White-collar crime is quite an incredible industry – millions of dollars disappear each year to offshore bank accounts, hookers, drugs, and yachts because rich executives (generally rich white guys) aren’t satisfied with their Porsches. White-collar crime finally got some serious attention when corruption single-handedly destroyed the lives of four thousand Enron employees at the start [...]

A very sobering piece to write, no doubt, but needed nonetheless. Especially when you consider the revised GDP numbers from 2008. From Frum Forum: Two years ago, Commerce estimated the decline of the US economy at -0.5% in the third quarter of 2008 and -3.8% in the fourth quarter. It now puts the damage at [...]

You can’t look at today’s news and do anything but wince. 18,000 jobs created and the numbers in April and May were revised downward. Unpacking the numbers a bit, 57,000 private sector jobs were created, while budget cuts pushed 39,000 folks out of work in the public sector. So how are businesses doing? Quite well… [...]

The move will save nearly 2,500 jobs.

Hey there corporations! Hope all is well. If the news today is any indication, looks like things are going great! Your profits have gone up seven straight quarters and collectively reached a record high. Here, just take a look at this graph… Wow! You must be pumped!

I do not believe there is any case to be made for a statistical correlation between market direction and political parties in power that will stand up to rigorous mathematical scrutiny over the long term. However, in the short term, if investors believe that divided government is good for markets, then that expectation can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. That may be what we are seeing in the market now in anticipation of the November results. Apparently the investor class really believes that divided government is good for the market, and we are going to get it in the election.

The title says it all, but here’s a bit more detail… From NY Times: Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the largest penalties ever paid by a Wall Street firm, to settle charges of securities fraud linked to mortgage investments. The S.E.C. filed a lawsuit [...]

Listen, if a public or private company makes money and wants to keep it close to their chest, that’s their right. But those same businesses can’t then go and collectively fault the White House’s policies for preventing them from hiring more people. And that’s exactly what they’re doing through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and [...]

Most investors believe that the stock market will benefit from Republicans taking control of either the House or Senate in the fall. With that expectation, a rising market could very well be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the GOP begins to look like it has a realistic chance of taking control of one house, the opportunities may come along sooner rather than later.

The doomsayers are out in full force today…which I find puzzling. After all, the jobs report today, while not overtly positive, was still nearly 200,000 better than the previous month and one would think it could be seen as either neutral or slightly positive. Yes, many of the jobs added were seasonal and created by [...]

Previous worst case scenarios estimated the spill to be pumping 2M gallons of oil a day into the gulf, but new numbers paint a much darker picture. Here’s how the two leaks shake out… Leak A: 70,000 barrels a day + Leak B: 25,000 barrels a day = 95,000 barrels a day One barrel of [...]

The gap has shrunk a bit, but the economy is turning around so in a year’s time it’s unlikely we’ll have the problems we’re having today. Basically, the question will then be… “Who is responsible for the economic growth in this country?” Gallup has more on that… Obama has stated that he “inherited the most [...]

While Krugman is brimming with good tidings and bubbling over with holiday cheer, from the other side of the political spectrum Peter Schiff is offering a dour double dose of “Bah Humbug.”

Looks like the world’s largest retailer is getting serious about green. From The Register: The five latest stores in Walmart’s pilot program, which now totals 20 stores, Sam’s Clubs, and distribution centers in Hawaii and California, will all be located in sunny Puerto Rico. Their solar installations will be provided by SunEdison, described by Walmart [...]

That’s the plan, but color me skeptical. These corporations have too much influence on Capitol Hill. Still, the fact that we’re even talking about it is encouraging. CNN explains why this issue has reignited… Two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) was roundly panned amid speculation that it was considering paying its employees some [...]

Thanks to Justin and company for welcoming me on here as a regular contributor. I will be posting on a number of issues, but one area you can expect that I will regularly be tracking is technology related developments and how they interact with the political world and policy. I also live less than ten [...]

Most people don’t realize that the insane gas prices last year had nothing to do with increased demand and had everything to do with market speculation and hoarding encouraged by the top investment banks. Now True/Slant’s own Matt Taibbi uncovers the truth behind the scam. Read the rest at True/Slant.

When the world’s largest retailer backs something like this, it’s hard to ignore. Especially since they’ve had such a spotty record when it came to covering their 2 million employees in the past. From The Hill: With Wal-Mart’s endorsement of a legal requirement that employers provide health benefits to their workers, the nation’s largest employer [...]

Not too many people are dancing over the news of GM’s bankruptcy, but opinions are decidedly mixed on what the government ownership of the car company will mean. Lee Cary, of American Thinker sees the era of Government Motors dawning with coercive attempts to force a Green fleet onto American consumers. This, in Cary’s opinion, [...]

All the kings horses and all the bond deals couldn’t keep GM from cracking. As feared, the car giant has filed for bankruptcy. Now what? The plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take a 12.5 percent stake, with the United [...]