Despite a slew of damaging revelations Jack Lew has been confirmed by the Senate. With a 71-26 vote Lew received more Republican support than Chuck Hagel. On some level Lew’s easy confirmation is a testament to how much influence Wall Street has in Washington but it still is interesting to compare the two nominations and [...]

There may not be anyone left in America that doesn’t know Wall Street sets the agenda in Washington, that the revolving door between finance capital and the so-called regulators of finance capital spins so fast the IAEA should demand inspections. And so we learn that President Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee not only worked for the [...]

Jack Lew’s nomination for Treasury Secretary was already proving to be contentious but now questions are being raised on Lew’s personal financial activities. Lew reportedly made an offshore investment in the Cayman Islands that may have been an attempt to avoid taxes. Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew will face questions at his confirmation hearing next [...]

And the circle is complete. Tim Geithner’s first post-Treasury Secretary job will be as a “distinguished fellow” at the Council On Foreign Relations. For the uninitiated, the Council On Foreign Relations is a more or less open conspiracy to use the American government as a vessel for advancing Big Business’ interests abroad. CFR represents America’s [...]

After a global financial crisis, an epic price fixing scandal, and embarrassing criminal conduct British regulators are considering ending Too Big To Fail Banking. British Finance Minister George Osborne has proposed legislation that if banks do not shield their riskier investment activities from day to day banking they will face restructuring. Britain is shaking up [...]

Watch Alarm Bells In The Housing Market on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. Last night Frontline aired a program on the Department of Justice’s failure to prosecute Wall Street executives over fraud in the mortgage market that caused the 2008 financial crisis. The program included compelling testimony from the “due diligence underwriters” those responsible for [...]

Jack Lew, veteran of Citigroup and current White House Chief of Staff, will be our next Treasury Secretary: President Obama will on Thursday afternoon announce his intent to nominate Jack Lew to serve as treasury secretary, the White House said. The pick, widely reported on Wednesday, will come at a 1:30 p.m. ceremony in the [...]

If anyone deserves a $6.7 million bonus, it’s the CEO who squandered 88% of his company’s stock value: Vikram Pandit isn’t getting a golden parachute, but he’s still not doing too badly. Citigroup said Friday that the former CEO, who resigned last month in a management shakeup, will receive an “incentive award” of $6.7 million [...]

I don’t know if Vikram Pandit wants to cite Maria Bartiromo in his list of reasons why he stepped down as head of Citigroup, but it certainly rings true as a general Wall Street titan complaint. Let’s face it, we have an individual here who sold his hedge fund to Citi for $800 million, taking [...]

Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citigroup, who presided over some of the worst years in the history of the bank, abruptly stepped downtoday. He will be replaced by longtime Citi executive Michael Corbat. Here’s Pandit’s statement.

I have not read Sheila Bair’s upcoming book, “Bull by the Horns,” but it’s on a growing list (I hear former Senate staffer Jeff Connaughton’s book is excellent as well). Arthur Delaney notes that she had harsh words for HAMP, the Administration’s failed program to rescue homeowners facing foreclosure. And she didn’t shy away from accurately describing the program as one that fostered predatory lending.