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WSJ Editorial Board on the closure of Hormuz and US efforts to strike Iranian coastal missile sites to open it after Iran's IRGC rejected the terms of the Memorandum to open Hormuz. What purpose did the Memorandum serve? DJT let JD Vance come up with a negotiated settlement -accepting efforts of Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar  to mediate a way out to open Hormuz- to make some concessions such as ending Iran sanctions, and opening oil markets to Iranian oil exports, ending the naval blockade, putting nuclear weapons development for negotiations during the 90 day period after the ceasefire.  The IRGC military inside Iran accepted it under pressure from the elected president Pezeshkian and Turkey, Pakistan. Yet its approach has been to accept one day and the following day issue statements contradicting this the next day. Some of the clauses were kept deliberately vague on the insistence of IRGC or worded in a way that IRGC could point to their interpretation and reject efforts for a ceasefire  and opening Hormuz. In the light of this experience 2 conclusions were reached by the US- the IRGC makes decisions for Iran not the elected president Pezeshkian and IRGC does not want to open Hormuz except by charging tolls as away to finance its missile operations. In this kind of a situation how does the US respond effectively without getting into a land conflict that distracts US from its domestic goals of building a strong economy, cost of living action, and rebuilding US infrastructure? This Editorial says Schumer's effort to block defense bills does not serve the national interest. Schumer's point to exercise caution to focus on domestic goals of rebuilding the US economy serves the Nation well, yet continuously blocking the president to gain in the midterms is not a good strategy. Lyrarc points out that the best way is for the US to continue the naval blockade if Iran won't allow Hormuz to be opened to all ships without tolls. And step two would be to find enough alternative sources of oil to make up for the 20 million barrels from Hormuz. Some of this could come from reducing use of oil and gas which China has done by importing less oil from 12.5 million barrels a day to 8.5 million barrels a day, effectively doing without the 4 million barrels a day it got from Hormuz. By doing this the US can avoid the effort to open Hormuz through alternative sources of oil supplies,  avoid being drawn into a prolonged conflict it does not need. Achieving its objectives on nuclear and Hormuz in a different way exercizing patience and using wisdom alongside strength. That course means the US would work with the European Union, UK, China, India, oil companies and other oil producing regions to forgo Hormuz oil as Lyrarc has proposed as the most effective answer to threats about Hormuz, and continuing the naval blockade.  ...

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Wells Fargo bank's share price reached a high of $51.90 on June 13, 2014, up 14% in Jan-June 2014. Richard Kovacevich arranged the acquisition by Norwest Corp of Wells Fargo & Co. in 1998. Wells Fargo has a 16% share of the mortgage loan business in the U.S., with $36 billion in loans for the first quarter of 2014. It is the third largest bank in deposits, with 6200 branches, the most branches of any bank in the U.S. Wells Fargo performance shows 15 quarters of uninterrupted profit growth, making it the most valued bank at the June share price. Over the last 10 years the stock price is up 76%, the best of any bank including Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. Compared to the other banks Well Fargo has relied on its mortgage business and marketing traditional banking products aggressively through cross selling, staying away from investment banking and trading businesses.

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New Justice Department guidelines issued by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates call for prosecution of individuals as a deterrent to white collar crime. It says: "One of the most effective ways to combat corporate misconduct is by seeking accountability from the individuals who perpetrated the wrongdoing." Experts, including John Coffee Jr., at Columbia University Law School, see this as a litmus test of the Justice Department's intentions to pursue individual accountability. For the last 8 years following the 2008 mortgage financial crisis most of the individuals have not been held accountable, and this is seen as a failure of the Justice Department and SEC in taking on its responsibility. 

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The acquisition of Wachovia is now showing up in huge losses at Wells Fargo Bank. Fourth quarter losses for 2008 are $2.55 billion. With the Wachovia acquisition Wells Fargo took on $219 billion of commercial real estate and corporate loans and a large number of toxic pay-option mortgages. Wells Fargo has set aside $21.7 billion to cover losses as the slump in real estate markets continues.

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The story of Ronald Read of Brattleboro, Vermont, grabbed public attention as a gas station and J.C. Penney employee whose account holdings showed $8 million when he passed away recently. His largest holding - Wells Fargo bank. Investors are attracted to the higher dividends paid by Wells Fargo. With its focus on mortgage lending and less money tied up in trading, Wells Fargo has performed better than its peers. Increased regulatory scrutiny has increased costs for banks with a focus on trading. Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase also paid large fines to regulators. Wells Fargo has no legal settlements with the U.S. Justice Department. As the U.S. economy stages a recovery investors are attracted to Wells Fargo. With a decline in the shares of ICBC, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Wells Fargo now is the largest bank by market value in the world.

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Four members of Wells Fargo bank's board of directors are being replaced as part of the response by the bank in a settlement with the Federal Reserve. For the first time the Federal Reserve is taking action on corporate boards to send a message that banks boards of directors will be held responsible for poor governance and failing in responsibilities to the customers of the bank. This was one of the last steps taken by Janet Yellen as she leaves office as Fed chairwoman.

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Wells Fargo acquires Wachovia, upending a deal for Citigroup to acquire Wachovia that was reached earlier. Wachovia management believes the acquisition by Wells Fargo, a stronger company, will be better for Wachovia.

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Increased mortgage lending helped Wells Fargo achieve a 22% increase in profit to $4.9 billion for the 3rd quarter of 2012.

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U.S. bank Wells Fargo is paying $175 million in a settlement with the Justice Department for "systemic discrimination" in mortgage lending to Blacks and Hispanics. The lawsuit was originally filed by the city of Baltimore over violations of fair lending laws. The Justice Department started its own investigation following the lawsuit. The Justice Department said 4500 black and Hispanic homeowners in the Baltimore and Washington region were targets of loans at unfavorable rates and excessie fees. Federal officials described this as a pattern of unfair lending practices that spanned 36 states and 34,000 minority customers over 5 years. As part of the settlement Wells Fargo is providing $50 million to Washington, Baltimore and six other metropolitan regions to help residents make down payments on new homes. Separately Wells Fargo in its settlement with the city of Baltimore, will provide $3 million in homeowner assistance to residents, and make $125 million in lower cost loans to low and moderate income people for the next 5 years....