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Archive for February, 2013

‘Beggar Thy Neighbor’ Leads to Currency Wars

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…)

Raising The Minimum Wage Is a Job Killer

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…)

Dr. Ben Carson Elevates The National Discussion

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 12th, 2013 3:01 PM |

I so appreciated the delivery given by Dr. Benjamin Carson at the National Prayer Breakfast the other day, that I welcome highlighting a 7-minute clip in which he continues to attempt to elevate our national discussion.

Who in our nation would disagree with Carson’s assessment that we need to have a truly engaged debate rather than the normal clanging and bantering that resonates from Washington? Watch. . . listen . . . learn from our newest inductee to the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame, Dr. Benjamin Carson. (more…)

POGO Opens Wall Street-Washington Revolving Door

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…)

George Hartzman Blows Whistle on Wells Fargo’s Envision Plans

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…)

Weekend Video: Dr. Benjamin Carson’s Sense on Cents Instant Classic (Strongly Recommended)

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…)

Libor Scam/Tom Hayes: Goes Much Higher Than Me

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…)

Libor Scandal: “Companies Do NOT Commit Fraud, People Do”

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…)

Uncle Sam Charges S&P with FRAUD!!!

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…)

Sucker Born Every Minute: Top Ten Investor ‘Threats’

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…)






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