Why 'Too Big to Fail' Is a Bigger Problem Than
Ever - (www.thefiscaltimes.com) Just
how big are the largest banks in the U.S.? Here’s a little perspective: In the
past few months, JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay, depending on how you do the
math, somewhere between $22 billion and $25 billion in fines and penalties for
various illegal activities, from hiding its suspicions about Ponzi schemer
Bernie Madoff to misleading investors about the notorious London Whale. Meanwhile,
as of the third quarter of 2013, 99.1 percent of banks chartered in the U.S.
had less than $20 billion in total assets on their books. Think about that for
a moment. In the space of less than 90 days, JPMorgan Chase has agreed to fines
greater than the total value of all the assets held by almost every bank in the
country. And not only is it still in business, it’s generating revenues roughly
equal to all those fines every quarter. And its stock price is soaring.
The bank’s share price rose again yesterday despite The Wall Street
Journal’s revelation of
yet more potential illegal activity – JPM is one of several banks being
investigated for deliberately mispricing volatile residential mortgage-backed
securities during the financial crisis.
White House ditching HealthCare.gov builder - (www.cnbc.com) The
Obama administration will replace CGI Federal, its main IT contractor for the
glitch-prone HealthCare.gov. "CGI and the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) have mutually agreed to complete work on CGI's contract
for the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM), in line with the
previously-scheduled February 2014 contract end date," Linda F. Odorisio,
CGI's vice president of global communications, said in a statement Friday to
CNBC. Earlier Friday, The Washington Post reported that contractor that built the federal
Obamacare health exchange had gotten the boot from the White House in favor of
consulting firm Accenture. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Post reported
that federal health officials are preparing to sign a year-long contract with
Accenture worth about $90 million. The company built California's exchange. The Post said
Accenture officials declined to comment. In its statement, CGI said the move
was a "joint decision [that] comes at a time when Healthcare.gov is
performing well, due largely to CGI's key role during the 'tech surge.'"
Michelle
Obama’s Princeton classmate is executive at company that built Obamacare
website - (www.dailycaller.com) Hmmm,
now we know how CGI got the Obamacare contract and it likely wasn't based on
merit or qualifications. Just Michelle Obama giving a contract to a female
Princeton classmate: There was a close link between Michelle Obama and one of
the senior vice-presidents of CGI Federal, the failed website creator for
Obamacare. A senior VP of CGI Federal is a former classmate of Michelle Obama.
Toni Townes-Whitley and Michelle Obama are Princeton classmates. First Lady
Michelle Obama’s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that
earned the contract to build the failed Obamacare website. Toni Townes-Whitley,
Princeton class of ’85, is senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned
the no-bid contract to build the $678 million Obamacare
enrollment website at Healthcare.gov.
CGI Federal is the U.S. arm of a Canadian company. Townes-Whitley and her
Princeton classmate Michelle Obama are both members of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni. Toni Townes ’85 is a onetime policy analyst
with the General Accounting Office and
previously served in the Peace Corps in Gabon, West Africa. Her decision to
return to work, as an African-American woman, after six years of raising kids was applauded by a Princeton alumni publication in 1998.
with the General Accounting Office and
previously served in the Peace Corps in Gabon, West Africa. Her decision to
return to work, as an African-American woman, after six years of raising kids was applauded by a Princeton alumni publication in 1998.
U.S.
Corporate Bond Issuance in Slowest Start to Year Since ’08 - (www.bloomberg.com) Sales
of corporate bonds in the U.S. are off to the slowest start in six years as
relative yields narrow to the least since 2007. Offerings in the first 10 days
of the year were $32.5 billion, the least since $27 billion at the beginning of
2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. General Electric Co. (GE), the borrower with the most debt maturing in
2014 of any issuer in the market, sold $3 billion of bonds while Icahn
Enterprises LP
raised $3.65 billion in its biggest sale. Issuance is decelerating after the
busiest year ever as the Federal Reserve begins scaling back unprecedented
stimulus efforts that pushed yields last year to a record low.
Corn
Pile Biggest Since 1994 as Crop Overwhelms Use: Commodities - (www.bloomberg.com) Stockpiles
of corn in the U.S., the world’s top grower, are rising at the fastest pace in
19 years as a record crop overwhelms increased demand for the grain used to
make livestock feed and ethanol. Inventories on Dec. 1, the first tally since
the harvest was complete, probably totaled 10.764 billion bushels (273.4
million metric tons), 34 percent more than a year earlier, according to the
average of 24 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The biggest gain for
that date since 1994 signals ample supplies may extend the slump in March
futures by 9 percent to $3.75 a bushel, according to Newedge USA LLC’s Dan Cekander.
No comments:
Post a Comment