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Where Is the Shame and Outrage?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 27th, 2011 8:54 AM |

SHAME AND OUTRAGE

Have we as a nation become so numbed by the level of transgressions and incompetence within our financial and political circles that we allow situations deserving of real shame and outrage to pass by with little exposure and highlight?

Perhaps when there are so many situations over a protracted period, the shame and outrage which needs to be directed at so many within our financial and political circles is overwhelmed by so much bulls&%t and pandering.

Sense on Cents has little appetite for the latter and an insatiable appetite for the former in an attempt to promote our virtues of truth, transparency and integrity.

On this note, in the midst of my weekend reading, I came across a few gems which stopped my reading and had me thinking, “you have got to be kidding me!! How the hell does this pass by without greater attention and outrage.”  Read the rest »


What Was Behind The Strategic Oil Reserve Release?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 24th, 2011 7:58 AM |

Lisa Benson captures the opinion of many as to just why the Obama administration moved to release strategic oil reserves.

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson

Larry Doyle

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I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

 


UPDATE: Allen Stanford and Whitey Bulger: Two Peas in a Pod?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 23rd, 2011 11:30 AM |

UPDATE: I referenced the potential similarity in the cases of alleged financial scammer Allen Stanford and noted Boston gangster James J. “Whitey” Bulger in May 2009.

Our nation and especially Stanford Financial investors continue to wait to learn what may have really happened with Allen Stanford. Was he a pawn for the Department of Justice and/or other government agencies looking to infiltrate the Central and South American drug trade?

As for Whitey, after sixteen years of living on the lam, we wait no longer as news broke overnight that the notorious South Boston gangster was picked up in sunny Santa Monica, California. Read the rest »


Where and When Did Wall Street Go Wrong?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 23rd, 2011 8:32 AM |

You do not need to read Sense on Cents to know that Wall Street and America have problems. That said, the future of both the financial services industry and our nation are inextricably linked.

The innovative ideas which our nation must generate to drive future growth and employment require capital. Wall Street has that capital. In my opinion, Wall Street needs to seriously refine the use of its capital for its own benefit and that of our nation.

Can Wall Street adapt? Does Wall Street understand the errors of its ways? When might some real leaders on Wall Street call out for the industry to clean up its act? These questions can only be properly addressed in the future if there is an acknowledgment and understanding of where and when did Wall Street go wrong in the past. Let’s navigate.

Read the rest »


Are Student Loans an Impending Bubble? Is Higher Education a Scam?: Part II

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 22nd, 2011 7:52 AM |

Few commentaries here at Sense on Cents have received as much attention as that which I wrote a few months ago highlighting issues within the student loan market and questioning the value and integrity of higher education. That commentary, Are Student Loans an Impending Bubble? Is Higher Education a Scam? hit a nerve on many fronts.

Today, our focus on this segment takes a new twist and we get a “behind the scenes” look at the intrigue and innuendo encompassing a hedge fund which would seem to believe that the student loan market may be a bubble and higher education for profit may just be a scam.

Potential of insider trading, investigative hedge fund research, prospects for increased regulation of the for profit education industry. This story would seem to have it all.  Read the rest »


Amar Bhide Questions Wall Street’s Criminal Enterprise

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 21st, 2011 8:08 AM |

bhide_2008_small Are proposed banking regulations and capital standards too stringent as JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon would have us believe? Are they not strict enough and has Washington properly addressed the critical issues within these topics for the future health and well being of our overall economy?

Why is it that the American populace is forced to view this regulatory debate as an either/or situation, that is too much regulation vs not enough. The fact is, we have allowed both the Wall Street and Washington camps to frame this debate.

That error in judgment and in practice means we will continue to encounter many of our current problems as we navigate our future economic landscape. I broached this reality two years ago in writing, Future Financial Regulation: Not a Question of Sufficiency, But of Transparency and Integrity.

This morning I witnessed Amar Bhide, Thomas Schmidheiny Professor at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, pull no punches in hitting the same nerve. Let’s navigate. Read the rest »


Why Might The Fed’s Party Be Over?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 20th, 2011 8:07 AM |

Over the last few years I have highlighted the fact that the deflationary impact of declining wages and home values gave cover to the Federal Reserve for maintaining an excessively easy monetary policy and pumping up asset prices via quantitative easing. That party would now seem to be over. Why?

There is no doubt that Fed chair Bernanke’s easy money has played an integral role in the inflation we are experiencing at the pump, in the supermarket, and across a number of other commodities.

As we continue to navigate the U.S. economic landscape circa 2011 and beyond, the ongoing decline in home values in many regions of our nation now would seem to be setting the table for an inflationary spike in housing costs. How so? What is going on here?  Read the rest »


Happy Father’s Day!!

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 19th, 2011 7:08 AM |

In light of the fact that today is Father’s Day, I want to send out a tribute to all fathers and the people in my life who have made this day and all my days so special.

I know of no greater honor than being a Dad.

How to properly express the euphoria of bringing a little bundle of joy home from the hospital to watching them walk during their high school and college graduations?  Sharing in their joys. Lessening their pains. Trying to offer the right degree of support but also knowing when to let them fall and to pick themselves up. Being a Dad does not come with an easy to read “how to” handbook. That is a good thing.

The beauty of fatherhood for me comes from those impromptu moments when words are of little help and the love just flows. I was blessed to have one  of those moments just last evening when our little tiger’s team pulled out a dramatic win in a Little League playoff game. His grin and beaming pride were truly priceless.

To all my children and my beloved, thank you for everything. To my own Dad and my father-in-law, thank you as well for teaching me more lessons than you may ever know and being real models as to what it means to be a father. I love you both very much.

To fathers everywhere, I hope you enjoy the day and the honor of life’s most important position.

I want to send out a special tribute to those fathers serving our nation and protecting our liberties. I salute you!!

Happy Fathers Day!!

LD

 


Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil Believes BofA and Citi Need More Capital

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2011 3:41 PM |

Earlier this week, I inquired of BofA Shareholders, ‘How Long Can You Tread Water?’ and asked whether BofA may need more capital.

BofA’s CEO Brian Moynihan maintains that the institution does not. He stated as much earlier this month in a commentary in the Charlotte Observer,

Bank of America Corp. chief executive Brian Moynihan insisted Wednesday that his company won’t have to raise additional capital as it absorbs mortgage-related losses. Read the rest »


SEC and FINRA “Accountability Is Impossible Without Transparency”

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2011 6:46 AM |

“Good corporate governance is a system in which those who manage a company — that is, officers and directors — are effectively held accountable for their decisions and performance. But accountability is impossible without transparency.”

Truer words were never spoken. The above statement very succinctly highlights a cornerstone principle of Sense on Cents. Whomever issued this proclamation would certainly seem to be a strong candidate for the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame. Regrettably not.

Our current SEC chair Mary Schapiro offered those pearls of wisdom in December 2009 and the Washington Post concluded its commentary SEC Tightens Rules On Investment Advisers, Corporate Transparency with that quote from Ms. Schapiro. If only Mary would practice what she preached.  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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