High and Dry — and Light “Goldman Sachs is good at disaster preparedness ” too good.” –Jessica Pressler, “Goldman Has the Power“; New York magazine (11/3/2012). The word last week from some reliable sources — my sister, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law — was that, in the wake of Sandy’s storm surge, Manhattan was light above 30th...Read More
Selling Tainted, Addictive Products [Editor’s Note: Given the spate of financial corruption stories lately — did they ever really stop? — I thought I’d re-run a post from almost three(!) years ago making clear where my sympathies lie. Not that regular readers of this blog don’t already know.] What’s the difference between drug dealers and...Read More
Lloyd Blankfein’s Very Well-Qualifed Attorney It isn’t clear precisely why [Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd] Blankfein hired Reid Weingarten, who focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense. –“Goldman Officers Lawyer Up“; The Wall Street Journal (8/23/2011) It “isn’t clear” why Blankfein hired his own counsel? Really?? After countless allegations of corporate fraud, misrepresentation, self-dealing, front-running, perjury and other illegal —...Read More
The Quick & Simple Way to Fix Wall Street[Editor’s Note: in a post last week, “Financier, Heal Thyself? Don’t Count On It,” I promised a part 2. This is it. Heads up: if you read this blog purely for real estate content, or want a post with a little levity — skip this one.] Want...Read More
Wall St. Pay: the (Dis)Honor System Lives! So, how do people on Wall Street — and their defenders, like The Wall Street Journal — define “restraint?” A. Turning down the heat to 65 degrees.B. Cancelling their cable subscription.C. Taking public transportation to work, instead of the car.D. Paying one’s self only $9 million, instead of...Read More
Keith Ellison vs. Lloyd Blankfein Even if Congress was scrupulously independent of Wall Street — which is hardly the case — it would be no match for Wall Street when it came to drafting legislation that made the financial system fairer and more transparent. The problem is a combination of priorities and expertise. To take...Read More
