 | Financial fraud in the mortgage market 4. Catherine Austin Fitts talks about it in 2004. One might well ask what Robert Rubin as Treasury Secretary saw in AMS Technology and its founder and chief executive officer Charles Rossotti who were brought into HUD (at about the time that Hamilton was being taken down) to replace HUD's computer software and systems. Against all auditing standards they replaced them with no parallel runs. The unsurprising result was that within two years HUD had nearly $60 billion in "undocumentable transactions." Undocumentable transactions?! Where is the money? HUD cannot (or will not) tell you, and indeed, it cannot tell its GAO auditors either, which is why it did not and does not pass audits, in much the same style of Bill Cohen's and Donald Rumsfeld's Defense Department, which amassed over $2.5 trillion in "undocumentable transactions" before they stopped telling people what the amount is. The upshot of this is the spectacle of HUD firing a contractor (Hamilton and Fitts) that saved them over $2 billion and rewarding a contractor (AMS and Rossotti) that has lost them at least $60 billion. Indeed, Rossotti's work was apparently held in such high regard that he was made Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in Rubin's Treasury, from which vantage point he managed to secure a Treasury contract for AMS. http://www.financialsense.com/Experts/2004/AustinFitts.html http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00223.htm |
 | ALDE workshop on The International Financial Crisis Video summary of the ALDE workshop "The International Financial Crisis: Its causes and what to do about it?" Event date: 27/02/08 14:00 to 18:00 Location: Room ASP 5G2, European Parliament, Brussels This workshop will bring together Members of the European Parliament, economists, academics and journalists as well as representatives of the European Commission to discuss the lessons that have to be drawn from the recent financial crisis caused by the US sub-prime mortgage market. With the view of the informal ECOFIN meeting in April which will look at the financial sector supervision and crisis management mechanisms, this workshop aims at debating a wide range of topics including: - how to improve the existing supervisory framework, - how to combat the opacity of financial markets and improve transparency requirements, - how to address the rating agencies' performance and conflict of interest, - what regulatory lessons are to be learnt in order to avoid a repetition of the sub-prime and the resulting credit crunch. PROGRAMME 14:00 - 14:10 Opening remarks: Graham Watson, leader of the of the ALDE Group 14:10 - 14:25 Keynote speech by Charlie McCreevy, Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, European Commission 14:25 - 14:40 Presentation by Daniel Daianu, MEP (ALDE) of his background paper 14:40 - 15:30 Panel I: Current features of the financial systems and the main causes of the current international crisis. -John Purvis, MEP EPP -Eric De Keuleneer, Solvay Business School, Free University of Brussels -Nigel Phipps, Head of European Regulatory Affairs Moody's -Wolfgang Munchau, journalist Financial Times -Robert Priester, European Banking Federation (EBF), Head of Department Banking Supervision and Financial Markets -Ray Kinsella, Director of the Centre for Insurance Studies University College Dublin -Servaas Deroose, Director ECFIN.C, Macroeconomy of the euro area and the EU, European Commission -Ieke Van den Burg, MEP PSE -David Smith, visiting Professor at Derby ... |
 | TVB Pearl Money Magazine - Japanese department stores make a comeback? Japanese department stores like Daimaru, Mitsukoshi and Yaohan used to be sprinkled throughout Hong Kong. Many left during the downturn after the financial crisis. But as producer Keith Yuen finds, the Japanese brand is still popular among Hong Konger, and there are newcomers in the market with grand ideas. (26/8/2008) |
 | CT Uses IT to Match Jobs with Students A new data analysis software system in Connecticut searches online job listings in order to help colleges identify the skills students need to find jobs in today's market. The project uses a web crawler that scours online listings in the financial services and insurance industries, then sends that information to specialized software built specifically for this effort. Ultimately, the data collected is sent to colleges to help them develop relevant curriculum for their job-seeking students. The state of Connecticut used part of a $2.7 million US Department of Labor training grant to develop what is seen as a model project for other states. The state called upon Skillproof, a Bridgeport, CT based labor research organization, for its web crawling technology with data analytics software designed by IBM, Pace University of New York.. Already, the project has proven to be worthwhile. The data collected by the software showed that there were a large number of unfilled openings for high-paying insurance actuarial jobs. When looking for actuaries, employers look primarily for analytic and communication skills. With this information in hand, Connecticut schools were able to respond immediately by expanding their curriculum to teach the specific skills associated with actuarial work. Developers of this software system hope that the success in Connecticut will encourage other states to utilize the system and fill niches in all industries by identifying the skills students need to find high-paying jobs in today's market. |
 | Questions from Rep. Gillmor at ILC Hearing Congressman Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) questioned the first panel of witnesses on April 25, 2007 at a hearing about his bill, H.R. 698, the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007. The witnesses included The Honorable Sheila C. Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Mr. Donald L. Kohn, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; The Honorable John M. Reich, Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; Mr. Robert Colby, Deputy Director, Market Regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission; Commissioner G. Edward Leary, Department of Financial Institutions, State of Utah. |
 | Ken R. White: 20 Outstanding Los Angeles Designers Ken White worked for 4 years as a common laborer in a printing and publishing house in his hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, before he got started. He applied for an apprenticeship in the Art Department and was turned down. He went to the Union and legal department to ask for a chance for a position in the Art Department. He was given 6 months to prove himself. He was hired after his apprenticeship ended. There was no job market in Kingsport, so Ken moved to Los Angeles. White attended Art Center and Chouinard Art Institute part-time. He eventually opened Ken White & Associates in the early 1970s. Later that decade, he move into his own building, and changed his firm's name to White + Associates. His firm's client list includes: Pacific Financial Company, Mead Paper, Lockheed, First Interstate Bank, Infomatics, American Multiple Cinema, and Covington Technologies. White + Associates won many awards in all of the major design competitions. Ken believes that you should do the best you can to make the work better. Prof. Archie Boston |
 | Safety on the Way to School; '08 Update. Safety on the Way to School. -National Safety Council Steal this Film II. http://www.stealthisfilm.com/Part2/ http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc... Powaqqatsi. (Trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va7mOr... Various war footage Iraq, Afghanistan, Bomb, Missile, rockets, IED, US soldiers, casualties, army, Death Tech. Tank Man, Unknown Rebel, Tiananmen Square protests, China. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2... "The United States spent $529 billion, slightly less than the entire GDP of the Netherlands, on military operations in 2006, up 5 percent over the previous year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest year book." http://www.alternet.org/story/47998/ More than 2,500,000 U.S. personnel serving across the planet. "The total of America's military bases in other people's countries in 2005, according to official sources, was 737. Reflecting massive deployments to Iraq and the pursuit of President Bush's strategy of preemptive war, the trend line for numbers of overseas bases continues to go up." "Using data from fiscal year 2005, the Pentagon bureaucrats calculated that its overseas bases were worth at least $127 billion -- surely far too low a figure but still larger than the gross domestic products of most countries -- and an estimated $658.1 billion for all of them, foreign and domestic (a base's "worth" is based on a Department of Defense estimate of what it would cost to replace it). During fiscal 2005, the military high command deployed to our overseas bases some 196,975 uniformed personnel as well as an equal number of dependents and Department of Defense civilian officials, and employed an additional 81,425 locally hired foreigners." "The worldwide total of U.S. military personnel in 2005, including those based domestically, was 1,840,062 supported by an additional 473,306 Defense Department civil service employees and 203,328 local hires. Its overseas bases, according to the Pentagon, contained 32,327 barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings, which it owns, and 16,527 more that it leased. The size of these holdings was recorded in the inventory as covering 687,347 acres overseas and 29,819,492 acres worldwide, making the Pentagon easily one of the world's largest landlords." "The report similarly omits bases in Afghanistan, Iraq (106 garrisons as of May 2005), Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan, even though the U.S. military has established colossal base structures in the Persian Gulf and Central Asian areas since 9/11." Bush Cheney McCain, Obama, Hillary Bill Clinton President Ron Paul election Media blackout, 16mm, 4th branch of the Government. Fox lies CBS NBC ABC. Economy or economic collapse campaign, cnbc dow nasdaq US financial collapse stock market crash dollar crisis housing bubble. Vintage baby boomer bomb nomination speech. Federal Reserve Debt Cattle. 100 years? debate. |
 | 2 Former Bear Stearns Executives Arrested Plus2 Former Bear Stearns Executives Arrested2 Former Bear Stearns Executives ArrestedThe Associated Press2 former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were hauled into jail Thursday and charged with lying to investors about the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. (June 19)[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] ((New York)) A white collar crime case in New York. Prosecutors say these two former Bear Stearns executives pretended to investors their billion-dollar hedge funds were doing well -- encouraging others to put money in the portfolios, saying they would be profitable, long-term investments. But meanwhile, the government alleges Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin knew the funds were failing as the subprime mortgage market collapsed - pulling their own personal money out, while telling others to stay vested. ((Mark Mershon, FBI)) "This is not about mismanagement of a hedge fund investment strategy. It is not about reckless subprime lending practices. It is about premeditated lies to investors and lenders. It's about the defendants prostituting their client trust in order to salvage their personal wealth." But lawyers for the two men say their clients are being made scapegoats for the subprime meltdown. ((Ed Little, Defense Attorney)) "Perhaps this ought to be called Operation Malicious Prosecution. I'm not going to say that, I'll leave it to the jury. The only good news today is that there will be a trial in this case and hopefully at the end of the trial we'll get a jury verdict that says not only Ralph Cioffi is innocent that his reputation is restored." In Washington DC, the Department of Justice says Thursday's New York arrests are part of a nationwide investigation of bad securities and lending practices. ((Mark Filip, Department of Justice)) "'Operation Malicious Mortgage' and the Bear Stearns case demonstrate that the Department of Justice is determined to detect and to punish mortgage fraud and to help restore stability and confidence in our housing and credit markets." Soon after the two funds run by Cioffi and Tannin collapsed, Bear Stearns itself ultimately fell to the subprime crisis. The government had to step in to save the financial firm, and it was taken over by JP MorganChase. Ted Shaffrey, The Associated Press, New York |
 | DOE Upturns Uranium: TFN 60 Second Buzz 08/01/07 http://www.todaysfinancialnews.com -- The secretive Department of Energy is about to turn the uranium market on its head. To read the latest FREE TFN Hot Stock Pick of the Week Research Report, please click here/follow this link: http://www.taipanfinancialnews.com/crash-proof-stocks-0807.html |
 | Ben Stein - America's Education Crisis Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Ben_Stein_on_How_Not_to_Ruin_Your_Life Author, economist and TV celebrity Ben Stein gives his take on the current state of education in the United States. ----- How Not to Ruin Your Life with Ben Stein. You may know him best for his deadpan delivery in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or his offbeat game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money." But this active thinker is also a major contributor to current discussions and understanding of business, ethical and social issues in the world of finance, and the political and social content of mass culture. Come hear this polymath speak about the many economic, political and social issues confronting us today - The Commonwealth Club of California Ben Stein is a lawyer, economist, and commentator on finance (and a well-known actor and Hollywood personality). Stein served as an economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has been a longtime contributor to Barron's and a columnist and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal. He has also written extensively about finance for New York magazine and the Washington Post. In addition to writing for Yahoo! Finance, he currently writes a biweekly column on economics and finance for the New York Times and appears weekly on the Fox News network commenting on finance and economics. He is the author of several personal finance books, including How to Ruin Your Financial Life, Moneypower: How to Make Inflation Make You Rich, Financial Passages, and - with Phil DeMuth - the best-sellers Yes, You Can Time the Market, Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor, and the forthcoming Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably. Stein is Honorary Chair of the National Retirement Planning Coalition, and lives in Los Angeles, Calif. |
 | Ben Stein - Does America Lack a Sense of Community? Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Ben_Stein_on_How_Not_to_Ruin_Your_Life Author, economist and TV celebrity Ben Stein laments what he feels to be America's lack of community values. ----- How Not to Ruin Your Life with Ben Stein. You may know him best for his deadpan delivery in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or his offbeat game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money." But this active thinker is also a major contributor to current discussions and understanding of business, ethical and social issues in the world of finance, and the political and social content of mass culture. Come hear this polymath speak about the many economic, political and social issues confronting us today - The Commonwealth Club of California Ben Stein is a lawyer, economist, and commentator on finance (and a well-known actor and Hollywood personality). Stein served as an economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has been a longtime contributor to Barron's and a columnist and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal. He has also written extensively about finance for New York magazine and the Washington Post. In addition to writing for Yahoo! Finance, he currently writes a biweekly column on economics and finance for the New York Times and appears weekly on the Fox News network commenting on finance and economics. He is the author of several personal finance books, including How to Ruin Your Financial Life, Moneypower: How to Make Inflation Make You Rich, Financial Passages, and - with Phil DeMuth - the best-sellers Yes, You Can Time the Market, Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor, and the forthcoming Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably. Stein is Honorary Chair of the National Retirement Planning Coalition, and lives in Los Angeles, Calif. |
 | Ben Stein on the Economy: It's Not as Bad as You Think Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Ben_Stein_on_How_Not_to_Ruin_Your_Life Author, economist and TV celebrity Ben Stein argues that the current downturn in the U.S. economy will not last for as long or be as severe as many analysts are predicting. ----- How Not to Ruin Your Life with Ben Stein. You may know him best for his deadpan delivery in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or his offbeat game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money." But this active thinker is also a major contributor to current discussions and understanding of business, ethical and social issues in the world of finance, and the political and social content of mass culture. Come hear this polymath speak about the many economic, political and social issues confronting us today - The Commonwealth Club of California Ben Stein is a lawyer, economist, and commentator on finance (and a well-known actor and Hollywood personality). Stein served as an economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has been a longtime contributor to Barron's and a columnist and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal. He has also written extensively about finance for New York magazine and the Washington Post. In addition to writing for Yahoo! Finance, he currently writes a biweekly column on economics and finance for the New York Times and appears weekly on the Fox News network commenting on finance and economics. He is the author of several personal finance books, including How to Ruin Your Financial Life, Moneypower: How to Make Inflation Make You Rich, Financial Passages, and - with Phil DeMuth - the best-sellers Yes, You Can Time the Market, Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor, and the forthcoming Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably. Stein is Honorary Chair of the National Retirement Planning Coalition, and lives in Los Angeles, Calif. |
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