World-News

Wall Street Confidence Trick

The Interest-Rate Swaps That Are Bankrupting Local Governments

Ellen Brown, Truthout: ''For more than a decade, banks and insurance companies convinced local governments, hospitals, universities and other nonprofits that interest-rate swaps would lower interest rates on bonds sold for public projects such as roads, bridges and schools. The swaps were entered into to insure against a rise in interest rates; but instead, interest rates fell to historically low levels.... The banks got in trouble, and the Federal Reserve and federal government rushed in to bail them out, rewarding them for their misdeeds at the expense of the taxpayers.''

http://truth-out.org/news/item/8016-wall-street-confidence-trick-the-interest-rate-swaps-that-are-bankrupting-local-governments



A Seven-Day Plan to Finally Hold Wall Street Accountable

Bruce Judson, New Deal 2.0: ''Since the start of the financial crisis, federal and state officials have been struggling to change Wall Street behavior. To date, every effort has failed miserably, and the weak enforcement provisions of the robo-mortgage settlement are unlikely to meaningfully change this dynamic.... The greatest moral hazard now confronting the nation is what appears to be increasingly brazen criminal activity by financial industry executives. With each decision not to prosecute, Wall Street executives justifiably conclude that they are immune to the rules.''

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/8020-a-seven-day-plan-to-finally-hold-wall-street-accountable

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Banker Hubris Knows No Bounds
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/21-2

Bailouts, Fraud are the Secrets to Bank of America s Success
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2012/03/22-0

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The System Is Paralyzed
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2012/03/22/265-the-system-is-paralyzed/

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Hubris is major threat to U.S., experts say

''Hubris is thinking everybody likes us,'' he said, when in reality, the U.S. image overseas ''is deeply troubling.''

http://bit.ly/GWIsN4


From Information Clearing House



http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=financial+crisis
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=bailout
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=hubris
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Federal+Reserve
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Wall+Street
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=financial+industry
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Big+Banks
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Bank+of+America
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=bankrupt
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=mortgage
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=taxpayer
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Ellen+Brown
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Bruce+Judson
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Jim+Hightower
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=/lewrockwell-show
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/search?q=Matt+Taibbi
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