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FT and Sense on Cents Agree: “Heads still have to roll”

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 25th, 2010 11:24 AM |

Talk is cheap. America is exasperated with the excessive pandering from the crowd in Washington and their cronies on Wall Street. If President Obama and his handlers do not see that, they are less savvy than I thought. America wants action. America also wants people in Washington who will truly support them. Unfortunately, America knows Barack’s team is not positioned for that support.

America has grown weary, but accustomed, to the wailing and gnashing of teeth from both Washington and Wall Street. Americans are tired of being the punching bag. America’s voice, heard last week in Massachusetts, is resonating throughout the nation and around the world. Read the rest »


The Federal Reserve Has Failed Miserably

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 25th, 2010 8:46 AM |

How are we to judge the Federal Reserve? The Fed by its very nature has been an opaque institution. What truly goes on behind the closed doors of the Fed? What are the relationships amongst the Fed Chair and Fed governors? How about the relationships between Fed representatives and political operatives?

While volumes have been written about the history of the Fed, to the American public the Federal Reserve remains a mystery. How can we lift the veil on this mysterious institution? Let’s “kiss” the Federal Reserve. What? Oh no, LD, where are you going with this? Let’s plant a big “kiss” on the Fed. That is, keep it simple stupid. Read the rest »


NQR’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Welcomes Back Michael Panzner

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 23rd, 2010 3:27 PM |

UPDATE: This episode of NQR’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle has concluded. You can listen to a recording of the episode in its entirety by clicking the play button on the audio player provided below. Once the audio begins, you can advance or rewind to any portion of the episode by clicking at any point along the play bar.

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If anybody thought the economic landscape was ready to level off for a smooth and easy stretch, think again. This past week we witnessed truly historic developments.

Massachusetts launched a missile on Washington with the election of Republican Scott Brown to fill ‘the people’s seat’ previously held by Ted Kennedy. President Obama tried to redirect that missile toward Wall Street by promoting the Volcker Plan to reconfigure the Wall street banking model. In the midst of this mayhem, the markets were rocked and declined 4-5%. OUCH!!

How does this all play out with an economy that is supposed to have been improving? Where can one go for help navigating the economic landscape? Where can one go to address these topics without the pandering or posturing found elsewhere? You have come to the right place as this Sunday evening at 8pm No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Welcomes Back Michael Panzner.

I first spoke with Mr. Panzner last March. He is widely acclaimed as one of the real economic and market visionaries of our time. He shares his wisdom at Financial Armageddon and has penned the highly regarded When Giants Fall.

Join us at 8pm ET this Sunday for a riveting discussion with Michael Panzner. Share your thoughts or questions by calling 347-677-0792, or mix it up in the chat room with an always energized group.

LD


January 23, 2010: Week in Review

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 23rd, 2010 7:15 AM |

From Massachusetts to Washington and from Wall Street to China, fireworks were flying this week across our global economic landscape. While the political focus in America is grabbing center stage, make no mistake, the issues driving the politics are largely economic.

Welcome to our Sense on Cents Week in Review where I provide a streamlined recap of the major economic news and the month-to-date market moves. Pack lightly as we have much ground to cover. That said, let’s enjoy the journey as the twists and turns along our landscape are truly fascinating and historic in nature. Let’s navigate.

ECONOMIC DATA:

1. Housing Starts: a disappointing report as starts fell 4% after an upward revision to a 10.7% increase in the prior month. I still take all the housing numbers with a pound of salt knowing that delinquencies and defaults continue to move higher. Read the rest »


Survey: Americans Want Wall Street Held Accountable

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 22nd, 2010 12:42 PM |

America is pissed off. Tremendous grasp of the obvious, right? Well just how pissed off is America?

Thank you to a new friend of Sense on Cents for sharing a recent survey taken by the Opinion Research Corporation addressing America’s general lack of trust with Wall Street and corporate officers.

Pretty sorry state of affairs when a large percentage of America thinks our financial and corporate executives are a pack of liars. No surprise that America wants greater protection from this deception and deceit.

Keep coming to Sense on Cents to get armed and protected as we collectively navigate the economic landscape. On that note, let’s look deeper at what America is saying: Read the rest »


The SEC Pimped Peter Sivere

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 22nd, 2010 10:14 AM |

Add Peter Sivere to the list of people totally screwed by the Wall Street-Washington incest.

The incestuous nature of the Wall Street-Washington relationship runs across many segments of our financial landscape. That said, the corrosive nature of this incest is most egregious within those institutions charged with protecting investors, that is the SEC and FINRA.

The SEC and FINRA failed the Madoff investors, the Stanford investors, and ultimately the country as a whole. I firmly believe the financial regulatory system failed to perform because it was in bed with the industry and served at its behest. To what extent are the regulators still in bed with the industry? Read the rest »


Mr. President, Are SIVs Considered Prop Trading?

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 22nd, 2010 8:09 AM |

Is President Obama’s proposal to rein in risk on Wall Street genuine or merely another Washington political ploy to curry favor with an enraged American electorate?

As with any proposal, the devil is always in the details. Initial pushback from Wall Street is strong but also informative. What is Wall Street highlighting? The large Wall Street banks are promoting the fact that proprietary trading operations do not encompass a large percentage of their overall business. In fact, JP Morgan already shut down an internal proprietary trading business in 2009.

I believe Wall Street will paint Obama’s proposal as an overreaching and aggressive intrusion into its business and free enterprise. What are we to make of all this? What exactly is Obama proposing? I’m not sure even he would know. The fact is, Obama’s proposal to curtail proprietary trading resides in defining exactly what proprietary trading encompasses. Read the rest »


If Wall Street Wants a Fight, Obama Should…

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 21st, 2010 3:59 PM |

Earthquakes always lead to after-shocks.

With all due respect and sensitivity to the residents of Haiti, the earthquake felt in the Massachusetts Senate election on Tuesday has led to the after-shock dropped on Wall Street today by President Obama. Obama’s call to limit the size and risk-taking of Wall Street banks is meant to address the rage and anxiety of the American public. Any vision, however, will only be as effective as those commanders charged with its execution.

Who on Obama’s team will ultimately be in the position to execute this vision to reconstruct Wall Street? Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers, and Mary Schapiro. Each of these individuals is badly scarred as a result of the crisis that started on Wall Street and, in turn, crushed Main Street. Read the rest »


Goldman’s Easy Money Days Are Over

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 21st, 2010 11:32 AM |

If I had a nickel for the number of people who have asked me how Goldman Sachs makes money, I would have a lot of nickels.

Goldman Sachs as a company is easily vilified. America always wants a villain when times are tough. Goldman makes the most money on Wall Street so they must be the ‘baddest’ guys. Well, generally speaking people are never as good nor as bad as they may seem. Look at Tiger Woods. He fooled America for a good long time. The fact is, Goldman Sachs mastered a business model which no other Wall Street enterprise fully embraced. I am certainly not a Goldman apologist and believe they very likely took advantage of situations that drove enormous profits. I highlighted the Goldman business model last July in writing, “How Does Goldman Sachs Operate?”: >> Read the rest »


Will Obama Whack Geithner and Anoint Volcker?

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 21st, 2010 8:54 AM |

Geithner, Obama, Volcker

One year into his presidency, Barack Obama is losing support from many corners. The American public is clearly sending Obama specifically and Washington at large a strong message of disapproval. Obama’s liberal base of support within the Democratic Party is growing increasingly disenchanted. Individual supporters such as The New York Times’ Paul Krugman are backing away from Obama.

Obama and team have nobody to blame but themselves. They were elected to bring real change to Washington. The American public defined that change as embracing real truth, transparency, and integrity. To this point, Obama has fallen woefully short on all these fronts and proven himself to be ‘just another politician.’

Obama has tried to scale Mt. Everest when in fact the American public and economy were merely and are still trying to get back to sea level. As Obama looks to regroup and reconnect with the American public, what will he do? 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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