Posts Tagged ‘financial regulation’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 10th, 2010 6:42 AM |
Without information there can be no real truth. Without truth there can be no real justice. Without justice, what is the quality of our nation and ultimately our civilization?
Why do so many Americans remain enraged at the economic travesty of the last few years? For the very simple reason that those regulators who were charged to protect American investors not only failed in their initial charge but to a large extent have continued to fail investors by not aggressively pursuing justice where financial improprieties–if not outright fraud–transpired.
To this end, why am I not surprised that many auction-rate securities holders have quickly directed their attention and focus to the state of Colorado where securities commissioner Fred Joseph has filed a complaint against E*Trade for improperly marketing and distributing auction-rate securities. Other ARS holders are hoping Commissioner Joseph will take a similar tact on their behalf against other firms for the same reason.
In order for the Colorado state securities commissioner to pursue the truth, he needs the information. (more…)
Tags: ARPS, ARS, auction rate cases, auction rate securities cases, auction rate securities holders, Chuck Reinhardt in Colorado State Securities Office, Colorado securities commissioner, Colorado State Securities Commissioner, E*Trade, financial regulation, FINRA, FINRA liquidation of auction-rate securities, Fred Joseph, Larry Doyle, Mario Cuomo, Oppenheimer, SEC, Sense on Cents, state attorneys general
Posted in ARPS, ARS, General | 15 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 4th, 2010 7:29 AM |
Washington and Wall Street are skilled at utilizing smoke and mirrors to advance their collective agenda. The simple fact is most of our Washington operatives do not understand basic financial concepts. The reality of the situation is that our supposed leaders are content to remain blind to the realities of finance as long as Wall Street continues sending campaign funds their way.
Fortunately, others in our nation take a more impassioned view of the world and aggressively question where Washington often passes. To this end, I thank a friend who shared the following letter highlighted today at the Project on Government Oversight on our new favorite topic about the lack of transparency at the SEC.
This letter is comprehensive in addressing a number of critically important points. Do you ever wish that we could have representatives from these organizations questioning not only our elected officials, but also our appointed officials such as Mary Schapiro? I wish that all the time. Please take a few minutes to ponder the issues embedded in this letter. Ask yourself whom you really believe are protecting your interests.
August 3, 2010
Senator Christopher Dodd
Chairman
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 (more…)
Tags: American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Angela Canterbury, Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, CREW, Dodd-Frank Act, Essential Information, financial regulation, financial regulatory reform, financial regulatory structure, FOIA, freedom of information act, GAP Government Accountability Project, Investment advisers Act of 1940, Investment Company Act of 1940, Liberty Coalition, Mary Schapiro, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, POGO, project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, rule 9291, SEC, section 9291, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Senator Patrick Leahy, Sense on Cents, Sunlight Foundation, transparency at the SEC, Washington Wall Street incest
Posted in General, SEC | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 9th, 2010 4:14 PM |
Do not underestimate Americans navigating the economic landscape!!
Why?
A few weeks back I was interviewd by Sue Henry of WILK Newsradio in Wilkes-Barre, PA (Media Appearance on Sue Henry Show, UPDATED with AUDIO CLIP) regarding an investor education presentation by FINRA. The presentation held last evening had U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) as the featured speaker. I am all for investor education. The very purpose of Sense on Cents is to help educate readers on all aspects of our economy, markets, and world of global finance.
The points I raised in the radio interview and subsequently with a local newspaper reporter, Bill O’ Boyle of the Times Leader, was that Rep. Kanjorski sits on two Congressional subcommittees which have received an extensive and detailed letter questioning the very validity of a self-regulatory organization, that being FINRA, for our financial industry. (Details of the letter are included here).
I pressed O’ Boyle specifically to highlight Kanjorski’s responsibility to his constituents in Pennsylvania and the national electorate to address the points highlighted in that letter from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).
O’ Boyle regrettably but not surprisingly failed to deliver and provided a canned review of the presentation, which I had projected would be a ‘dog and pony’ show. (more…)
Tags: Bill O' Boyle, dog and pony show, financial regulation, FINRA, FINRA investor education at The Woodlands, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, Paul Kanjorski Lou Barletta, Planning Trumps Politics at Fiscal Forum, POGO, project on Government Oversight, Sue Henry, Times Leader, Times Leader July 9 2010, WILK radio
Posted in General | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 2nd, 2010 12:42 PM |
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Is America supposed to believe that the economic crisis emanating on Wall Street and costing our economy trillions of dollars was all on the up and up and was merely a ‘perfect storm’? Although many on Wall Street and in Washington would have us believe just that, a true measure of ‘sense on cents’ dictates that we not be so naive.
Regrettably, our financial regulators and most state attorneys general have shown themselves to be incapable, unwilling, or incompetent in pursuing the massive financial transgressions and fraud that lie at the foundation of our crisis. Well, it is time for “hook ’em horns!!”
The Democratic candidate for Attorney General in the great state of Texas, Barbara Ann Radnofsky, has written a Legal Complaint and Legal Brief which form the basis for a lawsuit against Wall Street and the underlying fraud which has brought our nation to its knees. (more…)
Tags: Barbara Ann Radnofsky, financial fraud on Wall Street, financial regulation, financial regulators, fraud on Wall Street, hook em horns, lawsuits against Bank of America, lawsuits against Goldman Sachs, lawsuits against JP Morgan, lawsuits against Morgan Stanley, lawsuits against rating agencies, lawsuits against Wall Street banks, perfect storm, state attorneys general fighting Wall Street, State of texas vs Goldman Sachs et al, State of Texas vs Wall Street, sue wall street, suewallstreet.com, texas Attorney general campaign, Texas Democratic Party, Wall Street lawsuits
Posted in General, Wall Street | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 21st, 2010 9:05 AM |
In the midst of all the legislative wrangling in Washington and the financial gyrations on Wall Street, what does it all mean for everyday American investors? I am not so sure it means all that much. How much are everyday Americans impacted by proprietary trading, derivatives, merged regulators? Very little actually. I am not writing this to discount the proposed financial regulatory reform coming out of Washington, but I remain underwhelmed that it will truly protect everyday investors from the ways of Wall Street.
To this end, I am happy to propose my own Sense on Cents Financial Reforms which I believe regulators should impose on financial intermediaries (brokers, bankers, money managers, et al). I am not only proposing these reforms here, but I am sharing them today with Washington based financial regulators. In deference to my readers, you’re getting the first look. Feel free to share your thoughts on my proposed reforms, and add others which you believe should be implemented. (more…)
Tags: caveat emptor, competency risks, corporate credit risks, counterparty risks, currency risks, derivatives, extension risks, financial reforms, financial regulation, financial regulators, financial regulatory reforms, FINRA, how will financial regulatory reforms impact everyday Americans, interest rate risks, investment risks, liquidity risks, market risks, options, prepayment risks, proprietary trading, Risk Parameters, SEC, Sense on Cents, structure risks, transparency risks, volatility risks, Wall Street, what is a prospectus
Posted in General, regulation, Wall Street | 8 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 14th, 2010 2:34 PM |
President Obama wants input on the reform of the housing finance system. Given my career, I consider myself eminently qualified to give it to him. Despite this request, though, I still think he should focus on job creation (which he highlighted during his State of the Union address).
I welcome giving President Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, and the rest of the the White House economic team a very healthy dose of Sense on Cents. (My response is a little lengthy, but it is not everyday the President gives us this opportunity. Out of respect, I owe him my best effort.) I will let you know if they respond with anything more than a form letter, or if they do not respond at all. From the U.S. Treasury today:
(more…)
Tags: 13 Bankers by Simon Johnson and James Kwak, 2008 campaign, 2012 campaign, Fannie Mae Freddie Mac, federal housing finance objective, federal housing policy, Federal Register, financial regulation, finra liquidation of ars, FINRA sold Auction Rate Securities, fiscal discipline, future of housing finance system, government housing policy, hard work discipline thrift personal responsibility family, housing finance reform, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Mary Schapiro, Mary Schapiro SEC, Mary Schapiro tenure of Finra, Obama request for input on housing finance reform, President's Open Government Initiative, Public Input on Reform of Housing Finance System April 14 2010, Questions for Public Solicitation of Input, request for input on housing finance reform, Stephen Harper, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury request for housing finance reform, what is future of Freddie and Fannie
Posted in General, Obama Administration | 3 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 5th, 2010 2:02 PM |
Is the Wall Street landscape 2010 merely a precursor to another systemic crisis in which the “too big to fail” banks come running to Uncle Sam for more bailouts? Selected senior bankers on Wall Street, including JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, have publicly stated that the markets and our economy need to ready themselves for crises on a more regular basis. If that is the case, is this truly any way to run a financial system, let alone a country? I do not think so, nor does Simon Johnson. Who is Johnson? (more…)
Tags: 13 Bankers, banks, banks as percentage of GDP, banks should be small enough to fail, Baseline Scenario, financial institutions, financial regulation, financial regulators, james Kwak, Jamie Dimon, no way to run a business or a nation, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Senator Chris Dodd's financial regulatory reform, Simon Johnson, Simon Johnson interview with David Weidner, Simon Johnson on Teddy Roosevelt, Simon Johnson on too big to fail, Sloan School of Management, small enough to fail, Wall Street crises, Wall Street hubris, Wall Street-Washington incest
Posted in General | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 5th, 2010 11:13 AM |
If we are to believe the markets are predicting a rebound in the economy (I do not blindly accept that to be the case), then it is high time we address the next enormous question facing our country. That is? The bill that has been accruing for the ‘so-called’ saving of our economy.
Whether the economy has been saved or not is a relative question. Please be careful as to how to use that phrase in light of the fact that there are 6.5 million people out of work now for at least 27 weeks (long term unemployed) and close to 17% of our labor force is underemployed.
The biggest question facing our country now is how do we pay for cleaning up this mess that was created over the last number of years? (more…)
Tags: bill for recovery, copper, cost of recovery, Deficit, economic future, economic legacy, financial regulation, future of economy, increasing taxes, interest rates, John Maynard Keynes, Keynsian economics, Obama Administration, oil, recession, reflation bill, The 2010 recovery, value-added tax, vat, where are interest rates headed
Posted in General, interest rates, taxes | 3 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 1st, 2010 9:42 AM |
Ignorance is never an excuse. Whether in regard to law enforcement, financial regulation, or other forms of supervisory oversight, ignorance may be the reality . . . but we can never allow it to be used as an excuse. Regrettably, ignorance (if not worse) was clearly on rampant display as the SEC (and in my opinion, FINRA as well) failed America miserably in its oversight of Lehman Brothers.
One of my favorite financial journalists, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil, highlights the pathetic performance of the SEC regulators who were charged with overseeing one of the firms that catapulted our economy off a cliff. Weil writes, Wall Street’s Repo 105 Cops Wake Up From Dead:
The good news this week from the Securities and Exchange Commission is that it’s on the hunt for companies that have used Lehman-style accounting tricks to make themselves look less leveraged than they really are. Now for the downside: The headline-chasing agency is way too late, as usual. (more…)
Tags: Anton Valukas, Barney Frank, Bloomberg, Bloomberg's Jonathan Weil, Darrell Issa, financial accounting, financial leverage on Wall Street, financial regulation, financial regulators failed America, FINRA ignorance, FINRA oversight of Lehman, ignorance is never an excuse, inmates running asylum, Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates, Lehman Brothers, Lehman Repo 105, Matthew Eichner, Matthew Eichner Federal Reserve Board, paul Kanjorski, Repo 105, SEC ignorance, SEC oversight of Lehman, Securities and Exchange Commission, short sellers, Wall Street, Wall Street accounting tricks, Wall Street inmates running the asylum, Wall Street's Repo 105 Cops Wake Up From Dead, who is Matthew Eichner
Posted in FINRA, General, Lehman, SEC | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 31st, 2010 6:27 AM |
When the exchange of financial ideas and, more importantly, capital becomes excessively politicized there are very real costs. Although those involved in the politicization process of these markets and exchanges may define the increased intervention of political influences as “in the best interests” of all involved, the supposed near term benefits come with long term costs.
Why do I broach this topic? A former SEC official decided he wanted to talk about the political overtones involved in the SEC’s decision to restrict short-selling in the equity markets in 2008. Bloomberg reports on this bombshell in writing, SEC Lets Politics Spur Short-Sale Decision, Sirri Says:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to restrict short selling was a political decision rather than one based on evidence, according to a former agency official who says it may set a precedent for future decisions. (more…)
Tags: Bloomberg, Bob Errico, costs and benefits of financial politics, Eric Sirri, Erik Sirri, financial regulation, FINRA, John Mack, Mary Schapiro, political overtones in short selling, regulation, SEC, SEC division of trading and markets, SEC Lets Politics Spur Short-Sale Decision, Securities and Exchange Commission, short selling, SIrri Says, Susan Merrill, Wall Street Banks, Wall Street lobby, who is Erik Sirri
Posted in General | 1 Comment »
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