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HomeRichard Bowen: The Corruption Extends to the Highest Levels of Government
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 23rd, 2013 10:02 AM |
I thank the many devoted readers of Sense on Cents who made sure I was aware of a riveting, must-read article in yesterday’s New York Times written by Bill Cohan, a Wall Street-Washington critic without peer.
Cohan writes of the travails of Richard Bowen, former whistleblower at Citigroup, who ran headlong into the fortress manned by Robert Rubin and friends. Bowen was a Citi employee who blew the whistle regarding the preponderance of defective mortgages running through the Citi pipeline.
He brought the knowledge of this activity to the highest perch within the bank including the attention of Robert Rubin. How was he treated? With what most would define as ‘the silent treatment.’ Once silenced, he was then subsequently shown the door.
While Bowen was pushed out of Citigroup back in 2009, he has not been silenced since then. (more…)
Global Financial System: Dangerous and Dysfunctional
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 20th, 2013 8:55 AM |
I truly appreciate reading the work and gaining the wisdom of those with informed insights and opinions.
Where do I always find people of this ilk? At one of my favorite stops while navigating the economic landscape: Project Syndicate.
While various and sundry lapdogs from both sides of the political aisle and others well-schooled in the inner workings of the Wall Street-Washington incestuous thoroughfare are touting how our financial system has been reformed, let’s go down a less traveled path and see what a noted observer has to say on this topic. (more…)
Morning Joe : How Wall Street Won
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 13th, 2013 9:27 AM |
Lehman Brothers failed on September 15, 2008.
We are now two days away from the 5 year anniversary of that fateful day and the unfolding of a string of events that continue to ripple across our global economy and markets.
As with the anniversaries of most cataclysmic events, we can now expect an ongoing stream of dialogue as to what led to the crisis and how things have played out since then.
The folks at Morning Joe had a brief 7-minute discussion recently with Time magazine editor Radhika Jones on this topic and these questions. They definitely hit upon some of the key issues but they do not use the one key word to define what really happened both pre and post crisis. What is that word? Let’s take a listen first to what they have to say: (more…)
5 Years Later: Banks Still Too Leveraged
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 12th, 2013 9:09 AM |
Do you think there is a reason why bank balance sheets are so convoluted and opaque? Of course there is.
The lack of meaningful transparency allows the banks to continue to employ excessive degrees of leverage across a widely disparate array of businesses and with a paucity of competition all in the hope of generating outsized returns. But who do you think bears the ultimate risk?
They pursue these paths with the support of the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy and a regulatory system that belies meaningful oversight despite those who might want us to believe that Dodd-Frank brought reform to the system.
Former FDIC chair Sheila Bair does not leave much to interpretation on these topics. (more…)
Dodd-Frank Derivative Reform: Dead on Arrival
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 5th, 2013 8:59 AM |
While many in Washington and elsewhere will look to collect political points for bringing reform to Wall Street, those watching closely knew all too well that the blueprints for this reform were always subject to massive change.
So has Dodd-Frank brought real reform to Wall Street? If you believe so, I would invite you to become a charter member of The Gullible Club.
Let’s dispense with the formalities. Wall Street ultimately answers to nobody but itself. As such, we can unload another truckload of dirt over the casket holding Dodd-Frank.
While many observers of the financial and political scenes are not inclined to draw attention to this service, fortunately those at Bloomberg view this funereal undertaking more seriously. I thank them as they recently pulled back the cloak on Dodd-Frank to reveal a Wall Street dagger protruding from its midst. (more…)
Wall Street Criminal Referrals: 96% Decline
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 23rd, 2013 7:00 AM |
How deep in the tank have our regulators gone over the years to protect Wall Street rather than upholding their mandate to provide real investor protection?
Really deep.
How might we measure the depth?
Check out the following incredible statistic highlighted by one of my favorite financial journalists, that being Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil. (more…)
Obama on Dodd-Frank: Is He Serious?
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 20th, 2013 10:10 AM |
Three full years after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, less than 40 percent of the watered-down rules within the reform have actually been written.
And those that have fall mostly under the heading of low-hanging fruit.
President Obama played the populist card again yesterday, calling on Congress and the independent regulators to complete their work on this reform.
Does President Obama think the American public actually believes Wall Street has been or will be reformed via Dodd-Frank? Really? Is he serious?
What/Who Is Holding Back Small Business? Washington DC, That’s Who
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 9th, 2013 8:17 AM |
Put aside everything else that streams across the daily news wire, there is no doubt that the prevailing issue that causes the most concern for people in our nation is how they are putting bread on the table.
Yes, we can dispense with all the noise that spews forth from far too many sources, the issue that is most prominent to our economic well being remains JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. So where are the jobs and why aren’t they being created to any meaningfully degree a full five years after the outset of our economic crisis? (more…)
Khuzami Goes Through The Revolving Door
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 23rd, 2013 9:54 AM |
How do people feel about the performance of the SEC over the last number of years?
Seriously. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being horrendous and 10 being superb), please share your opinion as to how the SEC has gone about pursuing its mission of protecting investors and our markets while overseeing the manner in which Wall Street’s banks and money managers run their operations.
I ask this very basic question as a means of also grading the performance of the SEC’s Director of Enforcement, Robert Khuzami, during this period. (more…)
Preet Bharara: Big Bark, But Where’s The Bite?
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 19th, 2013 9:19 AM |
The US Attorney for the southern district of New York, Preet Bharara, certainly occupies one of the most powerful positions within law enforcement in the nation.
Yet here we sit 5 full years from the outset of what any reasonably intelligent individual knows is a fraud-induced and executed crisis, and what do we have to show for meaningful justice?
Aside from the prosecution of a handful of ne’er-do-well hedge fund nitwits and an array of shareholder paid fines, the record books to date have very little to show for justice.
I found myself thinking of this track record as I listened to Bharara inform CNBC’s Jim Cramer that nobody and no institution is or should be too big to jail. I am not saying Bharara’s job is an easy one but there comes a point in time when it is put up or shut up. I think most in America would say we have passed that point. (more…)
