November 3rd
Johnson & Johnson to Cut Up to 8,000 Jobs
CNN Money
NEW YORK -- Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it will cut up to 8,000 employees worldwide as part of a cost-savings plan that will allow the health-care giant to expand its business.
The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company, which makes everything from mouthwash to anti-psychotic drugs, said it will cut between 6% and 7% of its global workforce.
Great Job Openings, No Candidates
CNN Money
According to a recent survey by Human Capital Institute and TheLadders, more than half of employers said "quality of candidates" or "availability of candidates" are their greatest challenges -- despite the recession.
Mary Willoughby, the director of human resources at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, New York, has been trying to hire registered nurses, home health aides and service coordinators for several of the agencies that she oversees.
Many of the positions, which require specific skills and offer salaries in the range of $30,000 to $45,000, have been vacant for six months or longer.
The job postings, which appear on CareerBuilder, Craigslist and some regional sites, garner a lot of attention, she says. "We get tons of résumés from people. We are just not getting highly qualified candidates."
November 2nd
Important News on HR1207
Campaign for Liberty E-Mail
Congressman Paul will offer an amendment to restore the provisions contained in H.R. 1207 to audit monetary policy and activity with foreign central banks. Thirteen of the 41 Democrats and all 29 Republicans on the Committee have cosponsored H.R. 1207, and if they hold the line, we will have the votes to win and restore our audit.
Pressure on the Democrat House Financial Services Committee members is critical! Below is a list of Democrats who have cosponsored. Please call them and urge them to vote “Yes” on the Paul Amendment. Click on their names to get their web contact information.
Dollar Falls as Manufacturing Grows; Oil, Copper, Gold Rally
Bloomberg
The dollar slid against high-yielding currencies, led by the Australian dollar, as China reported a surge in manufacturing and investors bet factory production in the U.S. accelerated. Oil, copper and gold climbed
House Health Bill Totals $1.2 Trillion
MSNBC
WASHINGTON - The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.
November 1st
China’s Recovery Strengthens, Adding Room for Stimulus Cuts
Bloomberg
Chinese manufacturing data for October showed the nation’s economic recovery is strengthening, giving policy makers more room to pare stimulus measures in coming months.
Billionaire investor George Soros said Oct. 30 in Budapest that China will be the “greatest winner” from the global financial crisis, with the U.S. losing the most. Nobel Prize- winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said Oct. 31 that emerging economies including China need to guard against “bubbles” caused by surging liquidity as governments around the world stimulate growth.
Payrolls Probably Fell, Factories Sped Up: U.S. Economy Preview
Bloomberg
Employers in the U.S. kept cutting jobs in October and manufacturing picked up, pointing to an uneven economic recovery that will take time to encourage hiring, economists said before reports this week.
Payrolls fell by 175,000 workers last month, deepening the worst employment slump since the 1930s, according to the median of 63 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a Nov. 6 Labor Department report. A purchasing managers’ report may show factories expanded at the fastest pace since 2006.
A government report showed consumer spending, which comprises about 70 percent of the economy, fell in September for the first time in five months.
Home sales have climbed in recent months, propelled in part by an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers that’s set to expire at the end of this month.
Senate Democrats want to extend the credit through April and expand it to allow higher-income Americans and some who already own homes to qualify for the incentive. The White House endorses the extension, and lawmakers are expected to vote on the measure this week, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
CIT Files For 5th Largest U.S. Bankruptcy
CNN Money
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- CIT Group Inc., one of the nation's leading funders of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for the fifth largest bankruptcy by assets in U.S. history Sunday as part of a reorganization plan that has the support of an overwhelming majority of debtholders.
In a statement, the company said it is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for a quick approval of the prepackaged plan. CIT said none of its operating subsidiaries would be affected by the filing, allowing them to continue operations.
Common shareholders, however, will be out of luck. CIT said all existing common and preferred stock will be cancelled upon emergence from bankruptcy protection. That would likely include preferred stock from the $2.3 billion in funding from the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the company received in its efforts to stay afloat.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
October 2009
1. October 30th
Stocks Get Pummeled
CNN Money
NEW YORK -- Stocks tumbled Friday, erasing the previous session's gains, as investors dumped a variety of shares at the end of a rough week and choppy month on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 220 points, or 2.2%, with about 90 minutes left in the session. The Dow had lost as much as 273 points earlier.
Since bottoming at a 12-year low on March 9, the S&P 500 has rallied 57.6% as of Thursday's close. But the gains had been more robust until about a week ago, when enthusiasm about the better-than-expected quarterly results gave way to worries about the pace of the recovery. Since peaking on Oct. 19, the S&P 500 has lost 5% as of Friday afternoon.
Gas Prices Highest in a Year
The Associated Press
Retail gasoline prices chugged higher Friday to a new peak for the year, forcing consumers to dig deeper into already-thin wallets to pay for fuel.
At the same time, natural gas prices also were moving up again and have now climbed 16 percent in the past two months — just in time for furnace season to kick in.
The worst part: Supplies of oil and gas are plentiful. In fact, storage points for gas are so jammed, producers are running out of places to put it and crude supplies are well above average levels.
House Ethics Panel to Investigate Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) and Rep. Maxine Water (D-CA)
CNN
Richardson's case involves whether she received preferential treatment in the foreclosure and eventual re-acquisition of her home in Sacramento, California.
Waters is being investigated for allegedly seeking preferential treatment fron a bank linked to her husband. [OneUnited Bank]
9 Banks in Major Holding Company Fail
CNN Money
NEW YORK -- Nine subsidiaries of FBOP Corp., a multistate holding company that included California National Bank of Los Angeles, succumbed Friday to the nationwide banking crisis, bringing to 115 the number of banks closed by regulators so far this year.
The bank failure count for 2009 is still far from 1989's record high of 534 bank closures which took place during the savings and loan crisis. There are about 8,000 banks in the nation, and an average of 10 banks have failed per month this year, nearly four times the number that failed in 2008, and the highest tally since 1992 when 181 banks failed.
Federal Reserve Policy Audit Legislation ‘Gutted,’ Paul Says
Bloomberg
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Ron Paul, the Texas Republican who has called for an end to the Federal Reserve, said legislation he introduced to audit monetary policy has been “gutted” while moving toward a possible vote in the Democratic-controlled House.
The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today.
2. October 29th
US GDP Grows In Third Quarter
CNN Money
NEW YORK -- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5% annual rate in the third quarter, ending a string of declines over four quarters that resulted in the most severe slide since the Great Depression. But some economists raised doubts about how long such strong growth can last.
The increase in GDP, reported by the government Thursday morning, was slightly better than expectations. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast 3.2% growth in gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity. The economy shrank at a 0.7% rate in the second quarter.
Robert Brusca, an economist with FAO Economics said that the fact that businesses are still cutting inventories "tells us that the economy has not yet turned any corner very sharply."
But Bill Hampel, chief economist of the Credit Union National Association, said it's encouraging that the economy was able to grow at all without businesses actually rebuilding inventory. He said that is a positive sign of growth yet to come.
3. October 28th
Understanding Political Corruption
1. How Power Corrupts the Good
How Power Corrupts Leaders
Psychology Today, 8/8/09
Yet, leaders can delude themselves that they are working for the greater good (using socialized power), but engage in behavior that is morally wrong. A sense of power can cause a leader to engage in what leadership ethicist, Terry Price, calls "exception making" - believing that the rules that govern what is right and what is wrong does not apply to the powerful leader "for other people, this would be wrong, but because I have the best interests of my followers at heart, it's ok for me to...." During Watergate, the argument was made that President Nixon could not have acted illegally because "the President is above the law."
Leaders can also become "intoxicated" by power - engaging in wrong behavior simply because they can and they can get away with it (and followers are willing to collude and make such exceptions "It's okay because he/she is the leader").
2. Relevant Quotes
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - Lord Acton, Phrases.uk
“Politicians are a set of men who have interests aside from the interests of the people and who, to say the most of them, are, taken as a mass, at least one long step removed from honest men.” – Abraham Lincoln, LouDobbs.com
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Swine Flu Scare
1. The Swine Flu is not a "Pandemic"
Swine Flu Cases Overestimated?
Study Of State Results Finds H1N1 Not As Prevalent As Feared
CBS News
The test results reveal a pattern that surprised a number of health care professionals we consulted. The vast majority of [reported] cases were negative for H1N1 as well as seasonal flu, despite the fact that many states were specifically testing patients deemed to be most likely to have H1N1 flu, based on symptoms and risk factors, such as travel to Mexico. 
With most cases diagnosed solely on symptoms and risk factors, the H1N1 flu epidemic may seem worse than it is. It’s unknown what patients who tested negative for flu were actually afflicted with since the illness was not otherwise determined. Health experts say it’s assumed the patients had some sort of cold or upper respiratory infection that is just not influenza.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Barack Obama, The Politician
1. Lobbyists
PACs and Lobbyists Aided Obama's Rise
The Boston Globe
"The people in this stadium need to know who we're going to fight for," Obama said at Soldier Field. "The reason that I'm running for president is because of you, not because of folks who are writing big checks, and that's a clear message that has to be sent, I think, by every candidate."
But behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth. A Globe review of Obama's campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant.
In Obama's eight years in the Illinois Senate, from 1996 to 2004, almost two-thirds of the money he raised for his campaigns -- $296,000 of $461,000 -- came from PACs, corporate contributions, or unions, according to Illinois Board of Elections records. He tapped financial services firms, real estate developers, healthcare providers, oil companies, and many other corporate interests, the records show.
Obama's US Senate campaign committee, starting with his successful run in 2004, has collected $128,000 from lobbyists and $1.3 million from PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. His $1.3 million from PACs represents 8 percent of what he has raised overall. Clinton's Senate committee, by comparison, has raised $3 million from PACs, 4 percent of her total amount raised, the group said.
In addition, Obama's own federal PAC, Hopefund, took in $115,000 from 56 PACs in the 2005-2006 election cycle out of $4.4 million the PAC raised, according to CQ MoneyLine, which collects Federal Election Commission data. Obama then used those PAC contributions -- including thousands from defense contractors, law firms, and the securities and insurance industries -- to build support for his presidential run by making donations to Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country.
Obama Soften Ban on Lobbyists
The Boston Globe
During his campaign, Obama declared: "I have done more to take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race. I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House."
Obama Appoints Lobbyist to Head FCC
CNET News
Telecom policy circles are a buzz with the news of Barack Obama's pick to head the Federal Communications Commission transition team. Obama is reported to have chosen lawyer and DC insider Henry Rivera, a former Democratic FCC commissioner, lobbyist, and currently a partner at communications law firm Wiley Rein.
2. Obama Protects Bush
Obama Administration Tries to Kill E-Mail Case
New York Times
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration, siding with former President George W. Bush, is trying to kill a lawsuit that seeks to recover what could be millions of missing White House e-mails.
Two advocacy groups suing the Executive Office of the President say that large amounts of White House e-mail documenting Bush's eight years in office may still be missing, and that the government must undertake an extensive recovery effort. They expressed disappointment that Obama's Justice Department is continuing the Bush administration's bid to get the lawsuits dismissed.
3. Obama Sides with Bush: No Trials for Detainees
Obama Holds Detainee Policy in Afghanistan
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has told a federal judge that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing a key argument of former President Bush’s legal team.
In a two-sentence filing late Friday, the Justice Department said that the new administration had reviewed its position in a case brought by prisoners at the United States Air Force base at Bagram, just north of the Afghan capital. The Obama team determined that the Bush policy was correct: such prisoners cannot sue for their release.
“Having considered the matter, the government adheres to its previously articulated position,” wrote Michael F. Hertz, acting assistant attorney general.
4. Obama Keeps the Bush Administration's Defense Secretary
Defense Secretary Robert Gates was a key player in the Bush Administration; he took part in lying about WMDs, falsifying evidence to suggest that Iraq was working with Al-Qaeda, dividing up Iraqi Oil Refineries between Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, and Chevron, giving Halliburton a no-bid contract, torturing prisoners and "losing" billions of dollars in cash shipments.
Obama, Gates In Sync On Many Defense Issues
MSNBC
WASHINGTON - For a Democrat whose opposition to the Iraq war was a campaign centerpiece, President-elect Barack Obama is remarkably in sync with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on many core defense and national security issues — even Iraq.
The list of similarities suggests the early focus of Obama's Pentagon may not change dramatically from President George W. Bush's.
Given that Obama made the unprecedented decision to keep the incumbent Republican defense secretary, it would seem natural to expect that they see eye to eye on at least some major defense issues. But the extent of their shared priorities is surprising, given Obama's campaign criticisms of Bush's defense policies.
And then Obama appointed Raytheon lobbyist Bill Lynn to be Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Raytheon Profits Rise On High Missile Sales
Reuters 2/1/07
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Raytheon Co. (RTN.N) said on Thursday fourth-quarter profit rose 32 percent, meeting Wall Street's estimates, on strong sales of its air-to-air missiles and electronic battle systems.
The company, which is the No. 5 Pentagon supplier, follows other defense contractors which over the past two weeks all posted higher profits on the back of record U.S. military spending.
5. Obama's Vice-Chief of Naval Operations: Guantánamo Meets Geneva Rules
Guantanamo Detainees Treated Humanely, Pentagon Report Says
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) A new Defense Department review of detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, concludes that the operation does not torture detainees but rather treats them humanely and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
The report, released to the public Monday, was prepared for President Obama, who has ordered the closing of the facility within a year. The report, prepared by the vice chief of naval operations, Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh, was sent to the president over the weekend.
Administration Draws Fire for Report on Guantanamo
The New York Times
Admiral Walsh, appointed by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to conduct a review of Guantánamo conditions that was ordered by the president, conceded that there had been widespread accusations of violence against detainees, humiliating treatment and other abuses.
But “we found no such evidence,” he said at a Pentagon news conference.
6. Obama Administration Requested Michigan Vs. Jackson Be Overturned
[Take note that the following like leads to google's saved archive of the news article. The article itself has been deleted from the AP's website.]
Court: Suspects Can Be Interrogated Without Lawyer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a long-standing ruling that stopped police from initiating questions unless a defendant's lawyer was present, a move that will make it easier for prosecutors to interrogate suspects.
The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, overturned the 1986 Michigan v. Jackson ruling, which said police may not initiate questioning of a defendant who has a lawyer or has asked for one unless the attorney is present. The Michigan ruling applied even to defendants who agreed to talk to the authorities without their lawyers.
The Obama administration had asked the court to overturn Michigan v. Jackson, disappointing civil rights and civil liberties groups that expected President Barack Obama to reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.
[Also take note that this decision was not covered in the mainstream media.]
7. Seven Broken Promises
8. Obama Promised 5 Days to Read Bills, Gives Congress 10 Hours to Read $787 Billion Feb 09 Stimulus Bill and then Waits Four Days to Sign It
9. Obama's Signing Statements and Lack of Transparency
Signing Statements Reappear in Obama White House
The Wall Street Journal
Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws
The Wall Street Journal
10. Obama Still Working to Make His "Administration the Most Open and Transparent Administration in History"
White House Begins Publishing the Names of Visitors
CNN
Last month, Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, said records of White House visitors would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis beginning in December.
"We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most open and transparent administration in history not only by opening the doors of the White House to more Americans, but by shining a light on the business conducted inside it," he said. "Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process."
11. Obama Proposes New Unconstitutional Legal System
President’s Detention Plan Tests American Legal Tradition
New York Times
President Obama’s proposal for a new legal system in which terrorism suspects could be held in “prolonged detention” inside the United States without trial would be a departure from the way this country sees itself, as a place where people in the grip of the government either face criminal charges or walk free.
Obama Would Move Some Detainees to U.S.
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Despite stiff resistance from Congress, President Obama said Thursday that he intended to transfer some detainees from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to highly secure facilities inside the United States. He also proposed “prolonged detention” for terrorism suspects who cannot be tried, a problem he called “the toughest issue we face.”
12. Obama Breaks Health Care Promises
Five Health Care Promises Obama Won't Keep
CBS
Complete Transparency
Candidate Obama promised that health care deliberations with Congress and special interests would be transparent to the extreme.
"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are," Mr. Obama said during his Jan. 31, 2008 debate with Clinton. "Because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process. And overcoming the special interests and the lobbyists who -- Senator Clinton is right. They will resist anything that we try to do."
The president, members of Congress from both parties and special interest groups have indeed all participated in negotiations, but those conversations have not been broadcast. Instead, the president has announced deals with groups like the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry after they were worked out in backroom deals.
Allow Drug Importation
During the campaign, Mr. Obama said his plan (PDF) would "Allow consumers to import safe drugs from other countries" because "some companies are exploiting Americans by dramatically overcharging U.S. consumers."
As noted above, the Obama administration secretly conceded to forgo the importation of cheaper drugs in its deal with the pharmaceutical industry.
Obama Said He'd Televise Health Care Reform Negotiations on C-SPAN
Politifact
To achieve health care reform, "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process." - Barack Obama, Town Hall Meeting on Aug. 21, 2008, in Chester, Va.
13. Obama Administration: State Secrets
Obama Secrecy Watch II: A State Secrets Affidavit Straight from the Bush Era
Newsweek
When Attorney General Eric Holder invoked the “state secrets” privilege to quash a lawsuit alleging illegal National Security Agency spying last Friday night, his department’s lawyers sounded a lot like those who worked for President George W. Bush. In fact, they justified the action by filing an affidavit from President Obama’s director of national intelligence that is nearly identical to one filed by President Bush’s intelligence director two years ago.
The strikingly similar affidavit—making the same arguments in the almost exactly the same language—is among the strongest examples yet of how Obama administration officials are adopting Bush-era secrecy positions in major national security cases.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Bank of America's Takeover of Merill Lynch
Note: Acquisition, takeover and buyout are all synonymous. Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch has also been referred to as a merger but this is inaccurate at best; Bank of America's management took over all assets and control.
1. April 23, 2009: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis Testifies That Henry Paulson Threatened to Have Everyone on Bank of America's Board of Directors Forcibly Removed From Their Positions
Bank of America CEO Says He Was Pressured Into Merrill Rescue; Ken Lewis Says Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Threatened to Remove Board
ABC News, Richard Esposito, Betsy Stark and Charles Herman
"The CEO and Chairman of Bank of America says he was threatened by the Bush Administration's Secretary of Treasury when he tried to back out of a deal to rescue Merrill Lynch, according to testimony he gave to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The stunning disclosures of a behind the scenes power play by top government officials are the talk of Wall Street and Washington today.
In his testimony, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis told New York's Attorney General that then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson threatened him on December 21st with the prospect of removing the management and Board of Directors of the bank if Lewis refused to complete the merger with Merrill Lynch even though Merrill was hemorrhaging money."
"The documents [that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo made public] lay out in detail a troubling set of conversations, emails, and meetings in which federal regulators and senior bank officials admit that they agreed not to alert shareholders at Bank of America to circumstances that could materially affect their investments, admitted not having alerted the Securities and Exchange Commission to discussions which came within its regulatory scope, and in which Lewis, the Chief Executive Officer of a bank, admits he went forward with a deal knowing full well that it could have a negative impact on a large number of shareholders.
According to the Cuomo letter, when Lewis first learned of the "staggering amount of deterioration" at Merrill on December 14th and had decided it might warrant cancelling the deal, he notified Paulson and the Treasury Secretary asked him to fly to Washington that night.
There he met with Paulson and senior officials including Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, and was asked "to not seek to rescind the merger agreement."
But his bank came under pressure from the government in a series of follow-ups to the meeting and Lewis after attempting to resist, appears to have caved.
On December 21st, when Lewis still considered using a "material adverse event" clause to squash the deal, he told Cuomo, according to the letter [Cuomo wrote and mailed to government officials], that Paulson threatened to remove the management and Board of Directors of Bank of America. That ended Bank of America's attempts to exit the deal, the letter stated.
• During his term, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Used Threats to Ensure That Bank of America Would Takeover Merrill Lynch.
• Ben Bernanke Used Threats & Bribery to Ensure That Bank of America Would Takeover Merrill Lynch.
• The CEO of Bank of America, Ken Lewis, Illegally Withheld Vital Information from Shareholders.
• Federal Reserve Emails, Obtained By a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Subpoena, Discuss How Best to Keep the OCC and the SEC in the Dark Regarding The Takeover Deal. The Emails Also Show that Bank of America Complained About Someone at the Federal Reserve Having Talked to the SEC About the Takeover Deal.
Note: The "MAC clause" in the Bank of America contract with Merill Lynch allowed Bank of America to avoid taking over Merill Lynch because of their losing $12 Billion. The "MAC threat" is Bank of America's message to the Federal Reserve that they were considering using the MAC clause to avoid taking over the failing company.
• Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testified that Ben Bernanke instructed him to tell Bank of America's Board that they would all be fired if they backed out of the Merrill Lynch deal. Ben Bernanke denied this. Go to 1:10 of the following video and listen to Bernanke's denial. Listen to the sound of Bernanke's voice at 1:32.
Congressman Towns (D-NY) Questions Ben Bernanke
• In an email obtained by subpoena, Jeffrey Lacker (President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) wrote that Ben Bernanke told him that if Bank of America did not takeover Merill Lynch and then needed assistance "management is gone". Ben Bernanke testified that he never said that but at the same time refused to say that Jeffery Lacker was incorrect in believing that he did. Go to :47 of the following video to hear the questioning and Ben Bernanke's response.
Congressman Issa (R-CA) Questions Ben Bernanke
• On July 9th 2009 Ken Lewis
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Financial Crisis
1. No Accountability, No Oversight
Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion
Bloomberg L.P., December 12th 2008
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) - The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests.
Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: Thirty-Two Words That None Dare Utter
Huffington Post
A critical - and radical - component of the bailout package proposed by the Bush administration has thus far failed to garner the serious attention of anyone in the press. Section 8 (which ironically reminds one of the popular name of the portion of the 1937 Housing Act that paved the way for subsidized affordable housing ) of this legislation is just a single sentence of thirty-two words, but it represents a significant consolidation of power and an abdication of oversight authority that's so flat-out astounding that it ought to set one's hair on fire. It reads, in its entirety:
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."
2. Federal Reserve Inspector Coleman Does Not Know the Recipient of $1 Trillion of Bailout Funds, The Federal Reserve Losses, or The Amount of Off Balance Sheet Transactions
Rep. Alan Grayson: Alright, well... what about one trillion dollars plus in expansion of the Federal Reserve balance sheet since last September? Have you conducted any investigations regarding that?
Federal Inspector General: We...right now we have a um, it's called, we call it a review, and uh, prior to the, because of the current investigation, they have different uh connotations. We're actually conducting a fairly high level review of the various lending facilities collectively. Which would include, uh, you know the TALF, uh, a variety of the different programs that are in progress. We're looking at them at a fairly high level to identify risk.
Rep. Alan Grayson: Well, I understand that but we're talking about events that started unfolding eight months ago. Have you reached any conclusions about the Fed expanding it's balance sheet by over a trillion dollars since last September?
Federal Inspector General: We have not yet reached any conclusions.
Rep. Alan Grayson: Do you know who received that money?
Federal Inspector General: For the... we, we're in the process right now of doing our review and um...
Rep. Alan Grayson: Right, but you're the Inspector General, my ans [sic], my question specifically is do you know who received that one trillion dollars-plus that the Fed extended and put on it's balance sheet since last September? Do you know the identity of the recipient?
Federal Inspector General: I do not know. We have not looked at that specific area at this particular point on those reviews.
"The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts independent and objective audits, inspections, evaluations, investigations, and other reviews related to programs and operations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board)." - FederalReserve.Gov
About Federal Reserve Inspector General Coleman
FederalReserve.Gov
Elizabeth A. Coleman was appointed Inspector General for the Board effective May 6, 2007. In this role, Ms. Coleman leads a staff responsible for promoting economy, efficiency,and effectiveness within Board programs and operations. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is also responsible for preventing and detecting waste, fraud, and abuse at the Board, among other duties. The OIG achieves its legislative mandate through audits, evaluations, investigations, legislative reviews, and by keeping the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully informed.
Ms. Coleman joined the Board's OIG in 1989 as a senior auditor. She was promoted to program manager in 1999 and to senior program manager in 2001. She was appointed to the official staff in 2004, as the Assistant Inspector General for Communications and Quality Assurance. Over the last eight years, Ms. Coleman has worked closely with the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, a professional organization of about thirty statutory Inspectors General who are appointed by their agency heads in certain designated federal entities, including the Board.
Prior to joining the Board's staff, she was employed by the Government Accountability Office. Ms. Coleman has a BBA from James Madison University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University. She also attended the Federal Reserve System’s Trailblazers Leadership Conference. Ms. Coleman is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
3. Corporate Welfare
Hunt on For Loopholes in Obama Exec Pay Caps
MSNBC
NEW YORK - The squeeze on big paydays for executives of bailed-out banks will probably leave Wall Street plenty of wiggle room.
Consultants on executive pay say the White House caps imposed Wednesday will probably apply only to a few executives — not star traders, brokers and salespeople who routinely earn whopping pay packages.
Others note Wall Street typically finds ways to exploit loopholes and figure this time will be no different.
4. Growing Price of the Bailout
U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailout Programs
Bloomberg L.P., February 9th 2009
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation’s home mortgages.
The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the past two years and pledged up to $5.7 trillion more. The Senate is to vote this week on an economic-stimulus measure of at least $780 billion. It would need to be reconciled with an $819 billion plan the House approved last month.
Financial Rescue Nears GDP as Pledges Top $12.8 Trillion
Bloomberg L.P., March 31, 2009
March 31 (Bloomberg) - The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s.
New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation’s gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008.
5. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich
6. Federal Government Overpaid Citigroup for Securities; Citigroup Refuses to Pay Back Taxpayers
7. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit Lied About His Salary
Pandit Told Congress Compensation Was $1 Million, But Bank Filing Shows $10.8 Million
The Huffington Post, 3/5/09
Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit received nearly $11 million of compensation in 2008.
A month earlier, he testified to Congress that his compensation for 2008 was just $1 million.
"My compensation for the year 2008 was my salary, which was $1 million," he told the House Committee on Financial Services on February 11, failing to mention his sign-on and retention awards, as well as stock and option awards.
At the same hearing, Pandit pledged to accept a salary of just $1 a year and no bonus until Citibank once again posted a profit.
8. Federal Reserve Transparency Act
Audit the Federal Reserve
RonPaul.com
Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve (HR 1207) now has 190 co-sponsors, and the numbers keep growing!
This is history in the making, and victory is within reach. Imagine what will happen if HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act, comes up for vote in Congress! With more than 40% of the House of Representatives already co-sponsoring this bill, it has real potential to pass — BUT only if we educate and rally the people to support it and get our Congresspeople to put it to vote and pass it.
8. The Treasury Has $700 Billion in TARP funds to Use "Indefinitely"