Daily Archives: August 4, 2013

JPMorgan’s Latest Guilt-Free Payoff

"There was that awful phrase again, in JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s settlement with U.S. energy regulators: The company 'neither admits nor denies the violations.' The $410 million pact between JPMorgan and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission doesn't do much good for the rest of us. For years the Securities and Exchange Commission has been the agency that gets the most criticism for these sorts of 'no-admit' settlements. The SEC has long defended their use by pointing, in part, to the many federal agencies that routinely do the same thing. The energy regulators just gave the SEC a new high-profile example." Continue reading →

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JPMorgan: $7 Billion In “Fines” In Just The Past Two Years

"While JPM's precarious balance sheet was no surprise to anyone (holding over $50 trillion in gross notional derivatives will make fragile fools of the best of us), what has become a bigger problem for Dimon is that slowly but surely JPM has not only become a bigger litigation magnet than Bank of America, but questions are now emerging if all of the firm's recent success wasn't merely due to crime. Crime of the kind that 'nobody accept or denies guilt' of course - i.e., completely victimless. Except for all the fines and settlements. Here is a summary of JPM's recent exorbitant and seemingly endless fines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJPMorgan: $7 Billion In “Fines” In Just The Past Two Years

Somalis Face a Snag in Lifelines From Abroad

"Humanitarian groups, politicians and Somalis themselves are now sounding the alarm over plans by the British bank Barclays to suspend the accounts of a number of money transfer companies used to send money to developing countries — rather than risk a run-in with regulators over potentially abetting the financing of terrorists or money laundering. The looming cutoff, expected to occur next Saturday, comes at a time when more and more Somalis have returned from abroad to invest in their home country, build new businesses and jump-start the nation’s economy after years of chaos." Continue reading →

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Satoshi Nakamoto: Natural Elite to the Rescue

"As the financial world melted down in 2008, a person or group of people developed the cyber-currency Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. This innovation epitomizes the natural elite in action. This brilliant work, done anonymously, is, after only four years, providing a sound alternative to debauched government currencies. No political grandstanding. No interviews from Capitol Hill. No ghost-written rants in the Wall Street Journal. No horse trading or sausage making. This is the simple creation of a product to satisfy human desires. A product people trade with voluntarily, not through the force of legal tender laws." Continue reading →

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Farm Fresh Food with Bitcoin – La Nay Ferme help Beccy & Austin eat!

"Austin & Beccy Craig relish the chance to purchase fresh produce and eat real food with bitcoin. They buy a share in a local CSA, La Nay Ferme in Provo, Utah (CSA=Community Supported Agriculture). The farm's owner Clint shares his philosophy about food, about community, about money, and about bitcoin. Life On Bitcoin is a documentary film project about intrepid newlyweds Austin & Beccy Craig who are living the first 90 days of their married lives only on bitcoin. They are asking businesses all around where they live to accept bitcoin. They will also be traveling using bitcoin." Continue reading →

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Oakland’s creepy new surveillance program

"The so-called Domain Awareness Center (DAC) would consolidate a vast network of surveillance data. The project was initially supposed to be about port security. But in a classic illustration of mission creep, the project as proposed would have pulled in over 1,000 cameras and sensors pointed at Oakland residents, including 700 cameras in Oakland schools. The DAC would enable the city to track individuals when they visit the abortion clinic, the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, or the union hall, or engage in other private activities. Disappointingly, and in the face of enormous opposition, the City Council voted on Tuesday to approve the DAC." Continue reading →

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“U.S. homeland security has forced terrorist groups to target Americans overseas”

"Increased security in the U.S. has forced terrorist groups to target Americans overseas instead. 'The enemy is going to find an easier way. They’re gonna find softer targets, they’re gonna find ways that they can hurt us and it may not be bringing it to America in hijacked airplanes. It may be doing things when we’re not looking, in places that are vulnerable and every embassy is vulnerable if you think about it,' said Smullen. The government has also issued a global travel warning for all Americans overseas. It will remain active until at least August 31st." Continue reading →

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