For a few years I've written how various groups in the Ruling Classes have been gutting American - and World - economies and cultures with their relentless greed for more. And how their ruthless Educated Class enablers have bollixed up government and other institutions by making everything complex, in order to hide their personal grabs for more personal power & money.
Here are two small examples from past literature. This process has been occurring since WW II; maybe since WW I. Both are taken from the Spring 2010 issue of Lapham's Quarterly, which is an excellent quarterly journal of fine writings from the past on various topics. The referenced issue is titled, "Arts & Letters".
First Example
1946 - George Orwell on Bad Writing, excerpt from page 95:
*** quote begins***
I am going to translate a passage of good English into modern English of the worst sort. Here is a well known verse from Ecclesiastes:
I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Here it is in modern English:
Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.
This is a parody, but not a very gross one.
***end of quote***
The educated cohorts of the Ruling Classes use this complex language "in a consciously dishonest way", to confuse and obfuscate the common man and to hide the true intentions of Ruling Class policies.
Second Example
1973 - by author Barbara Rose, page 164, about art.
***quotes begin***
The art world collapsed on the night of October 18, [1973] at Sotheby Parke Berner [in NYC] - and it ended not with a whimper, but with a bid.
...
People did not bid on paintings so much as they rooted for them. Cheers accompanied the record-setting prices
...
The real excitement obviously was generated not by art (you don't go to an auction to see art), but by the visible action of instant profit making - the only real main event [the author goes on to provide an example at art originally purchased for $750 being sold for $40,000]
...
The fascination with such excess profit taking is understandable in terms of the corporate mentality that now dominates the art world.
***end of quotes***
Thus meaning and beauty in art goes down the gutter, replaced by the hog trough of the Ruling Classes. The recent citation from the Financial Times of billionaires buying art in the manner of lottery tickets for more riches - simply to make money and gain fame as "smart buyers" - shows that Ruling Class philistines have ruled the art world for decades now.
Conclusions
The common man and woman need to throw off the Ruling Classes; to restore decency and fairness to the economy and government. The principles of Fraternal Libertarianism provide a sound and simple framework for doing this. Yes, it's an ideology. But an ideology is necessary to provide coordination for the common men and women to analyse and make decisions without suffering the traps, snares and pitfalls the ruthless Educated Classes set for keep their Ruling Class in power.
Word of the Day
"Chicanery" - noun [$10]
Chicanery means deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry: trickery.
Sentence: The ministers of the Ruling Classes use complexity and complex writings as chicanery to fool the common man. That's why government tax code and other laws and regulations are so impenetrable.
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hogs at the Trough
I was not surprised by the facts in a Wall Street Journal article that I tore out before going on to my Epicurean camping trip.
"Washington Firms Soak Up Stimulus" - WSJ Sept. 17, 2010.
The Ruling Class Hogs made sure they wrote a "stimulus" bill to feed themselves and their friends and neighbors: "More than $3.7 billion of stimulus contracts, grants and loans have gone to recipients in the District of Columbia and two adjacent congressional districts—Maryland's 8th District and Virginia's 8th District. That amounts to nearly $2,000 for every resident—nearly three times the national average, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of reports filed by recipients."
This shows the depths of greed and depravity of the Ruling Classes in DC. The people need help to recover from a bad recession caused by the Ruling Classes on Wall Street, and their cousins in DC write a stimulus bill to shower money on themselves and the coterie of hogs in DC. More: "More than $2.2 billion of the stimulus money awarded to the Washington area has gone to private firms, many of which are helping federal agencies with the administrative work generated by the sprawling effort: deciding how to award funds, drawing up contracts and monitoring and auditing spending. Some help federal agencies with their internal monitoring systems and public-relations efforts."
The P-O-R crowd gave stimulus money to the Federal government and firms providing it MORE services. Gosh, that's a hard pressed sector, isn't it. Obama touts "shovel-ready" projects and gives them peanuts, while he fills the trough for His, Rip-Off Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelosi's pals and supporters in the Federal government.
Of all metropolitan areas, Washington's is lowest; it's employment actually rose over the last 12 months. Yet the P-O-R Stimulus bill spent more money there than in truly depressed areas. Incredible greed !!!
The whole passel of hogs in DC needs to be booted out: the existing rulers in Congress, the administration and the entire lawyer-lobbyist clique. They are almost ALL dishonest. At a time of need for national leadership - the Panic and 2008 and its resulting Great Recession - they simply wanted more power and money for themselves. They are a ruling aristocracy gone lustful for MORE and MORE.
Actions
I sold a lot of money invested in TIPs [via the Vanguard index fund] as those prices reached new highs. Those levels are very, very risky as TIPs now yield very low rates and have very heavy risk of loss if rates go up. This is "sell high, buy low", "buy low, sell high". Krypto Fund is building it's cash pile and will reinvest it as asset valuation re-adjust and provide something cheap to buy. actions.
Word of the Day
"Emend" - verb [$20]
Emend means to remove errors or corruption.
Sentence: Voters must emend that crucial pillar of support of the Ruling Class this November by electing honest leaders who will vote to help the common people.
"Washington Firms Soak Up Stimulus" - WSJ Sept. 17, 2010.
The Ruling Class Hogs made sure they wrote a "stimulus" bill to feed themselves and their friends and neighbors: "More than $3.7 billion of stimulus contracts, grants and loans have gone to recipients in the District of Columbia and two adjacent congressional districts—Maryland's 8th District and Virginia's 8th District. That amounts to nearly $2,000 for every resident—nearly three times the national average, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of reports filed by recipients."
This shows the depths of greed and depravity of the Ruling Classes in DC. The people need help to recover from a bad recession caused by the Ruling Classes on Wall Street, and their cousins in DC write a stimulus bill to shower money on themselves and the coterie of hogs in DC. More: "More than $2.2 billion of the stimulus money awarded to the Washington area has gone to private firms, many of which are helping federal agencies with the administrative work generated by the sprawling effort: deciding how to award funds, drawing up contracts and monitoring and auditing spending. Some help federal agencies with their internal monitoring systems and public-relations efforts."
The P-O-R crowd gave stimulus money to the Federal government and firms providing it MORE services. Gosh, that's a hard pressed sector, isn't it. Obama touts "shovel-ready" projects and gives them peanuts, while he fills the trough for His, Rip-Off Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelosi's pals and supporters in the Federal government.
Of all metropolitan areas, Washington's is lowest; it's employment actually rose over the last 12 months. Yet the P-O-R Stimulus bill spent more money there than in truly depressed areas. Incredible greed !!!
The whole passel of hogs in DC needs to be booted out: the existing rulers in Congress, the administration and the entire lawyer-lobbyist clique. They are almost ALL dishonest. At a time of need for national leadership - the Panic and 2008 and its resulting Great Recession - they simply wanted more power and money for themselves. They are a ruling aristocracy gone lustful for MORE and MORE.
Actions
I sold a lot of money invested in TIPs [via the Vanguard index fund] as those prices reached new highs. Those levels are very, very risky as TIPs now yield very low rates and have very heavy risk of loss if rates go up. This is "sell high, buy low", "buy low, sell high". Krypto Fund is building it's cash pile and will reinvest it as asset valuation re-adjust and provide something cheap to buy. actions.
Word of the Day
"Emend" - verb [$20]
Emend means to remove errors or corruption.
Sentence: Voters must emend that crucial pillar of support of the Ruling Class this November by electing honest leaders who will vote to help the common people.
Monday, August 30, 2010
We Need Bigger Claws
Clawbacks, that is.
Everyone is unduly focusing on the financial sectors as 'the place' where executive clawbacks are needed. A 'clawback' is a return of prior years' pay when later losses occur which are connected to the decisions and situations the person created and was paid for. For example, Chuckie Prince of Citibank got paid hundreds of millions of dollars, yet the assets on the books of Citibank were massively overvalued leading to billions of losses. Ditto Stan O'Neal at Merrill Lynch. Ditto hundreds of traders, bankers and investment bankers.
But for a couple decades we've seen in all industries endless examples of the recurring non-recurring losses, where the executive suite books a few years of great profits, collects big bonuses and stock option gains, then takes a big 'nonrecurring loss'. Of course in the long run (for which the executive suite SHOULD be paid), all gains and loses are both recurring and operating gains and losses. These executive hogs are not even fired for those losses. And the prior CEO, etc., keeps his huge retirement package while the common man employee gets laid off in a restructuring.
This is no long tolerable ! It never should have been tolerated, but was created due to the incestuous, clubby nature of the compensation committees and compensation consultants. CEO pay and that of the entire executive suite is way out of line and needs a massive dose of clawbacks reaching into retirement pay, too.
You can also see one other logical result: stock options are not - never - a proper means of executive pay. They reward short term performance, no matter what the vesting period.
CEO and executive suite pay should be based on earnings (in $, not per share) smoothed by ALL nonrecurring losses (and gains) over at least three years - five is better. And any retirement package should be restricted stock that cannot be sold for at least five years and is subject to clawbacks, too. At least then the CEO will bear the cost for his mistakes as well as the employees. All retirement packages should include only restricted stock issues based on earnings, subject to the clawback.
Limit all cash payments to $1 million per year. That's enough. CEOs are not Dukes or Princes. No special deals for ANYTHING. They have plenty of money - let them pay like the common man for vacation air fares. The US needs a massive dose of populism to improve the moral of the common man. Reform this ruling class in the executive suite, too, along with their DC cousins.
All this follows from the concepts of fraternal libertarianism: regulations and restrictions and controls on the rich and powerful ruling classes, freedom and a strong safety net for the poor and working poor. This is the political barbell strategy that the US needs to adopt.
Fraternal libertarianism is the correct political strategy for the Tea Parties. This strategy and philosophy can let the Tea Parties attract a broad base of support and win general elections.
Actions
Krypto await lower prices to buy stocks, and will sell more TIPs on a further rally.
Word of the Day
"Connivance" - noun [$10] and "Connive" - verb, intransitive [$10]
Connive means 1. scheme or plot; 2. to cooperate secretly in an illegal act or wrongful action, collude; 3. to feign ignorance of or fail to take measures against a wrong.
Connivance means 1. the act of conniving; 2. (Law) knowledge of and tacit consent to the commission of an illegal act by another.
Sentence: For decades the connivance of the hogs in the ruling classes, compensation committees and consultants have looted corporations via gluttonous CEO and executive pay packages. Let's get their snouts out of the trough ! Bring out clawbacks for ALL in the ruling class !
Everyone is unduly focusing on the financial sectors as 'the place' where executive clawbacks are needed. A 'clawback' is a return of prior years' pay when later losses occur which are connected to the decisions and situations the person created and was paid for. For example, Chuckie Prince of Citibank got paid hundreds of millions of dollars, yet the assets on the books of Citibank were massively overvalued leading to billions of losses. Ditto Stan O'Neal at Merrill Lynch. Ditto hundreds of traders, bankers and investment bankers.
But for a couple decades we've seen in all industries endless examples of the recurring non-recurring losses, where the executive suite books a few years of great profits, collects big bonuses and stock option gains, then takes a big 'nonrecurring loss'. Of course in the long run (for which the executive suite SHOULD be paid), all gains and loses are both recurring and operating gains and losses. These executive hogs are not even fired for those losses. And the prior CEO, etc., keeps his huge retirement package while the common man employee gets laid off in a restructuring.
This is no long tolerable ! It never should have been tolerated, but was created due to the incestuous, clubby nature of the compensation committees and compensation consultants. CEO pay and that of the entire executive suite is way out of line and needs a massive dose of clawbacks reaching into retirement pay, too.
You can also see one other logical result: stock options are not - never - a proper means of executive pay. They reward short term performance, no matter what the vesting period.
CEO and executive suite pay should be based on earnings (in $, not per share) smoothed by ALL nonrecurring losses (and gains) over at least three years - five is better. And any retirement package should be restricted stock that cannot be sold for at least five years and is subject to clawbacks, too. At least then the CEO will bear the cost for his mistakes as well as the employees. All retirement packages should include only restricted stock issues based on earnings, subject to the clawback.
Limit all cash payments to $1 million per year. That's enough. CEOs are not Dukes or Princes. No special deals for ANYTHING. They have plenty of money - let them pay like the common man for vacation air fares. The US needs a massive dose of populism to improve the moral of the common man. Reform this ruling class in the executive suite, too, along with their DC cousins.
All this follows from the concepts of fraternal libertarianism: regulations and restrictions and controls on the rich and powerful ruling classes, freedom and a strong safety net for the poor and working poor. This is the political barbell strategy that the US needs to adopt.
Fraternal libertarianism is the correct political strategy for the Tea Parties. This strategy and philosophy can let the Tea Parties attract a broad base of support and win general elections.
Actions
Krypto await lower prices to buy stocks, and will sell more TIPs on a further rally.
Word of the Day
"Connivance" - noun [$10] and "Connive" - verb, intransitive [$10]
Connive means 1. scheme or plot; 2. to cooperate secretly in an illegal act or wrongful action, collude; 3. to feign ignorance of or fail to take measures against a wrong.
Connivance means 1. the act of conniving; 2. (Law) knowledge of and tacit consent to the commission of an illegal act by another.
Sentence: For decades the connivance of the hogs in the ruling classes, compensation committees and consultants have looted corporations via gluttonous CEO and executive pay packages. Let's get their snouts out of the trough ! Bring out clawbacks for ALL in the ruling class !
Friday, April 23, 2010
More GS Subterfuge
Goldman, Sachs seems incapable of conducting an above-boards, clean business. I think the greed for more money & power led them from being the fine, quality firm of the 1970s and 1980s to become a big hog at the trough. Do they perform simple fee for advisory service business ? Nope, they want a piece of the action via their proprietary desk, and they want terms to enhance its profits. Do they do simple underwritings and distributions ? Nope ... gotta get that proprietary desk into the deal. Do they shop orders and take a clean commission ? Nope, again, gotta get the proprietary desk's snout into that trough, too.
***beginning of quotes***
[WSJ] "BERLIN—Goldman Sachs Group Inc. brought investment banking to Germany 20 years ago. Now, many here say it is giving the business a bad name. Goldman's approach to winning business is coming under fire from German officials, companies and banks. The firm's latest headache: A dispute with the city of Berlin, which has accused Goldman of trying to intimidate it with legal threats in order to make more profit from a housing sale. Goldman denies the accusation
"I would not deal with this bank again unless I couldn't avoid it," said Ulrich Nussbaum, the city of Berlin's finance chief, after months of negotiations over Goldman's wish to take public a company that owns municipal housing in Berlin.
"Under its current head, Alexander Dibelius, Goldman's German unit has diversified its business, becoming a major investor in German businesses as well as a financial adviser. That has led to accusations of a conflict of interest from German companies, which have complained privately that Goldman is both their adviser and competitor in bidding for assets.
Here's another example of conflict of interest, from FT:
"Goldman Sachs was both an underwriter and an investor in Lloyds Banking Group's vast refinancing deal late last year, the FT has learned, highlighting the potential conflicts of interest at the heart of the investment bank’s business model. According to four people involved in the capital raising, Goldman – a dealer manager on the debt portion of the £23.5bn transaction – demanded last-minute changes to the structure of a deal it was underwriting. This had the effect of benefiting its position as a bond investor.
"Goldman bankers stress that its Chinese walls bar underwriters from knowing anything about the investment activity of its proprietary traders and say the exposure of the affair reveals rivals’ opportunism in besmirching its reputation.
***end of quotes***
Chinese walls ? How laughable.
All these issues are clear as crystal to anyone with a moral backbone. GS doesn't have that. Simple, honest fees & commissions don't make enough money, so they wrap them all up with the proprietary trading desk. Gouge as much as possible from the client.
Why not just rename the firm, Goug'em Sachs.
Word of the Day
"Eructation" - noun [$10]; "Eruct" - verb [$10]
Eruct means to belch.
Eructation means the act or instance of belching.
Sentence: Is Goug'em Sachs anything other than huge, greedy hog eructing after every big feed from the trough ?
***beginning of quotes***
[WSJ] "BERLIN—Goldman Sachs Group Inc. brought investment banking to Germany 20 years ago. Now, many here say it is giving the business a bad name. Goldman's approach to winning business is coming under fire from German officials, companies and banks. The firm's latest headache: A dispute with the city of Berlin, which has accused Goldman of trying to intimidate it with legal threats in order to make more profit from a housing sale. Goldman denies the accusation
"I would not deal with this bank again unless I couldn't avoid it," said Ulrich Nussbaum, the city of Berlin's finance chief, after months of negotiations over Goldman's wish to take public a company that owns municipal housing in Berlin.
"Under its current head, Alexander Dibelius, Goldman's German unit has diversified its business, becoming a major investor in German businesses as well as a financial adviser. That has led to accusations of a conflict of interest from German companies, which have complained privately that Goldman is both their adviser and competitor in bidding for assets.
Here's another example of conflict of interest, from FT:
"Goldman Sachs was both an underwriter and an investor in Lloyds Banking Group's vast refinancing deal late last year, the FT has learned, highlighting the potential conflicts of interest at the heart of the investment bank’s business model. According to four people involved in the capital raising, Goldman – a dealer manager on the debt portion of the £23.5bn transaction – demanded last-minute changes to the structure of a deal it was underwriting. This had the effect of benefiting its position as a bond investor.
"Goldman bankers stress that its Chinese walls bar underwriters from knowing anything about the investment activity of its proprietary traders and say the exposure of the affair reveals rivals’ opportunism in besmirching its reputation.
***end of quotes***
Chinese walls ? How laughable.
All these issues are clear as crystal to anyone with a moral backbone. GS doesn't have that. Simple, honest fees & commissions don't make enough money, so they wrap them all up with the proprietary trading desk. Gouge as much as possible from the client.
Why not just rename the firm, Goug'em Sachs.
Word of the Day
"Eructation" - noun [$10]; "Eruct" - verb [$10]
Eruct means to belch.
Eructation means the act or instance of belching.
Sentence: Is Goug'em Sachs anything other than huge, greedy hog eructing after every big feed from the trough ?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Financial Vikings
Friday began what I hope is an historical example of "The Truth Shall Set You Free" [John 8:32]. Finally some group in the regulatory swamp in DC finally did their job and investigated some of the failed transactions that helped create the Panic of 2008. The SEC charged Goldman, Sachs - a leading Financial Viking - of misleading investors, and hiding the true nature of a transaction it created.
What is a Financial Viking ? The analogy to the Vikings of old fits rather well. The Vikings who invaded Europe after 800AD and continued for about 200 years were ruthless plunderers who took whatever they could, burned monasteries and towns, and killed anyone in their way. Then later they settled in conquered lands and set up aristocratic feudal states. William the Bastard - Duke of Normandy - later William the Conqueror and then William I, first King of England, was a descendent of the leader of a Viking band.
A financial viking is a firm (Wall Street or beefer) who trashes, loots and plunders anyone it or he can in financial trades in any manner possible. They use their great wealth and power to ... get more. They lure sleepy institutions into dumb trades: heck, internally they call them the "dumb money". They don't care if that leads to job losses or the bankruptcies of innocent people. They hide behind phalanxes of well-paid lawyers and boilerplate risk language.
Financial Vikings shorted huge amounts of stocks while buying credit default swaps on those firms. They were trying to cause defaults by spreading fear and panic. And like the Vikings of old, they operate in loose bands. One would blow the horn to attack (likely using unrecorded instant message systems), and the others would start to hammer the stock and swaps.
And they created artful lures to get more from the "dumb money". The transaction created by Goldman Sach at the heart of the SEC charges is well described in this link -> http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F5CZ20100416
I have seen the Goldman Sachs "pitchbook" for the Abacus 2007-AC1 offering. This "document" is grossly misleading. The pitch goes to great lengths creating a sham that ACA was the creator of the offering, managing it, and structuring it. GS is portrayed as simply the initial buyer of the securities. The core role of Paulson is not mentioned. The entire transaction was a lure - a trap - for "dumb money" to enter the lair of Paulson & Co. Dracula had to lure his victims to his clutches: "Enter freely and of your own free will" [Dracula, by Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, page 2. And the Financial Vikings had to do that to continue to drink the blood of the dumb money.
I hope that the Department of Justice and the New York State authorities investigate this as conspiracy to defraud investors, and include Paulson & Co. in that. That firm is a quintessential Financial Viking. Sure, he saw a problem - a fire starting in residential mortgages. He proceeded to throw gasoline on and spread the fire everywhere to burn as much of the forest as possible .. for his own gain.
More
Friday's Wall Street Journal describes the new headquarters of Goldman Sachs. That building is so representative of that firm. The aristocracy of the "partners" have palatial offices. The rest of the vassals and serfs get demeaning and uncomfortable desks and cubicles. Sure, they might be well paid. But they have to kiss the books of their Lords, the "partners", every day before being sent out to loot the public and "dumb money". Goldman Sachs is a band of Financial Vikings trying to create an aristocracy of the rich & powerful in the US and the World. Until recently their "partners" were part of what seemed like an exchange program for the ruling classes, going on to high offices in the US government. That all has to change.
Financial regulatory reform must put all Financial Vikings and their weapons (derivatives, etc.) under chains and locks.
And More
Goldman, Sachs hid the fact of the SEC investigation [ the "Wells Notice"] from the public. Amazingly brazen !
Word of the Day
"Misprision" - noun [$10] [pronounced mis 'prizh un] from Shakespeares's "As You Like It".
Misprision means (I) (Law) 1. the deliberate concealment of one's knowledge of a crime, treason [misprision of a felony, treason]; 2. a wrong act or omission; 3. neglect in preventing or reporting a crime; 4. maladministration of public office. (II) 1. a misreading, misunderstanding, etc.; 2. (usu. foll. by 'of') a failure to appreciate the value of a thing; 3. (archaic) contempt (see related verb 'misprize')
Sentence: How many people in the financial community - lawyers, compliance, management, on and on - are guilty of misprision ? The numbers are likely countless: well-paid enablers of the looting.
What is a Financial Viking ? The analogy to the Vikings of old fits rather well. The Vikings who invaded Europe after 800AD and continued for about 200 years were ruthless plunderers who took whatever they could, burned monasteries and towns, and killed anyone in their way. Then later they settled in conquered lands and set up aristocratic feudal states. William the Bastard - Duke of Normandy - later William the Conqueror and then William I, first King of England, was a descendent of the leader of a Viking band.
A financial viking is a firm (Wall Street or beefer) who trashes, loots and plunders anyone it or he can in financial trades in any manner possible. They use their great wealth and power to ... get more. They lure sleepy institutions into dumb trades: heck, internally they call them the "dumb money". They don't care if that leads to job losses or the bankruptcies of innocent people. They hide behind phalanxes of well-paid lawyers and boilerplate risk language.
Financial Vikings shorted huge amounts of stocks while buying credit default swaps on those firms. They were trying to cause defaults by spreading fear and panic. And like the Vikings of old, they operate in loose bands. One would blow the horn to attack (likely using unrecorded instant message systems), and the others would start to hammer the stock and swaps.
And they created artful lures to get more from the "dumb money". The transaction created by Goldman Sach at the heart of the SEC charges is well described in this link -> http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F5CZ20100416
I have seen the Goldman Sachs "pitchbook" for the Abacus 2007-AC1 offering. This "document" is grossly misleading. The pitch goes to great lengths creating a sham that ACA was the creator of the offering, managing it, and structuring it. GS is portrayed as simply the initial buyer of the securities. The core role of Paulson is not mentioned. The entire transaction was a lure - a trap - for "dumb money" to enter the lair of Paulson & Co. Dracula had to lure his victims to his clutches: "Enter freely and of your own free will" [Dracula, by Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, page 2. And the Financial Vikings had to do that to continue to drink the blood of the dumb money.
I hope that the Department of Justice and the New York State authorities investigate this as conspiracy to defraud investors, and include Paulson & Co. in that. That firm is a quintessential Financial Viking. Sure, he saw a problem - a fire starting in residential mortgages. He proceeded to throw gasoline on and spread the fire everywhere to burn as much of the forest as possible .. for his own gain.
More
Friday's Wall Street Journal describes the new headquarters of Goldman Sachs. That building is so representative of that firm. The aristocracy of the "partners" have palatial offices. The rest of the vassals and serfs get demeaning and uncomfortable desks and cubicles. Sure, they might be well paid. But they have to kiss the books of their Lords, the "partners", every day before being sent out to loot the public and "dumb money". Goldman Sachs is a band of Financial Vikings trying to create an aristocracy of the rich & powerful in the US and the World. Until recently their "partners" were part of what seemed like an exchange program for the ruling classes, going on to high offices in the US government. That all has to change.
Financial regulatory reform must put all Financial Vikings and their weapons (derivatives, etc.) under chains and locks.
And More
Goldman, Sachs hid the fact of the SEC investigation [ the "Wells Notice"] from the public. Amazingly brazen !
Word of the Day
"Misprision" - noun [$10] [pronounced mis 'prizh un] from Shakespeares's "As You Like It".
Misprision means (I) (Law) 1. the deliberate concealment of one's knowledge of a crime, treason [misprision of a felony, treason]; 2. a wrong act or omission; 3. neglect in preventing or reporting a crime; 4. maladministration of public office. (II) 1. a misreading, misunderstanding, etc.; 2. (usu. foll. by 'of') a failure to appreciate the value of a thing; 3. (archaic) contempt (see related verb 'misprize')
Sentence: How many people in the financial community - lawyers, compliance, management, on and on - are guilty of misprision ? The numbers are likely countless: well-paid enablers of the looting.
Monday, June 1, 2009
On the first Monday in June, 2009
GM will file a petition for voluntary bankrupcty. A 100 year-old firm that was for decades the largest corporation by sales in the world bites the dust. Why? Management stupidity and union greed. The industry and product did NOT evolve away. New products did NOT replace the need for automobiles. Very large automotive manufacturers DO exist today. This is simply a matter of human failures at GM. People and their decisions do matter. Tolstoy was wrong.
More strange news coming out ...
FT: China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand for the third straight month in May, according to the country’s official purchasing managers’ index, a sign that the government’s stimulus package is starting to have an impact and that the recovery is likely to broaden. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Monday said the index pulled back slightly to 53.1 in May from 53.3 a month earlier. A reading above 50 signals an expansion while one below the threshold reflects a contraction.
Well, well, communist leaders in China seems to know how to do an economic stimulus program better than Americans. Remarkable.
Or maybe there is something to decoupling. I think there is. It’s not a perfect decoupling. Who ever said it would be perfect (other than big mouth pundits on Toshvision)?
WSJ: GM to file for bankruptcy today after a majority of bondholders voted to accept a revised offer. Obversely, Chrysler might come out of bankruptcy today as a unit of Fiat.
Futures are up big this morning. Copper prices are up. The German DAX is up over 3%. I wonder if the GM BK and its not being the train wreck that pundits forecast and bears were salivating over signal a capitulation of a large group of bears ?
Snidely Whiplash was a character in the old Dudley Doright cartoons that were part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle TV show that I watched with joy as a boy. He was a caricature of evil and bad behavior. The modern Snidely Whiplash seems to be banks. The WSJ has an article how they violate the spirit if not the letter of the law by grabbing social security and disability benefits to pay fees on garnished bank accounts. This populist libertarian is sick of banks and their rapacious efforts for make more and more money from simple products.
Only so much money can be made from services such as checking accounts and credit cards. Banks simply should accept that and cease these endless piranha bites. For example, after using my Bank of America Visa card in London, I received a notice that in the future, Bank of America will charge 4% [sic] for foreign currency transactions. How ridiculously greedy! What will I do? Easy, use a different credit card. To me, anything over 2% is simply robbery. After all, the banks are already getting some interchange fees on the transactions and the foreign currency conversions done in bulk cost them next to nothing.
Capital One is reported to charge nothing extra for foreign currency transactions. I now plan to obtain one of their credit cards for the future.
Further in the saving bits of money department, I see from an ad in Barron’s and checking it out, that Ameritrade is now robbing me on the cost of margin loans. I suppose this goes back to the Lehman debacle. From memory, they were once fair. They are now charging over 8% while the broker call rate in Barron’s is 2%. I’ll call them today to let them know that I’ll be changing accounts to Interactive Brokers over this matter. IB charges about 2%, and the commissions are lower, too.
Actions
My Krypto Fund asset allocation model commands me to sell some emerging markets funds and buy REIT funds. As an intraday trading tactic, this morning early I'll let some VWO go, but will wait for a late-morning or midday pullback to buy the VNQ. This has worked well recently.
Word of the Day
"Panoptic" - adjective [$10]
Panoptic means showing or seeing the whole at one view.
Sentence: If any government official has panoptic vision over the economy, he is Battleship Ben.
Le Mot du Jour
"Faillite" - noun, feminine
Faillite means bankruptcy (d'entreprise); collapse, failure (d'espoir, méthod).
La Phrase: GM déclarera en faillite aujourd'hui.
Sentence: GM will declare bankruptcy today.
More strange news coming out ...
FT: China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand for the third straight month in May, according to the country’s official purchasing managers’ index, a sign that the government’s stimulus package is starting to have an impact and that the recovery is likely to broaden. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Monday said the index pulled back slightly to 53.1 in May from 53.3 a month earlier. A reading above 50 signals an expansion while one below the threshold reflects a contraction.
Well, well, communist leaders in China seems to know how to do an economic stimulus program better than Americans. Remarkable.
Or maybe there is something to decoupling. I think there is. It’s not a perfect decoupling. Who ever said it would be perfect (other than big mouth pundits on Toshvision)?
WSJ: GM to file for bankruptcy today after a majority of bondholders voted to accept a revised offer. Obversely, Chrysler might come out of bankruptcy today as a unit of Fiat.
Futures are up big this morning. Copper prices are up. The German DAX is up over 3%. I wonder if the GM BK and its not being the train wreck that pundits forecast and bears were salivating over signal a capitulation of a large group of bears ?
Snidely Whiplash was a character in the old Dudley Doright cartoons that were part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle TV show that I watched with joy as a boy. He was a caricature of evil and bad behavior. The modern Snidely Whiplash seems to be banks. The WSJ has an article how they violate the spirit if not the letter of the law by grabbing social security and disability benefits to pay fees on garnished bank accounts. This populist libertarian is sick of banks and their rapacious efforts for make more and more money from simple products.
Only so much money can be made from services such as checking accounts and credit cards. Banks simply should accept that and cease these endless piranha bites. For example, after using my Bank of America Visa card in London, I received a notice that in the future, Bank of America will charge 4% [sic] for foreign currency transactions. How ridiculously greedy! What will I do? Easy, use a different credit card. To me, anything over 2% is simply robbery. After all, the banks are already getting some interchange fees on the transactions and the foreign currency conversions done in bulk cost them next to nothing.
Capital One is reported to charge nothing extra for foreign currency transactions. I now plan to obtain one of their credit cards for the future.
Further in the saving bits of money department, I see from an ad in Barron’s and checking it out, that Ameritrade is now robbing me on the cost of margin loans. I suppose this goes back to the Lehman debacle. From memory, they were once fair. They are now charging over 8% while the broker call rate in Barron’s is 2%. I’ll call them today to let them know that I’ll be changing accounts to Interactive Brokers over this matter. IB charges about 2%, and the commissions are lower, too.
Actions
My Krypto Fund asset allocation model commands me to sell some emerging markets funds and buy REIT funds. As an intraday trading tactic, this morning early I'll let some VWO go, but will wait for a late-morning or midday pullback to buy the VNQ. This has worked well recently.
Word of the Day
"Panoptic" - adjective [$10]
Panoptic means showing or seeing the whole at one view.
Sentence: If any government official has panoptic vision over the economy, he is Battleship Ben.
Le Mot du Jour
"Faillite" - noun, feminine
Faillite means bankruptcy (d'entreprise); collapse, failure (d'espoir, méthod).
La Phrase: GM déclarera en faillite aujourd'hui.
Sentence: GM will declare bankruptcy today.
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