Hundreds of U.S Corporate Frauds ?
February 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The FBI today informed Congress that the possible cases of financial impropriety and fraud have risen in the U.S from 38 to around 100.
In his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Deputy Director John Pistole compared the investigations to the probe into the Enron Corp collapse. A U.S. Justice Department official said the agency was considering creating a national mortgage fraud task force. This would be similar to the one held over Enron’s enquiry.
It seems that there is no end to the revelations that the aftermath of the credit crunch are going to reveal to us.
Is the U.S. about to lose its financial super-power status?
September 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We are living in remarkable times. Who would have expected President George Bush to call an unprecedented emergency meeting with his prospective sucessors, John McCain and Barack Obama. In their time of aspiring to the U.S. Presidency, the eyes of the world are upon these two men to see how they operate in consultation with the President examining what can be done to minimise the acute financial shockwaves travelling through the world with their epicentre on Wall Street.
George Bush has a cunning 700-billion-dollar Wall Street rescue plan. The question is, will Congress buy it? “Without immediate action by Congress , America could slip into a financial panic,” the president said. “Ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession.” We are talking major impact here….nest eggs wiped out, pension plans becoming worthless, millions of unemployed, home prices in freefall….the list goes on.
The European perspective….
Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has highlighted his belief that the responsibility for the global financial crisis rests firmly at the United States’ feet. Huge bonuses and the drive for massive profits in order to achieve them have meant a lack of financial regulation followed by an almighty freefall as the credit crunch hits hard.
“The United States will lose its super-power status in the world financial system. The world financial system will become more multi-polar,” he said. So what will this mean for the average person on the street? Clearly, newly tightened controls will make borrowing for a mortgage or other household purchases will become even harder to come by. This, in itself, will have the knock on effect of making house prices fall (with negative equity issues for many home owners) and reducing consumer expenditure – especially on larger items. However, as we invest in pensions and savings for our futures, greated financial control and security are going to be what a very skittish market is looking for. We are on the brink of a major world recession and it is starting to look as if there is no avoiding it what we can do, however, is learn by out mistakes and try to prevent this from ever happening again..
