Tim Geithner fails the Jon Stewart stress test (Daily Show extended interview video)

Jon Stewart was exasperated by Tim Geithner's analysis

Whilst up to 10 million home owning Americans continue to face foreclosure as a result of the irresponsible and predatory bank lending that characterised the period up to the Lehman’s bankruptcy, the banks that caused the crash are once again in … Continue reading

How banks have hoodwinked you over high frequency trading (video)


I have just heard one of the poorest interviews on the subject of high frequency trading that I have had the misfortune to come across on the usually excellent Today programme on BBC Radio 4. The interviewer, Evan Davis, had the … Continue reading

Strong regulation is why the Canadian banking system has had no financial crises in 150 years (video)


I promised in a recent post (If Robert Peston thinks that it’s time to stop bashing the bankers he’s wrong) to show you that an innovative, stable and fully functional financial system that avoids regular (or any) crashes is possible.  The United States (and consequently most of … Continue reading

Corporations are legally defined as people except when they commit a crime (video)


Jon Stewart on the travesty of justice that allows businesses like Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs , HSBC, GSK, Pfizer, and a host of other large corporations to negotiate with regulators to pay fines as their pennance for crimes that they have committed whilst none … Continue reading

Investment banks & bankers: too big (headed) to jail (video)


John Oliver on the travesty of justice that is banks and bankers negotiating with regulators to pay ‘huge’ fines (in reality no more than a few days worth of sales) for committing financial crimes rather than serving jail time. To add insult … Continue reading

Royal Mail privatisation – Vince Cable’s epic fail (Video)


Yesterday, in my humble opinion Vince Cable lied to the British people in a display of dishonourable dissembling that brings our politics into disrepute and explains why so many of the British public have nothing but contempt for the political … Continue reading

If Robert Peston thinks that it’s time to stop bashing the bankers he’s wrong (video)


On 30 November, Robert Peston published an article on BBC Online that made my stomach churn.  In the article, entitled “New City same as old City?” Peston reported on two significant news stories of the day. The first was about the … Continue reading

Now it’s clear – the Royal Mail privatisation ripped-off the British people (video)

Ripping-off the public to line the pockets of the fat cats plus ca change

UBS and Goldman Sachs who were appointed by the government to run the privatisation advised that the Royal Mail was worth £3.7bn but other banks including JP Morgan and Citibank said that it was probably worth up to £10bn. The … Continue reading

The problem with investment banking (part 1)


The Problem with Investment Banking (Part 1) Bankers would like us to believe that what they do is fantastically sophisticated and requires huge talent and massive intellectual prowess. It is on these largely false grounds that they try to persuade us … Continue reading