Recently, I described financial reform as a “petri dish” of pending legislation. The government is tackling too many issues at the same time. Without constants—we don’t know how markets will react to all the moving pieces. It gets worse. Last...
Bank Says Losses Prove No Ill Intent On Monday I posted questions about Goldman Sachs and the CDO that is now a household name: Abacus 2007-AC1. Specifically, I asked: Why did Goldman lose $75 million on this trade, when its negative bets on the housing sector yielded...
Who hasn’t seen the news? The SEC accused Goldman Sachs of fraud, alleging it misrepresented an Abacus CDO. Banks lost $1 billion on the trade. And John Paulson, one of the gods of Greenwich, pocketed that $1 billion through his fund. Here’s what I...
Who needs TARP to bail out financial institutions? Your local supermarket carries a retail version at the checkout counter. We know the program as “gift cards.” Last week while I was grocery shopping, the gift-card display piqued my curiosity. So I took a...
Move Your Money: A New Year’s Resolution Did you see Arianna Huffington’s post yesterday? She advocates moving money to small community banks during 2010. Here’s why: The big banks on Wall Street, propped up by taxpayer money and government...
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.