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Post by sandi66 on Feb 20, 2011 10:28:35 GMT -5
GOP, Dem senators say govt shutdown avoidable Published: Sunday, 20 Feb 2011 | 10:02 AM ET WASHINGTON - Two leading senators — one from each political party — are saying that a government shutdown can be avoided through budget negotiations. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma says no one wants the government to shut down. He says that he doesn't think a shutdown will happen as long as lawmakers agree on ways to cut spending. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri says that shutting down the government would be "silly." She says she's optimistic that, as she puts it, "everybody can behave like adults." The Republican-led House has approved a spending bill with deep cuts that Democrats call unacceptable. Funding to keep the government going runs out in early March. There's hope a compromise can be found in the Senate. Coburn and McCaskill spoke on "Fox News Sunday." www.cnbc.com/id/41691076
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 22, 2011 10:28:39 GMT -5
Yedlin: Future burns bright for Canada's oilsands By Deborah Yedlin, Calgary Herald February 22, 2011 7:26 AM Photograph by: Handout, Calgary HeraldThe chief economist of the International Energy Agency recently did some crystal ball gazing in Toronto on what the future of energy might look like and his conclusions are worth a look. A few aspects of Fatih Birol's presentation stand out, namely where the world's oil supply is going to come from, the implications of the growing natural gas glut and the role of renewable energy in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Anyone who still hasn't grasped the significance of Canada's oilsands resource would do well to pay attention to the IEA's analysis. Between 2009-2035, the IEA shows that more of the world's incremental oil production will come from a smaller number of producers. The fact the 13 names are primarily members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as the name at the top of the list being Saudi Arabia shouldn't surprise anyone. But what might raise a few eyebrows are the non-OPEC producers that are on the list, not to mention those that are not. The IEA's analysis puts the second largest producer as Iraq -which of course presumes the country will be able to develop its massive oil reserves. This, of course, depends on political stability that, in turn, will attract much needed foreign capital and expertise. The third, fourth and fifth spots are occupied by non-OPEC players: Brazil, Kazakhstan and Canada. The rest of the spots are filled by OPEC players; the country notably absent from the analysis is Russia. What does all this mean in the context of what's going on today? Plenty. Brazil and Canada, and to a lesser extent Kazakhstan, represent the rising importance of the unconventional oil reserves. Brazil has its deepwater plays, Canada the oilsands and much of Kazakhstan's oil lies below the Caspian Sea. What's even more interesting is the role Canada will play -even as production ramps up in Iraq. There has been a good amount of discussion in oil circles of late on the question of the impact more oil produced from Iraq could have on the demand for Canada's oilsands. The one conclusion to draw from this is fairly clear: increased production from Iraq is unlikely to have a negative impact on the demand for Canada's unconventional barrels; the world is going to need every drop of oil because of the surging demand for cars in China and other developing countries. According to Birol's presentation, the number of cars on the road by 2035 will be 1.6 billion, with more than half in China and the developing world. The other take-away from the presentation from Canada's perspective is that the importance of the oilsands in meeting the world's energy needs is going to more than offset the ongoing opposition from environmental groups to the continued development of the resource. The environmental organizations may well want to protest in Washington, D.C. -as they did on Wednesday -warning this time of heightened safety risk associated with pipelines carrying oilsands crude into the U.S. because the oil is apparently more corrosive and could result in another spill. The groups were asking the government to suspend new permits for pipelines into the U.S., a move clearly aimed at the yet-tobe approved Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oilsands crude to refineries in the Gulf Coast. But Birol's analysis is fairly clear those barrels are important in meeting the world's incremental demand -especially in the absence of other viable substitutes. Birol notes the growing presence of renewables, but also notes that they remain dependent on government subsidies -to the tune of $205 billion by 2035 from $57 billion in 2009. The other substitute noted, of course, is natural gas. Birol says the glut that has caused prices to fall could see the commodity displace coal as well as renewable options. The IEA's view is that natural gas will play a key role in the world's future fuel mix -increasing 44 per cent by 2035. But another perspective needs to be added in terms of Canada's positioning in the IEA analysis. The other 10 countries on the list are in regions of the world that have suddenly become much less stable. That 'hood' doesn't look so good right now. Thus, the consequence of a regime change in Egypt is not the closing of the Suez Canal as many feared, it is that there are oil-producing countries suddenly vulnerable to what has just swept through Egypt. It likely won't affect Saudi Arabia, but Iran, Libya and Algeria are starting to see their citizenry emboldened by the events in Egypt and Tunisia. How these demonstrations end -or indeed where else they spread to -is difficult to predict but the uncertainty will undoubtedly contribute to oil price volatility, not to mention cause importing countries to look for oil from more stable sources. Between the uncertainty in the Middle East and the growing demand for energy around the globe, not only are oil prices vulnerable to the upside, Canada's oilsands are looking more attractive by the day. Should this continue, one can imagine the pressure being put on Canadian companies and governments to move faster at boosting export market capacity for the purpose of reaching countries beyond the U.S. that want to decrease their exposure to oil coming from unstable regimes. The oilsands might be seen by many as the energy sector's ugly duckling, but in the context of meeting global demand, they're looking more like the proverbial swan. www.calgaryherald.com/business/Yedlin+Future+burns+bright+Canada+oilsands/4322886/story.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 23, 2011 8:43:55 GMT -5
IMF Discusses Plan to Replace Dollar as World Reserve Currency Posted on February 11, 2011 by Commercial King The International Monetary Fund has called for a plan that will replace the dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency. CNN is reporting that the IMF has called to use SDR’s, or Special Drawing Rights to replace the Dollar. CNN explains what an SDR is below. SDRs represent potential claims on the currencies of IMF members. They were created by the IMF in 1969 and can be converted into whatever currency a borrower requires at exchange rates based on a weighted basket of international currencies. The IMF typically lends countries funds denominated in SDRs. While they are not a tangible currency, some economists argue that SDRs could be used as a less volatile alternative to the U.S. dollar. SOURCE: CNN Helicopter Ben Bernanke attempts to confuse the general public through a “voodoo economics” explanation of our financial disaster. If the IMF replaces the Dollar as the world reserve currency it will have catastrophic effects on the United States economy. The American consumer will no longer be able to buy cheap manufactured goods from China, which will dramatically lower the standard of living of most Americans. This is a huge development and everyone should prepare accordingly. www.survivalbros.com/blog/imf-discusses-plan-to-replace-dollar-as-world-reserve-currency/ty sheila
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 23, 2011 13:31:26 GMT -5
Canada poised to become northern tiger U.S. could bleed business to Canada, according to new comparison of tax regimes CALGARY, Feb. 23 /CNW/ - Today, Prof. Jack Mintz, director of The School of Public Policy, released a paper co-authored by Duanjie Chen analyzing tax regimes of 83 developed and developing countries. In a global economy, this kind of comparison is a strong indicator of future investment, job and economic growth for those countries. "Over time, wage rates will slowly equalize around the world, so we are getting to the place where tax rates on business will be a key factor in determining where capital flows and business sets up shop," Mintz said. Mintz has frank advice for the United States: "Either reduce your exorbitant taxes on corporations and get in line with international rates, or face a bleeding of capital, business and jobs to more competitive countries, including Canada because of its geographic proximity, as well as developing nations." While Canada finished mid-pack amongst the countries studied, this is a vast improvement over competitiveness just six years ago. "In 2005, Canada was the fourth highest taxed jurisdiction in the world. Since then, corporate tax cuts in Canada have made Canada an attractive place to do business - but there's still work to do." Mintz said. "Corporate taxes should still be reduced further, and to scrap planned corporate taxes reductions would be a job killer - plain and simple." Is Canada on its way to becoming a northern tiger? "Yes," said Mintz, "the future looks bright for Canada. The combination of resource wealth, a favourable tax regime and our proximity to the U.S. is very positive". There are, however, two clouds on the horizon, Mintz added. "The threat posed by the unfavourable U.S. tax regime is so great, that the damage done to the U.S. economy could seriously affect Canada. And the political threat to continued corporate tax cuts could send uncompetitive signals to global businesses. We need those cuts to take Canada to the OECD competitive average, and businesses have already factored in those cuts." A copy of the paper is available at www.policyschool.ca under the "latest papers" section. For further information: For more information and to arrange interview requests, contact: Morten Paulsen 403.399.3377 morten@paulsengroup.ca www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2011/23/c5337.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 23, 2011 16:33:48 GMT -5
DTCC offering broker-to-broker clearing service Press Release Published 2/16/2011 New York, February 16, 2011- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today plans to launch Obligation Warehouse (OW) to automate the matching and confirmation of broker-to-broker trades that are currently confirmed and settled directly between the trading parties rather than through DTCC (known as ex-clearing), and to give Member firms real-time access to track, manage and resolve their failed obligations. The service, an offering of DTCC’s clearing agency subsidiary, National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), is expected to be fully functional by June 2011, with implementation beginning in March 2011 following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent approval of NSCC’s related rule filing. “The OW represents a giant leap forward in helping financial firms better manage and address the operational risks and costs associated with processing broker-to-broker ex-clearing trades, as well as failed obligations,” said Susan Cosgrove, DTCC managing director, Clearance and Settlement/Equities. “It will create a more efficient and cost-effective system that will transform the processing of these transactions, while also delivering real-time capabilities to view virtually all failed trading activity in the U.S. marketplace for equities, corporates, municipals and unit investment trust securities.” While most equity, bond and UIT trades are fed directly to NSCC for clearing from the various U.S. marketplaces and trading platforms, currently amounting to an average of more than 80 million daily transactions, there are an unknown number of trades that brokerage firms confirm and settle directly with their counterparties. Fails in those trades have never been tracked in a central location prior to the development of OW. A Real-Time Automated Service OW leverages NSCC’s existing systems and enhances its current fail clearance system, known as the Reconfirmation and Pricing Service (RECAPS), to automate the matching and confirmation of broker-to-broker ex-clearing trades, replacing the highly manual and error-prone processes, including phone calls and faxes, currently used by financial firms to manage these transactions. In addition, OW will track, store and maintain certain unsettled obligations in a central location, and make these obligations available for RECAPS processing until they are settled, cancelled or otherwise closed in the system. Transactions eligible to be tracked, stored and maintained in OW include failed or unsettled broker-to-broker obligations that are compared through OW and obligations forwarded to OW from other NSCC services, including securities exited from NSCC’s Continuous Net Settlement (CNS), Non-CNS Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) items and NSCC Balance Order transactions. RECAPS processing of these transactions, which includes re-pricing, re-netting and allotting, will take place initially on a monthly basis instead of the current quarterly schedule. A new daily maintenance function will check the obligations stored in OW for CNS eligibility and will make adjustments for certain corporate actions. In addition, Member firms will no longer have to resubmit certain open obligations to RECAPS because OW will process RECAPS on all matched fails in OW aged greater than two days. As part of the service, firms will also receive real-time updates, as well as an end-of-day report, that reflect their positions in OW. A Collaborative Approach NSCC worked closely with Member firms, service bureaus as well as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA) Securities Operations and Data Management Sections to help formulate the business requirements and development of OW. “This collaborative approach allowed us to drill down to learn the unique needs of the industry and develop an enhanced service that closes the chapter on the manual processing of broker-to-broker trades and the management of open obligations,” Cosgrove said. “We added new functionality and features to further mitigate risk from the system, enhance transparency for financial firms and provide a comprehensive view to better understand these obligations in their totality.” www.futuresmag.com/News/2011/2/Pages/DTCC-offering-service-to-clear-brokertobroker-trades.aspxty nalmann
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 24, 2011 21:33:08 GMT -5
Citi Knew About Madoff Fraud, Tried to Pass Off Exposure in 2008 By: David Dayen Wednesday February 23, 2011 9:15 am We have already heard about JPMorgan’s travails with Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. A recent report identified JPMorgan as complicit in the Madoff scheme, and potentially liable in a civil lawsuit. According to emails and documents, JPMorgan apparently knew something was amiss with Madoff’s performance figures but never reported the crime to the SEC. Some lawsuits have already been filed. In addition, JPMorgan sold certain derivatives links to Madoff’s returns, giving them a major financial incentive not to disrupt the scam, off of which they profited. Now we’re learning about how Citi was connected to the Madoff scheme as well, from a report by the same trustee who busted JPMorgan Chase. Citigroup Inc tried to pass on its exposure to Bernard Madoff to other banks just months before his epic fraud was revealed, the Madoff trustee said in a lawsuit accusing a second major U.S. bank of unsavory dealings with the financier. Trustee Irving Picard said red flags about Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were apparent to Citi as early as 2005, according to court papers unsealed on Monday. The lawsuit seeks $425 million from the bank [...] It cited one email by a Citigroup Global Markets Ltd trader in September 2008 reaching out to another bank, which was unidentified. “We’re needing to terminate our Madoff trade. Do you have appetite for that risk over there?” the email said. According to the court document, the other bank responded, “don’t think so, madoff is not very popular here either.” Picard has been extremely aggressive at pursuing money for the victims of the Madoff scheme. But what he’s exposing is the omerta at work on Wall Street during the go-go period of the middle of the last decade. They all knew about the fraud, but they all had a stake in keeping the fraud going. So nobody at a high level blew the whistle. And when the schemes looked to collapse from their own weight, the big money boys tried to get out from under the damage. In this case, Citi tried to pass off all its Madoff deals to let someone else eat them. But it’s not materially different from passing off the downside to the government by taking a bailout. The Madoff deal is the clearest example of fraud that we’ve seen, and a fairly garden-variety fraud at that. But you can easily extrapolate how the biggest financial firms reacted to that fraud to how they reacted to the fraud they created on their own. The m.o. is simple – do whatever it takes to make money, cut all corners, take on all risk, and socialize the losses when things go sour. news.firedoglake.com/2011/02/23/citi-knew-about-madoff-fraud-tried-to-pass-off-exposure-in-2008/ ty joye
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 26, 2011 9:16:00 GMT -5
Greenback Armageddon Ahead? Airtime: Fri. Feb. 25 2011 | 6:46 AM ET Why the dollar is about to crash, with Damon Vickers, Nine Points Capital Management founder, and "The Day After Dollar Crash" author. www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1817702861&play=1ty joye
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 9:33:11 GMT -5
Sarkozy to address nation amid rumours of French gov't shakeup and foreign minister embattled Published on February 27, 2011 Published on February 27, 2011 Topics : PARIS , Tunisia PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a prime-time address to the nation as speculation swirls that a new Cabinet shake-up is in the offing and his foreign minister is reportedly in the ejector seat. Sarkozy has been struggling to revive his lagging poll numbers with a presidential election looming next year. His government has also come under fire for its response to the recent turmoil in the Arab world. French media were awash Sunday with reports that Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie is on the way out just three months after she took that post in the last government shuffle. She has faced controversy over her December vacation in Tunisia as popular protests eventually forced out the former French colony's longtime strongman. www.paherald.sk.ca/Canada---World/Society/2011-02-27/article-2284452/Sarkozy-to-address-nation-amid-rumours-of-French-govt-shakeup-and-foreign-minister-embattled/1?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 9:37:52 GMT -5
Wen Pledges to Curb Graft, Income Inequality as Police Head Off Protests By Bloomberg News - Feb 27, 2011 9:23 AM ET Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to punish abuse of power by officials and narrow the growing wealth gap as police blanketed Beijing and Shanghai to head off planned protests inspired by revolts in the Middle East. The root of corruption lies in a government that has too much unrestrained power, Wen said in a two-hour online interview with citizens today. He promised to curtail food costs and tackle surging property prices. Wen also cut economic growth targets and said the government would focus on ensuring the benefits of expansion were more evenly distributed. Wen’s comments came as hundreds of police deployed in Beijing and Shanghai at the site of demonstrations called to protest corruption and misrule. At least seven people were bundled into police vans near Shanghai’s People’s Square, while in Beijing several foreign journalists were forcibly removed from the Wangfujing shopping district. China’s leaders have emphasized the country’s economic successes in their response to demonstrations both in China and in the Middle East. While the country’s economy has expanded more than 90-fold in the past three decades, Wen said rising inequality is threatening social stability. “The party leadership needs to reassure the people that in the absence of political reform they can nonetheless meet the people’s rising expectations,” said Chinese University of Hong Kong’s adjunct professor of history, Willy Wo-lap Lam. “The expectation for what the government should do for the people has increased” as a result of protests sweeping the Arab world. The government set an economic growth target of 7 percent for the five-year period through 2015, Wen said. China’s target was 7.5 percent for the period from 2006 through last year, with actual growth exceeding that each year. Quality Growth “The new five-year plan will be more about quality of growth,” said Kevin Lai, a Hong Kong-based economist at Daiwa Capital Markets. “The government is going to pay more attention to sustainable growth, environment, better distribution of income, rather than pure GDP pursuit.” An August report by Zurich-based Credit Suisse AG put income inequality levels in China at levels not seen outside of sub-Saharan Africa. High food prices, unemployment and anger over corruption helped spark the protests that toppled Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and fueled rebellion against Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi. Oil prices in New York have surged on concern the unrest will continue to spread, disrupting supplies. Crude for April delivery rose as much as 5.4 percent to $103.41 a barrel on Feb. 24, the highest intraday price since September 2008. Libya is the largest holder of oil reserves in Africa. Las Vegas “China is a rich country, yet food prices are sky high,” said a 23-year-old university student in Shanghai who declined to be identified because he feared arrest. “We can’t afford to buy property, yet all the corrupt officials gamble our money away in Las Vegas.” An open letter on the U.S.-based website Boxun.com called for people to gather in at least 27 sites around the country from Tibet to Manchuria for “jasmine” rallies, named after the uprising last month in Tunisia. “Come out and take a stroll at two o’clock on Sundays to look around,” the letter said. The letter called for the ruling Communist Party to fight corruption, create an independent judiciary and reduce income inequalities or else “exit the stage of history.” The letter said economic booms in Taiwan and South Korea were accomplished with much more equitable income levels. Shanghai, Beijing In Shanghai, at least 23 police vehicles were stationed around Shanghai’s Peace Cinema in the shopping area of People’s Square. Police in Beijing, which included paramilitary units and patrols with Rottweiler and German Shepherd dogs, forcibly removed several foreign journalists from Wangfujing Street at about 2:45 p.m. Police were stationed at every entrance to Wangfujing today. The street, most of which is closed to vehicle traffic and is one of Beijing’s busiest shopping districts, did not appear more crowded than on a usual Sunday. No demonstrators were seen. “You see how the police try to control the crowd? They spend so many resources on this, yet why does the government do so little to improve people’s livelihoods?” said a 72-year-old retired car mechanic in Shanghai, who didn’t want to be named because he feared being detained. The China rallies were first called for Feb. 20. That day, scores of Chinese police gathered at the protest sites, which included a Beijing McDonald’s Corp. restaurant, to quell demonstrations. Hundreds of people were present at the rally, though only a handful actively participated, the Associated Press reported at the time. ‘Obey Rules’ On the corner of Jinyu Hutong and Wangfujing Streets, police officers today asked for passports of people who appeared foreign. Journalists were asked to show their press cards and their information was taken down in a notebook and they were reminded about the rules on interviews. Zhao Qizheng, who heads the foreign affairs committee of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference, said the idea that there would be a Jasmine Revolution in China was “absurd,” Xinhua reported on Feb. 24. The government’s reaction reflects its decades-long effort to keep unrest in check through a combination of economic growth, social reforms and political repression, said Nicholas Bequelin, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong. “One of the key aspects of the Chinese system is that it does not try to suppress social demands as much as to respond to them before they turn into political ones,” Bequelin said. “Everyday politics is about how to handle social demands -- which ones to accept, which ones to channel, which ones to suppress, which ones can be ignored.” www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-27/china-police-blanket-planned-jasmine-protest-sites-in-beijing-shanghai.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 9:42:44 GMT -5
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi came under increased pressure as the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to freeze his assets and protesters controlling the east of the country said they were naming a provisional government. Rebel groups nominated former Justice Minister Moustafa Abdel Jalil as head of an interim government, Fathi Baja, a member of the city council in Benghazi, said today. The council was set up following the uprising that began on Feb. 15 in the city, which is one of several controlled by anti-Qaddafi protesters and army defectors. The Security Council late yesterday voted 15-0 to freeze the foreign assets of Qaddafi and four aides and to bar them from traveling, in the broadest international effort to halt his regime’s attacks on demonstrators. The vote followed a plea by Libyan Ambassador Mohammed Shalgham on Feb. 25 for the UN to “save” his nation. Mohammed Ali Abdalla, deputy secretary-general for the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, the country’s main opposition group in exile, said officials in his party had urged Abdel Jaleel and others to form an interim, alternative government. “This and the position of the international community will add pressure on Qaddafi,” he said by telephone from Dubai. “The country can now become united and organized in facing him and facing his oppression.” It wasn’t immediately clear what form the provisional government might take or what support it has. Market Reaction Middle East shares fell, sending Saudi Arabia’s index to a nine-month low, on concern the deadly clashes of the past week that caused oil prices to surge to a more than two-year high will stall a global recovery. Libya and Saudi Arabia are among the 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil. Crude oil for April delivery climbed 60 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $97.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Feb. 25, the most recent day of trading. U.S. oil rose to $103.41 on Feb. 24, the highest intraday price since Sept. 29, 2008. The UN resolution, approved yesterday, also imposes an arms embargo on Libya and calls for an immediate end to violence that it says “may amount to crimes against humanity.” The measure refers the allegations to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for investigation and possible prosecution. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says more than 1,000 people have died in the unrest, which has left protesters in control of much of the east of the country. ‘Atrocious Scenes’ “The people of Libya have risen up against Colonel Qaddafi,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said today in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. “We have here a country descending into civil war with atrocious scenes of killing of protesters, of a government actually making war on its own people, so of course it is time for Colonel Qaddafi to go. That is the best hope for Libya.” In an attempt to shore up support in Tripoli, the government will give a 500-dinar ($403) cash handout to every family, state-run television reported. The measure will start today, it said, citing the central bank. On the roads between the Egyptian border and the eastern town of Benghazi, heavily armed anti-Qaddafi protesters and defected military units set up tents, some of them welcoming passersby with juice and sweets. In Benghazi and other eastern towns, public buildings including police stations flew the red, black and green flag of Libyan independence that was replaced by Qaddafi when he came to power in 1969. Protesters Targeted Egyptian volunteer doctors said most of the violence in Benghazi took place around the main army headquarters, and began when mercenaries opened fire on protesters. Several witnesses in Tripoli, the capital, said forces loyal to the Libyan leader had shot people from ambulances, used antiaircraft guns against crowds, and removed dead bodies from hospitals to try to obscure the death toll, the New York Times reported. One of Qaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, said three- quarters of Libya is under the control of the regime and “living in peace,” even amid the signs of civil war. Libya should move toward a regime change and a new constitution peacefully, the son said in an interview with Al- Arabiya television aired yesterday. Otherwise, it “risks becoming like Somalia,” he said, denying that mercenaries were brought in to fight anti-government protesters. Frozen Assets U.K. officials have identified billions of pounds in assets held by Qaddafi in British banks and are planning to freeze them, the Daily Telegraph reported, citing an unidentified official with knowledge of the matter. Switzerland on Feb. 24 froze the assets of Qaddafi and his entourage for three years. Abdel Jaleel said the anti-government movement will not negotiate until Qaddafi left the country. “Our national government will include civilian and military personalities,” he said in an interview yesterday with Al Jazeera television, speaking from the eastern city of Bayda. The proposed interim government would lead “for a period that won’t exceed three months” leading to “free and democratic” elections, he said. “We tell everyone that there will be no negotiations or concessions on the exiting of Muammar Qaddafi from Libya. This is the demand of the youths in all of Libya and this is what we’re seeking.” www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-27/un-security-council-votes-unanimously-to-place-sanctions-on-qaddafi-regime.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 9:47:35 GMT -5
Constitution Is Only Way to Cut U.S. Deficit : David M. Primo By David M. Primo - Feb 24, 2011 7:00 PM ET Even though President Barack Obama and congressional leaders continue to punt on the deficit issue, Washington is awash in budget proposals to deal with a looming fiscal crisis. Senators Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, and Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, introduced a bill this month that would trim federal spending to 20.6 percent of gross domestic product, from the current 25 percent, over a decade. There is also talk of crafting legislation to enact the recommendations of the president’s deficit commission. All of these proposals lack a crucial element: spending limits enforced through the U.S. Constitution. Without a constitutional amendment, meaningful budget restraint will be put off, and Congress will revert back to the legislative state of nature, where survival means spending, not cutting. An amendment is necessary because of the latitude the Constitution gives Congress. Article I, Section 5 says “each House may determine the rules of its proceedings.” What this means in practice is that today’s Congress can’t commit a future Congress to spending cuts. Moreover, any internal legislative rule, or even a statute, can be changed or evaded with a large enough congressional majority. Congress often takes advantage of this prerogative. In 1990, when members realized they would not be able to satisfy the deficit-reduction targets set in the 1985 Gramm-Rudman- Hollings law, they scuttled the targets instead. And for years, legislators have evaded their own rules by calling what most of us would consider routine spending an “emergency.” Failed Diets “All of this talk about rules,” U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings, a Florida Democrat, said in a committee hearing last March, “we make ‘em up as we go along.” It’s no surprise that Congress makes the rules up as it goes along. Members face the same problem we all do when we commit today to making a hard choice tomorrow. Look no further than unused gym memberships (I’ll eat during the holidays and take off the weight in January) and non-existent retirement accounts (I’ll take a vacation this year and start saving for retirement next year). Congressmen are, if anything, more susceptible to such failings, because they stand for reelection every two years and it’s easier to get credit for new, targeted spending than for the more amorphous achievement of responsible fiscal stewardship. The Constitution provides the only lever that can make Congress stick to its promises. As I and others have shown in studies of U.S. state governments, strict balanced budget laws enforced by elected courts are the gold standard for commitment; states with these rules spend less money than states without such restraints. Congressional Prerogatives Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court is appointed rather than elected, but it is still a far better route for enforcement than leaving legislators to their own devices. Despite this evidence, many reform proposals at the national level explicitly give Congress the authority to fill in the details and enforce the rules, leaving little-to-no role for court oversight. Lawmakers justify these provisions by claiming that judicial oversight would open the door to continuous court challenges of enacted budgets. The real motivation: Congress knows that enforcement matters, and if it controls the process, it can circumvent the rules as political exigencies require. ‘Escape Clause’ Of course, true emergencies, including wars or severe economic downturns, will occur periodically. To permit flexibility in such situations, the rules should include a provision enabling Congress to waive the spending limit with an extraordinary supermajority, not the typical two-thirds. The threshold needs to be difficult (but possible) to meet, in keeping with the rare circumstances under which the escape clause should be exercised. Members of Congress who truly want to engage in responsible budgeting should welcome a constitutional spending cap that permits judicial scrutiny because it provides a credible commitment to fiscal discipline. To secure support for spending cuts, the tough medicine may need to be postponed until tomorrow. If a constitutional spending limit with real enforcement is enacted, then when tomorrow comes, the reductions will actually have to be made. Everybody wins except those who prefer that the U.S. continues on an irresponsible budget course. www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/constitution-is-only-way-to-cut-u-s-deficit-commentary-by-david-m-primo.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 10:04:19 GMT -5
Indian Model of Parliamentary Democracy for Entire Arab World Published:February 27th, 2011 09:31 EST Prof. Bhim Singh, Chairman, National Panthers Party & Member, National Integration Council who is also Chairman of Indo-Arab Solidarity Council has urged the rulers of the Arab countries to understand the message of 21st century and appreciate the urge of the people of their respective nations for democracy, peace and progress. Prof. Bhim Singh has been associated with the Arab World from Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya, Egypt and Sudan in North Africa since 1968. He visited these countries on motorcycle during his world travels on peace mission during 1967-1972. He also travelled through other Arab countries including Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Lebanon on motorcycle. He is the only non-official Indian who had close-association with President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Chairman Yasir Arafat of Palestine. He also met President Naser of Egypt in 1968 during his travels and Col. Qadafi of Libya in 1993 when he was invited by the Govt. of Libya. Chairman, Yasir Arafat had nominated Prof. Bhim Singh as a Member on the Advisory Committee to frame Constitution for Palestine. Arafat described Indian Constitution full of democraries. Prof. Bhim Singh has proposed a Parliamentary Democratic Constitution for all the troubled countries in the Arab World because of mass uprising against the rulers from Libya to Egypt and Yemen to Bahrain. Prof. Bhim Singh in his proposal dispatched to the rulers of different Arab countries has vehemently tried to impress upon them that they should adopt Indian Model of Parliamentary Democracy so that the people are empowered to choose the governments of their choice in reasonable intervals ranging from four to six years. He has reminded Col. Qadafi of Libya about his own green book in which Col. Qadafi had warned the rulers of facing terrible consequences if the rulers did not address the aspirations of the people to end exploitation. Prof. Bhim Singh has proposed 20 articles suggesting to separate judiciary from executive and executive from legislature. The Prime Minister or President should be elected by a popular franchise for a limited period. He has suggested that every qualified voter should be entitled to contest for any post in the country. Giving a special concession to the Ruling Kings, may it be Morocco, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, the Panthers Party Chairman who is an expert on Constitution has proposed that they may be retained as constitutional head as is the case of Japan, UK, Belgium or Sweden till the people rewrite next Constitution. The Panthers Party Chief urged the Arab League for its immediate intervention to save the identity of the Arab World and end exploitation by the western powers. The Panthers Party Chief in his concluding remarks appealed the rulers of the Arab countries. "You are rulers today in your country, your initiative to introduce democracy may retain your existence for tomorrow. If you fail to respect the aspiration of your people today you may not be there to decide their future tomorrow. Without waiting any longer, open your windows and let the fresh breeze enter. Involve legal and political experts from the civil society and political groups if there is any for a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transition. Indian Model of Parliamentary Democracy is the best way out to protect the great civilization and culture of the Arab World" thesop.org/story/20110227/indian-model-of-parliamentary-democracy-for-entire-arab-world.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 10:13:31 GMT -5
FEBRUARY 27, 2011, 9:31 A.M. ET Euro Aims for $1.40 By ANDREW J. JOHNSON NEW YORK—A hawkish tone from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet at the central bank's policy meeting this coming week could push the euro toward $1.40, analysts expect, but the impact of Middle East upheaval on currencies remains a wild card. The dollar will likely remain under pressure as market participants mull whether the U.S. Federal Reserve could extend its quantitative-easing measures, after some weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data. The Federal Reserve is also likely to keep interest rates low for an extended period, a view that may be underscored by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The end of the week brings the all-important monthly U.S. employment report. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, a nonvoting Fed member this year, said Thursday that a third Fed bond-buying effort isn't off the table, given tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices as well as ongoing concerns about the financial health of some euro-zone governments, all of which could weigh on global economic growth. Mideast tensions appear to have simmered, but they could boil over again at any time, weighing on the dollar and perhaps hurting the euro, said analysts. Traders continue to favor the safe-haven currencies of the Swiss franc and yen based on perceived U.S. vulnerability to any squeeze in global oil supplies. Were Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi to depart, a potentially unpredictable power vacuum in that country could keep markets on edge for a while, said Paresh Upadhyaya, head of Americas G-10 FX strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. If the dollar turns out to be more vulnerable to Mideast tumult than the euro, this could prove a key week for the single currency of the 17-nation euro zone. That's because many in the market have already started pricing in interest-rate hikes from the ECB starting later this year, analysts said. This coming week "we'll know whether the euro will finally break the $1.40 mark or whether it will [remain indefinitely] stuck in the same range that it has been all year," Mr. Upadhyaya said. "We've had a lot of hawkish comments from ECB members lately and that has caused market participants to focus on yield differentials," which favor the euro. Euro-zone debt stresses haven't been resolved, but the common currency has nonetheless plowed ahead this year on the expectation that inflation will trigger rate hikes in the currency bloc before U.S. or Japan. And while many currency analysts predict ECB rate hikes in the fall, others have bet on one much sooner, said Steven Englander, head of G-10 strategy at Citigroup in New York. "The pricing has been very aggressive [and the market now] has more than a 50% risk of April hikes priced in," he said. "If Trichet uses the same [cautious] language as in previous meetings, there will be big sell-off in [the] euro," he said. The euro traded at $1.3753 late Friday in New York, compared with $1.3802 late Thursday. The euro was at 112.31 yen, from 113 yen. The dollar moved to 81.66 yen from 81.87 yen. The pound weakened to $1.6116 from $1.6138. The dollar moved to 0.9283 franc from 0.9262 franc. online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703796504576168952416105570.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 10:26:50 GMT -5
Turkish foreign minister set to meet with Clinton in Geneva Sunday, February 27, 2011 Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoðlu is expected to meet Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva, a senior Turkish diplomat has said. Davutoðlu will participate in a regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council to be attended by foreign ministers and other senior officials from dozens of nations. He is expected to hold separate talks on the sidelines with Clinton about the latest developments in the Middle East, Turkey's evacuation from Libya as well as his recent Tehran talks regarding Iran's nuclear program. He visited Tehran earlier this month with President Abdullah Gül. "The Libyan crisis and other issues that concern the Middle East region will be discussed at the meeting," the diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Geneva meeting comes after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against Moammar Gadhafi in a new bid to halt the crisis and loss of lives in Libya while ordering an investigation into his crackdown on opponents. Turkey, however, opposes imposing sanctions on Libya. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan said Saturday that innocent people would suffer in the face of sanctions. "Any intervention will make the process even more difficult. It will harm not the administration but the Libyan people. You cannot secure world peace by resorting to sanctions in each and every incident," he was quoted as saying in Istanbul. Diplomatic sources said there might not be enough time during the Geneva meeting to discuss the sanctions on the Libyan administration. Since the upheaval in the Arab world began, Turkey's Erdoðan and U.S. President Barack Obama have spoken a couple of times on the phone. Clinton, who was scheduled to visit Turkey on Feb. 6-7, had to cancel her trip after the uprising in Egypt against now-toppled President Hosni Mobarak. Diplomatic sources said Clinton wants to reschedule her trip in the second half of March and wants to meet with Gül, Erdoðan and Davutoðlu. Davutoðlu is also expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavros as well as his counterparts from Britain and France on the sidelines of the Geneva meeting. www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=fm-davutoglu-set-to-meet-with-clinton-2011-02-27
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 27, 2011 10:35:41 GMT -5
Obamas to Visit Ireland February 27, 2011 President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be visiting Ireland near the end of May 2011 according to the Irish Times online newspaper. The Obamas have already accepted an invitation from Britain's Queen Elizabeth from May 24th to May 26th. From there, they will be traveling to Deauville, France for the G8 Summit on May 26th and 27th. Through the Ireland press, it has been learned that plans are in the works for the Obamas to happen through Ireland before or after these other engagements. Queen Elizabeth has a trip planned to Ireland around the same time, and the plan is to keep their state visits to Ireland separate. In spite of the news, the trip has not been confirmed by the Irish government. It is predicted that a St. Patrick's Day announcement will be made by the White House after details have been worked out. Reportedly, a visit to Ireland is a common step in one's Presidential re-election campaign - a very political move - and Obama will be following with that procedure. While neither the Ireland nor the United States governments will officially comment at this time, the Irish press is reporting the First Couple's UK trip to include Ireland. www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/obamas-to-visit-ireland
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 28, 2011 8:27:58 GMT -5
Son of Wall Street con man Bernard Madoff 'begged to leave family business' before collapse Last updated at 1:00 PM on 28th February 2011 The son of jailed Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff pleaded with his father to leave the business just three years before it collapsed, it has emerged. Andrew Madoff, 44, had become a director at the family business while his father became embroiled in a separate scam that amassed billions from investors. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2003 and two years later wanted to leave Madoff's empire to start up on his own. But Madoff, who has been described as a bully by colleagues, persuaded his son to remain with the company that later collapsed when a pyramid Ponzi scheme was uncovered. Details of Madoff's tense relationship with his son emerged in an interview he gave from the prison in Butner, North Carolina where he is serving 150 years for nine fraud charges he pleaded guilty to in 2009. On the second anniversary of Madoff's arrest, his eldest son Mark , 46, hanged himself with a dog leash in his Manhattan apartment He left behind a wife and four children, ages 2 to 18. At the time of his suicide, federal investigators had been trying to determine if he, his brother and an uncle participated in or knew about the fraud. The relatives, who held management positions at the family investment firm, denied any wrongdoing. Bernard Madoff has maintained that his family didn't know about his Ponzi scheme. 'We were a very close family, and it was a family business,' Madoff told the New York Magazine from prison. 'We spent every day together. My brother, my sons.' 'I was very proud of my sons, and they were very proud of me, what I accomplished,' said Madoff. They liked being a Madoff. There was a lot of recognition in that, you know.' Madoff admitted that getting his son to stay with the business amidst an inevitable collapse was an 'act of deep selfishness'. A person close to Mark revealed: 'They wanted their independence, yet they were very grateful for the chance to participate in what they thought was a very successful business. They were proud of that business. Brothers: Andrew Madoff, left, and elder brother Mark, became successful directors of their father's business Happy: The Madoff's gave the appearance of a successful family to outside world while Mr Madoff amassed billions in investments 'But they were men in their forties working for their father. When they were certain of Madoff’s love for them and certain of their family’s closeness and solidarity, they were able to make the sacrifice.' Madoff spoke of the moment he learned of his son's suicide and told how his family has fallen apart after his scam was uncovered and the family business collapsed. 'Ruth called the chaplain, and the chaplain came in to get me,' he said. 'As soon as the chaplain came to get me, I knew something happened. That’s how they notify you when someone dies. Ruth was hysterical. The chaplain was in tears speaking to Ruth. 'She’s angry at me. She tries not to be, but it’s hard not to be. I mean, you know, I destroyed our family. 'I had a father who was very successful in business. He invented the punching-bag stand. 'The Joe Palooka punching-bag stand. But the business failed when Madoff was in college. You watch that happen, you see a father whom you idolize all of a sudden lose everything, and you’re frightened about something like that happening.' Madoff said he confessed to his sons on December 10 2008 three months after the stock market crashed. 'I said, '‘Look, let’s all go to my house, I haven’t told Ruth either. I have to tell her as well''. 'Andy, I remember, took me in his arms, He felt sorry for me at that stage.' The two brothers later turned in their father to the authorities. Madoff said that the £65billion pyramid scheme started in the late 1980s during a difficult time in the market but spiralled out of control. A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is a scam in which people are persuaded to invest through promises of unusually high returns, with early investors paid their returns out of money put in by later investors. He claimed that he was a 'good guy' and returns from the scheme had earned billions for investors. 'Look, none of my clients, even if they lost every penny they put in there, can plead poverty,' Madoff said. 'I'm sure it's a traumatic experience to some, but I made a lot of money for people. Speaking about one of his biggest and earliest investors, apparel manufacturer Carl Shapiro, he said: 'Let's put it this way: Shapiro probably built more hospitals in Boston and put more buildings in Brandeis University than you can imagine" with Madoff-earned money.' Madoff claimed that many of the institutions that invested with him were 'complicit' and he blamed their 'greed' for them losing money. 'The chairman of Banco Santander came down to see me, the chairman of Credit Suisse came down, chairman of UBS came down; I had all of these major banks. You know, Safra coming down and entertaining me and trying [to invest with Madoff]. It is a head trip,' he said. '[Those people] sitting there, telling you, ‘'You can do this.’' It feeds your ego. All of a sudden, these banks which wouldn’t give you the time of day, they’re willing to give you a billion dollars. 'It wasn’t like I needed the money. It was just that I thought it was a temporary thing, and all of a sudden, everybody is throwing billions of dollars at you. Saying, ‘'Listen, if you can do this stuff for us, we’ll be your clients forever''. 'These banks and these funds had to know there were problems. I wouldn’t give them any facts, like how much volume I was doing. I was not willing to have them come up and do the due diligence that they wanted. I absolutely refused to do it. I said, ‘'You don’t like it, take your money out,’' which of course they never did. 'It was a nightmare for me. It was only a nightmare for me. It’s horrible. When I say nightmare, imagine carrying this secret. 'Imagine going home every night not being able to tell your wife, living with this axe over your head, not telling your sons, my brother, seeing them every day in the business and not being able to confide in them. 'Even the regulators felt sorry for me. The first day I came in here, they said, ‘How did you live with this? Not being able to tell anybody?' 'Everyone was greedy. I just went along. It’s not an excuse. Look, there was complicity, in my view.' www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1361424/Son-Wall-Street-man-Bernard-Madoff-begged-leave-family-business-collaps.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 28, 2011 8:32:49 GMT -5
Madoff to NY magazine: Government a Ponzi scheme FEBRUARY 27, 2011, 11:56 P.M. ET NEW YORK — Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff said in a magazine interview published Sunday that new regulatory reform enacted after the recent national financial crisis is laughable and that the federal government is a Ponzi scheme. "The whole new regulatory reform is a joke," Madoff said during a telephone interview with New York magazine in which he discussed his disdain for the financial industry and for its regulators. The interview was published on the magazine's website Sunday night. Madoff did an earlier New York Times interview in which he accused banks and hedge funds of being "complicit" in his Ponzi scheme to fleece people out of billions of dollars. He said they failed to scrutinize the discrepancies between his regulatory filings and other information. He said in the New York magazine interview the Securities and Exchange Commission "looks terrible in this thing," and he said the "whole government is a Ponzi scheme." A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is a scam in which people are persuaded to invest through promises of unusually high returns, with early investors paid their returns out of money put in by later investors. A court-appointed trustee seeking to recover money on behalf of the victims of Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme has filed a lawsuit against his primary banker, JPMorgan Chase, alleging the bank had suspected something wrong in his operation for years. The bank has denied any wrongdoing. Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, North Carolina, after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud charges. In the New York magazine interview, Madoff, 72, also said he was devastated by his son Mark Madoff's death and laments the pain he wrought on his family, especially his wife. "She's angry at me," Madoff said. "I mean, you know, I destroyed our family." Mark Madoff, 46, hanged himself with a dog leash in his Manhattan apartment on the second anniversary of his father's arrest. He left behind a wife and four children, ages 2 to 18. At the time of his suicide, federal investigators had been trying to determine if he, his brother and an uncle participated in or knew about the fraud. The relatives, who held management positions at the family investment firm, denied any wrongdoing. Bernard Madoff has maintained that his family didn't know about his Ponzi scheme. online.wsj.com/article/AP109b209156ea446aba308c78c83edd29.html
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 28, 2011 8:35:49 GMT -5
Madoff: Son tried to get out By JOSH KOSMAN Last Updated: 1:40 AM, February 28, 2011 Posted: 1:21 AM, February 28, 2011 Convicted Ponzi king Bernie Madoff persuaded his son Andrew not to leave his securities firm in 2005, although he himself desperately wanted to escape what had become a massive scheme, according to a new report. The tense relationship between Madoff and his younger son was one of the revelations in a prison interview published yesterday in New York magazine. Andrew wanted to pursue his own venture, but his father got him to stay -- an act of "deep selfishness" Madoff admitted since he knew the firm would ultimately collapse. Madoff said his epic $65 billion Ponzi scheme started in "earnest" in the early 1990s by borrowing from his investors' capital to maintain high returns, and blames his largest clients for not figuring it out. "The chairman of Banco Santander came down to see me, the chairman of Credit Suisse came down, chairman of UBS came down. "I wouldn't give them any facts, like how much volume I was doing. I was not willing to have them come up and do the due diligence they wanted. I absolutely refused to do it. I said, 'You don't like it, take your money out,' which, of course, they never did." He further casted blame onto the victims by saying "everyone was greedy." "Look, none of my clients, even if they lost every penny they put in there, can plead poverty. "I'm sure it's a traumatic experience to some, but I made a lot of money for people," he insisted. Speaking about one of his biggest and earliest investors, apparel manufacturer Carl Shapiro, he said, "Let's put it this way: Shapiro probably built more hospitals in Boston and put more buildings in Brandeis University than you can imagine" with Madoff-earned money. While many would never think of feeling sorry for the swindler, Madoff inists running the scam was a "nightmare. "Even the regulators felt sorry for me . . . They said, 'How did you live with this?' " he told New York. It all ended on Dec. 10, 2008, when three months after the stock market collapsed his investors asked to redeem $7 billion that he did not have. Bernie's eldest son, Mark, committed suicide last December, questioning his father's love for him in the wake of all the lies, according to the report. Andrew, meanwhile, does not accept that his father is a good person who made a mistake. www.nypost.com/p/news/business/madoff_son_tried_to_get_out_tUp4DBykzMUeoTdeStM9JP
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Post by sandi66 on Feb 28, 2011 10:58:16 GMT -5
Factbox: Ships held by Somali pirates Reuters Posted at 02/28/2011 11:26 PM | Updated as of 02/28/2011 11:26 PM Here are details on ships held by Somali pirates: * SOCOTRA 1: Seized on Dec. 25, 2009 in the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni-owned ship had six Yemeni crew. * ICEBERG 1: Seized on March 29, 2010. Roll-on roll-off vessel captured 10 miles from Aden. Crew of 24. * JIH-CHUN TSAI 68: Taiwanese fishing vessel seized on March 30. Crew of 14: Taiwanese captain, two Chinese and 11 Indonesians. * RAK AFRIKANA: Seized on April 11. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged 7,561-dwt cargo ship was taken 280 miles west of the Seychelles. * Three Thai fishing vessels -- PRANTALAY 11, 12 and 14 -- hijacked on April 17-18. Total of 77 crew. * TAI YUAN 227: Taiwanese fishing boat seized on May 6: 24 crew -- nine Chinese, three Vietnamese, three Filipinos, seven Kenyans and two from Mozambique. * AL-DHAFIR: Seized on May 7. Fishing boat seized off Yemen. Seven Yemeni crew. * SUEZ: Seized on Aug. 2. Panama-flagged cargo ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Carrying cement. Crew of 23 all from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. * OLIB G: Seized on Sept. 8. Maltese-flagged merchant vessel with 18 crew -- 15 Georgians, three Turks. * ASPHALT VENTURE: Seized on Sept. 29: The 3,884-dwt bitumen carrier was heading to Durban from Mombasa. Crew of 15 Indians. * YORK: Seized on Oct. 23. Singapore-flagged, Greek managed, 5,076-dwt LPG tanker seized 50 miles from Mombasa. Ship empty after discharging cargo in Mombasa. Crew of 17 -- German master, two Ukrainians, 14 Filipinos. * CHOIZIL: Seized on Oct. 26. South-African-owned yacht was hijacked after leaving Dar es Salaam. European Union anti-piracy task force rescued one South African but two other crew members were taken ashore and held as hostages. * AL-NASSR: Seized Oct. 28. Motorised dhow captured off Yemeni island of Socotra. * POLAR: Seized on Oct 30: Liberian-owned Panama-flagged 72,825-tonne tanker seized 580 miles east of Socotra. Crew of 24 -- one Romanian, three Greeks, four Montenegrins, 16 Filipinos. * HANNIBAL II: Seized on Nov. 11. Panama-flagged chemical tanker was taken 860 miles east of Horn of Africa. The 24,105-tonne vessel was sailing to Suez from Malaysia carrying vegetable oil. Crew of 31 -- 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan. * YUAN XIANG: Seized on Nov. 12. Chinese-owned cargo ship captured off Oman. Crew of 29 Chinese. * ALBEDO: Seized on Nov. 26. Malaysian-owned cargo vessel was taken 900 miles off Somalia as it headed for Mombasa from UAE. Crew of 23 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran. * JAHAN MONI: Seized on Dec. 5. Merchant ship was 1,300 miles east of Somalia en route from Indonesia to Greece carrying nickel ore. Crew of 26. * PANAMA: Seized on Dec. 10: Liberian-flagged container ship en route from Tanzania to Beira. Crew of 23 from Myanmar. * RENUAR: Seized on Dec. 11: Liberian-owned bulk cargo vessel, 70,156 dwt, captured en route to Fujairah from Port Louis. Crew of 24 Filipinos. * ORNA: Seized on Dec. 20: The Panama-flagged bulk cargo vessel, 27,915 dwt, owned by the United Arab Emirates, was seized 400 miles northeast of the Seychelles. * THOR NEXUS: Seized on Dec. 25: Thai-registered 20,377-dwt bulk carrier was hijacked 350 miles off Oman. Crew of 27 Thais. * SHIUH FU NO 1: Seized Dec. 25, 2010: Somali pirates appeared to have seized the Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel near the northeast tip of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The vessel had a crew of 26 Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese nationals. * EMS RIVER: Seized on Dec. 27: The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship 5,200-dwt cargo vessel had about eight crew and was captured in the Gulf of Aden en route to the Suez Canal. * VEGA 5: Seized before Dec. 31: Somali pirates hijacked the 140 dwt Mozambican-flagged fishing vessel about 200 miles southwest of the Comoros. There were two Spaniards, three Indonesians and 19 Mozambicans on board. * BLIDA: Seized on Jan. 1, 2011: The 20,586-tonne Algerian-flagged bulk carrier was seized about 150 miles southeast of Salalah, Oman. The ship, with 27 crew from Algeria, Ukraine and the Philippines, was heading to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Salalah with a cargo of clinker. * EAGLE: Seized on Jan. 17: The 52,163-tonne Greek-owned merchant vessel was en route to India from Jordan when it was seized. It had a crew of 24 Filipinos. * HOANG SON SUN: Seized on Jan. 19: The 22,835-tonne bulk carrier, which is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese-owned and had a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals, was seized about 520 nautical miles southeast of the port of Muscat. * BELUGA NOMINATION: Seized on Jan. 22. The 9,775-dwt cargo ship was boarded about 800 miles off the Seychelles. Owned by the Bremen-based Beluga Shipping, it is Antigua and Barbuda flagged. Crew comprised a Polish captain and seven Filipino, two Russian and two Ukrainian seamen. * SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized on Feb. 8: The 104,255-dwt tanker, Italian-flagged and owned, was on passage to Malaysia from Sudan when it was attacked 670 miles east of Socotra Island. It had five Italians and 17 Indians on board. * IRENE SL: Seized on Feb. 9: The U.S.-bound oil tanker was carrying about 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil, worth $200 million at market prices, when it was seized off the coast of Oman. The Greek-owned and flagged 319,000-dwt tanker carried seven Greeks, 17 Filipinos and one Georgian on board. * SININ: Seized on Feb. 12: The Maltese owned and registered bulk carrier was seized with a crew of 23 -- 13 Iranian and 10 Indian nationals -- in the North Arabian Sea. The 53,000 dwt vessel was on route to Singapore from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. * DOVER: Seized on Feb. 28: It was taken about 260 nautical miles north east of Salalah in Oman. The Panamanian flagged, Greek owned vessel was on its way to Saleef (Yemen) from Port Quasim (Pakistan) when it was attacked. The crew consists of three Romanians, one Russian and 19 Filipinos. www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/02/28/11/factbox-ships-held-somali-pirates
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Post by travelbugaz on Mar 1, 2011 15:08:59 GMT -5
DTCC Receives SEC Approval for Transformational One-Pot Margining March 01, 2011 | Business Wire, Inc. Email Print Free Newsletter Decision Opens Door for Launch of New York Portfolio Clearing NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the transformational “one-pot” cross-margining arrangement between fixed income positions cleared by DTCC’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary, including U.S. Treasury, repurchase agreements, and interest rate futures positions cleared by New York Portfolio Clearing (NYPC)—a critical step designed to deliver an unprecedented level of capital and operational efficiency, transparency and risk reduction. The SEC approval permits FICC, for the first time ever, to participate in a cross-margining arrangement that brings together fixed income cash and derivatives positions in a single margin calculation. This innovative “one-pot” model will produce significant capital efficiencies by margining the actual economic risk of combined portfolios of cash and derivatives positions. By offering a single combined view of risk across asset classes, “one-pot” margining also enhances market and regulatory transparency with respect to the clearing of fixed income portfolios, which can be used to identify and moderate systemic market risks, facilitating more orderly risk mitigation and reduction in settlement risks. “Since the financial crisis, we’ve been intensely focused at DTCC on mitigating risk and increasing market transparency for regulatory authorities while introducing new efficiencies into the clearing system,” said Murray Pozmanter, DTCC managing director, Fixed Income Clearing and Settlement. “In fixed income markets, where firms routinely use futures to provide a natural offset or hedge to cash market trades, we’re confident that ‘one-pot’ margining will help achieve these goals, and we’re grateful that the SEC has approved this expeditiously.” In 2010, FICC cleared and settled transactions valued at average of about $4.6 trillion daily. The SEC rule filing also enhances risk mitigation procedures for FICC member firms that trade government securities by implementing twice-a-day margin calls instead of the single margin call currently in place. New York Portfolio Clearing (NYPC) “One-pot” margining is a key element behind the launch of New York Portfolio Clearing (NYPC), a joint venture of DTCC and NYSE Euronext (NYX). NYPC will take advantage of the correlation between cash market trades cleared and settled at FICC and hedges made with offsetting futures markets trades cleared at NYPC. NYPC will also provide important operational efficiencies to its members, including the “locked-in” trade delivery process that allows expiring futures to be seamlessly submitted to FICC for physical delivery. NYPC will initially clear Eurodollar and U.S. Treasury Futures for NYSE Liffe U.S. Its “open access” architecture will enable other derivatives exchanges and clearinghouses to link into the “one-pot” margining system. At launch, “one-pot” margining of cash and futures positions will only be available for the proprietary accounts of common members of NYPC and FICC. To see a schematic drawing that helps explain the single-pot margining concept, use this URL: http:/www.dtcc.com/downloads/products/fi/Value_Propositionschematic_2.pdf About DTCC DTCC, through its subsidiaries, provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments and over-the-counter derivatives. In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with their distribution networks. DTCC's depository provides custody and asset servicing for more than 3.6 million securities issues from the United States and 121 other countries and territories, valued at US$36.5 trillion. In 2010, DTCC settled nearly US$1.66 quadrillion in securities transactions. DTCC has operating facilities and data centers in multiple locations in the United States and overseas. For more information, please visit www.dtcc.com. About NYPC New York Portfolio Clearing, LLC (NYPC) is registered as a U.S. Derivatives Clearing Organization with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. NYPC will clear interest rate products and will support the cross-margining of fixed income cash products from Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation with their related, offsetting derivatives trades in a “single pot”. For more information, please visit: www.nypclear.com. About NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company’s exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext's equities markets—the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE Amex, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca—represent one-third of the world's equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, one of the leading European derivatives businesses and the world's second-largest derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index, and is the only exchange operator in the S&P 100 index and Fortune 500. For more information, please visit: www.nyx.com. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation James Conmy, 212-855-5477 jconmy@dtcc.com Source: The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=249906&type=newswires
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 3, 2011 15:51:14 GMT -5
China to allow all trades to settle in yuan, encourages use as reserve currency March 2, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China aims to allow all exporters and importers to settle cross-border trades in the yuan by 2011, according to the Chinese central bank, reported Reuters. Moreover, China will “respond to overseas demand for the yuan to be used as a reserve currency” and allow the yuan to flow back into China more easily. This is all part of China’s plan for the internationalization of its currency, which may, in the decades to come, threaten the global ‘market share’ of other currencies like the US dollar. Previously, China also announced that bilateral trades with Russia and Malaysia will begin to be conducted with the yuan and the ruble and ringgit, respectively. Other moves on the part of China to internationalize its currency include allowing foreign companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds and relaxing rules for foreign financial institutions to access the yuan. Aside from the efforts of the Chinese government, fundamentals also point to the increasing international popularity of the Chinese currency. China is already the leading trade partner with Australia and Japan. It’s also the leading or a large trade partner with many of its smaller neighbors. The purpose of having foreign currencies is to conduct foreign trade and investment, so the yuan is expected to become a more attractive currency for China’s trade partners, espeically as the government continues to relax restrictions. Currently, the yuan is not that popular globally; the US dollar is the leading international currency, followed by the euro, pound sterling, and the yen. However, for the fundamental reasons described above, the yuan is expected to make a dent in the ‘market shares’ of these currencies in the coming years. What’s the advantage having an international currency? For one, it makes it easier to become an international financial hub, which brings a whole host of advantages to a country. Two, it gives the country and its companies easy access to international capital. Email Hao Li at hao.li@IBTimes.com Click here to follow the IBTIMES Global Markets page on Facebook Click here to read recent articles by Hao Li www.ibtimes.com/articles/117991/20110302/china-yuan-trade-reserve-currency.htmty nalmann
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 4, 2011 10:48:09 GMT -5
U.S. Treasury Department Schedule for Friday, March 4 By Vincent Del Giudice - Mar 4, 2011 8:49 AM ET inShare.0More Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .The following is a reformatted version of the U.S. Treasury Department’s daily release on the schedule for Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and other officials: In the morning, Secretary Geithner will meet with the President at the White House. This meeting is closed press. In the afternoon, the Secretary will meet with Representative Cardoza at Treasury. This meeting is closed press. www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-04/u-s-treasury-department-schedule-for-friday-march-4.html
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 4, 2011 10:56:18 GMT -5
New FINRA 4320 Short Sale Delivery Requirements
HERE'S THE NEW LAW AS OF TOMORROW:
FINRA 4320. Short Sale Delivery Requirements
(a) If a participant of a registered clearing agency has a fail to deliver position at a registered clearing agency in a non-reporting threshold security for 13 consecutive settlement days, the participant shall immediately thereafter close out the fail to deliver position by purchasing securities of like kind and quantity.
(1) Provided, however, if a participant of a registered clearing agency has a fail to deliver position at a registered clearing agency for thirty-five consecutive settlement days in a non-reporting threshold security that was sold pursuant to SEC Rule 144, the participant shall immediately thereafter close out the fail to deliver position in the security by purchasing securities of like kind and quantity. The requirements in paragraph (b) shall apply to all such fails to deliver that are not closed out in conformance with this paragraph (a)(1).
(b) If a participant of a registered clearing agency has a fail to deliver position at a registered clearing agency in a non-reporting threshold security for 13 consecutive settlement days (or 35 consecutive settlement days if entitled to rely on paragraph (a)(1)), the participant and any broker or dealer for which it clears transactions, including any market maker that would otherwise be entitled to rely on the exception provided in paragraph (b)(2)(iii) of Rule 203 of SEC Regulation SHO, may not accept a short sale order in the non-reporting threshold security from another person, or effect a short sale in the non-reporting threshold security for its own account, without borrowing the security or entering into a bona-fide arrangement to borrow the security, until the participant closes out the fail to deliver position by purchasing securities of like kind and quantity and that purchase has cleared and settled at a registered clearing agency.
(c) If a participant of a registered clearing agency reasonably allocates a portion of a fail to deliver position to another registered broker or dealer for which it clears trades or for which it is responsible for settlement, based on such broker or dealer's short position, then the provisions of this Rule relating to such fail to deliver position shall apply to the portion of the fail to deliver position allocated to such registered broker or dealer, and not to the participant.
(d) A participant of a registered clearing agency shall not be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of this Rule where the participant enters into an arrangement with another person to purchase securities as required by this Rule, and the participant knows or has reason to know that the other person will not deliver securities in settlement of the purchase.
(e) For the purposes of this Rule, the following terms shall have the meanings below:
(1) the term “market maker” has the same meaning as in Section 3(a)(38) of the Exchange Act.
(2) the term “non-reporting threshold security” means any equity security of an issuer that is not registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act and for which the issuer is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act:
(A) for which there is an aggregate fail to deliver position for five consecutive settlement days at a registered clearing agency of 10,000 shares or more and for which on each settlement day during the five consecutive settlement day period, the reported last sale during normal market hours for the security on that settlement day that would value the aggregate fail to deliver position at $50,000 or more, provided that if there is no reported last sale on a particular settlement day, then the price used to value the position on such settlement day would be the previously reported last sale; and
(B) is included on a list published by FINRA. A security shall cease to be a non-reporting threshold security if the aggregate fail to deliver position at a registered clearing agency does not meet or exceed either of the threshold tests specified in paragraph (e)(2)(A) of this Rule for five consecutive settlement days.
(3) the term “participant” means a participant as defined in Section 3(a)(24) of the Exchange Act, that is a FINRA member. The term “registered clearing agency” means a clearing agency, as defined in Section 3(a)(23)(A) of the Exchange Act, that is registered with the SEC pursuant to Section 17A of the Exchange Act.
(This is 3(a)(23)(A): The term "clearing agency" means any person who acts as an intermediary in making payments or deliveries or both in connection with transactions in securities or who provides facilities for comparison of data respecting the terms of settlement of securities transactions, to reduce the number of settlements of securities transactions, or for the allocation of securities settlement responsibilities. Such term also means any person, such as a securities depository, who (i) acts as a custodian of securities in connection with a system for the central handling of securities whereby all securities of a particular class or series of any issuer deposited within the system are treated as fungible and may be transferred, loaned, or pledged by bookkeeping entry without physical delivery of securities certificates, or (ii) otherwise permits or facilitates the settlement of securities transactions or the hypothecation or lending of securities without physical delivery of securities certificates.
(5) the term “settlement day” means any business day on which deliveries of securities and payments of money may be made through the facilities of a registered clearing agency.
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WHY IS FINRA 4320 SO EXCITING TO THE SECURITIES LAWYERS AND THE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE SURVVIVED THESE NSS ATTACKS?
1) It finally addresses abusive naked short selling in non-reporting issuers. Up until now the regulators and SROs have found that the investors in development stage corporations somehow did not deserve the provision of investor protection.
2) Even though it is entitled “short sale delivery requirements” it covers the failures to deliver (FTDs) involved with intentionally mislabeled “long sales”. One way to bypass the newer short selling rules is to illegal mislabel your short sale as a “long sale” and just voluntarily fail to deliver the shares.
3) It affects FTDs held in “ex-clearing” because all (approximately 1,000) clearing firms that are “participants” of the NSCC/DTCC are indeed “registered clearing agencies” in and of themselves. (see 3(a)(23)(A) in the smaller print above.)
4) It addresses the FTDs of even market makers held at registered clearing agencies. The bona fide MM exemption from needing to pre-borrow or “locate” shares before making admittedly naked short sales is the main loophole being abused. THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL.
5) It expressly forbids a crooked clearing firm from “crossing” failed to be delivered shares to a co-conspiring clearing firm in order to reset the 13-day clock. These illegal “wash sales” are pandemic.
6) There is no “grandfathering” in of old delivery failures held in illegal “ex-clearing arrangements” as these are still FTDs as nothing ever got delivered. The mere marking to market of the monetary value of failed delivery obligations has nothing whatsoever to do with making the “good form delivery” of the securities sold needed to accomplish the “settlement” of a trade.
7) In the abusive naked short selling world there are very, very bad guys and other semi-bad guys. The semi-bad guys will probably voluntarily cover their not so huge naked short positions BEFORE the really bad guys will have time to. They may even go net long after covering knowing that their bigger brother bad guys might be in deep doo-doo.
8) All of the crooks are not going to run willy-nilly tomorrow morning and cover BUT THOSE CORPORATIONS WITH IMMENSE NAKED SHORT POSITIONS THAT ARE ABLE TO PULL OFF SOME SORT OF LARGE CORPORATE ACCOMPLISHMENT WILL BE GREATLY BENEFITTED AND THEIR NAKED SHORT POSITIONS MIGHT RISE TO THE TOP OF THE “SHORT POSITIONS TO IMMEDIATELY COVER” LIST.
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From HookMeister: Doc, I've posted this question previously and haven't heard any response from anyone so I thought I'd ask you if you don't mind.
With respect to the NSS issue and the new regulations starting Monday, will MMs who already hold short positions prior to the new regulations be required to now comply with the new regs concerning their already existing short positions or will it only apply to new short positions going forward??
Hi HookMeister, It’s actually the combination of all of the various new rules kicking in right now that will FINALLY make a difference as they all block some of the various loopholes in existence. The weak link has always been that the old rules only applied to delivery failures held at “registered clearing agencies” like the NSCC. The crooked clearing firms simply “paired off” outside of the NSCC, entered into illegal “ex-clearing arrangements” and forgave each other’s delivery obligations. Instead they chose to merely mark to market the monetary value of their failed delivery obligations and hide them in a “side pocket”. As a result, U.S. investors have no clue as to the damaged nature of the corporation they are investing in.
What the various “securities cops” were just reminded of is that these crooked clearing firms are indeed “registered clearing agencies” in and of themselves as per the ’34 Exchange Act. Up until now, nobody has been tallying the delivery failures hiding in these illegal “ex-clearing arrangements”. The new FINRA 4320 as of tomorrow mandates the buying in of 13 day old delivery failures of non-reporting issuers (like Medinah) IF MEDINAH’S NAME APPEARS ON THE FINRA THRESHOLD LIST. Medinah’s name is to appear on this list if both their delivery failures exceed 10,000 shares and are worth over $50,000 in the aggregate. Although Medinah’s approximately 1.3 billion shares of failed delivery failures are currently (@12-cents) worth approximately $156 million MEDINAH IS STILL NOT ON THE LIST. This is a testimony to the pandemic nature of these illegal “ex-clearing arrangements”
Why is this? FINRA leaves the tallying of the delivery failures up to the NSCC. The NSCC only tallies the delivery failures officially held at the NSCC which the crooks now avoid like the plague as the hiding spot for their delivery failures. The NSCC management, which operates as an “SRO” or “self-regulatory organization”, insanely holds that the delivery failures held by their “participants/bosses” outside of the NSCC in “ex-clearing arrangements” are of a “contractual” nature which is none of their business.
Wait a minute, the SEC has said that the SROs like FINRA and the NSCC are to provide “the first line of defense against market abuses”. Congress in Section 17A of the’34 Exchange Act mandated that its parent the DTCC “promptly settle” all securities transactions. This means that the sellers of securities must promptly deliver that which they sold on or near T+3. Illegal “ex-clearing arrangements” intentionally circumvent the “prompt settlement” of securities transactions. By definition, an SRO like the NSCC is mandated to “draft and enforce rules and regulations and to monitor the “BUSINESS CONDUCT” of its co-owning “participants.”
How can the management of an SRO like the NSCC with that SRO mandate as well as that congressional mandate as well as acting as the party acting in the capacity of providing “the first line of defense against market abuses” claim that it has no authority to address the efforts of their bosses to intentionally circumvent the “prompt settlement” of securities transactions? How can you claim to be “powerless” to follow a congressional mandate?
Forced buy-ins of 13-day old delivery failures are critical as they represent the only source of meaningful DETERRENCE to these crimes and they are the only treatment available when the sellers of securities absolutely refuse to deliver that which they sell. With FINRA 4320 in effect, non-reporting issuers are FINALLY afforded protection via mandated buy-ins but only if that 10,000 shares and $50,000 worth of delivery failures metric is reached. If the NSCC management continues to refuse to tally the delivery failures held in these “regulated clearing agencies” known as “clearing firms” in these “ex-clearing arrangements” in order to keep their bosses from being bought-in then the issue of a “securities cop” with all of these various mandates acting to directly aid and abet as well as cover up these frauds comes front and center.
The gist of it is that the mere marking to market of the monetary value of a failed delivery obligation has nothing to do whatsoever with the congressionally mandated “prompt settlement” of a securities transaction. In fact, although from a distance it serves to lend an air of legitimacy it actually is the ideal COVER UP FRAUD used to mask the fact that “prompt settlement” is not occurring.
Most securities lawyers I work with predict that FINRA 4320 will force the NSCC management to pull a “Pontius Pilate” and wash its hands of this aiding and abetting role and providing this cover up fraud and buy-in these previously unaddressed delivery failures which they theoretically had no idea existed. No doubt they will say WE ARE SHOCKED, SHOCKED and shame on you abusive bosses of ours. We had no idea these crimes were being committed on our watch.
The concept of a “securities cop” like the NSCC intentionally MANIPULATING downwards the metric needing to be reached so that investor protection is provided in order to look after the financial interests of its misbehaving bosses is unconscionable and the investing public will not tolerate these thefts any longer.
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 5, 2011 8:48:23 GMT -5
Four time bombs that will blow up Wall Street Commentary: Too late to jail bank CEOs; only revolution will succeed March 1, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EST SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Put Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in jail for six months, and all this will stop, all over Wall Street and America, a former congressional aide tells Matt Taibbi in his latest Rolling Stone attack, “Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail? Financial crooks brought down the world’s economy — but the feds are doing more to protect them than to prosecute them.” Taibbi’s right, everyone knows Wall Street’s run by a bunch of dictators who are doing more damage to democracy and capitalism than North Africa’s dictators. But jail the CEOs of Goldman, Citi, B. of A. or my old firm Morgan Stanley? Too late. Only a revolution will stop Wall Street’s self-destructive capitalism. And watching the people revolt against dictators like Mubarak and Gadhafi reminds us of the spirit that sparked America’s revolution in 1776. But today we need a 1930s-style revolution. During the S&L crisis two decades ago America had a backbone, indicted 3,800 executives and bankers. Today’s leaders have no backbone. Besides jail time won’t reform the darkness consuming Wall Street’s soul. We’re all asleep, in denial about the moral crisis facing America. Yes, we need a new revolution. Jail time? We’ve heard that many times before. Journalists have been beating that dead horse for three years. Jailing CEOs made sense in early 2009. But our naïve president missed that opportunity, instead surrounded himself with Wall Street insiders as Bush did with Blankfein’s predecessor. Trojan Horses manipulating a Congress filled with clueless Dems mismanaging tired Keynesian theories. Taibbi got it right: Washington’s error was in protecting Wall Street’s billion-dollar crooks when they should have been prosecuting CEOs for criminal behavior in getting us into the 2008 mess. So today, the political statute-of-limitations has run. Jail solution is wishful thinking, like praying to the tooth fairy for a miracle. Time for action. Time for a revolution on Wall Street. Jail Wall Street? Old news. They got away with it. We chickened out “Jail Bank CEOs” makes a great sound bite in the cable pundits’ echo chamber. Remember Taibbi’s earlier indictment of Goldman Sachs: the “world’s most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” But so what? Just three years after Wall Street’s crooks “brought down the world’s economy” Goldman’s Blankfein and his buddies are paying record bonuses, and laughing at us. Seriously, think about it folks: Since the 2008 meltdown magazines and newspapers have analyzed the 2008 crash to death. It really is old news, history. Journalists churned out book after book: “Greenspan’s Bubbles,” “House of Cards,” “Trillion Dollar Meltdown,” “13 Bankers,” “Dumb Money,” “Bailout Nation,” “All the Devils Are Here,” “The Big Short,” “Too Big to Fail,” “The Failure of Capitalism,” “This Time is Different,” “And Then the Roof Caved In,” on and on, ad nauseum. All talk, no action, and no effect. Get it? With every book, every editorial, every expose the past three years, Wall Street bankers actually grew stronger, got richer, more arrogant, bolder on bonuses, impervious to attacks, even taunting us, like the dictators Mubarak, Ben Ali and Gadhafi, confident they could do no wrong, confident no one would rebel. Jail? Our moment to act is long past. We blinked. Yes folks, Wall Street is the “Comeback Kid” story of the 21st century. Like a terrorist in a horror film, Wall Street thrives on threats. Three short years ago, Wall Street was virtually bankrupt, a ward of the state. We could have jailed “just one” of them back then, when they were down for the count. Instead, we bailed them out! Made them richer. Gave them $13.7 trillion, loans, credits, cash, asset buyouts. Gave them keys to the Treasury. They didn’t just recover, they “ran the tables,” to use a blackjack/pool metaphor. Now Wall Street dictators have absolute power, ruling Washington, America, you and me. Yes, America’s bankrupt, but the rich just do not care Admit it, we lost the opportunity. Jail a bank CEO and Wall Street will miraculously reform? You’re joking, right? Wall Street got away with a “legal” bank heist. Today the should-be/would-be inmates are running the prison. Wall Street’s corrupt banks have lost their moral compass … their insatiable greed has become a deadly virus destroying its host nation … their campaign billions buy senate votes, stop regulators’ actions, manipulate presidential decisions. Wall Street money controls voters, runs America, both parties. Yes, Wall Street is bankrupting America. Wake up America, listen: •“Our country is bankrupt. It’s not bankrupt in 30 years or five years,” warns economist Larry Kotlikoff, “it’s bankrupt today.” Share Yahoo! Buzz MySpace del.icio.us Reddit LinkedIn Fark StumbleUpon Newsvine |Recommend (45) PrintEmail AlertBy Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch Continued from page 1 Page 1Page 2 •Economist Peter Morici: “Capitalism is broken, America’s government is two bankrupt political parties bankrupting the country.” •David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director: “If there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians” the “tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing.” •BusinessWeek recently asked analyst Mary Meeker to run the numbers. How bad is it? America really is bankrupt, with a “net worth of a negative $44 trillion.” Bankrupt. And it will get worse. Unfortunately, nothing can stop America’s self-destructive Wall Street bankers. They simply do not care that their “doomsday capitalism” is destroying themselves from within, and is bankrupting America too. One mega-millionaire sent me an email after reading my Jan. 4 column, “America’s worst 10 years start now.” “Paul, you may well be right about the coming decade, but the rich exist in a different world from the one you write about. They live privileged lives in gated communities. Meet for holidays at the world’s elite resorts. The richest just aren’t worried about today’s economy like your readers. Their issues revolve around who’s the best masseuse, best Pilates teacher, best concierge medical doctor, which private school to choose, what investments they are making at this time, etc. Folks at the top are not concerned with the underlying deterioration of America, except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected. That’s why no amount of information from you will ever change things. To them, it’s irrelevant. Best wishes, always enjoy your stuff.” 4 ticking time bombs that will ignite the Wall Street revolution Yes, the rich live in a different world. And no, information won’t change them. But a revolution will. Revolutions build slowly over a long time. Then, suddenly, a critical mass, a flash point, something totally unexpected ignites the ticking bomb. It happened recently in a remote Tunisian village. Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old college graduate, unable to pay bribes, set himself on fire to protest police confiscation of his unlicensed vegetable cart. That triggered a revolution. And his death rapidly led to the collapse of a 24-year dictatorship. Today we have four hot time bombs, tick-ticking, soon to make history; any one can easily accelerate the revolution that’s already killing Wall Street from within. 1. Wealth gap: Super-Rich vs class wars, death of democracy The gap: In one generation, America’s wealthiest 1% has exploded from 9% to 23% of America’s income, while middle-class income has stagnated. Even Buffett admits: “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and winning.” But my rich friend tells the real story, of their social disconnect. The rich just don’t care. They live in a different world, live by a self-centered code lacking a moral compass. The public welfare is honored only if supported by tax benefits. The wealth gap is widening and soon something unpredictable will ignite a Wall Street revolution. 2. Wall Street’s doomsday capitalism vs rule by anarchy A key Supreme Court decision accelerated and codified Wall Street’s ability to use billions stolen from taxpayers to lobby Washington and solidify its power, all for its own self-interest, through campaign payola, senators’ votes, presidential access, manipulation of regulators, grabbing tax benefits, etc. And it’s every man and woman for themselves. Don’t believe it? Know this, democracy is dead and you’re in denial. Wall Street CEOs and Forbes 400 billionaires are either engaged in a secret conspiracy, or a classic anarchy picking apart America, oblivious of the fact they are setting up the next big revolution. 3. Pentagon’s perpetual war machine vs America’s budget time bomb The mathematics of our $75 trillion Social Security and Medicare deficits often seem insurmountable, but can be recalibrated. However, the war-loving mindset of America’s neocons — fueled by China’s military actions, the insatiable expansion of our military spending and a Pentagon prediction that global population growth — is putting more and more pressure on the world’s scarce resources, and will, in turn, increase global wars and the demand for more war spending, increasing the risk of sudden revolutions everywhere. 4. Global population explosion vs resources, jobs, better lifestyles As the world population explodes from 7 billion to 10 billion in the next generation, the demand for more jobs and the pressure on scarce resources will increase, while expectations will fall as the ratio of haves to have-nots increases, making the world all around Wall Street a burning powder keg setting up a revolution. Bottom line: Forget jailing Wall Street’s dictators. It’s naïve and too late. We missed that opportunity. But a revolution will do the trick, give us a second chance to jail the crooks. Until then, remember, these four factors are building to a head, merging into a critical mass that will accelerate into a revolution and destroy Wall Street from within: The widening wealth gap, capitalism’s new rule-by-anarchy, the high cost of feeding the Pentagon’s costly war machine, and the huge global population explosion. www.marketwatch.com/story/four-time-bombs-that-will-blow-up-wall-street-2011-03-01?pagenumber=1ty joye and George
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Post by travelbugaz on Mar 5, 2011 8:48:30 GMT -5
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 5, 2011 14:15:43 GMT -5
Sat, March 5, 2011 11:06:41 AM Wen says China set for 5 more fat years of growth/ to make everyone rich Wen says China set for five more fat years of growth updated 3/5/2011 3:52:06 AM ET By Zhou Xin and Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - China is on course for another five years of robust growth, but inflation threatens social stability and must be tamed, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday. In China's version of a "State of the Union" address to the annual parliamentary session, Wen said the top priority this year was to curb price rises that are hurting ordinary people in the world's second-largest economy. Laying out a plan for the next five years, he said the drivers of China's meteoric economic rise remained firm. "There is huge potential demand in the market, the supply of funds is ample, the overall scientific and educational level of the people is rising," Wen said in a report to the National People's Congress. He vowed to boost spending on education, healthcare and public housing, initiatives intended to narrow the chasm between the rich and poor in China that has stirred resentment. A huge police presence in the capital and a rare public warning against protests underscored the government's sensitivity to even the faintest whiff that the unrest roiling the Middle East could spread to China. Building a fairer society has been a core goal of Wen's premiership, but the income gap has in fact widened during his eight years in power and he is trying to lay the groundwork for improvement before a leadership reshuffle in late 2012. "As Deng Xiaoping said, the first step is to make a part of the people rich and the next step is to make everyone rich," said Shen Jianguang, economist with Mizuho Securities, referring to the Chinese leader who launched market reforms in the late 1970s. "They have already done a great job on the first step. Some people have gotten very rich. But the second step is lagging behind." The premier's annual address is given in the cavernous Great Hall of the People, crowded with thousands of delegates vetted by the Communist Party to acclaim and approve its policies. But Wen's televised speech is also aimed at hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens who Party leaders fear could become sources of anger unless grievances about price rises, unaffordable housing and expensive healthcare are eased. He made clear that addressing those concerns would preoccupy China's economic policy, shaping decisions on everything from farmers' incomes to the yuan exchange rate. "Recently, prices have risen fairly quickly and inflation expectations have increased," Wen said. "This problem concerns the people's well-being, bears on overall interests and affects social stability. We must, therefore, make it our top priority in macroeconomic control to keep overall price levels stable." For 2011, the government aimed to contain average inflation to 4 percent, Wen said. Inflation has been running near a two-year high of more than 5 percent in recent months. Lofty home price rises have also defied government cooling efforts. CONFIDENCE Wen used his speech to lay out a series of economic targets, including the customary objective of 8 percent growth this year, which, as in previous years, is sure to be surpassed. There were no surprises, as all the numbers had previously been announced. More telling was the tone of Wen's comments, brimming with the confidence of a government that has presided over two decades of nearly uninterrupted double-digit expansion. "The government's ability to exercise overall control and respond to major challenges has increased significantly," Wen said. China will stay in the fast lane, with tens of millions of people moving to cities from farms, more openings to global trade and investment, and factories and computers spreading into the hinterland, he said. The gross domestic product was on track to exceed 55 trillion yuan in 2015. That would make the Chinese economy nearly half the size of the U.S. economy. In 2010, it was a little more than a third as big. NEW SOURCES OF GROWTH Wen said China was looking to generate new sources of domestic demand that would wean economic growth off its reliance on cheap exports and infrastructure projects. He also told parliament that China would cut energy intensity by 16 percent and carbon intensity by 17 percent by the end of 2015. "We are keenly aware that we will have a serious problem in that our development is not yet well balanced, coordinated or sustainable," said. He did not mention the popular uprisings that have shattered authoritarian governments across the Middle East, and observers see scant risk of China's one-party state soon succumbing to mass unrest. But his speech showed that leaders in Beijing want to head off such risks, particularly anger stemming from price rises and wage gaps. "The world economy will continue to recover slowly, but the foundation for recovery is not solid. Economic growth in developed economies is weak," Wen added, noting that some countries still faced sovereign debt crises. Wen has said government policies would focus on a rural population of 720 million people, including 153 million migrants who usually live and work outside their home towns, many working at building sites and factories that make cheap exports. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Chris Buckley and Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Dean Yates and Daniel Magnowski) www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41917791/ns/business/TY JOYE
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 6, 2011 10:12:18 GMT -5
BofA's Moynihan Faces Tough Task at Investor Day Published: Friday, 4 Mar 2011 | 5:49 PM ET Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan has a tough assignment for the company's investor day next week: convincing shareholders he has a blueprint for the bank's future. Getty Images -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Tuesday, the largest U.S. bank is hosting its first investor day since 2007, a year before the financial crisis peaked and two major acquisitions—Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch—reshaped the bank. After 14 months on the job, analysts and investors said Moynihan, 51, is facing one of his biggest tests since taking over for Kenneth Lewis in January 2010. "This is the beginning of where the rubber meets the road for Brian," said Marty Mosby, bank analyst with Guggenheim Securities LLC. Moynihan must lay out a clear plan for how a bank that has traditionally grown by buying rivals can now grow on its own, adapt to new regulations and return to consistent profits, investors and analysts said. A company spokesman said the investor day is part of an "ongoing conversation" with investors about the business and where management sees opportunities for growth. The first challenge, investors said, is consistent profits and reining in mortgage-related losses. In 2010, Bank of America [BAC 14.12 -0.15 (-1.05%) ] reported its second straight annual loss for common shareholders, losing $3.59 billion. That loss followed a $2.2 billion shareholder loss in 2009, and is a far cry from the $21.1 billion profit the bank reported in 2006. The result has been a sagging stock price as the industry overall surged. The bank's stock dropped 11.4 percent in 2010, while the KBW Bank Index—comprised of large and mid-size U.S. banks—gained 21.6 percent over the year. The bank's price-to-book ratio lags that of its rivals—like Wells Fargo [WFC 31.91 -0.50 (-1.54%) ] and JPMorgan Chase [JPM 45.52 -0.56 (-1.22%) ]—though some analysts say the bank is an attractive investment because it is undervalued compared with some of its peers. Despite the lackluster results in 2010, few investors and analysts said Moynihan is on the hot seat. Some were even complimentary. "He's been an improvement over Ken Lewis," said Jonathan Finger, a Houston-based investor whose family firm, Finger Interests Ltd, owns 1.1 million shares. Finger was an outspoken critic of Lewis, and in 2009 lobbied the company to split the chairman and CEO roles Lewis once occupied. Finger also notes it is difficult to fully critique Moynihan's time as the bank's top executive because he has had little time to formulate a growth strategy. "They've been in crisis mode the entire time," Finger said. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images Brian Moynihan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In July, U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, overhauling domestic bank regulation. The legislation includes new rules ranging from limits on debit card fees to curbs on banks taking risk with their own capital. The changes cut into the bank's revenue estimates, and forced billions in writedowns of some of its major operating divisions. Last year's loss was driven by a $10 billion writedown of the value of its cards business in the third quarter, due to the expected reductions in debit card fee revenue. In the fourth quarter, the bank also recorded more than $6 billion of mortgage-linked writedowns. Longer-term, analysts said, Moynihan must prove that an all-encompassing financial conglomerate can work. BofA was formed with a series of acquisitions over decades, culminating in two purchases during the financial crisis which have had radically different results. The acquisitions of Countrywide in July 2008 for $4.1 billion in stock and Merrill Lynch for $19 billion in January 2009 made Bank of America the largest U.S. mortgage servicer, an enormous U.S. brokerage and one of the biggest Wall Street investment banks in less than a year's time. BofA has inherited billions in mortgage-related losses as a result of the Countrywide buyout. Meanwhile, the businesses BofA bought from Merrill Lynch have been growing. BofA's investment banking operation—known as global banking and markets—reported net income of $6.3 billion for 2010, and posted the largest profit among the bank's six major divisions. The wealth management division, which includes all of Merrill Lynch's brokerage force, posted $1.3 billion in net income. For his part, Moynihan and his management team have hinted at the bank's future. BofA's investment and commercial banks have hired aggressively overseas in the last year, particularly in Asia. It has shed what Moynihan considers extraneous businesses and investments. During the company's fourth quarter earnings call, Moynihan said wealth management would be a key business to expand domestically, as other domestic consumer banking businesses now saturate the United States. The bank does business with one out of every two U.S. households. "They've continually said 2010 was about building towards the future, but they won't get another year of that kind of leeway from investors," said Tony Plath, banking professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "They're going to have to show results." www.cnbc.com/id/41913724
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 6, 2011 10:27:51 GMT -5
[You guys really suffer from what Brad DeLong has admitted he has suffered from. It is what he calls, Greenspanism, the absurd belief that whatever the Fed does is right, even if logic suggests the exact opposite.] www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/03/senior-fed-economist-calls-ron-paul.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, makes one of the most ludicrous arguments against Ron Paul's attack on the Fed that one could make. I mean even for a Fed apologist, it is off the wall. He attacks this paragraph in Ron Paul's book End the Fed: One only needs to reflect on the dramatic decline in the value of the dollar that has taken place since the Fed was established in 1913. The goods and services you could buy for $1.00 in 1913 now cost nearly $21.00. Another way to look at this is from the perspective of the purchasing power of the dollar itself. It has fallen to less than $0.05 of its 1913 value. We might say that the government and its banking cartel have together stolen $0.95 of every dollar as they have pursued a relentlessly inflationary policy. What are the details of the attack? He starts out this way: The guy can be a real pinhead at times. And this is never so evident as in his persistent “attacks” against the Fed...Now, of course, I work at the Fed, so maybe you think I’m just complaining for the sake of defending my employer. If you think that, I can understand why you do. It is because you do not know me. There are legitimate arguments one could make against the Fed as an institution and/or about the conduct of Fed policy. And then there are the stupid arguments, for example, the one contained on pg. 25 of his book End the Fed So what is at the heart of Andolfatto's defense of the Fed destroying 95% of the value of the dollar and calling Ron Paul's argument stupid? Here it is: There is this old idea in monetary theory called money neutrality. Money neutrality means that larger quantities of money ultimately manifest themselves in the form of higher nominal prices (and wages), and not on real quantities. No serious economist disputes the idea of long-run money neutrality. Yes, what cost $1 in 1913 now costs $20. But so what? Money neutrality states that if you were earning $1 per hour in 1913, you are now earning $20 per hour (and even more, if labor productivity is higher). That's it, the beginning and end of Andolfatto's Fed defense of destroying 95% of the value of the dollar. It all works out in the end, says Andolfatto. But, please, Mr. Andolfatto explain to me how this works out for someone who has been a careful saver of his money and now sees the purchasing power of that money destroyed? Please explain to me how this works out for a retired person on a fixed income who sees the declining purchasing power of that income? Please explain to me how this works out for the rest of the country when Wall Street bankers are the first to get their hands on newly printed Fed money, so that they can bid up all kinds of prices, including rents on apartments, which makes it difficult for anyone but a Wall Streeter to afford to live in Manhattan? These damages, Mr. Andolfatto, you somehow don't see and even think Ron Paul is stupid and a pinhead for raising questions about them. I would say you are suffering from what I have seen a lot in those working for the government: delusion. Phil Swagel, who was the chief economic advisor to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, told me that he didn't even know there was any major decline in money supply growth during the summer of 2008. To not watch money supply growth when you are the Deputy Treasury Secretary for economic affairs is simply bizzare to me. That you can't see how a destruction of 95% of the value of the dollar might hurt some people, falls right into that category. You guys really suffer from what Brad DeLong has admitted he has suffered from. It is what he calls, Greenspanism, the absurd belief that whatever the Fed does is right, even if logic suggests the exact opposite. But, hey, if you think the destruction of a currency is no biggie, here's a job tip for you, call Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. He really thinks the same way you do. ty joye
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Post by imust on Mar 6, 2011 17:52:17 GMT -5
If one compares the value of a dollar in 1913 to its current buying power, one must take that in the context of a measurable yardstick. I'd say the quality of life would be a fair jusdement. So given a dollar was a dollar in 1913, just what kind of life would it buy. In this respect and in comparison to what I can buy with $20.00 today, I'd vote for the $20 bucks today. Granted in 1913 a dollar would buy a lot of things. Could you buy a DVD, how about a double A battery, or shop for a bottle of wine at the local grocery store and choose from Calif, Australian or Chilean wine. Of course not. Those things did not exist. That standard of living was not possible. Would we have been able to obtain the same goods now if the value of a dollar was still a dollar. With a global economy, how could you even begin to put value on goods in a system that was not geared to grow. Because that is what you are saying. A 1913 dollar valuation in 2011. Simply not realistic as growth and its inherint inflation is going to occur in a capitalistic society. Perhaps Mr. Andolfatto is on to something. Before you make change (such as doing away with the fed as I glean you desire), you must consider the effect of what would monitor monetary policy. I do not profess to be a huge fan of the fed, rather I much more fear a politicied replacement.
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Post by sandi66 on Mar 7, 2011 18:27:07 GMT -5
BofA-Merrill's US wealth management chief to retire Dow Jones Newswires 07 Mar 2011 Bank of America's Lyle LaMothe is retiring as head of Merrill Lynch US Wealth Management after 24 years at the brokerage, according to an internal memo. LaMothe said in the memo sent Friday that he and his wife want to focus their energy on "personal interests." He became head of the US wealth management in 2008, and will remain at the brokerage until May 1. Sallie Krawcheck, the head of global wealth and investment management, thanked LaMothe in the memo and said he "diligently built the processes and laid the groundwork for our long-term success within Bank of America." The bank didn't immediately name a successor in the memo. Susan Thompson, a spokeswoman for the bank said, "There's a very strong leadership bench at the company and a successor will be named in due course." LaMothe, who will turn 50 in May, said in an interview he felt a leader should leave at a time of strength and the brokerage's start to 2011 allowed him to feel "like I can responsibly turn all of this over to a successor at this point." He declined to comment more specifically on what he'd be doing in retirement. Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch in late 2008, a merger that has had a few hiccups while integrating the giant "Thundering Herd" of Merrill into the nation's biggest bank by assets. Krawcheck, the former chief financial officer of Citigroup and head of Citi's Smith Barney brokerage, has been charged with making the marriage work and results have been strong recently. In the fourth quarter, the global wealth and investment management business reported record asset management fees and deposit balances. LaMothe, who had been one of Krawcheck's top lieutenants, said in an interview he would have liked to work with her longer. He added the bank has come together and, while complex, is operating well. "I leave it personally but remain very bullish on the future on the company," he said. -By David Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2458; david.benoit@dowjones.com www.efinancialnews.com/story/2011-03-07/lamothe-to-retire-merrill-lynch?mod=sectionheadlines-home-AM ty nalmann
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