The Untouchables: How the Obama administration protected Wall Street from prosecutions | Harry J Enten (updated below - Update II) PBS' Frontline program on Tuesday night broadcast a new one-hour report on one of the greatest and most shameful failings of the Obama administration: the lack of even a single arrest or prosecution of any senior Wall Street banker for the systemic fraud that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis: a crisis from which millions of people around the world are still suffering. What this program particularly demonstrated was that the Obama justice department, in particular the Chief of its Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer, never even tried to hold the high-level criminals accountable. What Obama justice officials did instead is exactly what they did in the face of high-level Bush era crimes of torture and warrantless eavesdropping: namely, acted to protect the most powerful factions in the society in the face of overwhelming evidence of serious criminality. "In 2009, Wall Street bankers were on the defensive, worried they could be held criminally liable for fraud.
Staat verliest op steun aan banken donderdag 3 jan 2013, 12:06 (Update: 03-01-13, 17:21) Jeroen Dijsselbloem ANP Nederland lijdt vanaf dit jaar verlies op de miljardensteun die aan de banken is verleend, heeft minister Dijsselbloem van Financiën gezegd. De minister zei dat op een nieuwjaarsreceptie van de PvdA in Nijmegen. De voorgangers van Dijsselbloem hebben steeds gezegd dat het geld dat in de banken is gestoken zich zou terugverdienen, maar dat is volgens de minister nu niet meer het geval. 30 miljard euro De rente die de staat moet betalen op de miljardenleningen is vanaf dit jaar hoger dan het geld dat terugvloeit naar de staatskas. De grootste lening sloot de staat af voor de 30 miljard euro die nodig was om ABN Amro te redden. Beter dan 2008 Dijsselbloem kondigde ook aan dat het nog een paar jaar gaat duren voor de banken uit de gevarenzone zijn, hoewel de sector er veel beter voorstaat dan in 2008. De minister merkte ook op dat de bevolking terecht kritisch is op de banken, maar dat de steunmaatregelen nodig waren.
Tegenlicht: Het brein van de bankier Vijf jaar na het uitbreken van de crisis is de schade nog altijd niet te overzien. Op de kredietcrisis volgden economische recessie, de eurocrisis en tergende politieke besluiteloosheid. Inmiddels zijn er analyses, rapporten, boeken en films gemaakt over hoe het financiële systeem ons in de afgrond heeft gestort en we zijn vertrouwd geraakt met begrippen als rommelhypotheken, derivaten, en bonuscultuur. Maar gek genoeg weten we heel weinig over de spelers in dat systeem -de bankiers, de traders, de bedenkers van giftige financiële producten, de Masters of the Universe: ze waren gezichtsbepalend tijdens de hoogtijdagen van de financiële boom, maar bleven grotendeels uit het zicht toen de klappen vielen. Wat weten we eigenlijk van deze nieuwe, zelfverklaarde elite, vroeg de Franse socioloog Michel Wieviorka zich eerder af in Metamorfose van een crisis. De bevindingen van Joris Luyendijk staan centraal in de extra Tegenlichtuitzending van dinsdag 1 januari 2013.
The Ritz has not paid corporation tax in 17 years, BBC Panorama probe reveals The documentary claims the world-famous London hotel has taken advantage of tax reliefs to cut its bill to nothing The Ritz Hotel, where suites cost up to £3,600 a night, has paid no corporation tax in the UK since is was taken over by the billionaire Barclay twins 17 years ago. The revelation comes in a BBC Panorama probe into the reclusive businessmen to be shown tonight. The documentary, called The Tax Haven Twins, claims the world-famous London hotel has taken advantage of tax reliefs to cut its bill to nothing. Although the corporation tax bill of zero is legal, it is not likely to prove popular with the public following backlashes against Starbucks and Amazon. Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, 78, who are said to be worth more than £2billion, allegedly run their affairs from tax haven Monaco and their private island in the Channel Islands, Brecqhou. The cash is said to be interest owed after a VAT rebate, and if the firm wins it could open the doors to other claims worth billions.
Bundesbank questions basis for EU bank union - report BERLIN Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:32am GMT BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's central bank has serious reservations about the legal framework for creating a broad banking union in Europe, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday, citing an opinion from lawyers at the Bundesbank. The report reflects Bundesbank scepticism about a banking union - combining joint supervision of lenders, a scheme to wind down troubled banks and shared insurance of deposits - that aims to break the link between ailing banks and state finances. The Bundesbank was not immediately available for comment. The Bundesbank has in the past complained about - but not been able to block - a range of measures designed to tackle the euro zone debt crisis, such as having the European Central Bank (ECB) buy bonds of struggling euro zone member countries. After an initial review of results from last week's summit of EU leaders, Bundesbank lawyers found the banking union project lacks "a sustainably sound legal basis", Der Spiegel said.
Lobbyismus: Unter Steinbrück schrieben Banken selbst das Steuergesetz | Wirtschaft Für eine Gesetzesänderung haben Mitarbeiter des Finanzministeriums Schriften des Verbandes deutscher Banken übernommen. Chef des Ministeriums war damals Peer Steinbrück. Speichern Drucken Twitter Facebook Google + Die Beamten des Bundesfinanzministeriums haben sich 2006 von Lobbyisten des Bankgewerbes die Hand führen lassen. Aufgefallen war dies im Rahmen eines Ermittlungsverfahrens der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Frankfurt gegen Mitarbeiter und einen großen Kunden der HypoVereinsbank wegen des Verdachts des Steuerbetrugs bei Aktiengeschäften. Anzeige Nach Ansicht von Steuerprofessoren haben die damaligen Gesetzesänderungen das Problem im Zusammenhang mit der Erstattung von Kapitalertragsteuern sogar noch verschärft.
Bank Charter Act 1844 The Bank Charter Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 32) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which restricted the powers of British banks and gave exclusive note-issuing powers to the central Bank of England.[1] It is one of the Bank of England Acts 1694 to 1892.[2] Purpose[edit] Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks in Britain and Ireland were able to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation.[3] Under the Act, no bank other than the Bank of England could issue new banknotes, and issuing banks would have to withdraw their existing notes in the event of their being the subject of a takeover. The Act was a victory for the British currency school, who argued that the issue of new banknotes was a major cause of price inflation. As a result of the Act, as provincial banking companies merged to form larger banks, they lost their right to issue notes. See also[edit]
Global Economy Distress 3.0 Looms as Emerging Markets Fal The global economy is facing its third major brake on expansion in five years as emerging markets slow from China to Brazil, provoking debate about how much policy makers should respond. Three years after industrializing nations led the world out of the U.S. mortgage meltdown-induced recession, the reliability of the power source is waning as Europe’s debt crisis persists. The International Monetary Fund sees them growing an average 5.8 percent in the half-decade through 2016, almost two percentage points less than the five years before the 2009 slump. Finance chiefs at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings left Tokyo this weekend at odds over how to address the issue, with South Korea’s central bank chief urging Asia to add stimulus as Russia and Brazil called on rich nations to fix their own challenges. A commuter is reflected on a Nasdaq ticker in Hong Kong on Wednesday October 10, 2012. A commuter is reflected on a Nasdaq ticker in Hong Kong on Wednesday October 10, 2012. Close Open