Questions about whether justice and accountability were accomplished in the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with Credit Suisse

05/19/2014

A WSJ editorial and a separate piece in the NYT question the assumption that justice and accountability were achieved in the U.S. government's settlement with Credit Suisse. The nagging question- is Attorney General Holder simply burnishing his image after failing to establish accountability and justice following the 2008 global financial crisis, which dealt a serious blow to America's middle class. Collective wrongdoing starts with individual actions, and holding individuals responsible establishes accountability, so that the public is protected from future actions of this nature. Somewhere since the crisis this principle has been lost in the Obama administration. A churn in management for failures is considered healthy for other American companies, and healthy for free enterprise, readers are likely to wonder why this is not so for the banks.

Linked Articles

Credit Suisse Pleads Guilty in Felony Case

New York Times 05/19/2014

Ben Protess, Ben, Protess, Jessica Silver Greenberg, Jessica, Silver Greenberg

Wall Street Journal 05/21/2014

Editorial

BaFin, German federal financial regulatory authority, and the problems at Deutsche Bank- regulators slow to act on information

03/28/2014

Eyk Henning of the WSJ points out the slow response of regulator BaFin to information about problems at Deutsche Bank that suggest a broken culture in a report on March 28, 2014. This comes 6 years after the WSJ first reported the LIBOR rate manipulation in 2008 leading to British and U.S. regulatory investigations. In April 2015 Deutsche Bank made a legal settlement for LIBOR rate manipulation of $2.5 billion with U.S. and British regulators. As the time when regulatory authority passes to the European Central Bank, and after a period of 7 years since the 2008 WSJ report, BaFin finally sends its report on the broken culture at the bank. A month later the two co-CEO's at the bank resign.

Linked Articles

Germany Blasts Deutsche Bank Executives Over Culture

Wall Street Journal 07/17/2015

David Enrich, David, Enrich, Jenny Strasburg And Eyk Henning, Jenny, Strasburg, And, Eyk, Henning

Wall Street Journal 03/28/2014

Eyk Henning, Eyk, Henning

Detroit's road to recovery- the remarkable contributions of Judge Rhodes and Chief Mediator Judge Rosen in the settlement (3)

02/15/2014

Linked Articles

Mediator in Detroit Bankruptcy Walks Fine Line Between City, Creditors

Wall Street Journal 02/15/2014

Matthew Dolan, Matthew, Dolan, Emily Glazer, Emily, Glazer

Washington Post 02/22/2014

Michael Fletcher, Michael, Fletcher

Setting the record straight and restoring the credibility of credit ratings- the U.S. Justice Department's struggle with S&P 2013-2015

02/05/2013

U.S. Associate Attorney General Dillery, the governments top negotiator in a $1.5 billion settlement in Jan 2015, says never has the Justice Department produced 290 million documents in discovery in Justice Department history.This is how many documents were produced in this case which he said showed S&P in serious breach of duty, which affected the U.S. financial system leading to many adverse consequences.

Linked Articles

S&P to Pay $1.5 Billion to Resolve Crisis-Era Litigation

Wall Street Journal 02/04/2015

Timothy Martin And Andrew Grossmann, Timothy, Martin, And, Andrew, Grossmann

New York Times 02/05/2013

Mary Williams Walsh, Mary, Williams, Walsh, Ron Nixon, Ron, Nixon

China's steadily growing automobile market in 2014-2015 (1)- expanding dealer networks to Tier 2 and 3 cities by Ford Motor and Mercedes Benz

11/23/2012

China's television channel CCTV focusses on consumer issues in its program 315. VW was a focus of one of the reports on consumer issues. Problems in the U.S. for GM and Toyota are likely to keep the focus on other auto companies as well.

Linked Articles

China Lures More Investment

Wall Street Journal 04/25/2014

Joseph White, Joseph, White

Wall Street Journal 11/23/2012

Colum Murphy, Colum, Murphy

German chancellor Merkel and the EU plan for aid to Spain's banks in Oct. 2012

10/18/2012

Merkel turns down an effort pushed by France and Spain at the Oct. 2012 EU leaders meeting for direct aid to Spanish banks. Instead money has to go from the European Stability Mechanism fund to Spain after a request by Spain for aid. The aid request by Spain would be met under program of conditionality set by the IMF, EU and ECB. Spain is delaying a request for aid as borrowing rates on Spanish bonds declined to about 5% by late October 2012. The Rajoy government in Spain faces regional spending problems and separatis sentiment in addition to high unemployment and a worsening situation with its banks. Merkel faces elections for chancellor in Germany in Sept. 2013 and says more time is needed to setup the eurozone banking supervisory authority- to be set up in the course of 2013 with the legal setup completed by Jan 2013 as a concession to France. This would push banking supervision and financial architecture till after the election.

Linked Articles

German Refusal on Bank Aid Mars European Summit

New York Times 10/19/2012

James Kanter, James, Kanter

Wall Street Journal 10/18/2012

Matthew Dalton, Matthew, Dalton

India's import bill for energy supplies and its problem with a rising current account deficit

04/11/2012

A sense that India has not managed globalization as well as it should have, is the view expressed by India's central bank governor, Devi Subbarao, at a IMF discussion with Charlie Rose and central bank governors from Mexico and Sweden, Lagarde and and Christina Romer on April 20, 2012 at IMF headquarters. One facet of this is the rising current account deficit, declining foreign investment, and shortages of coal and other energy supplies.

Linked Articles

India Gets Downgrade Warning

Wall Street Journal 04/26/2012

Amol Sharma, Amol, Sharma, Sudeep Jain, Sudeep, Jain

Wall Street Journal 04/11/2012

Amol Sharma, Amol, Sharma, Matt Murray, Matt, Murray

The U.S. Federal Reserve's March 2012 U.S. bank stress tests and the questions about overoptimistic assumptions

03/14/2012

Experts question the the overoptimistic assumptions for losses on home equity lines of credit, second lien mortgages and legal settlements. The capital ratios for the banks shown under the stress tests of 3-4% indicate high levels of leveraging, one of the principal causes for the banking crisis of 2008-2009.

Linked Articles

Stressing the Bank 'Stress Tests'

Wall Street Journal 03/14/2012

David Reilly, David, Reilly

New York Times 03/14/2012

J. B. Silver Greenberg, J., B., Silver Greenberg

The beginning of a negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict through direct talks with the Taliban in 2012

11/13/2011

America's veteran diplomat, Richard Holbrooke- who is known for the Dayton Accords that settled the conflict in Yugoslavia-initiated the early efforts for a negotated settlement with all the warring factions including the Taliban, the ISI and the Pakistan military. After his death in 2010, these efforts were continued by Marc Grossman, a former ambassador to Turkey. The Taliban's willingness to open an office in Qatar and the willingness of all sides to talk directly opens the path to a negotiated settlement.

Linked Articles

Against Odds, Path Opens Up for U.S.-Taliban Talks

New York Times 01/11/2012

Steven Lee Myers, Steven, Lee, Myers, Matthew Rosenberg, Matthew, Rosenberg, Eric Schmitt, Eric, Schmitt

Washington Post 11/13/2011

"The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke In The World.", "The, Unquiet, American:, Richard, Holbrooke, In, The, World."

BP's steady focus on safety under CEO Bob Dudley

04/20/2011

Dudley says BP is not going to get off the path of focus on safety, and "stepping up the accelerator of performance, thats not going to happen." BP's second quarter 2012 performance reflected lower levels of production to permit maintenance and improvements in infrastructure at its deep water oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Similiar maintenance will be undertaken at North Sea fields in the rest of 2012. Cost cutting on maintenance and infrastructure improvements to improve profit performance created an environment that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and created huge legal liabilities.

Linked Articles

BP Posts Unexpectedly Large Loss

New York Times 07/31/2012

Stanley Reed, Stanley, Reed

Wall Street Journal 04/20/2011

Bob Dudley, Bob, Dudley

Condoleeza Rice and Elliott Abrams question the whole policy of supporting autocracy to preserve a false kind of stability in Egypt and the Arab world

01/28/2011

This stability that comes at the expense of liberty and basic freedoms does not serve America well. This only helps give rise to malignant forces that grow when democratic voices are suppressed. This is especially true in Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world where a false stability has been created.

Linked Articles

Condoleezza Rice - The future of a democratic Egypt

Washington Post 02/16/2011

Condoleeza Rice, Condoleeza, Rice

Washington Post 01/28/2011

Elliott Abrams, Elliott, Abrams

Job saving in Germany, "kurzarbeit" and the experience of piecemeal implementation in France by 2014

07/29/2010

Piecemeal implementation of "kuzarbeit" type job preservation efforts leads to failure in France with unemployment reaching 10.4% by the third quarter of 2014, according to Insee. Proper implementation would require changes in the legal system, and a change in the culture for business, trade unions.

Linked Articles

French Attempt at German-Style Labor Reform Flounders

Wall Street Journal 12/05/2014

William Horobin, William, Horobin

BusinessWeek 07/29/2010

Christian Vits, Christian, Vits, Jana Randow, Jana, Randow

Apple products at manufacturing plants in China and at retail stores in the U.S.- low worker pay and lack of future prospects

05/29/2010

The high margins for Apple achieved through a combination of keeping costs low- even at the risk of providing poor wage and working conditions for the majority of employees employed in the retail stores in the U.S. and in supplier Foxconn plants in China- and by a grasp for innovation and technology. The paradox of a well deserved image for pioneering in technological innovation and the indifference to working conditions and prospects for employees who add value in manufacturing and customer interface. This model of growth is a recent development, put in place after 1997. In 1995-1997 Apple was nearing collapse under Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, as documented by WSJ technology reporter Jim Carlton in his book- "Apple- The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders." Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 and set the future course and this model in place emphasizing design, his ability to grasp technologies that would appeal to customers, and hired Tim Cook to set up the manufacturing which had high rate of defects and higher costs. The model was as full of paradoxes, of genius combined with mediocre behavioursas the man Steve Jobs. Tim Cook has responded to criticism in 2012 by having the Fair Labor association audit Foxconn plants in China. Foxconn increased wages in 2012, shifted plants to the interior of China, and increased use of robotics.

Linked Articles

Hon Hai to Raise Workers' Pay

Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010

Ting I Tsai, Ting I, Tsai

New York Times 06/23/2012

David Segal, David, Segal