Still feel miserable. T & S is back at the quack, hopefully finding out she doesn't have pneumonia. This has been the worst week health wise in quite a while, but soldier on we must.
I am going to get on to the subjects mentioned a while back on Friday week, but for today I'm just going to try to keep it simple and follow up on the subject of the banks, in particular DeutscheBank and the various curious emerging relationship with governments all over. Don't really feel up to much else but there's enough here for food for thought.,
For example, ever wonder why the proposed fine for DB was leaked so early in the process? Neither can I. Usually, the number gets out but only after a long bout of negotiation giving both sides a "win" in the ultimate proceeding. Not this time: Justice just let it out there. A bit of payback for the Apple tax nonsense (note the similarity in the numbers)? Probably not. Justice is too ham-handed to think up something like that...certainly before sending message..."We are not amused..." no, that one has been used. Bugger the entire banking sector in the equity market? Makes no sense. Not smart enough to realize that something like that could be the result anyway. Something to do with politics? Hummmm. Might be something there. Justice is nothing if not politics these days. Sending a message? To Whom? The American Voter? Like, "we're looking out for YOU!" OK, I'll buy that, should we move on?
Another thing to think about is just what did DB do that is worth $14 Billion in fines? So far, Justice hasn't uttered a peep except in generalities. Then again, I've been trying to figure that out for a while now as it relates to the entire sector, but the best thought I've had while trying to recover is the irony of the entire thing. From the Truth in Lending legislation a-way back when, to a lack of supervision, to the mishandling of Lehman, to Dodd/Frank, to the demand for far higher capitalization which in many cases has been negated by governmental fines, from new legislation which overnight made business lines at financial institutions unprofitable, to the constant meddling with the markets by central banks culminating in the insanity of negative interest rates which is a slow death to the banking system and now to this complete insensitivity as to what a stray word might produce by way of a repeat of 2007-08, I keep wondering--seriously--whether there is anybody left standing who knows what he (or she) is doing? So far, a goodly portion of this nonsense of the past 15 years has had a substantial foundation in governmental politics and now these clowns are telling us that they are the solution with the vast irony being that having demonstrated an inability to exercise the functions assigned to them in the past, these fonctionnaires conclude that the solution is provide themselves with even more functions by way of legislation conceived in the abstract and given birth in this charnal house of reason to which we refer as the Congress of the United States. Irony is hardy a good enough word.
As you can see, I haven't been feeling too well, but good news has just arrived: sinus infection not pneumonia for the bride. A new day is dawning. Tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Justice Department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justice Department. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2016
Thursday, September 10, 2015
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
In a blatant political move, the administration leaked to the New York Times (more on it later) the text of a speech to be given by the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, on a change in the Justice Department's strategy for dealing with "white collar crime" which in effect, is to place more emphasis on going after the individuals in a corporation for their wrongdoing through the forcing of the corporation to "give up" their employees rather than just settling for fines against the corporations and in very rare case pleas of wrongdoing.
Having been constantly berated by people on the far left of the party for not jailing the "criminals" in the great financial crisis, this is the solution propose, in a coming election year, to silence the criticism. It is crap and a disgraceful misleading of the American public.
Huge damage was done beginning about 10 years ago. Huge mistakes were made. Huge losses were suffered but whilst there was corporate wrongdoing and stupidity, was there illegality? That is a very different question.
To be convicted of a criminal offense, under the laws of the United States, in most case two requirements must be present. The first if knowledge that one is breaking the law and the other the intent to break the law. Sounds easy, but it is not. It is very, very difficult to prove intent, and that hurdle remains despite whatever new thoughts the justice department might have regarding "going after the bad guys." For all of the noise and nonsense created, this justice department has never successfully prosecuted any individual involved with the financial--not because they it didn't want to but because it couldn't. In fact the best shot they could have had was Franklin Raines, the former head of Fanny Mae who knowingly and deliberately misrepresented the financial records of the company and was allowed to "retire" with a package somewhere in the rang of $100 million. Of course, good ol' Frankie was the political insider of all political insiders in the Democratic party and a long term advisor to Il Duce that continues up to the present day. Not on, old boy, not on, despite Fanny and Freddie being at the very heart of the collapse.
But, the Times puts this on the front page and boy, don't these guys look tough whereas nothing has really changed. A political grandstand, nothing more except that one can be sure that the white collar lawyers at the nation's big law firms might get a bit busier in the next few months explaining to their clients what all this means...for a fee of course. Oh, one of the leading firms in this game is the Washington shop, Covington & Burling. The head of it's white collar practice? Eric Holder, recently of the Attorney General's office. You can't make this stuff up.
The big talk on the street today was the apparent confusion and indecision at the Fed as to whether to raise or not next week. Whether they do or not wasn't the talk, the indecision was. No surprise, because even I was prepared to concede that they would move until the other day when the word came down from on high via a New York Times editorial that raising interest rates would not be a good idea. The politicos on the Board are now wringing their hands...Il Duce will be displeased. Hell of a way to run monetary policy. I'm tellin' ya, you can't make it up.
Having been constantly berated by people on the far left of the party for not jailing the "criminals" in the great financial crisis, this is the solution propose, in a coming election year, to silence the criticism. It is crap and a disgraceful misleading of the American public.
Huge damage was done beginning about 10 years ago. Huge mistakes were made. Huge losses were suffered but whilst there was corporate wrongdoing and stupidity, was there illegality? That is a very different question.
To be convicted of a criminal offense, under the laws of the United States, in most case two requirements must be present. The first if knowledge that one is breaking the law and the other the intent to break the law. Sounds easy, but it is not. It is very, very difficult to prove intent, and that hurdle remains despite whatever new thoughts the justice department might have regarding "going after the bad guys." For all of the noise and nonsense created, this justice department has never successfully prosecuted any individual involved with the financial--not because they it didn't want to but because it couldn't. In fact the best shot they could have had was Franklin Raines, the former head of Fanny Mae who knowingly and deliberately misrepresented the financial records of the company and was allowed to "retire" with a package somewhere in the rang of $100 million. Of course, good ol' Frankie was the political insider of all political insiders in the Democratic party and a long term advisor to Il Duce that continues up to the present day. Not on, old boy, not on, despite Fanny and Freddie being at the very heart of the collapse.
But, the Times puts this on the front page and boy, don't these guys look tough whereas nothing has really changed. A political grandstand, nothing more except that one can be sure that the white collar lawyers at the nation's big law firms might get a bit busier in the next few months explaining to their clients what all this means...for a fee of course. Oh, one of the leading firms in this game is the Washington shop, Covington & Burling. The head of it's white collar practice? Eric Holder, recently of the Attorney General's office. You can't make this stuff up.
The big talk on the street today was the apparent confusion and indecision at the Fed as to whether to raise or not next week. Whether they do or not wasn't the talk, the indecision was. No surprise, because even I was prepared to concede that they would move until the other day when the word came down from on high via a New York Times editorial that raising interest rates would not be a good idea. The politicos on the Board are now wringing their hands...Il Duce will be displeased. Hell of a way to run monetary policy. I'm tellin' ya, you can't make it up.
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