|
|
|
Global Meltdown |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK -
Moody's has agreed to pay nearly $864M to settle with US federal
and state authorities over its ratings of risky mortgage securities in
the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.
(Reuters)
$27 trillion. That's the amount global
public debt has grown by since
the financial crisis gripped the world 8 years ago, according to the
McKinsey
Global Institute.
(Telegraph UK)
Fallout from economic crisis
PARIS - Young people continue to bear the brunt of job losses since
the global financial crisis, according to the
OECD. Almost 1 in 10
jobs held by workers under 30 in the developed world were destroyed
between 2007 and 2014.
REPORT:
Society at a glance 2016
Currency wars are back on for many countries around the world. The theory is that by significantly weakening its currency, a country can spur economic activity, making its products and services attractive for export, thus stoking growth and jump-starting employment. (Asia Sentinel)
WASHINGTON - The formula is simple: find a large company that may (or may
not) have done something wrong; threaten its managers with commercial ruin,
preferably with criminal charges; force them to use their shareholders'
money to pay an enormous fine to drop the charges in a secret settlement (so
nobody can check the details). Then repeat with another large company.
(Economist)
Too big to fail NEW YORK - In 1970, America’s 5 largest banks held 17% of America’s banking assets. By 2010, the top 5 banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., held 52% of US banking assets. COMMENT: Faustian bargain between States and Banks
Half a dollar a day 'adequate' DELHI - The Planning Commission has told India's Supreme Court that an individual income of 25 rupees (52 cents) a day would help provide for adequate "private expenditure on food, education and health" in the villages. In the cities, it said, individual earnings of 32 rupees a day (66 cents) were adequate. (BBC) |
NEW YORK -
Barclays
has agreed to pay $2B to settle a US civil action related to the
mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)
in the run-up to the financial crisis.
(Independent UK)
WASHINGTON - Baby Boomers have incurred nearly $100B in student loans so that little Johnny and/or Susie could get that degree they always wanted. Parent Plus, created by Congress in 1980, allows parents to borrow to cover tuition and living expenses. 40% of student loans originated in 2009 - 2013 going to subprime borrowers, more than double the subprime mix of the mortgage market in 2005. (Zero Hedge)
Emerging market companies have 'over-borrowed' by $3 trillion in the
last decade, reflecting a quadrupling of private sector debt between
2004 and 2014, found the IMF's
Global
Financial Stability Report.
(Telegraph UK)
Settlement NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $2.6B to settle probes into its creation and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, as the US Department of Justice holds another large Wall Street firm to account for the 2008 financial crisis. PREVIOUS: US bank failures 2008-2014 Bank writedowns due to subprime crisis
The study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed that suicides in Canada rose 4.5% between 2007 and 2010, while the US rate increased by 4.8% over the same period. In Europe, the suicide rate rose by 6.5% by 2009 and remained elevated until 2011. (CTV)
Regulated Canada tops US in economic freedom When it comes to economic freedom, Canada has now edged ahead of the land of the free, the Fraser Institute said in a report. (National Post) IRS targets Taxation in the US Tax deduction
WASHINGTON - The median family’s net worth dropped 38.8% during the three-year period, the Fed said in its latest report on changes in US Family Finances, derived from a survey of consumer finances. (Reuters) REPORT: Changes in US family finances from 2007 to 2010 .pdf Cost of the US Senate banking committee |
|
UK outlines cuts to public spending LONDON - Britain's coalition government has laid out a series of sweeping spending cuts meant to help reduce the country's growing debt and bring the country "back from the brink." (CBC) MORE: UK spending cuts Spending review 2010 |
WASHINGTON - The US Treasury website today reported that as of the last day of 2010, the National Debt stood at $14,025,215,218,708.52. It took just 7 months for the National Debt to increase from $13T on June 1, 2010 to $14T on Dec. 31. (CBS) |
|
TOKYO - Global income inequality has worsened over the past four decades, a report finds, with the wealthiest 1% of the world's population capturing twice as much income growth as the bottom half. (AP) |
|
|
LONDON - Banking authorities in the UK and US have outlined their plans for limiting the damage if banks get into trouble. Under the plans (pdf), one national regulator would be responsible for overseeing the insolvency of a big international bank instead of bodies from different countries dealing with subsidiaries. (BBC) |
EU wide stress test results 2014 Italy approves austerity budget |
|
Behold the taxman cometh. Even as taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet in a crumbling, tumbling economy, your friendly neighborhood (and state and federal) government is having a hard time making do with the meager trillions you're throwing its way, so it's relying on an old maxim: If it exists, it can be taxed. (Fox) |
Don't forget who saved your bacon MONTREAL - Governments won't allow the world's bankers to return to their irresponsible ways, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warned, adding financiers had better get ready for major changes to the way they do business. (CTV) MORE: Mend your ways US clamps down on Wall Street pay 20% of Large Canadian Companies present serious risk |
|
Canadian nobody wanted to hear William R. White predicted the approaching financial crisis years before 2007's subprime meltdown. But central bankers preferred to listen to his great rival Alan Greenspan instead, with devastating consequences for the global economy. (Spiegel) |
VIENNA - Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the UN's drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer. (Guardian UK) |
|
Banker arrested NEW YORK - Mark Johnson, HSBC's global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, and Stuart Scott, the bank's former head of currency trading in Europe, making them the first individuals to be charged. |
|
|
Regulator orders Barclays to pay fine Foreign exchange trading investigation FERC Docket No: IN08-8-000 .pdf |
|
|
Case uncovers bank-broker relations |
Barclays trying to stave off bailout Canada launches lending rate review UK banks get government windfall Rate-fixing affair rocks EU banking SFO to launch criminal investigation What if Barclays hadn't lowered? |
|
Plan a success The Occupy movement is still making a huge difference in thousands of lives. The group's Rolling Jubilee "Strike Debt" initiative has quietly forgiven millions in medical and student loans since 2012 after buying the debt on the secondary market. 16,000 people have been relieved of nearly $32M in debt, according to the effort's website. Central banks keep making the rich richer |
1st anniversary marked with arrests Occupy Vancouver disrupts debate Protests held in 951 cities worldwide |
|
NEW YORK - Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay a combined $12.5B to resolve US investigations into sales of the toxic debt that fueled the financial crisis. Their announcements came hours after Barclays Plc, which is being probed in a related case, was sued for fraud Thursday by the Justice Department after it balked at paying the amount the government sought in negotiations. (Bloomberg) |
Bank secrecy masks a world of crime
|
|
Bank of America Bank of New York Mellon CFPB orders Citibank to pay $700M OCC assesses penalty against Citibank |
Usage of Federal Reserve facilities Barclays defiance of US fines has merit Secretive world of printing money Government sponsored enterprise (GSE) |
|
Goldman Sachs will not face charges Goldman Sachs gets $3B bailout Federal Reserve study .pdf. |
Federal Housing Finance Agency Whistleblower says SEC covering up Bank of America’s latest bailout Settlement is barely a wrist slap Political games over US debt ceiling |
|
US toxic asset plan stirs fears GAO investigation .pdf |
|
|
Use of rating agencies under scrutiny |
The rise of the 'empty creditor' FASB summary of board decision Paying for lobbyists - pays off OIG report to Congress 2011 .pdf Tax lobbying provides 22,000% return |
|
'Too big to fail' policy must end |
Big Government is back - big time Bailout spawns lobbying scramble Fannie Mae dismisses executives |
|
|
|
|
EU tries to end too big to fail BRUSSELS - Europe has called an end to the era of mass bank bail-outs as new rules to stop taxpayers from footing the cost of financial rescues come into force. (Telegraph UK) |
Turning the
EU debt myth upside-down ECB issues ultimatum to Cyprus ECB says plan in Cyprus was 'not smart'
|
|
Alchemy of central bank money printing Vows end to 'humiliation and pain' Left-wing Syriza finds right-wing ally Germany 'the biggest debt transgressor'
How the EU
dream is dying state by state EU-IMF 'troika' to monitor rescue |
Police search home of IMF boss Bureaucratic 'toxic policy error' Cyprus told it can amend bailout Bailout terms prompt run on banks Call for EU powers to veto national budgets |
|
Example of why Greece is in trouble |
Greece gears up for tough reforms Banks suspend evictions after public outrage Greece faces death by a thousand cut EU curbs credit rating agencies |
|
Borrowing costs hits 7% Rule of 70 Greece likely to default no matter what Greece payout likely to go ahead EU's attention shifts to ailing banks Bond fund warns Greece will default Developed nations must curb deficits German privatization a poor model |
Euro 'empire' plot by Brussels Greece must implement EU demands Italy borrowing rates hit euro-era high California greater risk than Greece |
|
Financial oligarchy wins again Ugly secrets waiting to be exposed A handy guide to really big numbers |
EU adopts bigger budget for 2010 RBS spends to promotes its brand IMF: World growth 'worst for 60 years' UK admits no cap on taxpayer risk Icelanders reject paying for mistakes |
|
|
|
|
DETROIT - A Michigan court judge has challenged Detroit's bankruptcy filing, saying it contravenes the state's constitution. (AP) |
GM out of bankruptcy protection |
|
Canadian municipalities take note of Detroit Detroit-Windsor tunnel files for bankruptcy GM to tackle pension deficit: CAW Bankruptcy exposes dirty politics Union, Big 3 negotiated their demise |
From General to Government Motors 1,100 dealers will be shut down Taxpayers to fork out billions Chrysler's sale to Fiat approved Chrysler to close 25% of dealers Auto sector wants in on bailout money Sold out .pdf |
|
DAVOS - The Global Risks Report published by the WEF last week showed that many see a heightened risk of political and economic confrontations between major powers this year. (Reuters) 2 richest Canadians as wealthy as 30% China will champion free trade |
|
|
|
|
|
BEIJING - Recycling has become a global industry and China is the largest importer of the world's waste materials, taking in as much as a third of Britain's recyclables for example. Then came the slump, decimating the Chinese recycling industry and leaving Britain, the US and others grappling with growing volumes of recycled waste and nowhere to send it. (Guardian UK) |
Good thing we have carbon taxes Standardized recycling program |
|
|
|
|
|
|
