13 Bankers

Tim Geithner's Gamble

Project Syndicate | Simon Johnson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: JP Morgan Chase, James Kwak, Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary, Dodd-Frank, International Monetary Fund, Financial Derivatives, Too Big to Fail Banks, Too Big to Fail, Ireland, Basel III, Jamie Dimon, U.S. Treasury Secretary, U.S. Treasury Department, 13 Bankers, Iceland, Financial Stability Oversight Council, Swiss National Bank, New York Federal Reserve Bank, Dodd-Frank Bill, Ubs, Switzerland, Tim Geithner Treasury Secretary, Credit Suisse, Tim Geithner, Timothy Geithner, Mit-Sloan, Imf, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Simon Johnson, Financial Deregulation, Financial Regulation, Financial Reform, Business News

LOS ANGELES -- In a recent interview, United States Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner laid out his view of the nature of world economic growth and the r...

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The Decline Of The Middle Class And Lobbying Boom Of The 1970s

BaselineScenario.com | James Kwak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: House, Senate, Big Business, Congress, Campaign Finance Reform, Wealthy, Lobbying, Voters, Lobbyists, Middle Class, Winner-Take-All Politics, Poor, Rich, 13 Bankers, Politics News

In "Third World America," Arianna Huffington cited Tocqueville's observation that democracy should promote the interests of "the greatest possible num...

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Shadow Elite: Elizabeth Warren's Best Credential: Outsider

Linda Keenan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Robert Rubin, Elizabeth Warren, Janine Wedel, Wall Street Crisis, Wall Street, Shadow Elite, Cfpb, Alan Greenspan, 13 Bankers, Lawrence Summers, Brooksley Born, Politics News
Linda Keenan

Questionable behavior became commonplace in innumerable corners of the financial industry over the past 20 years. And at key moments, it was an outsider like Elizabeth Warren who had the common-sense perspective to cry foul.

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'13 Bankers' LIVE Video Interview Tomorrow, May 7, 2pm EDT: Simon Johnson Talks To HuffPost Senior Editor Marcus Baram

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bestsellers, Goldman Sachs, James Kwak, Wall Street, Arianna's Reading, Books, Too Big to Fail, Financial Crisis, Simon Johnson, 13 Bankers, Books News

Our month spent discussing "13 Bankers," Arianna's most recent book club pick, has been a busy one. Since its release, Simon Johnson and James Kwak's ...

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Brown-Kaufman Amendment: The State Of Play

Simon Johnson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Banking Regulation, Wall Street Reform, Brown/Kaufman SAFE Act, 13 Bankers, Brown-Kaufman Bill, Financial Reform, Business News
Simon Johnson

The supporters of big banks will go down hard in November and in 2012; there are no secrets over this kind of time frame. But by then it will be too late for this cycle of financial reform.

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13 Bankers: Why It's Essential That Universities Return To Teaching Economic History

Mark Thoma | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Too Big to Fail, James Kwak, Economics, History of Economic Thought, Books, 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson, Megabanks, History of Economics, Financial Regulation, Books News
Mark Thoma

13 Bankers is essential reading for any economist who wants to understand what triggered financial panics in the past, what policies worked or failed and why, and how it relates to today.

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'13 Bankers': Who's In Charge, The Banks Or The Government?

James Kwak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Financial Sector, Arianna's Reading, Financial Reform, Books, 13 Bankers, Tyler Cowen, Megabanks, Bailouts, Government Bailouts, Wall Street, Economic Crisis, Too Big to Fail, Bestsellers, Books News
James Kwak

When push came to shove in late 2008, the banks' ultimate power was not that they were secretly controlling the levers of power, but that their place at the center of the financial system enabled them to hold the real economy hostage.

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Regulation Takes Its Place: Second Place

The 14th Banker | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Big Banks, 13 Bankers, Financial Reform, Bank Regulation, Regulators, Financial Regulation, Business News
The 14th Banker

The past months have provided moments of despair and hope. At the end of the day, more than nothing was achieved with the financial reform bill. I'm not sure how else to put it.

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13 Bankers: The American Oligarchs And The Systemically Dangerous Institutions (SDIs) They Rule

William K. Black | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: James Kwak, Tim Geithner, Arianna's Reading, Larry Summers, Books, 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson, Sdis, Books News
William K. Black

It is insane to allow the SDIs to continue to exist and it is doubly insane to allow, much less encourage, them to grow.

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'13 Bankers': If The Megabanks Are Too Powerful To Regulate, Then They're Too Powerful To Shrink

Noam Scheiber | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Too Big to Fail, Citigroup, Obama Financial Reform, Financial Reforms, Arianna's Reading, Books, 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson, Megabanks, Bailouts, Financial Regulation, Financial Crisis, Goldman Sachs, Wall Street Reform, Bestsellers, Books News
Noam Scheiber

Anyone can talk tough when markets are calm. But in the middle of a financial crisis it takes a special breed of hard-ass to insist on haircuts, since no one can be sure that squeezing creditors won't shut down the entire bond market.

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Book Review Roundup

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Book Reviews, Book Review, Isabel Allende, The Lake Shore Limited, Books, 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson, Pearl of China, Sue Miller, Books News

Did you miss any of the big book reviews this weekend? Catch up on them with the highlights below. "The Lake Shore Limited," Sue Miller The New York ...

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Lloyd Blankfein: Still "Doing God's Work?"

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lloyd Blankfein, Fabrice Tourre, Goldman Sachs, Sec, Brian Griffiths, " Enron, President Barack Obama, 13 Bankers, Securities and Exchange Commission, "Fabulous Fab, John Paulson, Business News
Joseph A. Palermo

Isn't it amazing how these powerful CEOs, who are paid tens of millions of dollars to know every detail about their company, act as if they just fell off the back of a turnip truck when they come to Congress?

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'13 Bankers': How Big Are The Biggest Banks? If Derivatives Aren't Counted We Won't Know

James Kwak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Too Big to Fail, Bank Assets, Arianna's Reading, Derivatives, Books, 13 Bankers, Financial Crisis, Megabanks, Books News
James Kwak

We need to have a more accurate grip on just how big our largest financial institutions already are, in order to show how much damage could be caused to the financial system in a crisis.

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What's Lost in the Debate Over Financial Regulation Reform? Real Reform.

Edward D. Hess | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Financial Regulation Reform, Business Growth, Authentic Earnings, Smart Growth, Books, 13 Bankers, Financial Regulation, Road From Ruin, Books News
Edward D. Hess

In a new book, I subject a number of core presumptions of both Wall Street and major corporations about business growth to the scrutiny of hard research--presumptions that were major contributors to the 2008 financial meltdown.

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You Think The Government Doesn't Want Big Banks? Think Again

Tyler Cowen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bestsellers, Investment Banks, Goldman Sachs, Banking Fraud, Bailout, Arianna's Reading, Financial Reform, Too Big to Fail, Wall Street Reform, Financial Crisis, Simon Johnson, 13 Bankers, Books News
Tyler Cowen

How much political power do the big banks have? I'd like to air a skeptical note and ask whether they're really running the show. To most people t...

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It's Time to Cut Goldman Sachs and the Rest of Them Down to Size

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: James Kwak, Citigroup, Sec, Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Fraud, Wells Fargo, Too Big to Fail, George W. Bush, Goldman Fraud, Larry Summers, Obama Administration, Securities Fraud, Goldman Sachs Fraud Charges, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Money Trust, Financial Meltdown, Henry Paulson, Fraud at Goldman Sachs, Timothy Geithner, 13 Bankers, Securities and Exchange Commission, Simon Johnson, Financial Crisis, Ben Bernanke, Business News
Joseph A. Palermo

Hopefully, the SEC's pursuit of long-overdue fraud charges against Goldman Sachs is only the beginning of a process that will take the country back from these financial monopolists.

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Simon Johnson, James Kwak On 'Bill Moyers Journal' (VIDEO): 13 Bankers Authors Explain Financial Crisis, Reform Effort

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Theodore Roosevelt, Congress, James Kwak, Financial Reform, 13 Bankers, Jamie Dimon, House, Senate, Bill Moyers Journal, Bill Moyers, Financial Crisis, Wall Street, Simon Johnson, JP Morgan Chase, Business News

Simon Johnson and James Kwak, the authors of 13 Bankers, appeared on "Bill Moyers Journal" Friday evening to discuss the financial crisis and the push...

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SEC Charges Goldman With Fraud

James Kwak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Abacus, James Kwak, Goldman Sachs, Sec, Cdo, Goldman Sachs Fraud, John Paulson, 13 Bankers, Business News
James Kwak

The allegation is that Goldman failed to disclose the role that John Paulson's hedge fund played in selecting residential mortgage-backed securities that went into a CDO created by Goldman.

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James Kwak: The Problem is Bank-o-cracy (AUDIO)

Christopher Lydon | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: James Kwak, Books, Chris Lydon, Radio, Conversation, Michael Lewis, Wall Street, Oligarchy, 13 Bankers, Brown University, Financial Meltdown, Simon Johnson, Politics News
Christopher Lydon

James Kwak extends Michael Lewis's point and feeds my fascination with apocalyptic hysteria and helpless torpor as the twin markers of American politi...

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'13 Bankers' In 4 Pictures: Why Wall Street Profits Are Out Of Whack

James Kwak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Too Big to Fail, Financial Sector, Lehman Brothers, Arianna's Reading, Books, 13 Bankers, Gdp, Investment Bankers, Financial Deregulation, Economy, Financial Crisis, Books News
James Kwak

We're not saying that everyone has to agree with everything we say about these pictures. But they make clear what kind of financial system we have today. And they need some kind of explanation.

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Ryan McCarthy

'The Fourteenth Banker,' Anonymous Bank Insider, Describes His Moral Crisis: 'The System Is Built To Be Gamed'

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan McCarthy | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Investment Banks, Fourteenth Banker, Bank Lending, The Financial Fix, Bank Branches, Wall Street, Bank Whistleblowers, Too Big to Fail, Fianncial Reform, Credit Cards, Simon Johnson, 13 Bankers, 14th Banker, Small Business Lending, Business News

"The system is built to be gamed." "The voices of dissent are not being heard." These are the words of an anonymous executive at one of Americ...

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Does Size Matter? Simon Johnson vs. Paul Krugman on Whether to Break Up "Too Big to Fail" Banks

Miles Mogulescu | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: James Kwak, Wall Street Bailout, The Financial Fix, Obama Wall Street, Financial Bailout, Financial Reform, Too Big to Fail Banks, Too Big to Fail, Wall Street Reform, Federal Reserve, Paul Krugman Barack Obama, Citizens United, 13 Bankers, Krugman Obama, Politics, Financial Meltdown, Wall Street, Wall Street Regulation, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Financial Crisis, Paul Krugman, Simon Johnson, Financial Regulation, Business News
Miles Mogulescu

Paul Krugman and Simon Johnson are two of my favorite economic commentators, but when it comes to the issue of breaking up mega-banks, they take dramatically opposing positions.

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'13 Bankers': Beware Of Banana Peels

Simon Johnson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Citigroup, John Stuart Mill, Megabanks, Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, Arianna's Reading, Karl Marx, Recession, Political Economy, Books, 13 Bankers, Bailouts, Adam Smith, Financial Crisis, Books News
Simon Johnson

What we need is a change in the conventional wisdom in Washington, away from the idea that what is good for Wall Street is good for America, and toward the idea that we should be skeptical of the megabanks.

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Book Club Pick: Why 13 Bankers Is a Must-Read for Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, and Everyone Who Wants to Avoid Another Financial Crisis

Arianna Huffington | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Financial Crisis Commission, James Kwak, The Financial Fix, Banks, Financial Crisis, Simon Johnson, 13 Bankers, Big Banks, Oligarchy, Books News
Arianna Huffington

13 Bankers is the rare book than can actually have an impact on the vital debate happening right now in Washington. READ MORE Why the Fight for Financial Reform Needs to Get Much More Personal When it comes to the fight over financial reform, Democrats are making the same mistake they did with health care: failing to put the effect reform would have on the lives of real Americans front and center. READ MORE Announcing HuffPost's Twitter Editions We are launching Twitter editions for each of our 19 sections -- a mash-up of breaking tweets and HuffPost stories that are attracting interest on Twitter. READ MORE WATCH: Arianna Discusses RNC's "Bondage-Gate" with Joy Behar WATCH: Arianna Spars with Rudy Giuliani Over Rubio, Kerik, and Waterboarding on Morning Joe

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Simon Johnson Talks '13 Bankers,' Why Banks Should Be Small Enough To Fail (VIDEO)

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tim Geithner, Too Big to Fail, Today Show, Author Interviews, Bank Bailouts, Books, 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson, Barack Obama, Bailouts, Financial Crisis, Books News

Simon Johnson, HuffPost blogger, MIT professor, and author of the new book, "13 Bankers," explained on the "Today Show" this morning why nothing reall...

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