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JPMorgan bullied bank regulators - (www.washingtonpost.com)
When bank regulators wanted daily profit and loss statements from
JPMorgan Chase’s investment division, the bank initially refused. When
examiners issued recommendations the bank didn’t like, executives yelled and
called the federal officials “stupid.” At one point, the top brass at the
prestigious bank ambushed a junior bank examiner, becoming “loud and combative”
when he disclosed disputed results of an exam. Those incidents are part of a
rare and detailed look into the interactions between Washington regulators and
Wall Street, described in congressional testimonies Friday and a Senate report
on a massive trading loss at JPMorgan. The documents and testimonies show a
dynamic: Executives at the nation’s largest bank at times bullied federal
examiners. The examiners at times gave in.
Katy
Perry -- I Can't Unload This Damn House! - (www.tmz.com) The housing
market may be bouncing back for a lot of people, but not Katy Perry,
because we've learned she's about to list her Hollywood Hills house for WAY
less than the purchase price. Katy bought the house with Russell Brand when
they were married. She has full title and has been quietly trying to sell it
for a long time, but she's not getting anywhere near the $8 million she wants. Katy
wanted to avoid putting the house in the multiple listing service -- which is
the Paul Revere of the real estate world. She wanted to sell the house on the
down-low, but it's just not happening. We've learned she's agreed to put the
house in the MLS in 2 weeks, and she'll reduce the asking price to the mid 7s
-- as in millions. But here's the deal ... Our real estate sources say she'll
definitely sell it if someone offers in the high 6s.
'Unfair,
Dangerous' Cyprus Deal Whacks Rich Russians - (www.cnbc.com)
With an estimated 37 percent of the $68 billion of deposits in Cypriot
banks belonging to foreigners, many of whom Russian investors and businesses
according to experts, Cypriots are not the only savers that could lose money
under the deal. Vladimir Putin's spokesman quoted the Russian President as
saying on Monday morning that a deposit levy would be "unfair, unprofessional
and dangerous", Reuters reported. Conservative reports put the amount of
personal deposits of Russian money in Cypriot banks at 20 billion euros, though
it could be as high as 35 billion euros, according to media reports. Last year,
Moody's ratings agency reported that at the end of 2012, Russian banks had
around $12 billion placed in Cypriot banks, an increase of around $3 billion
from 2011, according to data from Russia's central bank.
To Reassure Investors, Fed Stresses It Will Not End Stimulus
- (www.nytimes.com) Each time in recent years that the Federal Reserve has paused in its
efforts to stimulate the economy, it has come to regret the decision as
premature. Its leading officials say the recovery has been slower as a
consequence of those pauses. It is a mistake they do not want to repeat. When
the Fed’s policy-making committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, its members
are likely to spend a lot of time talking about the potential costs of the
current stimulus campaign. Then the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, will probably seek to
reassure investors that the Fed plans to press on. The central bank is buying
$85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities because it wants
unemployment to fall more quickly. While recent economic data suggests that
growth is quickening, Mr. Bernanke has said that the situation remains
unacceptable and that the pace of progress is uncertain.
Cypriot Outrage Over Tax Could Derail Euro-Area Bailout - (www.bloomberg.com) European policy makers signaled flexibility on the application of an
unprecedented bank tax in Cyprus, seeking to overcome outrage that threatens to
derail the nation’s bailout. European shares and the euro fell. While demanding
that the levy raise the targeted 5.8 billion euros ($7.6 billion), finance
officials said easing the cost to smaller savers was up to Cyprus. A vote on
the tax, needed to secure 10 billion euros in rescue loans, was delayed for a
second day until tomorrow. Banks will remain shut through March 20 after a
holiday today, a government official
said. Euro-area finance ministers plan a conference call at 7:30 p.m. Brussels
time today to discuss the matter. “If the government wants to change the
structure of the solidarity levy for the banking sector, the government can
decide as such,” European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen
said today in Berlin. “What’s important is that the planned revenue of 5.8
billion euros remain.”
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