IMF Says U.S. Financial System May Need $76 Billion in Capital
July 30th, 2010Your what hurts?
Via: Bloomberg:
The U.S. financial system remains fragile and banks subjected to additional economic stress might need as much as $76 billion in capital, according to the results of International Monetary Fund stress tests.
The findings, released today as part of a broader IMF report on the U.S. financial system, suggested that while the nation’s banking system is stable, it remains vulnerable. Home prices, commercial real estate loans and economic growth have the potential to cause shocks that could expose banks to more losses.
Under one scenario, small and regional banks as well as subsidiaries of foreign banks would need $40.5 billion in additional capital to meet a benchmark capital ratio of 6 percent Tier 1 common equity from 2010 to 2014. Under the adverse scenario, those needs rise to $76.3 billion, according to the report.
“Pockets of vulnerabilities linger,” the fund said in the report. The U.S. is recovering from what the IMF called “one of the most devastating financial crises in a century.”
UK Government to be Sued Over Congolese ‘Conflict Minerals’
July 30th, 2010In other news: Afghan Mineral Deposits Actually Worth $3 Trillion, Not $1 Trillion.
Via: Guardian:
Britain must answer in court claims that it is turning a blind eye to UK firms that trade in lucrative Congolese “conflict minerals”, a campaign group announced today.
The group, Global Witness, said the firms continued to buy minerals from rebel militias, prolonging a 12-year conflict. It planned to sue the government for failing to refer the firms for UN sanctions.
The move comes amid global efforts to halt the trade in rebel-controlled minerals such as tin, gold, and coltan, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions have died since civil war erupted in 1998.
“British companies have supported armed groups by purchasing minerals from areas under their control in the DRC,” Global Witness says in an application to the high court for a judicial review. “Despite this, the UK government has never put any of them forward for sanctions.”
It claimed that the British government was “acting unlawfully”, refusing to put forward individuals as well as firms. Some UK companies, known to have been trading in minerals sourced from the eastern DR Congo, should have been referred to the UN sanctions committee in 2008 and 2009, the campaigners said.
Gavin Hayman, campaigns director at Global Witness, said: “It is a sad day when we have to sue the UK government, but we hope this case will mark a turning point. The issues at stake have global significance for how wars are financed. These companies have profited from a brutal conflict, and should face UN sanctions – but sanctions are useless without a fair and clear government procedure for considering whether individuals or entities should be listed.”
“Extreme and Unlawful” Bush-Era Policies Becoming the “New Normal” Under Obama
July 30th, 2010Via: ACLU:
Indeed, on a range of issues including accountability for torture, detention of terrorism suspects, and use of lethal force against civilians, there is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration. There is a real danger, in other words, that the Obama administration will preside over the creation of a “new normal.”
After Losing Home to Foreclosure, “I Bought Myself an iPad”
July 30th, 2010Via: Bloomberg:
The more he thought about the money he was losing, the more it stressed him out. Finally, Ronzio enlisted the help of a firm called You Walk Away and did exactly that from the remaining $319,000 on his condo mortgage. When the bank foreclosed, he says he felt a sense of relief. He also had more cash. He and his fiancée took the kids to Disneyland. Ronzio, 31, gave himself a treat as well.
“I bought myself an iPad,” he says.
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
July 30th, 2010Thanks to Cryptogon readers who sent contributions in the last half of July.
Eileen $75
MW $20
MS $50
JG $100
MH $20
MW2 $25
CM $25
GE to Pay $23 Million to Settle Bribery Allegations
July 29th, 2010Mmm hmm.
Via: AFP:
US industrial titan General Electric has agreed to pay over 23 million dollars to settle allegations that it bribed Iraqi officials, a US financial watchdog said on Tuesday.
GE had been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of being part of “a 3.6 million dollar kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies to win contracts to supply medical equipment and water purification equipment.”
Four subsidiaries of the Connecticut-based company were accused of bribing officials at the Iraqi ministries of health and oil, trading cash, computer equipment and medical supplies to win lucrative contracts.
…
The contracts were linked to the UN’s discredited “oil-for-food” program which allowed international firms to offer services paid for from Iraqi oil revenues.
An investigation later found that Iraqi officials had siphoned off around 1.7 billion in kickbacks from the contracts.
In a statement, GE said the “conduct did not meet our standards.”
“We believe that it is in the best interests of GE and its shareholders to resolve this matter now, without admitting or denying the allegations, and put the matter behind us.”
Citigroup to Pay $75 Million to Settle SEC Subprime Case
July 29th, 2010Another one for your Pocket Lint file folder.
Via: Bloomberg:
Citigroup Inc., which got a $45 billion taxpayer bailout, will pay $75 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that it understated investments linked to subprime mortgages as the housing crisis unfolded, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
New Amazon Kindle
July 29th, 2010The new wifi only Kindle for $139 looks very tempting to me. I won’t be buying any ebooks, but I have tons of documents in PDF. The problem is that I never did get used to reading for pleasure on my regular flat panel display. I think of pleasure reading as something that happens away from the computer, with no fan noise or bright screens, etc.
Is that E-Ink screen really as good as it’s hyped up to be? Also, are you happy with how the Kindle deals with PDFs?
Timing of Stock Sales by Moody’s CEO
July 29th, 2010Via: McClatchy:
The chief executive of Moody’s Investors Service sold almost $3 million in company stock this year, and $7.1 million last year, both times right before his company’s stock price fell from its peak levels, a McClatchy analysis has found.
Afghanistan: U.S. Spends $20 Billion Per Year for Air Conditioning in Tents
July 29th, 2010This astonishing statistic is mentioned in the audio feature on the page linked below.
Via: PRI:
The term we were looking for is “Forward Operating Base” or FOB. The US has many FOBs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The large ones have many tents and other structures where personnel live and work. And all of them need to be heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer. That can take a lot of fuel.
Steve Anderson is a retired Brigadier General who was General David Petraeus’s chief logistician in Iraq. He says the Pentagon should find ways to make structures at FOBs and other military compounds more energy efficient, not only to save money and be greener, but also, to save lives.
