Who In Ukraine Will Benefit From An IMF Bailout?
Economists Jeffrey Sommers and Michael Hudson discuss how oligarchs and the Russians will be the true beneficiaries of an IMF bailout of Ukraine.
Read more...Category Archives: Banana republic
Democracy Now Discusses Wells Fargo Foreclosure Document Fabrication Manual
It’s good to see that a lawsuit providing critical new evidence of systematic foreclosure abuses is getting the attention it warrants.
Read more...A New Wall Street Looting Scheme: Disaster Savings Accounts
As famed short seller David Einhorn says, no matter how bad you think it is, it’s worse. We’ve got proof of his dictum in the form of a new looting scheme, the Disaster Savings Account Act. Since the financiers haven’t yet gotten their hands on Social Security, they are looking for new worlds to plunder.
Read more...Bill Moyers and Ian Haney Lopez Discuss the Use of the Race Card in Politics
This Bill Moyers segment provides an in-depth discussion of race. Lopez focuses on how both parties use what he calls the racial dog whistle to mobilize voters.
Read more...JP Morgan/Madoff Case Puts Spotlight on Use of Lawyers as Investigation-Blockers
Whenever a scandal of sufficient magnitude arises at a bank, it’s standard practice to hire an “independent” third party to conduct an investigation and give a report to senior management and the board. But now even bank friendly regulators are starting to suspect that banks are hiring attorneys do to this work, not to come clean, but to facilitate a cover-up.
Read more...Quelle Surprise! Banks Are Opposed to More Liquid Markets When They Don’t Make Enough From Them
Bloomberg has an intriguing story about a bit of lobbying the big dealer banks are engaged in via a group called the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, which represents 15 out of the total of 22 primary dealers (a primary dealer, among other things, gets to bid for its own account at Treasury bond auctions). Of course, the object of their efforts is to improve their profitability, here by putting parties they regard as competitors at more of a disadvantage.
Read more...Obama Lame Duck Watch: Pelosi Puts Another Nail in Toxic Trade Deal Coffin, Says She Opposes Giving Administration “Fast Track” Authority
Obama now has another hurdle to overcome if he is to get his toxic trade deals, the TransPacific Partnership and the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, passed in time for him to take credit for handing the keys to America over to multinational corporations and turning out the lights.
Read more...Versailles Watch: John Mack Whines About How Badly Wall Street CEOs are Treated
You cannot make this stuff up.
Read more...How Obamacare Raids the Assets of Low-Income Older Americans
One feature of Obamacare that Lambert has mentioned in passing in his posts is that individuals over 55 who are enrolled in Medicaid are subject to having expenses like being in a long-term care facility, home services, and related drugs and prescriptions clawed back from their estates. A must read post at Paul Craig Roberts details how pernicious and sneaky these provisions are.
Read more...Better Markets Sues Department of Justice and Eric Holder Over JP Morgan Settlement
The public interest group Better Markets today filed suit against the Department of Justice and Eric Holder, alleging that the so-called $13 billion settlement that the Federal government entered into with the nation’s biggest bank was improper due to its secrecy and lack of third-party review.
Read more...Twitter 2, JP Morgan, 0: Bythe Masters Withdraws After One Day Appointment as CFTC Advisor
This was not a world-record revolving door stint, but the head-spinning was of the good sort for a change.
Read more...Gaius Publius: Obama Got $20 Million from Healthcare Industry in 2008. Was Killing Single Payer Part of the Deal?
If it walks like a duck, um, a pre-emptive bribe….
Read more...Wall Street Journal Exposes Entirely New Private Equity Tax Scam
Yet another private equity tax swindle has come to light.
Read more...Bill Black: Jamie Dimon’s $10 Million Raise is a “Common Sense” Fraud Reward
Yves here. This has been such a busy week that I’ve been remiss about commenting on how Dimon’s board rewarded him despite the London Whale fiasco and the revelation of pervasive regulatory abuses. Clearly, they thought he bought the bank’s way out of trouble on the cheap, disproving the wailing in the financial firm toadying media that the Morgan bank had been ill-treated by the Administration.
Read more...Another Obama Corporate Gimmie: Broadens Corporate R&D Tax Credits
Obama is looking more and more like an ideal Republican president with every passing day.
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