“The fault dear Brutus lies not in the stars, but within ourselves” Shakespeare
Strange times these days are. We want to point a finger at everybody instead of our own role in the problems we have today. I am probably just as guilty as anybody of blaming everyone else, but God willing, I am willing to own up more to the fires I have ignited. At least I am better than I used to be.
What has that got to do with today? Plenty. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some very dreadful news the other day. It appears that we are losing a battle with ourselves more than terrorism. The truth is, Americans insatiable need for prescription drugs is a bigger problem than the War on Terror, the Karl Rove-George W. Bush creation. The Center for Disease Control announced that 14,800 people died in 2008 from over doses in painkillers, up from 4,000 in 1999. Annual deaths from painkiller prescription drugs now surpass those from heroin and cocaine combined. Then when you look at the war zone in Mexico–the root of the problem is not the Mexican drug cartels, it is Americans insatiable appetite for drugs.
My free market friends claim there is too much regulation in America and to large extent I agree, but not when it comes to finance, not when it comes to Wall Street. On Wall Street, HMS Deregulation is alive and well, and it is not just an American problem, but a global one. Think global warming is bad, global deregulation of the financial markets is a frigging nightmare. Regrettably, when we see the financial crisis in Greece today, and which will inevitably migrate further into Europe and into the U.S., finance, Wall Street is always lurking in the shadows. Banks have their fingerprints over the mess. Does not matter whether it is Goldman Sachs, Barclay’s, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank or Banco Santander or Nomura or Lehman. Exploding banks are a world problem.
So the fall of MF Global and Jon Corzine is a warning shot of more to come, I think. Only in America, Corzine, a Goldman Sachs banker extraordinaire, adversary of Hurricane Hank Paulson and buddy of J. Christopher Flowers, one day a predatory banker, another, became both a U.S. Senator and governor of New Jersey using his pile of cash he made at Goldman. On another day, Corzine would captain MF Global, now another reckless plunge not only to bet the company’s capital but apparently its customers. Now bankrupt, MF Global pulled down some name brands with it, Fidelity’s Pyramus funds, RS Investments, TIAA-Cref, JP Morgan , Deutsche Bank and CNBC. The truth is there is no real regulation on Wall Street. Jon Corzine may not get his $12 million severance
What is worse MF Global, which was a commodity trading powerhouse is a canary in the coal mine. The asset management industrial complex, which makes MF Global a midget in a land of leviathans such as Fidelity, Pimco, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and JPMorgan, is an industry which dodged the regulation oversight bullet when it comes to managing your assets in your 401(k). If only folks at Occupy Wall Street could figure this one out, then they would have something to protest about. As usual, regulators are Keystone Kops in the MFGlobal/Jon Corzine case a kind of what happened moment involving Masters of the Universe. It appears MF Global also stuck J. Christopher Flowers for $48 million, the same guy who owned one of The Pirates of Manhattan biggest private residences.
News Corp. continues its woes. Apparently the hacking culture of the media giant has quite the history. James Murdoch, heir apparent, is pulled into the mess. Heres the link. News Corp Lawyer Noted ‘Hacking’ in 2008.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204528204577012153254681664.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
