Author Archives: Yves Smith
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Blames Nasty, Scheming Employees for Fake Accounts Scandal
If Stumpf were captain of the Titanic, not only would the crash be the iceberg’s fault, but he’d also get the first seat on the lifeboat
Read more...John Helmer: Did Hillary Clinton Take Money From Russia Oligarch Oleg Deripaska for a Favor in the General Motors-Opel Deal?
The curious tale of a Russian’s oligarch’s donation to the Clinton Foundation and his failed attempt to make an acquisition from General Motors.
Read more...Dakota Access Pipeline: The Wrong Side of a Long, Long History of Resource Extraction
On the bogus economic case for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Read more...Thomas Palley: The Fed’s Misguided Approach to Tightening
The Fed touted its “creativity” in bailing out banks during the crisis. That “creativity” is absent in how it is planning to exit its extraordinary policies.
Read more...Links 9/13/16
Wells Fargo Exec Who Oversaw Fake Accounts Received $125 Million Upon Recent Retirement, Praise from CEO; Senate Hearings Next Week
The Wells Fargo “fake accounts” scandal gets uglier.
Read more...Don Quijones: Barcelona Just Declared War on AirBnB (and Its Hosts)
Why Barcelona is taking a tough stand on AirBnB, and has strong support of its citizens.
Read more...The Charade That Deters the Use of “Direct Spending” to Fund Federal Operations
Why do so many people recoil at the idea that Federal spending does not depend on taxation?
Read more...Thanks for Vacation Coverage
A vacation-related shout out.
Read more...Hoisted From Comments: First Cut at Perps in Massive Wells Fargo Consumer Fraud
More evidence that regulators had no excuse for not naming, shaming, and at least fining key Wells Fargo execs in its massive consumer fraud.
Read more...Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million for Opening Phony Customer Accounts, Charging Fees Without Consent; Executives Go Scot Free
Wells Fargo executives make a clean getaway despite the bank engaging in large-scale, systematic consumer fraud.
Read more...Is Fiscal Policy for Prosperity Back in Place of Austerity?
Austerity appears to be quietly going out of fashion.
Read more...Japan Throws Spanner into Brexit Negotiations
Multinationals just weighted in on the Brexit talks, in the form of a letter from Japan’s government.
Read more...Liberty Reserve, Bitcoin, and the US Bank Regulatory Dog That Didn’t Bark
How a toothless US watchdog, FinCEN, has largely ignored money laundering via Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
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