Blogs: Curbing Wall Street

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 »

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Susie makes a great point about Mitt's repulsive "free lunch" comments after the NAACP speech. Of course it was disgusting for its race baiting. That goes without saying. But I think most of us missed the humongous irony in what this privileged jerk was saying. Susie caught it:

As far as free lunches go, we of course just witnessed the biggest government handout in history, one that Romney himself endorsed. Four and a half trillion dollars in bailout money already disbursed, trillions more still at risk in guarantees and loans, sixteen trillion dollars in emergency lending from the Federal Reserve, two trillion in quantitative easing, etc. etc. All of this money went to Romney’s pals in the Wall Street banks that for years helped Romney take over companies with mountains of borrowed cash. Now, after these banks crashed, executives at those same firms used those public funds to pay themselves massive salaries, which is exactly the opposite of “helping those who need help,” if you’re keeping score.

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I have been wondering obsessively why Romney is so keen on saying that he left Bain in 99 instead of 02. I mean it's not as if he's running from his career there in general. So why is so adamant that he not be associated with it during that period? The easiest answer is that he stupidly said it without really thinking through the implications of holding the title and being compensated while allegedly being uninvolved and now he's stuck with it because of his FEC filing.

On the other hand, there are some things beyond the usual off-shoring and layoffs that he might not want it known that he profited from. Henry Blodget writes: more »

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If only. If only Brian Moynihan designed fashionable shoes, Jamie Dimon pitched a mean slider, and Lloyd Blankfein had written the song "Boyfriend" for Justin Bieber. Then they'd prosecute bank fraud. more »

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If only. If only Brian Moynihan designed fashionable shoes, Jamie Dimon pitched a mean slider, and Lloyd Blankfein had written the song "Boyfriend" for Justin Bieber. Then they'd prosecute bank fraud. more »

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On Wednesday the stock market remained in the doldrums, thanks largely to the release of Federal Reserve June meeting minutes that revealed that at least some members of the Fed believed the economy needs "further policy stimulus," but the Fed nonetheless took no action to boost the economy during th more »

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A new survey showing the extent of bankers' criminal inclinations, together with the "LIBOR" scandal, gives us more insight into how deeply corrupt the banking industry has become. more »

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A new survey showing the extent of bankers' criminal inclinations, together with the "LIBOR" scandal, gives us more insight into how deeply corrupt the banking industry has become. more »

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In the ongoing scandal about Barclays' employees tampering with the "LIBOR," or London interbank lending rate - which is to say, bank fraud - The Economist offers this brilliant cover. It's not just the word "banksters," or the fact that it shows bank executives dressed like the guys in Reservoir Dogs. It's the little things, like the two guys whispering to each other, the two others on their cell phones, and - best of all - the fact that they're wearing typical bankers' power ties.

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In the ongoing scandal about Barclays' employees tampering with the "LIBOR," or London interbank lending rate - which is to say, bank fraud - The Economist offers this brilliant cover. It's not just the word "banksters," or the fact that it shows bank executives dressed like the guys in Reservoir Dogs. It's the little things, like the two guys whispering to each other, the two others on their cell phones, and - best of all - the fact that they're wearing typical bankers' power ties.

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