Financial sector spent $5 bln lobbying DC last decade: Report
By Greg Morcroft, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. financial services firms spent more than $5 billion on lobbying and political donations between 1998 and 2008, and won fights on regulatory and political matters that contributed to the current financial collapse, according to a report from two watchdog groups. Essential Information, and the Consumer Education Foundation, reported that banks, investment firms and others made $1.7 billion of political contributions, and spent $3.4 billion on lobbying efforts in the last decade. The report, titled, "Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America," identified roughly 3,000 officially registered lobbyists working for the financial services industry in 2007. "These companies drew heavily from government in choosing their lobbyists. The securities industry, which topped all contributors to politicians, spent just over half a billion dollars on political contributions during the last decade, according to the report's authors.
Where's My Super-Cheap Mortgage?
By AnnaMaria Andriotis With mortgage rates at a 50-year low and banks near his Brookline, N.H., home touting offers of 4% or less, Tom Rogers thought it would be a perfect time to refinance. But in spite of a solid credit score, after an exhaustive survey of lenders in the area and online, Mr. Rogers couldn't find a single one willing to give him such a rock-bottom rate. He eventually settled for a mortgage almost a full percentage point higher than what he had hoped for. "I was annoyed," he says. It is an increasingly common frustration. While there is always a spread -- not all borrowers qualify for the lowest rate, after all -- it is usually much smaller: An average spread is usually around 0.40 percentage point. The bigger discrepancy of late has little to do with borrowers' credit scores, which historically have largely decided what rates lenders choose to offer. Lenders say they haven't lowered rates further because, simply, they don't have to.
Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for American Revolution
Chris Hedges: Occupy Wall Street is ‘where the hope of America lies’ | Raw Replay
Journalist Chris Hedges put in an appearance at the Occupy Wall Street protest on Sunday morning and engaged in a lengthy interview, during which he described the protest as “really where the hope of America lies.” Hedges was particularly impressed by the significance of Saturday’s mass arrests on the part of the New York Police Department. He told the interviewer, “The real people who are scared are the power elite. Of course, they’re trying to make you scared and us scared. Hedges went on to say that the protesters should be seen as “conservatives” because “they call for the restoration of the rule of law.” “The real radicals have seized power,” he asserted, “and they are decimating all impediments to the creation of a neo-feudalistic corporate state, one in which there is a rapacious oligarchic class, a thin managerial elite, and two-thirds of this country live in conditions that increasingly push families to subsistence level.”
.:Plata:.
The abandonment of the gold standard in 1971 is closely tied to the massive unemployment the industrialized world has suffered in recent years; Mexico, even with a lower level of industrialization than the developed countries, has also lost jobs due to the closing of industries; in recent years, the creation of new jobs in productive activities has been anemic at best. The world’s financial press, in which leading economists and analysts publish their work, never examines the relationship between the abandonment of the gold standard and unemployment, de-industrialization, and the huge chronic export deficits of the Western world powers. Might it be due to ignorance? We are reluctant to think so, given that the articles appearing in the world’s leading financial publications are written by quite intelligent analysts. World trade before 1971 To be precise, we cannot fail to mention one exception. The US did nothing to slow the loss of gold. Consequences of abandoning the gold standard
Daily Speculations
Mar March 10, 2015 | 1 Comment Nothing highlights the effect of currency moves like foreign travel. The dollar had a major upmove this past year against major currencies. A 20% discount on everything is notable when traveling. I'm in Japan now where everything is cheap to begin with (I guess due to deflation) and subtracting another 5th is amazing. March 9, 2015 | 13 Comments Kindly vote for the best entry to "what is a trader" contest. March 9, 2015 | 70 Comments I'm holding a snap contest with a $ 1,500 reward. [Sorry, the contest is now closed. March 9, 2015 | Leave a Comment I thought this was a very good paper with market parallels. Abstract: Because members of the public have difficulty understanding risk presented in terms of odds ratios (e.g., 1 in 1000) and in comparing odds ratios from different hazards, we examined the use of time intervals between expected harmful events to communicate risk. Isomorphisms writes: David Spiegelhalter did a video on millimorts and micromorts. 1. 2. 3.
Occupy San Diego
The Independent Institute
Occupying Wall Street
JANUARY 04, 2012 by SHELDON RICHMAN The Occupy Wall Street agenda is vague, but the protesters at least have the good sense to know that something is awry with the political-economic system we labor under. Protesters carried a variety of signs, one of which stated, “End corporate welfare.” The Associated Press reported, “Demonstrators said Saturday they were protesting against bank bailouts and the mortgage crisis.” One 21-year-old man told the AP, “The enemy is the big business leaders of Wall Street, the big oil company leaders, the coal company leaders, the big military industrial leaders.” Considering the housing and financial debacle that began in 2008, the continuing hardship it unleashed, the fortunes made in the run-up to the bust, and the tax-financed bailouts that followed, what’s wrong with feeling that “the system” has done a number on most Americans? Note that in the young man’s statement above, one word is glaringly absent: government. This was no anomaly.
The Zurich Axioms
Max Gunther set forth basic trading principles called The Zurich Axioms: On Risk: - Worry is not a sickness but a sign of health – if you are not worried, you are not risking enough. - Always play for meaningful stakes – if an amount is so small that its loss won’t make any significant difference, then it isn’t likely to bring any significant gains either. - Resist the allure of diversification. On Greed: - Always take your profit too soon. - Decide in advance what gain you want from a venture, and when you get it, get out. On Hope: - When the ship starts sinking, don’t pray. Jump. - Accept small losses cheerfully as a fact of life. On Forecasts: - Human behaviour cannot be predicted. On Mobility: - Avoid putting down roots. On Intuition: - A hunch can be trusted if it can be explained. - Never confuse a hunch with a hope. On the Occult: - If astrology worked, all astrologers would be rich. - A superstition need not be exorcised. On Consensus: - Disregard the majority opinion.
