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HomeHow Does the Islamic State Fund Itself? Here’s How
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 26th, 2014 12:55 PM |
Ongoing developments in the South China Sea, the Ukraine, and Gaza all present very real dangers and risks to our global economic and political landscape. That said, I think most people might agree that the perilous situation playing out within the Islamic state in Iraq and surrounding locales is like nothing we have ever seen before.
If you do not think so, in order to gain a better appreciation for the mindset of those occupying and terrorizing this region, you may want to view the murder of journalist James Foley. God bless him and his family. I caution you that this video clip is particularly gruesome and some may not care to view it. That said, I think it is important that people know just how vicious this group known as ISIL actually is. (Thanks to our friends at No Quarter for highlighting that clip and sharing it.)
ISIL is not only vicious but they are well organized and well financed. This 5-minute Bloomberg clip addresses how the Islamic State is funding itself:
In what may be the biggest understatement ever written at this blog, the risks of this terrorist group present a very real danger to all of us on many levels.
Navigate accordingly.
Larry Doyle
Please order a hard copy or Kindle version of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.
For those reading this via syndicated outlet or by e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this clip and to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail.
Dick Kovacevich Calls BofA $17Bln Fine, ‘Extortion’; “You Have To Put People in Prison”
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 22nd, 2014 4:54 AM |
Former Wells Fargo CEO is no lightweight within financial circles. He packed a heavy punch just yesterday in railing on the Department of Justice’s $17 billion settlement with Bank of America.
Kovacevich defined this penalty imposed on BOA as purely political. I do not necessarily agree with everything stated by Kovacevich in this 4-minute video clip but I certainly agree with his major point. He reiterates the comment I highlighted yesterday that banks do not engage in criminal behaviors, bankers do.
For Kovacevich to make the case that individuals should have been pursued criminally speaks volumes. In the process of making that point, he breaks ranks with his industry brethren who have been typically mute when addressing the rampant fraud that was perpetrated and brought on our ongoing economic crisis.
BofA settlement political theater: Kovacevich from CNBC.
Navigate accordingly.
Larry Doyle
Please order a hard copy or Kindle version of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.
For those reading this via syndicated outlet or by e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this clip and to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail.
“Banks Do Not Commit Misconduct, Bankers Do”
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 21st, 2014 8:56 AM |
The Department of Justice is soon expected to announce a $17 billion settlement with Bank of America. Is this justice?
I will defer in writing my own commentary this morning because the words and details on this topic provided by Dean Starkman qualify as a Sense on Cents Instant Classic:
There’s a much deeper problem here, however, and one that has received far less attention: Not only has the Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to build any criminal cases for financial-crisis misdeeds, but it’s also now settling with these banks without even filing civil complaints.
A complaint is the cornerstone of civil litigation, the foundation for even routine lawsuits. One of its primary benefits—and of adversarial legal proceedings generally—is that a complaint can bring huge amounts of previously undisclosed information into the public record. In these mortgage securities cases, the Justice Department had not only an obligation but an opportunity: to show the country what it found, to deter future misconduct, to complete the story of the financial crisis in humanizing, clarifying, searing detail. (more…)
Juan Williams’ Wide-Angled View of Ferguson, MO
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 20th, 2014 9:21 AM |
I am compelled to digress today from our standard navigation of the economic landscape to touch upon the troubling situation playing out in Ferguson, MO.
I hope those who read this commentary and my blog would come away thinking the only side I come down upon in any situation is that of the truth. Over and above that pursuit, I hope people would also believe I have a real contempt for corruption and a real love for my fellow man.
The troubles in Ferguson are clearly very fluid and a cauldron for those who feel disenfranchised. Similarly, there are some folks who would use the loss of a young man’s life to further incite violence for violence sake.
Might America be able to use the unrest in Ferguson to have an intelligent conversation on the issues involved? I certainly hope so. (more…)
Standard Chartered Money Laundering: Wash, Rinse, Repeat
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 19th, 2014 8:31 AM |
When a penalty does not fit the crime it should come as no surprise that the activity in question is likely to perpetuate.
We would seem to see evidence of this reality in the ongoing “wash, rinse, repeat” cycle of money laundering activities at the laundromat heretofore known as Standard Chartered Bank.
The Financial Times peers inside this washing machine this morning to reveal the following dirty laundry: (more…)
Official Study: The SEC and Quid Pro Quo
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 15th, 2014 9:44 AM |
“The findings of this study suggest that the SEC is influenced by considerations other than the merits of the case and raise questions regarding the effectiveness with which the agency plays its deterrence and compensation roles.”
Maria M. Correia
London Business School
The phrase “quid pro quo” is universally understood as something that is given or taken in return for something else. The actions involved are not necessarily always illegal or unethical but very often the connotation of the phrase especially when used in a political context expressly implies a form of corruption.
“On the federal level, the Hobbs Act makes it a felony for a public official to extort property under color of office. Trading campaign contributions for promises of official actions or inactions are also prohibited under the act.”
I think most people in our nation today would accept the premise that Washington politicians actively engage in practices that would fall under the heading of quid pro quo. How do they often play this game? Let’s navigate as Ms. Correia hits the Washington establishment and the SEC hard: (more…)
Helen Davis Chaitman Reviews In Bed with Wall Street
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 14th, 2014 9:16 AM |
I truly appreciate reading the thoughts of highly intelligent professionals. I appreciate even more reading the thoughts of those highly intelligent professionals who stand up and speak out in courageous fashion on the serious issues of the day.
Very few individuals with whom I have crossed paths since launching Sense on Cents in early 2009 embody these character traits more than Helen Davis Chaitman.
Helen Davis Chaitman is a nationally recognized litigator with a diverse trial practice in the areas of lender liability, bankruptcy, bank fraud, RICO, professional malpractice, trusts and estates, and white collar defense. In 1995, Ms. Chaitman was named one of the nation’s top ten litigators by the National Law Journal for a jury verdict she obtained in an accountants’ malpractice case. Since early 2009, Ms. Chaitman has been an outspoken advocate for investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. She has lobbied in Congress for statutory changes to assure Madoff investors of the protections of the Securities Investor Protection Act.
Ms. Chaitman is truly tireless in fighting for justice and recently launched the site JPMadoff to expose the relationship between JP Morgan and Bernie Madoff that facilitated the perpetration of Wall Street’s largest Ponzi scam.
I am honored that Ms. Chaitman would review my book In Bed with Wall Street. Her review is currently being widely disseminated throughout the blogosphere. I welcome sharing her thoughts here: (more…)
Inspectors’ General ‘Limitations on Access to Records’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 13th, 2014 9:40 AM |
Information is everything.
Access to information on a timely basis is critical to an agency, an organization, an administration, and a government at large being well run. The sharing of information is often sporadic if the interests of those involved are not properly aligned.
Regrettably for the American public, our interests are not often properly represented and aligned with those atop Capitol Hill — on both sides of the aisle — and those within 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. All we need to do is look at the pathetic if not anemic levels of public approval to understand that. Truth be told, though, those within power should not operate based purely on public polls and levels of approval.
Although often times it seems that they do take just that tact.
All this said, we are living through seemingly an unprecedented period when sourcing information is forever breaking new ground. How might we know if the information itself is utilized to truly protect and promote the public interest as opposed to allowing waste, fraud, and abuse to propagate? (more…)
JPMadoff: New Site Hits JPMorgan Hard in re: Madoff
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 12th, 2014 11:46 AM |
In early January of this year, JP Morgan was hit with a $2 billion fine and a deferred prosecution agreement for its failures to properly manage and monitor its 20-plus year relationship with the Sultan of Swindle Bernie Madoff.
In my opinion, that settlement had little meaningful correlation with what most in our nation would define as justice. I wrote as much in my commentary, JP Morgan – Madoff: Lots of ‘CYA’ But Little ‘KYC’.
After this settlement was finalized, I can only assume that many of the folks at FINRA, the SEC, DOJ, SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation), and certainly JP Morgan exhaled a welcome sigh of relief to see the JPM-Madoff affair fading into the rear view mirror.
Not so fast!! (more…)
What Is Really Going On at The SEC?
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 11th, 2014 9:38 AM |
If we thought that our nation’s top financial cops had embraced the mantel of truly protecting the public interest, a recent story put forth by CNBC gives us serious reason to pause in that assessment.
This story addresses a leak inside the commission and generates far more questions than answers as to what is really going on inside the offices of the SEC.
Let’s navigate, review, and critique how the SEC Probes Its Own Leak But Can’t Find Culprit:
The inspector general of the Securities and Exchange Commission conducted an intensive, months-long dragnet in 2013 and 2014 involving phone, email and security searches to determine who inside the agency allegedly leaked information to the media about a closed commission meeting discussing the massive JPMorgan “London Whale” settlement, CNBC has learned.
