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Bill Gates Attacks Fraudulent Accounting for Public School Pensions

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 13th, 2010 9:55 AM |

Bill Gates

Isn’t education supposed to be about the kids? Then how has our nation allowed political operatives in states, cities, and towns throughout our land to develop and manipulate accounting standards to benefit public employees within our school systems at the expense of our future generations?

Go ahead and rail on me as just another fiscal conservative who does not fully appreciate the dynamics of public education, especially in urban settings. I will respond with a strident, CHALLENGE!!  Why? Read the rest »


Erskine Bowles: “This Debt Is Like a Cancer”

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 13th, 2010 7:10 AM |

Identifying a problem is one thing. Doing something about it is an entirely different issue. All too often, America’s political leaders have further exacerbated our fiscal disaster by not responsibly managing our nation’s finances. What do we get? Lots of talk. What do we need? Lots of action. Will we get it? Well, why is America poised to throw a large number of incumbents out of Washington? America wants action.

Why do we need action and a man-sized heaping of sense on cents while we are at it? Let’s have a look at what Erskine Bowles (co-head of President Obama’s national debt commission with former Senator Alan Simpson R-WY) has to say. Glen Johnson of the Associated Press writes, Debt Commission Leaders Paint Gloomy Picture:

The heads of President Barack Obama’s national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control. Read the rest »


Are Fannie and Freddie Going to Sue Wall Street?

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2010 3:21 PM |

Are there some dark legal clouds beginning to hover over the Wall Street landscape? How so? The threats of impending lawsuits are never a forecast any individual, entity, or industry care to entertain. Like it or not, Wall Street is beginning to get some ground cover in the forms of pending legal actions.

While a large mortgage investor, Cambridge Place Investment Management, recently filed a complaint against virtually every firm on Wall Street in the Massachusetts courts, today we see none other than our ‘wards of the state’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preparing the initial steps to bring suit against Wall Street. Could it be possible that Fannie and Freddie would sue Wall Street? Is a potential lawsuit political cover for Uncle Sam? Who knows? Read the rest »


Volcker and Lewitt Drop Bombs on Financial Regulatory Reform

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2010 11:28 AM |

Will financial regulatory reform truly change the Wall Street landscape and insure that America never again experiences the economic crisis of the last few years? While we will likely see a number of our political operatives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and on Capitol Hill waving flags and banging drums when the reform measures are inevitably passed, let’s listen to some political and financial insiders who have a different take.

Paul Volcker, former Fed chairman and current White House economic adviser, is clearly looking to clear his name prior to the passage of this reform. He spoke at length in an article released by The New York Times, Volcker Pushes for Reform, Regretting Past Silence.  Paul dropped the following bomb:  Read the rest »


Cambridge Place Drops Napalm on Wall Street

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2010 7:10 AM |

To this point in our economic crisis, Wall Street and Washington have utilized the ‘perfect storm’ excuse to cover themselves from investors’ cries of negligence, incompetence, and potentially corruption. Despite those cries, America has seen few, if any, credible and comprehensive legal complaints brought on behalf of investors. Select investor suits have largely been adjudicated on behalf of the defendants, those being Wall Street banks and brokers, under the mantle that sophisticated investors are responsible for all investment analysis and live with the consequences. Will Wall Street always be accorded the cover of ‘caveat emptor’? If so, then our markets are a much riskier proposition than most investors would appreciate.

I have been surprised to this point that more investors have not filed suit against Wall Street banks for willful and wanton misrepresentation of risks in the underwriting of an array of securities. Well, I am surprised no longer as a large mortgage investor, Cambridge Place Investment Management based in Concord, MA, recently dropped a napalm bomb on Wall Street. Read the rest »


Times Leader Readers ‘Get the Joke’

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 9th, 2010 4:14 PM |

Do not underestimate Americans navigating the economic landscape!!

Why?

A few weeks back I was interviewd by Sue Henry of WILK Newsradio in Wilkes-Barre, PA (Media Appearance on Sue Henry Show, UPDATED with AUDIO CLIP) regarding an investor education presentation by FINRA. The presentation held last evening had U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) as the featured speaker. I am all for investor education. The very purpose of Sense on Cents is to help educate readers on all aspects of our economy, markets, and world of global finance.

The points I raised in the radio interview and subsequently with a local newspaper reporter, Bill O’ Boyle of the Times Leader, was that Rep. Kanjorski sits on two Congressional subcommittees which have received an extensive and detailed letter questioning the very validity of a self-regulatory organization, that being FINRA, for our financial industry. (Details of the letter are included here).

I pressed O’ Boyle specifically to highlight Kanjorski’s responsibility to his constituents in Pennsylvania and the national electorate to address the points highlighted in that letter from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).

O’ Boyle regrettably but not surprisingly failed to deliver and provided a canned review of the presentation, which I had projected would be a ‘dog and pony’ show. Read the rest »


Stephen Roach Provides a Wealth of Sense on Cents

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 9th, 2010 10:23 AM |

The Wall Street Journal just released a fabulous interview with Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and soon to transition to Yale University. Roach has always been one to speak his mind, but he strikes me as being even more forthcoming in this interview. What does Roach have to say? Let’s navigate, Stephen Roach: The Alan Greenspan of Asia?,

On the likelihood of a “double-dip” in the U.S.:

Roach: I’d give it a higher probability than most, maybe 40% at some point over the next year. We have a weak recovery, weak labor market, weak consumer purchasing power…and a consumer that’s unable to rely on property and credit bubbles to support consumption anymore. So if you have a disappointing consumer and any kind of unexpected shock you could go down again. […] Double-dips are not as infrequent as you might think…Weak recoveries leave you vulnerable to shocks. Read the rest »


IMF Hedging on Global Recovery

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 9th, 2010 7:08 AM |

Do we truly need to focus on developments within the emerging economies of Asia or sub-Sahara Africa? I mean, you are probably thinking that we have enough on our plates right here at home to spend anytime thinking about economic developments half a world away. Why do we need to care, and why do we need to be aware of global economic developments? For the very simple reason that in a global economy overwhelmed by massive debts and limited pools of private and sovereign credit, what happens over there very clearly impacts us right here at home.

On this note, let’s review an International Monetary Fund report released yesterday. The IMF writes, World Recovery Continues, But Risks Increase:

…despite the stronger than expected first half recovery, the IMF warned that uncertainties surrounding sovereign and financial sector risks in parts of the euro area could spread more widely, posing difficulties for both financial stability and the economic outlook. Read the rest »


What Does Rick Davis Think About Yesterday’s ICSC Report?

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 8th, 2010 4:17 PM |

When I see any economic data addressing consumer retail activity, I immediately think of Rick Davis and his fabulous work at Consumer Metrics Institute. On that note, and given yesterday’s strong upward move in the market driven largely by a positively perceived ICSC report, I went straight to the source and asked Rick for his thoughts. I had the following exchange today:

Rick,
Any quick comments or thoughts on the report released by the ICSC? I
know that the report captures same store sales which makes for a big
disqualification and is not properly captured but any thoughts you may
have are always deeply appreciated.
Thanks.
Larry Read the rest »


Is Washington Enacting Financial Regulatory Reform or Merely ‘Studying’ It?

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 8th, 2010 1:27 PM |

How often have you experienced a situation in which somebody tries to project an air of leadership while truly dodging an issue? In the course of my career, I have witnessed this reality all too often. When and why does this occur? Typically, managers who are weak and overly political play this card. Washington plays this game all the time. The Obama administration has made an art of forming committees to study issues.

Our ‘so called’ leaders would like to project themselves as real leaders doing the people’s business, meanwhile they are beholden to other constituencies. God forbid they actually take a stand and show their true mettle. So we witness our politicians agreeing to ‘study’ issues, which is more often the equivalent of putting issues on the back burner or letting them die on the vine. Who wins? Lobbyists. Who loses? Average Americans. Who tries to save face? Our political cowards. Read the rest »


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Larry Doyle

Larry Doyle A Wall Street veteran's views and instincts on the markets, economy, and all things financial.







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