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Breaking News: DOJ Whistleblowers Charge Assistant AG Thomas Perez with Discrimination, Retaliation

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2013 9:16 PM |

All too often, whistleblowers in our nation have found themselves ignored, intimidated, or fired.

I have welcomed highlighting the stories of many heroic whistleblowers (Peter Sivere, Mark Mensack, Gary Aguirre, Joe Sciddurlo, David Weber) who have been subjected to just such heinous treatment by the powerful and privileged.

I welcome doing so again. In a breaking press release, we learn that a number of whistleblowers from inside the Department of Justice are sounding the siren on Assistant Attorney General (and the prospective Secretary of Labor) Tom Perez.

What do the whistleblowers allege? Read the rest »


Wall Street’s Kangaroo Court Receiving Increased Focus

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 12th, 2013 7:29 AM |

Just as you cannot fight City Hall, many people are also well aware that you cannot really fight Wall Street.

When disputes on Wall Street are adjudicated through a system of arbitration, the stacked deck against which investors — and Wall Street employees as well — are forced to contest can only be properly compared to a kangaroo court.

I am very pleased to see that the kangaroos are receiving a lot more attention lately. Recall that the SEC’s own commissioner Luis Aguilar recently called for an end to mandatory arbitration. In the following 8 minute clip presented by Investment News, we witness a few industry lap dogs repeating the party line as to why arbitration should be maintained. Heath Abshure, the Arkansas securities commissioner and current President of the North American Securities Administrators Association, presents a strong counter argument.  Read the rest »


Newedge Market Manipulation: Joe Saluzzi Exposed This Years Ago

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 11th, 2013 7:51 AM |

I awake this morning and see a headline of a lead story on The Wall Street Journal jump out at me.

Brokerage Faces Record Fine

My interest is piqued.  What might it be? I quickly peruse the commentary and see words and phrases used that should concern any investor and/or trader including: manipulate U.S. markets . . . risks to the financial system . . . damage investor confidence . . . considerable systemic risk to the marketplace.

I then read of a new word for front-running, that is, “spoofing” and how traders utilized wash trades,”in which a firm acts as buyer and seller in the same trade to distort market activity. The practice can create the illusion of heavy trading volume that lures firms that are tracking for such activity.”  Read the rest »


GS, JPM, MS et al: No Longer Just Banks

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 10th, 2013 7:49 AM |

Can we all agree that banks that are too big to fail, regulate, and prosecute are also too big to exist? That premise strikes me now as a foregone conclusion.

But how have the banks gotten bigger? It is not merely via the issuance of home mortgages, credit cards, corporate loans, and some derivatives transactions.

The new rent-seeking, market manipulating economy that is coming to define the American landscape is reflected in a host of other ways. Should we even call these institutions banks anymore?  Read the rest »


Governments Lose Trust as Corruption Soars

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 9th, 2013 9:59 AM |

There is not much that shocks me these days. There is even less that causes me to raise my eyebrows.

Well, this morning I raised my eyebrows in reading a commentary that hits directly upon a theme known all too well by readers of my blog: a lack of transparency in government generating a whole lot of corruption and subsequently a pervasive lack of trust. Let’s navigate as CNNMoney provides “eyebrow rising” info.

Have you recently paid a bribe to a local politician, judge or police officer?

If so, you’re not alone. More than one in four people around the world have paid a bribe in the past year, according to a global survey conducted by Transparency International.  Read the rest »


Sense on Cents Has Gone Fishin’

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 1st, 2013 6:48 AM |

I will return to navigating the economic landscape around these parts in a week or so.

I hope everybody who visits here will have the opportunity to take a bit of a break this week and enjoy the company of family and friends as our nation celebrates its 237th birthday.

As those now solidly in middle age have come to learn, age is just a number.  On that note, while we celebrate this week what makes our young nation great, let us also thank those who fought for our nation’s liberty and freedom.  In doing so, let us celebrate but let also resolve to continue the fight for true freedom and real liberty — in all its forms — so that we can pass these virtues and a great nation on to our children.

God Bless America.

LD


Pope Francis: No Patience for Corruption

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 28th, 2013 8:13 AM |

What defines a real leader?

In my opinion, a real leader is one who can inspire while uninhibitedly doing the right things. In other words, “talk the talk” and “walk the walk.”

Who might we put in the category of real leaders in our nation today? Regrettably, I think the list is very, very short. In fact, I am hard pressed to think of those individuals who would rise to the level of what I would deem real leadership. Maybe my bar is too high . . . or maybe not.  Read the rest »


John Bogle’s Sense on Cents

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 27th, 2013 5:50 AM |

When it comes to investing, how does one get ahead?

Do not start from behind, that is, do not invest in funds or investments that come with a variety of fees, charges, loads, and assorted other excessive expenses. Think of it as the equivalent of not having to run extra laps in a race of any distance.

Who espouses this same basic principle of keeping costs down and other great investment practices?  One of Wall Street’s legendary investors, John Bogle, who recently provided words of wisdom for both investors and advisors alike in a brief 90 second clip.

Thanks to Investment News for bringing us Bogles’s sense on cents.  Read the rest »


Boston Fed Research Paper: The Key Variable for Monetary Policy Is . . .

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 26th, 2013 7:47 AM |

Are we supposed to really think that Ben Bernanke believes our economy — and especially our employment situation — is markedly improving?

If we were to gather our news from USA Today or similar outlets, I guess we could just think just that.

Let’s dig a little deeper.

What are many in and around the Federal Reserve likely reviewing in an attempt to gauge the real health of our employment situation? Read the rest »


Parking in Chicago: Two Minutes for Two Bits

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 25th, 2013 8:35 AM |

Do you ever get to the point when you think your life is one large windshield and every bird in the world has taken a liking to you?

Let’s take a break from trying to decipher the nuances and obfuscations in all too many statements emanating from the Federal Reserve system and focus on simple matters of everyday life.

To do just that, let’s navigate to the Windy City and the state of Illinois and revisit a chilling comment left here the other day by a regular reader: 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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