In a world where growth is scarce and prospects aren’t improving, an unspoken currency war has broken out. The short term pay-off might be a boost in exports, but, according to Bloomberg View’s Mark Gilbert, there can be no real winners in the end. Here is a direct video link.
Lately we have taken to calling business television “America’s Most Wanted”. In truth though, the endless media parade of banking ‘experts’ from the world’s largest financial institutions is actually more like “The World’s Most Wanted”. Another day, another–no doubt toothless–investigation into more price rigging and illegal activities in global markets, that will no doubt end with another token fine and even more emboldened actors. See: Big banks face scrutiny over pricing of metals
Prosecutors in the Justice Department’s antitrust division are scrutinizing the price-setting process for gold, silver, platinum and palladium in London, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has opened a civil investigation, these people said. The agencies have made initial requests for information, including a subpoena from the CFTC to HSBC Holdings PLC related to precious-metals trading, the bank said in its annual report Monday.
HSBC also said the Justice Department sought documents related to the antitrust investigation in November. The two probes “are at an early stage,” the bank added, saying it is cooperating with U.S. regulators.
Also under scrutiny are Bank of Nova Scotia , Barclays PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG , Deutsche Bank AG , Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Société Générale SA, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and UBS AG , according to one of the people close to the investigation.
Given the still widespread complacency and mainstream acceptance of ‘advice’ from the financial sales force, it seems that we, the people, so far still like to play the patsy. Seven years after the Great Financial Crisis first broke out into the light of day, the world’s most wanted are still abusing trust, breaking laws and running balance sheets into the ground pretty much everywhere. For a good update on banking crimes to date, see Matt Taibbi’s latest: A Whistleblower’s Horror Story: Years after blowing the whistle on Countrywide, Michael Winston is bogged down in the courts, and fighting for his life.
Obama is finally (at least 7 years late) directing the federally governed Department of Labor to require retirement advisers working under its plans “to abide by a ‘fiduciary’ standard — putting their clients’ best interest before their own profit”.
The need for this change has been painfully obvious since the asset bubbles burst in 2000 and 2008. But nothing happened, and as financial fraud has run rampant since, an emboldened product selling business continues to inflict financial catastrophe on real families and the global economy. And we, the taxpayers, are all paying the staggering financial cost both for repeatedly rescuing reckless firms and in the crushing social burden of under-saved citizens. Maybe at long last, the politicians are worried enough about their own legacies, to start doing the right thing. See: Obama directs labor department to move ahead on Fiduciary rule.
Of course the financial lobby is fighting for its life in this. They insist that imposing a ‘fiduciary standard’ will bankrupt their business and cut working people off from affordable advice: ‘If you make us do what is best for the client, we will not be able to continue operating’ they insist. Laugh out Loud! With advice like this, who needs enemies??!!
A mandated fiduciary standard is absolutely foundational to rebuilding financial strength and stability in the world. The firms and actors who reject a fiduciary standard, cannot be allowed to call themselves ‘advisors’. Full stop.
President Barack Obama on Monday is expected to direct the Department of Labor to move ahead with a proposal that would raise investment-advice standards for brokers handling retirement accounts.
In advance of a speech Mr. Obama is scheduled to give at AARP, the White House released a fact sheet stating that protecting workers and retirees from conflicted investment advice is part of the president’s focus on “middle class economics.”
“A system where Wall Street firms benefit from backdoor payments and hidden fees if they talk responsible Americans into buying bad retirement investments — with high costs and low returns — instead of recommending quality investments isn’t fair,” stated the fact sheet, released early Monday.
