Bankers love to recount the fabled story of the invisible hand. In their version, the superhero Invisible Hand effectively controls the market, thoroughly trust-busting and fraud-forestalling. Everyone lives happily ever after.
Truth be told, however, the tale of the invisible hand is a horror story. The invisible hand fails miserably to constrain bankster racketeering. more »
Earnings and bonus reports are rolling in and the big, bailed-out banks are back in the black. In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion -- up almost six percent from 2009 according to the Wall Street Journal. more »
It can be hard to grasp all the details of Section 716, the Senate provision that would force big banks to spin off their swap desks, but the principle isn't that complicated: Banks that get access to discounted money from the Federal Reserve, or federally-guaranteed deposit insurance, shouldn't be able to gamble with them. And the four huge institutions that dominate the derivatives market shouldn't use the implicit guarantee of a taxpayer bailout as a license to act recklessly. Instead they should use that money, and that guarantee, to lend to the businesses that can get our economy moving again. more »
The first panel to testify on Wednesday before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission features a who’s who of high financial crimes and misdemeanors. Here’s the lineup. more »
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