Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
1.12.2010
11.13.2009
Whammy - Two Charged in Aiding Madoff
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Two computer programmers who worked for Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm were accused Friday of helping to cover-up the giant Ponzi scheme for more than for more than 15 years.
In a statement, the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan said the two programmers — Jerome O’Hara, 46, of Malverne, N.Y., and George Perez, 43, of East Brunswick, N.J. — were arrested Friday at their homes.
The complaint accuses the two men of providing the technical support needed to produce false documents and trading records that defrauding investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities of billions of dollars.
“Jerome O’Hara and George Perez allegedly helped construct Bernie Madoff’s house of cards. The computer codes and random algorithms they allegedly designed served to deceive investors and regulators and concealed Madoff’s crimes,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
In addition, Joseph M. Demarest Jr., the assistant director in charge of the F.B.I.’s New York office, said that when the two men told Mr. Madoff “they would no longer lie for him,” they were paid to keep the scheme quiet.
Separately, a civil complaint was filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Without the help of O’Hara and Perez, the Madoff fraud would not have been possible,” said George S. Canellos, the director of the S.E.C.’s New York Regional Office. “They used their special computer skills to create sophisticated, credible and entirely phony trading records that were critical to the success of Madoff’s scheme for so many years.”
According to prosecutors, F.B.I. agents found handwritten notes in Mr. O’Hara’s desk stating, “I won’t lie any longer. Next time, I say ‘ask Frank,’ ” referring to Frank DiPascali Jr., Mr. Madoff’s primary assistant in the Ponzi scheme.
To read more of this article please click the title link.
Two computer programmers who worked for Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm were accused Friday of helping to cover-up the giant Ponzi scheme for more than for more than 15 years.
In a statement, the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan said the two programmers — Jerome O’Hara, 46, of Malverne, N.Y., and George Perez, 43, of East Brunswick, N.J. — were arrested Friday at their homes.
The complaint accuses the two men of providing the technical support needed to produce false documents and trading records that defrauding investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities of billions of dollars.
“Jerome O’Hara and George Perez allegedly helped construct Bernie Madoff’s house of cards. The computer codes and random algorithms they allegedly designed served to deceive investors and regulators and concealed Madoff’s crimes,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
In addition, Joseph M. Demarest Jr., the assistant director in charge of the F.B.I.’s New York office, said that when the two men told Mr. Madoff “they would no longer lie for him,” they were paid to keep the scheme quiet.
Separately, a civil complaint was filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Without the help of O’Hara and Perez, the Madoff fraud would not have been possible,” said George S. Canellos, the director of the S.E.C.’s New York Regional Office. “They used their special computer skills to create sophisticated, credible and entirely phony trading records that were critical to the success of Madoff’s scheme for so many years.”
According to prosecutors, F.B.I. agents found handwritten notes in Mr. O’Hara’s desk stating, “I won’t lie any longer. Next time, I say ‘ask Frank,’ ” referring to Frank DiPascali Jr., Mr. Madoff’s primary assistant in the Ponzi scheme.
To read more of this article please click the title link.
11.10.2009
Dow Reaches '09 High
By STEVE GOLDSTEIN
U.S. stock futures were slightly lower Tuesday, as investors took a breather following the previous day's sharp rally.
Less than two hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were sixteen points lower at 10176. The S&P 500 futures slipped 3.7 to 1088, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4.25 to 1762.25. Changes in futures do not always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt to a new 13-month high Monday as investors grew more optimistic about the continued flow of easy money to support economic recovery. The Dow climbed 203.52 points, or 2%, to end at 10226.94 -- its highest finish since Oct. 3, 2008 and the second 200-point gain in three trading days. The blue-chip measure has risen 4.7% over the four-day winning streak that began with the Federal Reserve's policy statement last Wednesday, which quelled fears that the central bank might raise rates soon. Gold rose to a new record, oil futures snapped two days of losses and the dollar fell.
On Tuesday, the euro crossed about $1.50, gold was down slightly after rising to a new high of $1,111.70 on Monday. Oil prices also slipped after the threat of Tropical Storm Ida to U.S. oil and gas installations receded.
"[Ida] isn't expected to cause any lasting oil industry facilities damage...the storm has been downgraded to unpleasant from nasty and everything should be up and running again by mid week," said London-based brokerage PVM Oil Associates in a note.
The market was nearly flat ahead of data from the American Petroleum Institute due later Tuesday, in the absence of other major economic data. The front-month December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading $0.19 lower at $79.24 a barrel.
To read more of this article please click the Title link.
U.S. stock futures were slightly lower Tuesday, as investors took a breather following the previous day's sharp rally.
Less than two hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were sixteen points lower at 10176. The S&P 500 futures slipped 3.7 to 1088, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4.25 to 1762.25. Changes in futures do not always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt to a new 13-month high Monday as investors grew more optimistic about the continued flow of easy money to support economic recovery. The Dow climbed 203.52 points, or 2%, to end at 10226.94 -- its highest finish since Oct. 3, 2008 and the second 200-point gain in three trading days. The blue-chip measure has risen 4.7% over the four-day winning streak that began with the Federal Reserve's policy statement last Wednesday, which quelled fears that the central bank might raise rates soon. Gold rose to a new record, oil futures snapped two days of losses and the dollar fell.
On Tuesday, the euro crossed about $1.50, gold was down slightly after rising to a new high of $1,111.70 on Monday. Oil prices also slipped after the threat of Tropical Storm Ida to U.S. oil and gas installations receded.
"[Ida] isn't expected to cause any lasting oil industry facilities damage...the storm has been downgraded to unpleasant from nasty and everything should be up and running again by mid week," said London-based brokerage PVM Oil Associates in a note.
The market was nearly flat ahead of data from the American Petroleum Institute due later Tuesday, in the absence of other major economic data. The front-month December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading $0.19 lower at $79.24 a barrel.
To read more of this article please click the Title link.
10.05.2009
US Web Ad Spending Fell
By SCOTT MORRISON
U.S. advertisers spent $10.9 billion on Internet ads in the first half of 2009, a 5.3% decline from the same period last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said Monday.
Search advertising continued to represent the largest percentage of overall interactive ad spending, with search revenues reaching more than $5.1 billion in the half of 2009, up slightly from that same period in 2008, the group said in a report produced with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Display-related advertising--which includes display ads, rich media, digital video and sponsorship--totaled nearly $3.8 billion in the first six months of 2009, a 1.1% decline from the same period in 2008, the IAB said.
Digital video ads remained at tiny segment of the market with $477 million in spending, but the sector continued to show robust growth with a 38% increase from last year.
The report largely confirmed what Internet giants such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have been saying for months - that the economic downturn has taken its toll on Internet advertising, but not in an even fashion and not the to degree in which the offline ad market has suffered.
"We are in one of the most difficult economic slumps in decades. Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected," Randall Rothenberg, president and chief executive of the IAB, said in a statement.
Write to Scott Morrison at scott.morrison@dowjones.com
Copied from WSJ Online. Please click the title link to view related articles.
U.S. advertisers spent $10.9 billion on Internet ads in the first half of 2009, a 5.3% decline from the same period last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said Monday.
Search advertising continued to represent the largest percentage of overall interactive ad spending, with search revenues reaching more than $5.1 billion in the half of 2009, up slightly from that same period in 2008, the group said in a report produced with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Display-related advertising--which includes display ads, rich media, digital video and sponsorship--totaled nearly $3.8 billion in the first six months of 2009, a 1.1% decline from the same period in 2008, the IAB said.
Digital video ads remained at tiny segment of the market with $477 million in spending, but the sector continued to show robust growth with a 38% increase from last year.
The report largely confirmed what Internet giants such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have been saying for months - that the economic downturn has taken its toll on Internet advertising, but not in an even fashion and not the to degree in which the offline ad market has suffered.
"We are in one of the most difficult economic slumps in decades. Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected," Randall Rothenberg, president and chief executive of the IAB, said in a statement.
Write to Scott Morrison at scott.morrison@dowjones.com
Copied from WSJ Online. Please click the title link to view related articles.
10.04.2009
Overdraft Fees in the US and UK
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. US banks’ credit card fees already face new restrictions. Now Congress is expected to move ahead with proposals that could require banks to ask customers whether they want overdraft services. These allow transactions when accounts are in the red but have been criticised for charges as high as $40 per transaction, even for a $5 overdraft. They also fall disproportionately on low-balance accounts. This has proved controversial elsewhere – although in countries such as the UK, where the Office of Fair Trading has bashed fees since 2006, banks are further ahead in responding...
For more of this article please click the title link.
For more of this article please click the title link.
9.21.2009
Leading Economic Index Increased in August
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose for the fifth straight month, capping the longest stretch of gains since 2004 and signaling a recovery is under way.
The Conference Board’s gauge of the economic outlook for the next three to six months rose 0.6 percent in August, in line with forecasts, after a 0.9 percent increase in July that was larger than previously estimated, according to data that the New York-based group released today.
The gains in stock prices, consumer confidence and homebuilding that are buoying the leading index bolster Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s view that the worst recession since the Great Depression has probably ended. At the same time, rising unemployment and tight credit are a reminder that a rebound will be slow and gradual...
For more of this article please click the title link.
The Conference Board’s gauge of the economic outlook for the next three to six months rose 0.6 percent in August, in line with forecasts, after a 0.9 percent increase in July that was larger than previously estimated, according to data that the New York-based group released today.
The gains in stock prices, consumer confidence and homebuilding that are buoying the leading index bolster Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s view that the worst recession since the Great Depression has probably ended. At the same time, rising unemployment and tight credit are a reminder that a rebound will be slow and gradual...
For more of this article please click the title link.
9.13.2009
Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Best of Luck to Zach Mathews for his Art Direction in this video. (Watch tonight's VMAs to see if he wins)
8.26.2009
Bernanke May Redefine Fed Mission in Financial-Market Stability
#economics
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ben S. Bernanke’s renomination allows him to redefine the Federal Reserve’s mission as he expands its power over financial markets and pulls back on a credit surge the central bank used to keep the economy from collapse, economists say.
Bernanke’s agenda during the next four years will include elevating the Fed’s role in reducing excessive risk in major financial institutions, figuring out how to curtail asset bubbles, and scaling back $1.2 trillion of monetary stimulus.
“He will have the opportunity to permanently change the structure of the Federal Reserve system,” said Vincent Reinhart, a former director of the Fed’s Monetary Affairs Division who’s now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based research group.
President Barack Obama nominated Bernanke, 55, for a second term yesterday, lauding the Fed chairman for helping “put the brakes on our economic free fall...”
..to continue reading please click the title link.
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ben S. Bernanke’s renomination allows him to redefine the Federal Reserve’s mission as he expands its power over financial markets and pulls back on a credit surge the central bank used to keep the economy from collapse, economists say.
Bernanke’s agenda during the next four years will include elevating the Fed’s role in reducing excessive risk in major financial institutions, figuring out how to curtail asset bubbles, and scaling back $1.2 trillion of monetary stimulus.
“He will have the opportunity to permanently change the structure of the Federal Reserve system,” said Vincent Reinhart, a former director of the Fed’s Monetary Affairs Division who’s now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based research group.
President Barack Obama nominated Bernanke, 55, for a second term yesterday, lauding the Fed chairman for helping “put the brakes on our economic free fall...”
..to continue reading please click the title link.
8.25.2009
Obama to reappoint Bernanke as Fed chief
OAK BLUFFS, Mass. - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term, NBC News has confirmed.
Obama plans to make the announcement on Tuesday during a break from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, NBC and The Associated Press reported.
In remarks prepared for the announcement, Obama praised Bernanke for leading the country through a financial crisis and, with his expertise on the Great Depression, helping to prevent a similar crisis....
To read the rest of this article click here.
Obama plans to make the announcement on Tuesday during a break from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, NBC and The Associated Press reported.
In remarks prepared for the announcement, Obama praised Bernanke for leading the country through a financial crisis and, with his expertise on the Great Depression, helping to prevent a similar crisis....
To read the rest of this article click here.
7.14.2009
6.12.2009
Consumer Confidence on the Rise
The Conference Board reported at the end of May that consumer confidence had reached its highest level in eight months. The monthly report measures the "degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their spending and saving activities." The May index was at 54.9 (the base year being 1985, chosen because it was neither a year of expansion or contraction), up from 40.8 reported in April and more importantly up from the all-time index low in February of 25.3. The Consumer Confidence Index since May 2007 is shown below with the Expectations Index (approx. 60% of CCI) and Present Situation Index (approx. 40% of CCI).
(Click the chart for larger image)
I've also marked this post as "Something Good" because as I see it Americans are gaining back their hope and we will soon pull out of our current economic downturn.
In other economic news the current gasoline price in the U.S. as of 06/08/09 is $2.624 (national average), up a dime since last week, but down $1.415 since last year.
For data sources, questions or other comments please email me at BSLdesigns@hotmail.com. Have a fun and safe weekend.
I've also marked this post as "Something Good" because as I see it Americans are gaining back their hope and we will soon pull out of our current economic downturn.
In other economic news the current gasoline price in the U.S. as of 06/08/09 is $2.624 (national average), up a dime since last week, but down $1.415 since last year.
For data sources, questions or other comments please email me at BSLdesigns@hotmail.com. Have a fun and safe weekend.
6.08.2009
A Recent Visit to Mankiw's Blog
In my job search I have made it a point to watch consumer confidence, read every MSN money, finance and graduate related article, network my ass off... and just recently I went back to check on an Economist's perspective on current events. Greg Mankiw is the intro econ prof at Harvard and in my large stack of once-used econ texts I still hold some of his publications.
Sunday Greg helped me understand that Males are less likely to be holding a job right now:
12.31.2008
12.14.2008
co-sign
2001 Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz speaks his mind about the Big 3 Bailout. I co-sign his exact thoughts, for better or worse. Read the article at Financial Times.As a student seeking a BA in Economics (in my final semesters at Centre College) I hope to add more econ related material to the blog.
10.16.2008
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