Category Archives: Corruption & Finance

Corruption concentrates wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of the 99% below, and this trend has accelerated the past decades. Corrupt leaders and industries are less likely to ration food and oil as it declines, accelerating collapse. I predict that the higher the level of corruption (see corruption perceptions index at transparency.org) will make collapse faster and harsher than in less corrupt nations.  I hope future historians look at this as a factor in how nations fell during the energy crisis. Though I expect that smaller towns everywhere will do better than large cities, and where local governments are uncorrupted

Bonuses and salaries way too high at Banks, Wall Street, Corporations

The “Paid-What-You’re-Worth” Myth March 13, 2014. Robert Reich. New York Times and robertreich.org It’s often assumed that people are paid what they’re worth. According to this logic, minimum wage workers aren’t worth more than the $7.25 an hour they now … Continue reading

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FDIC Sues 16 Banks for Fraud by Manipulating Global Interest Rate

FDIC sues 16 Banks for rigging the Libor Rate March 2014. New York Times. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sued 16 banks for fraud because they conspired to set a crucial global interest rate low to enrich themselves.   … Continue reading

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Rot in the Banking culture

Questions are asked of Rot in Banking Culture Peter Eavis. March 13, 2014. New York Times. Money laundering, market rigging, tax dodging, selling faulty financial products, trampling homeowner rights and rampant risk-taking — these are some of the sins that … Continue reading

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Cost of the bailout of the Banksters and Wall Street

Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures –- combined: • Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion • Louisiana Purchase : … Continue reading

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SEC charges pair of brokers, investment advisory firm, others with $80M variable annuity scam

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20140313/FREE/140319954 SEC charges pair of brokers, investment advisory firm, others with $80M variable annuity scam Mar 13, 2014 Darla Mercado The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday filed charges against a group of brokers in a scheme wherein wealthy investors used variable … Continue reading

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The congressional report on “The Financial Crisis” and what happened

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report. Final Report of the national Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States 2011. Phil Angelides Chairman, Brooksley Born Commissioner, Senator Bob Graham Commissioner, etc. This is the best … Continue reading

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Credit Rating Agencies gave bad debt AAA ratings

How banks gamed the rating system from biz.yahoo.com April 2008 Triple-A Failure Nothing sent the [credit ratings] agencies into high gear as much as the development of structured finance. As Wall Street bankers designed ever more securitized products — using … Continue reading

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Bernie Madoff

The Day the Earth Went Broke. 2008. Byron King   whiskeyandgunpowder.com What if you woke up one day and there was a flying saucer sitting in the middle of Central Park? It would change your view of the world, if not … Continue reading

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New York Times : 401K, mutual fund, brokerage fees have cost you tens of thousands of dollars

Give Fees an Inch, and They’ll Take a Mile March 1, 2014. Jeff Sommer. New York Times. [I’ve shortened and paraphrased much of the article, go to the link above to see the full article. My comments are in brackets] … Continue reading

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New York Times: Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns

Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns Feb 19, 2014. Landon Thomas. New York Times Global bond investors have financed some of the most enormous projects ever taken on by emerging economies the past few years. Now growth is faltering in many … Continue reading

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