Do we want to?
We’re pretty far behind China. We have the same technical capabilities, the same statistical capabilities to analyze the data, but they’re collecting the data on a much larger scale and seem to be capable of transforming the scientific findings into government policy and consumer genetic testing much more easily than we are. Technically and scientifically we could be doing this, but we’re not. Article
The depositor haircuts seem to have beennecessary to get political support for a bailout deal in the EU. Political support in the EU was necessary because Cypriot banks had assets somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 times the Gross Domestic Product of Cyprus. And just to bring it full circle, the banking system had grown to such grotesque, hypertrophied proportions because Cypriot bank accounts seem to be a favorite of tax-dodging Russian oligarchs . . . which is why it was politically necessary to give depositors such a large haircut. Article
Chile is respected for its fast-growing economy and transparent institutions, but it also has the worst inequality rate among the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and widespread protests of inequalities have harried the administrations of both Bachelet and her successor, Pinera. Millions of Chileans have staged widespread and frequent protests demanding a wider distribution of Chile’s copper riches, free education and the return of ancestral lands to Mapuche Indians in a southern region where members of Chile’s largest indigenous group often clash with timber companies and landowners. Article
As banks contemplate bundling mortgages again, the one silver lining is that the banks haven’t yet proved to be too big to nail, as the wronged purchasers and insurers of their toxic bonds have been waging an occasionally successful multiyear legal battle against the banks and, indirectly, actually punishing them financially for their misconduct. It, therefore, shouldn’t be surprising that, as the banks re-enter the securitization market, their biggest concern seemingly isn’t to ensure that they aren’t once again peddling fraudulent products that might bring government scrutiny, but rather to deal with private civil litigation. Article
A Final Report From the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction culminates SIGIR’s nine-year mission overseeing Iraq’s reconstruction. It serves as a follow-up to our previous comprehensive review of the rebuilding effort, Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience. Report Sigir Learning from Iraq
BRUSSELS (AP) — Cash-strapped Cyprus secured a €10 billion ($13 billion) bailout package from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund in a bid to prevent the island nation from entering a bankruptcy that could rekindle the region’s debt crisis, officials said early Saturday.
In a major departure from established policies, the package also foresees a one-time levy on the money held in bank accounts in Cyprus. Analysts have warned that making depositors take a hit threatens to undermine investors’ confidence in other weaker eurozone economies and might possibly lead to bank runs. Article
During a Senate hearing in the US Senator Carl Levin asked Drew: “You said Jamie Dimon [JP Morgan’s chief executive] knew about all the … trading. Is that true?” And Drew replied, “Yes.” Was it easier to blame a woman? Article
Jamie Dimon dismissed accounts of trading losses in “The Whale” as a “tempest in a teapot.”
“None of those statements made on April 13 to the public, to investors, to analysts were true,” Carl Levin, chair of the US Senate Committee on Investigations, said. “The bank also neglected to disclose on that day that the portfolio had massive positions that were hard to exit, that they were violating in massive numbers key risk limits.”
Braunstein, who stepped down in January as CFO and is still at the bank, will join Drew before the panel tomorrow. Ashley Bacon, JPMorgan’s acting chief risk officer, and Michael Cavanagh, who led the internal review of the losses and is now co-CEO for the corporate and investment bank, also are scheduled to testify. Article
