Wall Street Journal: ‘Blame the Regulators’ Chutz-pah′: killing your parents, then throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you’re an orphan. So, according to The Wall Street Journal, who’s to blame for the still-missing $1 billion of client funds at now-bankrupt MF Global? Not the company’s senior management, led by CEO Jon Corzine,...Read More
No Longer AWOL on Financial Reform Notwithstanding a very long public record of Wall Street self-dealing, treachery, and greed on a scale never before witnessed in American (world?) history, New York Times columnist (and St. Louis Park native) Tom Friedman has been silent on the need for systemic financial and political reform. Until today. Our Congress...Read More
The “RoboCop Solution” to the Financial Crisis When it comes to holding the citizenry hostage, owners of pro baseball and football franchises have nothing on Wall Street. The former, of course, have refined to an art form the practice of extorting tax dollars from cities and counties to build ever more expensive (and grandiose) sports palaces. The pitch?...Read More
Regular readers know that I don’t make market predictions — stocks or housing. However . . . given the carnage last week on Wall Street, you’d certainly except a “respite rally” sometime soon (also called a “bounce” — or, depending on the overall environment and what happens next, a “dead cat bounce”). In the meantime,...Read More
Side Effects & Symptoms What’s going on with the haywire stock market? No one can say for sure — and it’s likely multiple causes, anyway. But here’s a (rather roundabout) theory. What’s happening now with the stock market — indeed, the entire economy — is a symptom, a side effect. Zero percent interest rates, high...Read More
“Nice . . . uh, Gig?!?” In 1998, I was gleaning the want ads and found a position for a Private Chef for a family…. I am presently one of 9 employees who work at their house. The place is huge and it is just the 2 of them. I cook dinner only 6 days...Read More
