White Shoe Boys

Lawyers’ Heaven: Big Banks’ Legal Bills Total $100 Billion.

"The six biggest U.S. banks, led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp., have piled up $103 billion in legal costs since the financial crisis, more than all dividends paid to shareholders in the past five years. Bank of America, led by Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan increased its legal costs by $3.3 billion in the first half to a total of $19.1 billion. That’s the amount allotted to lawyers and litigation, as well as for settling claims about shoddy mortgages and foreclosures, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The sum, equivalent to spending $51 million a day, is enough to erase everything the banks earned for 2012." Continue reading →

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JP Morgan fines may hit $600 million

"JP Morgan's penalties to resolve various probes of the 'London whale' trading fiasco are expected to total $500 million to $600 million, according to people close to the situation. US and UK officials for months have been considering the possibility of a global settlement that would resolve all the probes at once, said another person familiar with the matter. Exact terms aren't known and no final decisions have been reached. Any settlement might include the filing of civil charges alleging that JP Morgan failed to supervise adequately former traders responsible for the bets and lacked sufficient controls to prevent an alleged cover-up of the losses, people close to the investigations said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJP Morgan fines may hit $600 million

Ugly Americans Book: Eight Rules of Carney

"I’ve been falling behind on my book reviews. Here’s an older book I found that made for good airplane reading – Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions by Ben Mezrich. The book is supposedly based on the true story of young, male hedge fund traders during the mid-1990s Asian stock market boom who take big risks, make big money, meet beautiful women, don’t care about ethics… and after all that testosterone there’s the usual bit of self-reflection at the end. A major part of the plot even managed to involve boring ole’ index funds! One of the main characters was head trader Dean Carney, who had his '8 Rules of Carney'." Continue reading →

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Cody Willard: Game plan for a completely corrupted market

"So, what’s the game plan? It remains the same. You want to remain net long those inflated stocks for at least a while longer, but much less aggressively long than we were two and three years ago when stock prices were much lower. You want to keep buying and scaling into more real physical gold and silver (and a tiny position in Bitcoins too). Coins and bullion that you have stored yourself somewhere safe (not a paper promise, but the real stuff that you can hold). You want to start shorting Treasurys, but not rush into a big position anytime soon. The trends and systems and bubbles we’re seeing in front of us presently can last much longer than most bears thinks possible." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCody Willard: Game plan for a completely corrupted market

Immense, Needless Human Misery Caused by Speculative Credit Bubbles

"Speculative bubbles based solely on cash have very short lifespans, as the bubble bursts violently as soon as the gamblers' cash has been sucked into the vortex. Truly devastating speculative bubbles require a vast expansion of credit and the corruption of the political class that feeds off the state. As Credit is ultimately managed by the state, central banks and the banking cartel, no speculative credit bubble can arise without the complicity and collaboration of all three. The destructive incentives, corruption and erosion of productive investment are masked by the rapidly rising phantom wealth created by the bubble in real estate and stocks." Continue reading →

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UK’s former top drug official: Coke-head bankers caused financial crisis

"The former top drugs adviser to Britain’s parliament told UK newspaper The Telegraph on Sunday that risk-taking behaviors behind the financial crisis of 2008 were driven by excessive cocaine consumption by the world’s banking elite. Nutt was fired from his post as Britain’s top drugs adviser in 2009, after he criticized the government’s drug policies for inhibiting research into Schedule I substances like psilocybin, which Nutt has studies for its potential to alleviate symptoms of depression. At the time he’d said that consuming the unadulterated, pure form of the drug ecstasy is safer than riding a horse. Nutt was ordered to apologize for his statement on ecstasy." Continue reading →

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Bank of America intern’s death puts banks’ working culture in spotlight

"Moritz Erhardt, 21, had won a place as a summer intern at the London city offices of the US bank and was nearing the end of his placement when he was found dead in the shower at his temporary accommodation in east London. Merrill Lynch did not comment on the length of Erhardt's working hours, and also declined to comment on whether interns – who are understood to be paid £45,000 pro rata – are routinely made to work longer than 12-hour days. A fellow intern at the bank described the aspiring student as a 'superstar', adding: 'He worked very hard and was very focused. We typically work 15 hours a day or more and you would not find a harder worker than him.'" Continue reading →

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Argentina Just Lost Huge To A Bunch Of Hedge Fund Creditors

"For years the country has been trying to avoid paying a bunch of 'vulture' hedge fund managers that refused to take a 70% haircut on Argentine bonds like every other investor. This has resulted in some wacky news items — Paul Singer getting the government of Ghana to impound an Argentine naval ship last October, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner flying commercial to see the Pope so her jet isn't taken — you get the idea. Now it's (almost) come to a head. A New York Judge fully rejected Argentina's appeal of a decision made last year — a decision that would've had it pay Singer and company in full." Continue reading →

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Brazil Halts Muni Market as Banks Collect $140 Mln Fees

"A year after it began, Brazil’s municipal bond market has been brought to a standstill by the federal government after Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Bank of America Corp. provoked a backlash by collecting $140 million in fees from the first two borrowings. Brazilian Treasury officials, who approve state financing requests and provide guarantees backing loans, are starting to demand terms to curb the profits, seeking to protect taxpayers from being exploited and to limit their own borrowing costs while alienating bankers in the process." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrazil Halts Muni Market as Banks Collect $140 Mln Fees

Taper Is Coming. Stock Market Rises.

"Yesterday, the stock market rallied a little. The explanation, according to a Reuters story, is that there are signs that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering in September. As you will recall, for six consecutive days, the stock market tanked. The explanation for the tanking was this: the expectation was that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering in September. This expectation was based on a careful reading of the minutes, which said the FED will not change its present policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaper Is Coming. Stock Market Rises.