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HomeAre 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. (more…)
Amar Bhide Questions Wall Street’s Criminal Enterprise
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 21st, 2011 8:08 AM |
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. (more…)
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? (more…)
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. (more…)
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. (more…)
Supreme Court Ruling on Janus Funds “Smells”
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 16th, 2011 9:43 AM |
I firmly believe and have often written that “when private capital is not protected by regulators, legislators, the courts, and the executive branch, then that capital will be more expensive to source in the future. More expensive and subsequently less available capital will inhibit an economic recovery.”
What part of that basic premise do those running Wall Street businesses and our supposed “protectors of the public interest” not understand? Do we need any more evidence than the precipitous decline in volumes across virtually every market segment to highlight that investors “get this” and that the incestuous parties on Wall Street and in Washington “don’t”?
While those with any appreciation of ‘sense on cents’ understand the need to protect long-term investor capital, we witness once again a mind boggling development that relegates the interests of real long term investors—that is you, me, and every Mom and Pop investor in our nation–to second class status. (more…)
Bill O’ Reilly, Please Meet John Maynard Keynes
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 15th, 2011 2:50 PM |
I panned the liberal wing of our media the other day for wasting its time, effort, and money on pillaging through Sarah Palin’s e-mail.
Today I am happy to call out the other wing of our media for being truly pathetic.
I would have hardly believed what I learned if somebody merely told me but upon viewing this I am left no other choice than to state that Fox News’ Bill O’ Reilly is an economic mental midget.
I state this as one who is a registered Independent, typically leans right on the political spectrum, and finds most commentators at MSNBC and CNN to be merely insufferable. (more…)
Let’s Go Bruins!!! Boston Bruins, Stanley Cup Champions!!
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 15th, 2011 8:35 AM |
11:10pm EST….BRUINS WIN…BRUINS WIN…BRUINS WIN…
BOSTON BRUINS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPS !!!…..
BOSTON: CITY OF CHAMPIONS!!
I contemplated writing this morning about a recent Supreme Court ruling which seriously derails the perceived notion that mutual funds are fully vested in protecting investors. I strongly believe that ruling is not only a real setback for investors, but also bad for the markets, the mutual fund industry, and our nation.
I beg your indulgence if I put off highlighting that story for another day. Why?
Today I care to send out a message on behalf of all those who grew up with an organization which occupied a special place in my heart and that of virtually every other young boy growing up in the city of Boston in the ’60s and ’70s.
What organization? (more…)
Adams, Obama, and Asness on The Rule of Law
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 14th, 2011 8:34 AM |
“We are a nation of laws and not of men.”
The above quote is widely credited to the second President of our great land, John Adams.
The life story of Adams is captured in a best selling book, “John Adams” written by David McCullough. The book garnered rave reviews and has served as a written historical monument to one of our nation’s founding fathers.
Adams may have been overshadowed by many of the other giants of his era, including Washington and Jefferson, but his measure has certainly stood the test of time.
In addition to the above referenced quote, McCullough highlights early in his book a statement Adams made to his bride Abigail.
“We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial. What will be the consequence, I know not.” (1774) (more…)
