Description:Â Stockton, California, Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed to bring stability to law enforcement when he was appointed to the job four years ago. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: July 31, 2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-01/police-chief-s-204-000-pension-shows-how-cities-crashed.html Questions for Discussions: Explain the crisis facing these cities in terms of financial mismanagement of budgets and cash flow estimations? Is there… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Governments & Regulators
Bank bailout failed homeowners
Description: Former TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky says the program failed to protect Main Street from Wall Street. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: July 25, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/07/25/n-Barofsky-TARP.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize commentary in this report about the failure to manage TARP. Do you believe the criticism is fair? What are the economic prospects… Read more »
Your credit card costs small biz thousands
Description: Retail merchants get charged a fee when you use plastic and recent reforms don’t seem to be reducing the burden on small businesses. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: July 20, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/07/19/sbiz-credit-card-costs.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Describe how cash, credit and debit card processing affect the financial operations of retailers. Do you think… Read more »
China flexes muscles with Cnooc, Nexen deal
Description: $15.1 billion deal one of many to greatly impact global oil, natgas. When Cnooc Ltd. scored a deal to acquire Canada’s Nexen Inc., it was one big leap for China’s largest offshore oil and natural gas producer, and one small step toward building a global empire to feed the Asian nation’s voracious appetite for… Read more »
Ireland Bulldozes Ghost Estate In Life After Real Estate Bubble
Description:Â Ireland is opting for bulldozers rather than bankers as it starts to clear the legacy of the housing boom whose collapse brought the economy to its knees. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: July 19, 2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-19/ireland-bulldozes-ghost-estate-in-life-after-real-estate-bubble.html Questions for Discussions: How did over-supply undermine the real estate market? Who is to blame for this fiasco? How… Read more »
Can the Bullet Train Save California?
Description:  MarketWatch’s David Weidner checks in on Mean Street to discuss California’s economic conditions and whether it’s right that a state struggling to stay solvent is aiming to float a $10 billion bond for a high-speed rail line. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: July 13, 2012 Link: http://live.wsj.com/video/can-the-bullet-train-save-california/8C2522BB-3A9D-4C75-87BE-7C100EE04B01.html Questions for… Read more »
How Jamie Dimon hid the $6 billion loss
Description: A mixture of accounting moves and rosy assumptions appear to have masked JPMorgan’s London Whale. Source: Fortune.com Date: July 13, 2012 Link: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/13/jpmorgan-hid-london-whale/?iid=SF_F_River Questions for Discussions: How was the $6 billion loss kept hidden? Do you believe management and the firm have been adequately dealt with by the marketplace, investors, and regulators?
Is J.P. Morgan too big to manage?
Description: In a two-hour session with analysts Friday morning, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s top executives fielded numerous questions about the massive trading loss suffered by its chief investment office, but one of them was particularly challenging. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: July 13, 2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-jp-morgan-too-big-to-manage-2012-07-13?dist=tcountdown Questions for Discussions: Has J.P. Morgan reached ““a tipping point  Read more »
‘Period of remorse’ catches up to Diamond
Description: Robert Diamond’s resignation, effective immediately, as chief executive officer of Barclays PLC UK:BARC -2.05% BCS -1.72% Tuesday morning in the wake of the Libor-manipulation scandal comes a day after he reportedly sent a letter to employees saying he was “sorry†and pledged to impose tougher internal controls. Full story: Bob Diamond resigns as Barclays… Read more »
France slaps seven billion euros in taxes on rich and big firms
Description:Â France’s new Socialist government announced tax rises worth 7.2 billion euros on Wednesday, including heavy one-off levies on wealthy households and big corporations, to plug a revenue shortfall this year caused by flagging economic growth. Source: Reuters.com Date: July 04, 2012 Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/05/us-france-budget-idUSBRE86307X20120705 Questions for Discussions: What are the implications for Euro-based debt, the… Read more »
