Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

World Shares Fall To 4-Month Low Amid U.S. Slowdown, Emerging-Market Woes
HP | Reuters | Marc Jones | 02/04/14

World shares slumped to near a four-month low on Tuesday as signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy aggravated the anxiety caused by a sell-off in emerging markets.   A report showing U.S. factory activity was weaker than expected had caused both the dollar and global equities to fall on Monday. European investors remained anxious on Tuesday after another session of sustained selling in Asia. ...

... Tokyo's Nikkei plunged 4 percent in its worst day since June, cementing its position as the worst performer in developed markets in 2014. MSCI's emerging-market index dropped 1.4 percent, putting its losses since late October at almost 12 percent. ... Read more

For the Love of Money
NYTimes | Sam Polk | 01/18/14

IN my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million -- and I was angry because it wasn't big enough. I was 30 years old, had no children to raise, no debts to pay, no philanthropic goal in mind. I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted.

Eight years earlier, I'd walked onto the trading floor at Credit Suisse First Boston to begin my summer internship. I already knew I wanted to be rich, but when I started out I had a different idea about what wealth meant. I'd come to Wall Street after reading in the book "Liar's Poker" how Michael Lewis earned a $225,000 bonus after just two years of work on a trading floor. That seemed like a fortune. Every January and February, I think about that time, because these are the months when bonuses are decided and distributed, when fortunes are made. ... Read more

Greece Tops Europe's Shadow Economies
ZeroHedge | author | 02/04/14

While Greece may be the most corrupt nation in Europe, there appears another problematic issue for finance minister Yannis Stournaras when he discusses the way forward with his Swiss counterpart this week. As Bloomberg's Niraj Shah reports, Greece's difficulties with tax evasion are the worst in Europe. Accprding to a study from Johannes Kepler University, the size of the Greek shadow economy is a stunning 24% of GDP. ... Click to zoom chart

Bank Of America Warns: "Too Few Bears Out There", "Investors Not Prepared" For Selloff
ZeroHedge | author | 02/04/14

There is one main reason why complacency is bad: selloffs. Because as Bank of America explains, in an environment in which there are "too few bears", and where investors are "not prepared for a downside correction", when you do finally get a sell off for whatever reason, with nobody hedged and otherwise prepared for such an outcome, the only logical continuation is piling on until one gets selling exhaustion. And in a world in which hedge fund leverage is about 500%, by the time exhaustion comes, there will be very few left standing. ... Read more
Click to zoom chart

Shares steadier as emerging market sell-off eases
Reuters | Marc Jones | 02/04/14

World shares steadied after falling to a near four-month low on Tuesday as a bounce in battered emerging market currencies and a positive start for Wall Street helped lift some of the recent gloom.

A weaker-than-expected report on U.S. factory activity had hit global equity markets and the dollar hard on Monday but European shares had clawed back most of their morning losses by the time Wall Street reopened. ... Read more

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Tuesday, February 04 [7:19]

*TRNN | Heiner Flassbeck: Finance is Super Rational about Profits, Irrational about Global Economy, Part 2 [12:15]

*TRNN | Heiner Flassbeck: Danger of Global Recession After 30 Years of Neoliberal Counterrevolution [10:15]

Real Life Mowgli: Girl Who Grew Up in the African Wildlife

*Is the TPP Dead? [11:43]

As Inequality Worsens, Millionaires Are Pulling Up the Drawbridge Behind Them
AlterNet | Josh Bornstein | 02/03/14

When I became a partner in a law firm, something strange happened at the bank. Our relationship deepened. I became a premium client with premium needs.

I was introduced to my customer relationship manager. Soon after I realised I didn't have to queue in a bank branch again. If I had a problem, he could sort it out. I received a discount on the bank's advertised variable interest rate. Other bank employees contacted me to discuss "wealth management", "exciting investment opportunities" and "great insurance deals". ... Read more