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...
Let’s face it. Many of us believe Wall Street bonuses give new meaning to “swine flu.” AIG, Citigroup, and the firm formerly known as Merrill Lynch—these struggling organizations have paid or are negotiating to pay sizable bonuses with taxpayer...
Phibro is Citigroup’s energy-trading subsidiary. The bank wants to pay special bonuses to key Phibro employees in order to retain them. The rationale is simple. Last year the bank earned $667 million dollars. And Phibro was the primary contributor. As the bank...
Norb Vonnegut
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.