Archive for February, 2013
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 14th, 2013 6:56 AM |
The United States still has an official policy of pursuing a strong dollar, right?
Yes, right, and if you were to believe that, might I interest you in a bridge in Brooklyn?
The simple fact is that five years into our economic crisis, the major economic centers of the world, those being the USA, the EU, and now Japan are all employing the same central bank policy to support their economies. This policy of quantitative easing is an attempt to accomplish a combination of the following, with different emphasis depending on the region: (more…)
Tags: central bank policies 2013, currency devaluation, currency wars, debasing currencies, debt monetization, effects of quantitative easing, how do yo know when somebody is lying, impact of quantitative easing, what is beggar thy neighbor
Posted in currencies, General | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 13th, 2013 9:56 AM |
I would like to think that I have a heart and detest the fact that there are millions of people living in poverty in our nation. This said, basic economics is less a function of what is one’s heart than what is in one’s head.
The number of people living in poverty in America is now approaching a 50 year high. That fact is certainly regrettable but President Obama’s call to increase the minimum wage is not the answer to this problem. (more…)
Tags: economics of minimum wage, IS vs LM, Milton Friedman explains minimum wage economics, minimum wage, minimum wage economics, Obama call to raise the minimum wage, Obama SOTU call to raise the minimum wage, raising minimum wage unintended consequences, raising the minimum wage, raising the minimum wage helps trade unions, should minimum wage be raised, wage demand vs labor supply
Posted in General | 16 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 12th, 2013 7:04 AM |
A few years back in the course of an interview with Fox Business host David Asman, I was asked what I thought of the exceptionally close relationships between the regulators and the industry. I responded, “David, I think the term there is ‘incestuous’.”
Fast forward three plus years and we receive a scathing review of just how widely developed and deeply embedded the incest runs. Let’s navigate as the folks at the Project on Government Oversight take us round and round through this revolving door in releasing,
SEC’s Revolving Door Blurs Line Between Regulator and Industry
A Project On Government Oversight (POGO) study of thousands of government records found that former staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) routinely: (more…)
Tags: Khuzami revolving door myth, POGO Dangerous Liaisons, POGO Darcy Flynn, POGO Gary Aguirre, POGO John Nester, POGO Larry Doyle, POGO Mary Jo White, POGO Mary Schapiro, POGO Michael Smallberg, POGO Putnam Peter Scannell, POGO regulatory capture, POGO report February 2013, POGO report on financial regulation, POGO report on regulatory capture, POGO report on revolving door, POGO revolving door, POGO Robert Khuzami, POGO SEC report, POGO SEC Revolving Door Database, POGO Sense on Cents
Posted in General, POGO, regulation, SEC, Wall Street, Wall Street Washington Incest | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 11th, 2013 8:55 AM |
A week ago I cautioned people on two fronts in writing about Top Ten Investor Threats and How Much Are You Really Paying for That Fund?
In serendipitous fashion, over the weekend I read about a former financial advisor at Wells Fargo who blew the whistle on his firm for not properly informing clients of investment fees embedded in one of its programs. Which one? The Wells Fargo Advisors Envision plans. Let’s navigate and see exactly what this whistleblower, George Hartzman, has to say as he writes: >>>>> (more…)
Tags: blowing the whistle, defrauding investors, fraud in TARP program, George Hartzman allegations, George Hartzman whistleblower at Wells Fargo, government fraud, investment costs, investment fees, Jack Welch on whistleblowers, Wells Fargo advisors, Wells Fargo Envision plans, Wells Fargo Greg Shiveley Envision Sales Manager, Wells Fargo whistleblower, whistleblower at Wells Fargo, who is George Hartzman
Posted in fraud, General, Wells Fargo | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 9th, 2013 7:43 AM |
There have been few deliveries I have heard since writing this blog over the last four years that have inspired me as much as that which I watched and heard last evening. I so appreciated it I watched it twice.
I thank the longtime reader who shared this speech given by Dr. Benjamin Carson, a leading pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins. If you were to ever wonder what Sense on Cents hopes to convey, Carson touches almost all the bases in this delivery at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on February 7th.
In a mere 25 minutes, Carson knocks it out of the park multiple times in his eloquent remarks on faith, family, respect, speaking one’s mind, the danger of a politically correct society, education, determination, self-destiny, charity (the Carson Scholars Program), fiscal sanity, health care, tax policy, patriotism, and so much more. (more…)
Tags: a true American hero, Benjamin Carson Johns Hopkins University, Carson Scholars Fund, Dr. Benjamin Carson speech at National Prayer Breakfast, follower of Jesus, Larry Doyle Sense on Cents, lessons learned from growing up as a child of a single parent, lessons learned from growing up poor, men to model, model citizens in America, National Prayer Breakfast remarks by Dr. Benjamin Carson, speech given by Carson at National Prayer Breakfast, speech on importance of reading, speech on self determination and self destiny, speech on tax policy, who is Dr. Benjamin Carson
Posted in General | 10 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 8th, 2013 9:04 AM |
I have long maintained that senior executives on Wall Street were very much aware of the collusive racketeering in the Libor rigging scandal. Why so? When a trader ‘makes it rain,’ that is, he is connected to a P/L that generates hundreds of millions of dollars, you better believe that the execs up the chain of command will want to know how the money is being made.
To think otherwise would display a level of naivete not found in these markets.
What evidence do we learn this morning that supports my premise that senior execs on Wall Street were aware that Libor was being manipulated? Let’s navigate as the WSJ writes about the “Rain-Man” >>>>>>>> (more…)
Tags: center of the Libor scandal, fraud on Wall Street, is Thomas Hayes talking, Libor fraud, Libor manipulation, LIBOR rigging, Libor scam, Libor scandal, manipulation of Libor, Thomas Hayes Rainman, Thomas Hayes Wall Street career, who is Thomas Hayes Rainman, who is Tom Hayes
Posted in fraud, General, Libor | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 7th, 2013 6:19 AM |
What does it mean when news that one of the world’s largest financial firms pays a $612 million fine for behaviors that clearly smack of racketeering and nobody even blinks?
I will tell you what it means. It means that free market capitalism is losing, and cronyism in the financial system is simply becoming more deeply embedded. Do you disagree? (more…)
Tags: companies do not commit frauds people do, crony capitalism, fraud on Wall Street, Libor, Libor fraud, Libor manipulation, LIBOR rigging, Libor scandal, manipulation of Libor, RBS Libor scandal, Royal Bank of Scotland Libor fine, Stephen Hester RBS
Posted in General, Libor, Wall Street Washington Incest | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 6th, 2013 9:28 AM |
“Fraud,” cried the maddened thousands, and the echo answered “Fraud.”
Fans of our national pastime are likely well acquainted with the classic poem, Casey At The Bat. In that well worn tale, the patrons of the game go home with heads bowed as their power hitter, that being the mighty Casey, fails to drive home the winning runs in the bottom of the ninth.
In similar fashion but in real life, the fans of the red, white, and blue team with USA adorned across their breast are also disappointed to date as justice officials have yet to swing at pitches seemingly thrown right over the plate. To what do I refer? Financial frauds emanating on Wall Street. Although our very real game is seemingly in the late innings, mighty Sam is in the process of swinging his bat as he charges the rating agency Standard & Poors with fraud. About time right? (more…)
Tags: Casey at the Bat, control fraud, email evidence, financial fraud, fraud on Wall Street, fraud within ratings, free market capitalism, is Uncle Sam paying S&P back for downgrade, mighty Casey, ratings frauds, S&P charged with fraud, Standard and Poors fraud charge, The sting, Uncle Sam charges S&P with fraud, Wall Street Journal editorial on S&P fraud, why was S&P charged with fraud
Posted in fraud, General, rating agencies, Wall Street Washington Incest | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 5th, 2013 8:41 AM |
“A con artist will use every trick in the book to take advantage of unsuspecting investors, including exploiting well-intended laws, in order to fatten their wallets.”
– NASAA Past-President Jack E. Herstein
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Although widely attributed to the 19th century showman P.T. Barnum, the above oft-referenced quote was actually delivered by Barnum’s main competitor, George Hull of Binghamton, New York. While Hull played his elaborate scam of discovering a giant back in 1869, there are no less sophisticated cons at work this very minute.
The North American Securities Administrators Association cautions investors about the following top investor threats from 2012. In true David Letterman fashion, let’s count down the Top Ten: (more…)
Tags: Barnum and Bailey, crowdfunding and internet frauds, EB-% investment for visa schemes, George Hull Binghamton New York, giant hoax, gold and precious metals frauds, investment advisory frauds, investment frauds, investment scams, investment schemes, investor education, investor protection, Jack Herstein, JOBS Act, Larry Doyle Sense on Cents, NASAA top ten investor threats, oil and gas drilling programs, promissory note frauds, PT Barnum, real estate investment schemes, regulation D rule 506 offerings, self-directed IRAs frauds, sucker born every minute, top investment scams, top investment schemes
Posted in fraud, General | 3 Comments »