Did Wells Fargo Management Know? Should They Have?? [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] Unh-unh. Wrong answer. When you get paid almost $20 million a year to manage banking behemoth Wells Fargo, you don’t get to say...Read More
Lehman’s “Not So Big” $600,000,000,000(!) Balance Sheet “The 2008 financial crisis itself was centered not on big banks but on “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers that weren’t necessarily that big.” –Paul Krugman, “Sanders Over the Edge”; The NYT (4/8/2016) No matter what you think of big banks or who caused The 2008 Crash, I think...Read More
Dubious Campaign Promises — Exhibit A; How Many Loopholes Can YOU Spot? “If they’re too big to fail, make ’em smaller.” –George Shultz, Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of State (and a former Treasury Secretary). At least in some parts of the country, Hillary Clinton’s thread-the-needle comment about big banks last week would be met with a...Read More
Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For an Apology [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] Your company’s breathtaking recklessness, greed, and — above all — stupidity(!) blow a $200 billion hole in its balance sheet, threatening the global...Read More
“For Better” . . . For Now “The person, group, idea or object that for better or for worse . . . has done the most to influence the events of the year.” –Time magazine’s criteria for selecting its “Person of the Year.” My selection for 2013 person of the year is Federal Reserve Chair...Read More
“The Wealth of Nations,” Updated — Repairing and Renewing America’s “Social Capital” “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.” –President John Kennedy * * * * * “Tens of millions of ordinary Americans will never recover from the financial collapse of 2007-09, a tragedy that spread misery around the world and cost U.S. households...Read More
