citi pipeline.
He brought the knowledge of this activity to the highest perch within the bank including the attention of Robert Rubin. How was he treated? With what most would define as ‘the silent treatment.’ Once silenced, he was then subsequently shown the door.
While Bowen was pushed out of Citigroup back in 2009, he has not been silenced since then. (more…)
Global Financial System: Dangerous and Dysfunctional
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 20th, 2013 8:55 AM |
I truly appreciate reading the work and gaining the wisdom of those with informed insights and opinions.
Where do I always find people of this ilk? At one of my favorite stops while navigating the economic landscape: Project Syndicate.
While various and sundry lapdogs from both sides of the political aisle and others well-schooled in the inner workings of the Wall Street-Washington incestuous thoroughfare are touting how our financial system has been reformed, let’s go down a less traveled path and see what a noted observer has to say on this topic. (more…)
Morning Joe : How Wall Street Won
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 13th, 2013 9:27 AM |
Lehman Brothers failed on September 15, 2008.
We are now two days away from the 5 year anniversary of that fateful day and the unfolding of a string of events that continue to ripple across our global economy and markets.
As with the anniversaries of most cataclysmic events, we can now expect an ongoing stream of dialogue as to what led to the crisis and how things have played out since then.
The folks at Morning Joe had a brief 7-minute discussion recently with Time magazine editor Radhika Jones on this topic and these questions. They definitely hit upon some of the key issues but they do not use the one key word to define what really happened both pre and post crisis. What is that word? Let’s take a listen first to what they have to say: (more…)
Congressional Insider Trading: Bait and Switch
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 11th, 2013 9:57 AM |
Are people aware that Congress had meaningfully changed the legislation outlawing insider trading atop Capitol Hill? This bait and switch occurred a few months back but received very little fanfare at the time.
It deserves not only attention but real exposure. With no transparency there will never be a meaningful return of trust but that virtue is in short supply in the crony style of capitalism played in our nation’s capital. But I guess we are told to very simply “move along, nothing to see here.” I thank the regular reader who shared the following: (more…)
5 years After Lehman: Has Anything Really Changed?
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 10th, 2013 7:07 AM |
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
For those in and around Wall Street and Washington who pretend that there has been meaningful change in the issues that brought about our crisis in 2008, I have endless archives to highlight all too much remains the same.
Rather than diving into the archives, though, let’s navigate a Bloomberg commentary that qualifies as a Sense on Cents instant classic (and would serve as a fabulous promo for my upcoming book).
The simple fact is both Wall Street and Washington remain very much the same as details within Banks Seen at Risk Five Years After Lehman Collapse attest. What is Wall street currently? (more…)
Dodd-Frank Derivative Reform: Dead on Arrival
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 5th, 2013 8:59 AM |
While many in Washington and elsewhere will look to collect political points for bringing reform to Wall Street, those watching closely knew all too well that the blueprints for this reform were always subject to massive change.
So has Dodd-Frank brought real reform to Wall Street? If you believe so, I would invite you to become a charter member of The Gullible Club.
Let’s dispense with the formalities. Wall Street ultimately answers to nobody but itself. As such, we can unload another truckload of dirt over the casket holding Dodd-Frank.
While many observers of the financial and political scenes are not inclined to draw attention to this service, fortunately those at Bloomberg view this funereal undertaking more seriously. I thank them as they recently pulled back the cloak on Dodd-Frank to reveal a Wall Street dagger protruding from its midst. (more…)
Wall Street Criminal Referrals: 96% Decline
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 23rd, 2013 7:00 AM |
How deep in the tank have our regulators gone over the years to protect Wall Street rather than upholding their mandate to provide real investor protection?
Really deep.
How might we measure the depth?
Check out the following incredible statistic highlighted by one of my favorite financial journalists, that being Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil. (more…)
