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...
U.S. Probes Morgan Stanley The news is out. US prosecutors are investigating several Morgan Stanley CDOs. Like the Abacus inquiry at Goldman Sachs, the issue is what representations Morgan Stanley made to clients. How did the bank market those Weapons of Money...
I’ve been extremely critical of Goldman Sachs. The bonuses, funded by taxpayer bailouts, teed me off. And back on January 2, I asked, What does $22 billion in Goldman bonuses buy? Now, I have a different concern: Is the prosecution of Goldman Sachs going too...
In the Senate chamber yesterday, our elected officials grilled reps from Goldman Sachs. The Senators illustrated, I think, the outrage felt by Americans over bailout dollars that turned into banker bonuses. Even if—Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan) trash-talked...
On Thursday, April 15, Anna Bernasek will guest blog on Acrimoney. Her post—Top 5 Ways for Wall Street to Regain Trust—is timely to say the least. Make sure to check back and see what Anna means when she advises banks: “Eat your own cooking.” I met Anna in...
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.