Saudi Arabia’s part flotation of its national oil company Aramco has been halted, sources told Reuters news agency, killing what would have been the largest stock listing in history. The reversal of a cornerstone of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic reform policy spells uncertainty for the rest of his programme, dubbed “Vision 2030”. Saudi […]
The Central Banking Heist Has Put the World at Risk…
“The 2008 financial crisis was the consequence of a loosely regulated banking system in which power was concentrated in the hands of too limited a cast of speculators,” Nomi Prins tell me. “And after the crisis, the way the US government and the Federal Reserve dealt with this corrupt and criminal banking system was to […]
Goldman Sachs Investment Banker Arrested on Insider Trading Charges…
A 37-year-old investment banker for Goldman Sachs was arrested Thursday on charges he used inside information on mergers for which the company was a financial adviser to garner more than $130,000 on stock trades. Woojae “Steve” Jung, 37, of San Francisco, was charged with six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, according […]
SEC Charges Elizabeth Holmes with ‘Massive Fraud’…
Fifth Third Bank to Acquire Chicago-Based MB Financial in $4.7B Deal…
Chicago-based MB Financial Inc. announced on Monday it would merge with Fifth Third Bancorp in a deal valued at $4.7 billion. The transaction will result in one of the region’s largest middle-market banks. MB Financial’s chief executive officer Mitch Feiger will serve as CEO for the Chicago area after the acquisition and two members of […]
My Kuroda! Not a Single Japanese 10-Year Bond Traded Tuesday…
The Bank of Japan has vacuumed up so much of the government bond market — in excess of 40 percent — that it’s left fewer securities for others to buy and sell. Some other buyers, such as pension funds and life insurers, also tend to follow buy-and-hold strategies. That’s the backdrop to Tuesday’s session, when […]
Mick Mulvaney Tells Employees CFPB Will No Longer ‘Push the Envelope’…
Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney told the agency’s employees Tuesday that the agency no longer will “push the envelope” in policing private companies, suggesting in an agency-wide memo that he plans to reverse course from the one set out by departed director and Obama appointee Richard Cordray. “Simply put, the days of […]
CFPB’s Data-Mining on Consumer Credit Cards Challenged in Heated House Hearing…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials are seeking to monitor four out of every five U.S. consumer credit card transactions this year — up to 42 billion transactions – through a controversial data-mining program, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner. A CFPB strategic planning document for fiscal years 2013-17 describes the “markets monitoring” program […]
The Public Bank Option – Safer, Local and Half the Cost…
Phil Murphy, a former banker with a double-digit lead in New Jersey’s race for governor, has made a state-owned bank a centerpiece of his platform. If he wins on November 7, the nation’s second state-owned bank in a century could follow. A UK study published on October 27, 2017 reported that the majority of politicians […]
DOJ Ends Obama’s Operation Chokepoint…
This week the Department of Justice made clear that the Obama Administration’s underhanded attack on the gun industry using the banking system – better known as Operation Chokepoint – is over. In a strongly-worded letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) dated August 16, Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd assured…