Displaying items by tag: fraud

I have warned my readers about following myths and legends versus reality and facts several times in the past, particularly as it applies to Goldman Sachs and what I have coined "Name Brand Investing". Very recent developments from Senator Kaufman of Delaware will be putting the spit-shined patina of Wall Street's most powerful bank to the test. Here is a link to the speech that the esteemed Senator from Delaware (yes, the most corporate friendly state in this country). A few excerpts to liven up your morning...

Mr. President, last Thursday, the bankruptcy examiner for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. released a 2,200 page report about the demise of the firm which included riveting detail on the firm’s accounting practices.  That report has put in sharp relief what many of us have expected all along:  that fraud and potential criminal conduct were at the heart of the financial crisis.

...  Only further investigation will determine whether the individuals involved can be indicted and convicted of criminal wrongdoing.

I have warned my readers about following myths and legends versus reality and facts several times in the past, particularly as it applies to Goldman Sachs and what I have coined "Name Brand Investing". Very recent developments from Senator Kaufman of Delaware will be putting the spit-shined patina of Wall Street's most powerful bank to the test. Here is a link to the speech that the esteemed Senator from Delaware (yes, the most corporate friendly state in this country). A few excerpts to liven up your morning...

Mr. President, last Thursday, the bankruptcy examiner for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. released a 2,200 page report about the demise of the firm which included riveting detail on the firm’s accounting practices.  That report has put in sharp relief what many of us have expected all along:  that fraud and potential criminal conduct were at the heart of the financial crisis.

...  Only further investigation will determine whether the individuals involved can be indicted and convicted of criminal wrongdoing.

 Johnathan Weill has an excellent article on Bloomberg today illustrating just how BS the BS FASB accounting changes regarding mark-to-market really were. For all of those who wondered why I have stayed so bearish on the banks, stay tuned, but before we read this oh so interesting story, let me provide you with a graphical recollection of recent history via this chart sourced from Bloomberg:

If the engineered bear market rally is running off of the FASB generated lies, then we certainly do have another crash coming, don't we?

 Johnathan Weill has an excellent article on Bloomberg today illustrating just how BS the BS FASB accounting changes regarding mark-to-market really were. For all of those who wondered why I have stayed so bearish on the banks, stay tuned, but before we read this oh so interesting story, let me provide you with a graphical recollection of recent history via this chart sourced from Bloomberg:

If the engineered bear market rally is running off of the FASB generated lies, then we certainly do have another crash coming, don't we?

I could have sworn that I posted I was taken small positions against the publicly rated ratings agencies a month or so ago, but when I searched for the post to comment on it I couldn't find it. My apologies. Well, it seems as if the chickens have come home to roost for this group, and none too soon if I have anything to say about.

I have written alot about these clowns, you can search my site for the term "ratings agencies' for a list, but a picture (or two) is worth a thousand words (from A Super Scary Halloween Tale of 104 Basis Points Pt I & II, by Reggie Middleton)...

I could have sworn that I posted I was taken small positions against the publicly rated ratings agencies a month or so ago, but when I searched for the post to comment on it I couldn't find it. My apologies. Well, it seems as if the chickens have come home to roost for this group, and none too soon if I have anything to say about.

I have written alot about these clowns, you can search my site for the term "ratings agencies' for a list, but a picture (or two) is worth a thousand words (from A Super Scary Halloween Tale of 104 Basis Points Pt I & II, by Reggie Middleton)...

Buffett Joins Call to End 'Short-Termism' in Markets: But Mr. Buffet, "short-termism" is how Wall Street makes most of its money. How in the hell do you fit long term thinking into quarterly performance reviews and annual bonuses? Mr. Buffet, are you DAFT? Don't you know what is important in life (on Wall Street)??? See Is a Crash Impending? as we wonder exactly what is keeping this market afloat.

Somebody in these stories is wrong. Who do you think it is??? Consumer Credit Plummets by Record $21.6 Billion vs Retail Hiring Study Shows Signs of Growing Confidence in U.S. Recover. On the same front page in Bloomberg - U.S. companies are still reducing the ranks of temporary workers, showing that any rebound in overall employment won’t happen soon, according to William Hester, an analyst at Hussman Econometrics... 

...the number of temporary employees with nonfarm payrolls since 1990, according to data compiled by the Labor Department. Increases in the number of temporary jobs in 1991 and 2003 preceded similar recoveries in payrolls, as the chart illustrates.

“Temporary hiring is a reliable leading indicator,” Hester wrote yesterday in a report that featured a similar chart. Last month’s decline in these jobs was “one of the most discouraging data points” in the latest employment report, he added.

The number of temporary workers dropped by 65,000 in August to 1.74 million. The total has fallen each month since January 2008, a month after the current U.S. recession officially started. During the 20-month streak, temporary jobs have declined by 33 percent.

Further losses “would probably push back any recovery in nonfarm payrolls,” Hester wrote. “Temporary hiring will almost surely bottom prior to overall employment.”

Separately, Manpower Inc. said today in a statement that its index of U.S. companies’ hiring plans set a record low for the third straight quarter. The latest reading was based on the outlook for fourth-quarter jobs. Manpower, the world’s second- largest staffing firm, began compiling the gauge in 1962.