Using Potter’s indisputable logic, it’s hard not to see something obscene in how Wall Street reaped massive profits and bonuses in 2009 — and continues to do so, as is clear from Monday’s announcement by Citigroup that it had earned $4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2010, which was even more than earned by Bank of America ($3.2 billion) and JPMorgan Chase ($3.3 billion) in the same period — merely 18 months after trillions of dollars of American taxpayers’ treasure was used to save a financial system brought to the precipice by Wall Street’s greed and irresponsible risk-taking. Goldman Sachs, which is facing a civil fraud suit filed by Washington regulators, is expected to report robust earnings Tuesday morning as well.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES:   You’re Welcome, Wall Street – Opinionator Blog – NYTimes.com.

Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive, and Robert Levin, the company’s former chief business officer, testified before a panel examining the roots of the financial crisis.

Levin said company executives were concerned about losing relevance as Wall Street companies issued mortgage securities and stole market share.

“It posed a number of threats to the company,” Levin told the panel, adding, “Could we really sit out? Would we be permitted to sit out? That’s what we were grappling with.”

As the market turned down, Mudd noted “virtually every other housing sector investor fled the market.” Fannie and sibling company Freddie Mac “were specifically required to take up the slack.”

Both executives left Washington-based Fannie Mae after it was seized by regulators in fall 2008. Also scheduled to appear Friday were James Lockhart and Armando Falcon, both of whom headed up the federal regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The inquiry is being held by the congressionally chartered Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Congress created the commission last year to examine the causes of the crisis. The panel’s goal is to get an in-depth understanding of decisions that inflated the mortgage bubble and triggered a financial crisis that tipped the economy into the longest recession in 70 years. Its report is due Dec. 15.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK:  Ex-Fannie Mae execs try to defend track record – Yahoo! News.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK TO INVESTOPEDIA.COM:  Businesses On The Brink: Change Or Fail? – Investopedia.com.

Warren Buffett
Millions of people read Buffett’s books and follow his firm, Berkshire Hathaway’s, every move. But the real secret to Buffett’s personal fortune may be his penchant for frugality. Buffett, who is worth an estimated $47 billion, eschews opulent homes and luxury items. He and his wife still live in their modest home in Omaha, Nebraska which they purchased for just $31,500 more than 50 years ago. Although he’s dined in the best restaurants around the globe, given the choice he would opt for a good burger and fries accompanied by a cold cherry Coke. When asked why he doesn’t own a yacht he responded “Most toys are just a pain in the neck.” (Find out how he went from selling soft drinks to buying up companies and making billions of dollars. Read Warren Buffett: The Road To Riches.)

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK TO INVESTOPEDIA: 5 Billionaires Who Live Below Their Means – Investopedia.com.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say – NYTimes.com.

The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. That’s the first time the nation has gained, rather than lost, in jobs since late 2007, with the exception of November 2009, which many economists saw as a fluke.

Reversing the unrelenting jobs decline has been a central goal of the Obama administration, and it has been politically crucial for Democrats to demonstrate progress on the jobs front ahead of the midterm elections in November.

The news will not have an immediate effect on the stock market, where the Dow has been surging toward the psychologically important 11,000 marker this week because Wall Street is closed today for Good Friday.

The employment number was not high enough to beat expectations of many economists who were looking for a gain of 200,000 or more.

Many economists say that about 150,000 of the new jobs can be explained away by the combination of a bounce-back effect from the February snowstorms, as snowed in workers got back to their job sites in March and by massive temporary hiring by the U.S. Census of as many as 50,000 canvassers.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR POLITICO: Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35325.html#ixzz0jxGzqGUQ

Jobs up, good news for President Obama – Eamon Javers – POLITICO.com.

The new fuel efficiency standards, issued by the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency as the result of a May 2009 deal with the auto industry, represent a peaceful end to a contentious legal battle over how to regulate tailpipe emissions. At a time when it is unclear whether Congress will pass climate legislation this year, the new rules also mark the White House’s most significant achievement yet in addressing global warming.

By model year 2016 vehicles must get an average of 35.5 miles per gallon. The requirements will add as much as $985 to a vehicle’s initial cost, according to EPA estimates, but buyers will save about $4,000 on fuel over the life of the car, administration officials said.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/01/AR2010040101412.html

The new policy represents a reversal not only of the current moratorium on any new oil drilling off most U.S. shores, but also of President Obama’s own support of the moratorium during the 2008 campaign.

And of course, the policy also revives the oft-heard 2008 McCain/Palin campaign rally cry, “Drill, baby, drill.”

Seizing upon the opportunity to create a highlight reel featuring Republicans rabidly chanting, “Drill, baby, drill,” we present to you this video: “Drill, Barack, Drill.”

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST: Drill, Barack, Drill: Obama Reverses Position On Offshore Drilling VIDEO.

The move, which President Obama will announce Wednesday morning with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base, ends a long-standing moratorium on oil and gas drilling along much of the East Coast, from Delaware to central Florida.

The new strategy also calls for oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, more than 125 miles from Florida’s coast, and in large areas in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in the Arctic Ocean, north of Alaska, after the government conducts detailed studies, an administration official said.

The administration will bar exploration in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, officials said, which is home to critical wildlife habitat. Aides spoke of the plans on the condition of anonymity, to avoid preempting the president’s announcement.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama to clear way for offshore drilling for oil and gas, including off Va. coast, sources say – washingtonpost.com.