Too Big To Succeed

Bank deposits of over €100,000 may be at permanent risk in Europe

"Deposits of over €100,000 are likely to be hit in the event of future European bank collapses, according to a proposal put forward by the Irish presidency of the European Council ahead of a key meeting of finance ministers next week. Discussions on the controversial bank resolution regime, which is likely to see savers with deposits over €100,000 'bailed in' as part of future bank wind-downs, are due to intensify this week in Brussels, ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, which will be chaired by Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank deposits of over €100,000 may be at permanent risk in Europe

Government Agencies Failed, so We Must Give Them Even More Authority

"'Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. … An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.' Americans have spent trillions of dollars in the name of 'fighting terrorism,' yet we are told that truly all of the king's horses and all of the king's men could not stop a couple of young men from exploding bombs at a major American sporting event. What is Thomas's response? The American State obviously needs more power and more authority." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment Agencies Failed, so We Must Give Them Even More Authority

Twitter flash crash: Fake White House bomb report causes stock market panic

"A tweet from The Associated Press Twitter account claiming the White House had been bombed caused investors to suddenly push the Dow down more than 100 points in two minutes Tuesday before it became clear the report was untrue and AP's account had been hacked. Reaction on the stock market was swift, as what had been a mildly positive day on the Dow Jones quickly turned negative, with America's benchmark stock index losing more than 134 points or more than a full per cent of its value in a matter of seconds. Reports suggest more than $20 billion worth of equity positions changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange during the brief trading hiccup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwitter flash crash: Fake White House bomb report causes stock market panic

Top Treasury Official: ‘Too Big to Fail’ Bailouts Are Over

"U.S. banks won’t be rescued by taxpayers, U.S. Treasury Department official Mary Miller said, rebutting investor skepticism that some lenders are too large to be allowed to fail. 'With respect to this understanding of too-big-to-fail, let me be very clear: It is wrong.' 'No financial institution, regardless of its size, will be bailed out by taxpayers again,' Miller said at a conference in New York. 'Shareholders of failed companies will be wiped out; creditors will absorb losses; culpable management will not be retained and may have their compensation clawed back.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop Treasury Official: ‘Too Big to Fail’ Bailouts Are Over

Now It’s The Netherlands’s Turn

"The Netherlands, Berlin's most important ally in pushing for greater budgetary discipline in Europe, has fallen into an economic crisis itself. The once exemplary economy is suffering from huge debts and a burst real estate bubble, which has stalled growth and endangered jobs. No nation in the euro zone is as deeply in debt as the Netherlands, where banks have a total of about €650 billion in mortgage loans on their books ..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow It’s The Netherlands’s Turn

Another Federal Housing Bailout: FHA Needs $943 Million

"What’s the problem at the FHA? It’s almost out of money. But what about all those loans it made? Too many of them have gone bad. Sorry about that. For four years, the FHA has assured Congress that this was not a problem. Sorry about that. What will Congress do about that? Hand out our money, of course. Congress will blame the FHA for making all those bad loans. It will blame the FHA for having misinformed Congress. Then it will reward the FHA to the tune of about a billion dollars. Lesson: nothing succeeds like failure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Federal Housing Bailout: FHA Needs $943 Million

Detlev Schlichter: Good riddance to deposit ‘insurance’

"Although the mechanics of fractional-reserve banking have not changed in 300 years the public’s expectations have evidently changed greatly. Today banks are expected to lend ever more generously while depositors are supposed to not incur any risk of loss at all. State deposit 'insurance' is not insurance. Insurance companies calculate and calibrate risks, charge the insured party and set aside capital for when the insured event occurs. A state deposit ‘guarantee’ is simply another unfunded government promise, extended in the hope that things won’t get that bad. When they finally do the state does what it always does: it will take from Peter to pay Paul." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetlev Schlichter: Good riddance to deposit ‘insurance’

Americans Can Be Executed Without Charges — But Criminal Banks Can’t Be Prosecuted

"On the same day that Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was filibustering the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA over the nominee’s involvement in lethal drone strikes, Attorney General Eric Holder defended arbitrary power before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As we noted earlier, Holder told the Committee that any Congressional action to restrict the targeted killing program would represent an unconstitutional limitation of presidential powers. In the same hearing, Holder said that some corrupt banks are simply too big to prosecute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans Can Be Executed Without Charges — But Criminal Banks Can’t Be Prosecuted

Ex-Goldman Sachs trader charged with $118 million trading fraud

"A former trader with US banking giant Goldman Sachs was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges of fraud linked to a scheme to hide an $8 billion futures bet, officials said. The federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan said Taylor was due to appear before a judge on the charges 'in connection with a scheme to accumulate and conceal an unauthorized $8 billion position in a trading account that he managed at Goldman, Sachs & Co.' In November, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed a civil suit accusing Taylor of defrauding his employer 'by intentionally concealing… the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Goldman Sachs trader charged with $118 million trading fraud

Dead Letter Office: Even U.S. Government Doesn’t Use the U.S. Postal Service

"How bad is the United States Postal Service? In order to get a straight answer on this, ask the federal government. The federal government uses the Postal Service 2% of the time. Here is an agency that is so utterly incompetent that the United States government will not use it. How’s that for a testimonial? Here is an agency run by the government that the rest of the agencies regard as so utterly unreliable and expensive, that they refuse to use it. The Postal Service has had a monopoly over first-class mail ever since the time of Benjamin Franklin. That is the longest monopoly in American history. Yet it cannot persuade the federal government to use it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDead Letter Office: Even U.S. Government Doesn’t Use the U.S. Postal Service