[ekim68]

Looks like the bulk of it has to do with the Bush tax-cuts...

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Looks like the bulk of it has to do with the Bush tax-cuts...

Those "tricle down" tax cuts?

[poochee]

I.M.F. Names New Leader
By AL BAKER and STEVEN ERLANGER
William K. Rashbaum and Colin Moynihan contributed reporting
Published: May 15, 2011

Hours after its chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in connection with the alleged sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, the International Monetary Fund on Sunday named John Lipsky as acting managing director.

Mr. Lipsky, the I.M.F.’s first deputy managing director, is a former U.S. Treasury executive and onetime banker at JP Morgan. William Murray, an I.M.F. spokesman, said that Mr. Lipsky, who has been overseeing the logistics of the bailout of the Greek economy, would meet with members of the I.M.F. board in Washington later in the day, according to Reuters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/ny...ewanted=2&_r=1

[poochee]

IMF chief denied bail in hotel sex assault case
He won't be able to take it on the lam back to France.
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
The Associated Press, NBC News and Reuters contributed to this report.
updated 4 minutes ago 2011-05-16T17:01:47

A tired and grim-looking IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn appeared before Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson to answer to charges that include attempted rape.

The judge granted prosecutors' request to hold Strauss-Kahn without bail and set the next court date for May 20.

Prosecutors had argued he might flee to France if he were released on bail. They said preliminary forensic evidence will validate the victim's claims.

Defense lawyers suggested bail be set at $1 million, saying Strauss-Kahn denies any wrongdoing and is cooperating with investigators. One of his lawyer's, Ben Brafman, said it was "quite likely he will be exonerated.'' Strauss-Kahn will testify he was having lunch at the time the woman alleges she was attacked, his lawyers said.

.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43043502...me_and_courts/

[ekim68]

Time for Financial Regulators to Limit Speculation in Oil Market

The big fluctuations in the price of crude oil over the last several weeks gave fresh evidence of the ever increasing influence of speculators on the price every day Americans pay for gasoline. It is long past time for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) to limit the influence of speculators on the oil market - and the pocket books of American consumers.

Big price swings show just how little the major fluctuations in the oil market track the underlying fundamentals of supply and demand. Those fundamentals did not provide any justification for a ten percent decline in prices that occurred last week - any more than they justified the earlier 25% plus run up in prices that has resulted in $4.00 to $4.50 per gallon gasoline across the United States.

The speculative bubble in oil prices that has driven up gas prices this Spring has cost Americans billions of dollars - money that goes directly into the pockets of speculators, multi-national oil companies and the bank accounts of royal families in countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Time for Financial Regulators to Limit Speculation in Oil Market

Yep!

[poochee]

Shahien Nasiripour
Confidential Federal Audits Accuse Five Biggest Mortgage Firms Of Defrauding Taxpayers [EXCLUSIVE]
Why am I not suprised?
First Posted: 05/16/11 04:42 PM ET Updated: 05/16/11 05:19 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- A set of confidential federal audits accuse the nation’s five largest mortgage companies of defrauding taxpayers in their handling of foreclosures on homes purchased with government-backed loans, four officials briefed on the findings told The Huffington Post.

The five separate investigations were conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general and examined Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial, the sources said.

The audits accuse the five major lenders of violating the False Claims Act, a Civil War-era law crafted as a weapon against firms that swindle the government. The audits were completed between February and March, the sources said. The internal watchdog office at HUD referred its findings to the Department of Justice, which must now decide whether to file charges.

The federal audits mark the latest fallout from the national foreclosure crisis that followed the end of a long-running housing bubble. Amid reports last year that many large lenders improperly accelerated foreclosure proceedings by failing to amass required paperwork, the federal agencies launched their own probes.

MUCH MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._content=Title

[eggplant43]

Let them reap, what they so richly deserve.

[ekim68]

You know? It's time to let "Too Big To Fail" fail....It's not doing the planet any good...

[eggplant43]

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/sp-c...inance+Blog%29

[poochee]

Interesting chart.

[poochee]

Ex-Enron Financial Chief Andrew Fastow Moved To Halfway House
05/18/11 01:14 PM ET AP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_863457.html

[ekim68]

New York City Says "Make Banks and Millionaires Pay Their Fair Share"

This cycle seems to be wearing itself thin. The six largest banks in the US (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) are now collectively making over $199 million per day in profits. Are these not some of the same banks that were on the brink of collapse just a short while ago? Well, they seem to be recovering from the “financial crisis” they caused just fine.

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

New York City Says "Make Banks and Millionaires Pay Their Fair Share"

Yep!

[ekim68]

Report blames Massey for W.Va. mine explosion

Just doing business in the USA....