Kevin Connor

In the latest sign that massive natural gas fracker Chesapeake Energy is in deep trouble, the company has retained George Sard, the CEO of Sard Verbinnen. Sard was described as a "spinmeister of the apocalypse" by Portfolio magazine in April 2009, because he has worked as a PR...

Last month, LittleSis first reported that Mayor Bloomberg's longtime partner, Diana Taylor, sits on the board of Brookfield Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park. The connection was subsequently noted in a number of media outlets, and Bloomberg was asked about it (ignoring obvious conflict of interest...

Governor Andrew Cuomo's austerity budget has won the backing of a coalition of business interests named the "Committee to Save New York," which LittleSis.org analysts have been researching as part of our Cuomo Watch investigation. Together, we have put together the beginnings of a portrait of the Committee...

The Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a major decision against the banks on the issue of foreclosure fraud earlier today. In US Trust vs. Ibanez, the court ruled that the banks in the case did not have standing to foreclose when they failed to assign the mortgage prior to foreclosure....

Today marks the tenth anniversary of President Clinton's signing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA). At passage, the bill was said to establish "legal certainty" for derivatives. In other words, the bill assured bankers that they wouldn't face any legal consequences in the United States when they manipulated,...

The Goldman-Paulson fraud suit threatens to throw a spotlight on a realm of Wall Street that has escaped most scrutiny throughout the financial crisis: the hedge fund industry. Top hedge fund managers profit from Wall Street's business model of fraud and collusion more than any CEO at one of the...

In the wake of the historic fraud suit against Goldman Sachs, it was unclear whether the bank would have any presence at President Obama's financial reform speech yesterday. But CEO Lloyd Blankfein chose to attend, along with his number two, Gary Cohn. Why? The President invited them....

As the Senate takes up health care under the reconciliation process, the fight to block reform continues -- for the banks and their minions in the Senate, at least.

The health care fix-it bill approved by the House on Sunday night includes student loan reform legislation that would end...

Goldman Sachs appears to be testing the limits of its special talent for avoiding all accountability following revelations of its role in exacerbating the Greek debt crisis.

The bank has come under heavy criticism from European political officials over its role in helping Greece hide its debts, and...

Goldman Sachs's Greek adventure got an in-depth look from the New York Times yesterday. The article extends on last week's Spiegel piece, which reported that the bank helped Greece hide the true extent of its debt through the use of specialized derivative products. We first reported...