Conflict of Interest

Understanding Pay-To-Play Academics

Charles Ferguson | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Corruption, Compass Lexecon, Brattle Group, Conflict of Interest, Predator Nation, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Berkeley Research Group, Glenn Hubbard, Larry Summers, Criterion, Charles River Associates, Wall Street, Analysis Group, Financial Crisis, Academics, Pay to Play, Business News
Charles Ferguson

Over the last thirty years, in parallel with deregulation and the rising power of money in American politics, significant portions of American academia have deteriorated into "pay to play" activities. No where is this more pronounced than in the realm of economics.

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NBA Players Union Under Investigation

The Huffington Post | Ron Dicker | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Conflict of Interest, National Basketball Association, Nba Players Union, Derek Fisher, Los Angeles Lakers, Nba Lockout, Nba Playoffs, Billy Hunter, NBA Players Association, Slidepollajax, Investigation, U.S. Attorney, Nba, Business News

The union that represents NBA players said Friday it is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. The announcement from the Natio...

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Goldman's Lust for Gold

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 05.20.2012

Read More: El Paso, Conflict of Interest, Goldman Sachs, Greg Smith Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Kinder Morgan, Business News
Christopher Brauchli

Someone should give Messrs. Cohn and Blankfein a copy of Chancellor Strine's opinion. That might cause them to revise their memorandum. Probably not.

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Goldman Randomly Picks This Week To Review Its Conflict-Of-Interest Rules

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 03.16.2012

Read More: Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs Op-Ed, Conflict of Interest, Greg Smith Goldman Sachs, Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Conflict of Interest, Sec, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Goldman Sachs New York Times, Securities and Exchange Commission, Massachusetts, Big Banks, Tim Cahill, Video, Business News

Perhaps aware that everyone in America is paying it attention this week, Goldman Sachs is reviewing its policies on employee conflicts of interest, ac...

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Zach Carter

Republican Financial Regulator Goes Crying To OMB

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 03.09.2012

Read More: Conflicts of Interest, Conflict of Interest, Video, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Office of Management and Budget, Wall Street Reform, Regulation, Dennis Kelleher, Regulators, Scott O'malia, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Omb, Cftc, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- In a signal that partisan squabbling in the nation's capital may be reaching new levels of rancor, a key Republican regulator is pursuin...

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Follow the Money

Jon Heavey | Posted 02.29.2012

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Banks, Iraq, Bailout, Afghanistan, War, Chapter 11, U.S. Economy, Politics News
Jon Heavey

Senior executives and policy leaders have repeated the same tired excuse time and again, "We had to do this, it was the only responsible thing to do." Keep that in mind, and you will see it for what it is: self-serving bullshit.

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New Gift Regulations for California, Finally

Jessica Levinson | Posted 01.16.2012

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Law, Politics, California, Disclosure, Lobbyists, Campaign Finance, Fair Political Practices Commission, Public Officials, Gifts, Ann Ravel, Lawmakers, Los Angeles News
Jessica Levinson

Just in time for the holidays Californians may receive a present from the state's political watchdog agency -- new rules for public officials concerning the acceptance and disclosure gifts.

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SEC: Former Official May Have A Conflict Of Interest With Madoff Fund

AP | MARCY GORDON | Posted 11.20.2011

Read More: Business News, Conflict of Interest, Bernard Madoff, Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Madoff Ponzi Scheme, Sec-Probe, Business News

WASHINGTON — The inspector general of the Securities and Exchange Commission has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a former to...

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Former GOP Lawmaker Pleads Guilty To Corruption

AP | MARK SCOLFORO | Posted 10.31.2011

Read More: Corruption, Conflict of Interest, Politics News, John Perzel Corruption, Pennsylvania, Crime, Gop, Conspiracy, Rep. John Perzel, John Perzel, Pennsylvania House Speaker, John Perzel Guilty, Politics News

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The onetime speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives pleaded guilty Wednesday to eight criminal charges stemming f...

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The Most Insane Conflict Of Interest Story Ever?

The Huffington Post | Jack Mirkinson | Posted 09.24.2011

Read More: Seattle Weekly, Conflict of Interest, Newspapers, Seattle Weekly Ann Rule, Rick Swart Liysa Northon, Liysa Northon, Rick Swart, Ann Rule, Media News

The Regret the Error blog flagged a disclosure on Monday that surely must put the author of a Seattle newspaper piece into the Conflict Of Interest Ha...

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Justice Thomas Doesn't Ask Questions, But He Certainly Should Have Some Answers

Michael B. Keegan | Posted 08.23.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Transparency, Supreme Court Ethics, Conflict of Interest, Politics News
Michael B. Keegan

Justice Thomas needs to be open with the American people, all of whose lives are affected by Supreme Court decisions. He needs to tell us that he will recuse himself from any case that he appears to have a financial interest in.

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MIT's Fracking Report Backs Its Donors: Gas Companies

Wenonah Hauter | Posted 08.21.2011

Read More: Energy, Bp, Mit, Fracking, Shell, Chesapeake Energy, Natural Gas, Conflict of Interest, Research, Energy Research, Green News
Wenonah Hauter

I almost gagged on my coffee when I finally got around to reading the corporate sponsored pro-fracking propaganda by MIT on natural gas. Isn't this academic institution embarrassed to sell its reputation to corporations?

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Stapleton Moonlighting Shows Need for More Disclosure

Luis Toro | Posted 07.06.2011

Read More: Colorado, Disclosure, Walker Stapleton, Conflict of Interest, Moonlighting, Sonomawest, Wachovia, Colorado State Treasurer, Denver News
Luis Toro

While State Treasurer Stapleton argued in favor of transparency in Washington, DC, he has been resisting it here in Colorado, refusing to disclose how much time he is spending on his second job.

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How to Deceive a Client Without Really Trying

Omer Rosen | Posted 06.11.2011

Read More: Tarp, Omer Rosen, Corruption, Citi, Fabrice Tourre, Conflict of Interest, Citigroup, Legerdemath, Fabulous Fab, Financial Reform, Derivatives, Regulation, Central Counterparty Clearing, Financial Fraud, Merrill Lynch, Clearing House, Goldman Sachs, Treasury-Rate-Lock, Morgan Stanley, Wall Street Regulation, Wall Street, Bailout, Lehman, Financial Crisis, Bear Stearns, Banking Trade, Business News
Omer Rosen

When it comes to bonds, the client is conveniently never shown how to settle based on prices. Instead they are taught a nonsensical and more complicated method called yield settlement.

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Health Promotion: Practice What You Preach

David Katz, M.D. | Posted 06.07.2011

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Health Promotion, Katz, Healthy, Money, Health, Dr. David Katz, Preaching, Practice, Climate Change, Al Gore, News, Conditions, Home News
David Katz, M.D.

In our still-capitalistic-last-time-I-checked society, is it, in fact, a "conflict" to become personally and financially involved in the very things we are telling people they should become personally and financially involved in?

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Chris Cerf, There You Go Again!

Leonie Haimson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Chris Christie, NJ Education Commissioner, Chris Cerf, Charter Schools, Merit Pay, Education News
Leonie Haimson

I have held off blogging about Cerf, but I am now impelled to clarify the deep flaws in his record as a DOE administrator.

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Mr. President-Elect: Judge Abner Mikva Is Right About Sen. Clinton as Secretary of State

Al Giordano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President-Elect Barack Obama, Judge Abner Mikva, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Conflict of Interest, Ethics, Secretary of State, President Obama, Obama Cabinet, Obama Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Obama's Cabinet, Obama Administration, Politics News
Al Giordano

There are many annoying aspects of the noise machine that is blaring that arrogant and cacophonous yet familiar mantra: "Clinton is inevitable." We heard it for all of 2007, and we're hearing it all over again.

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Legerdemath: Tricks of the Banking Trade

Omer Rosen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Corruption, Cdos, Fabulous Fab, Financial Reform, Regulation, Credit Default Swaps, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Schemes, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bailout, Wall Street Regulation, Lehman, Default Swaps, Financial Crisis, Banking Trade, Fat Cats, Omer Rosen, Fabrice Tourre, Conflict of Interest, Legerdemath, Fraudulent, Corrupt, Derivatives, Spvs, Tarp, Central Counterparty Clearing, Credit Cards, Tricks, Citi, Financial Fraud, Fraud, Clearing House, Rosen, Credit Derivatives, Wall Street, Sivs, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Omer, Business News
Omer Rosen

I'd just turned 20 when I began a three-year stint on Citigroup's corporate-derivatives team. I had no work experience to speak of. As my boss said after my interview, I was "f***ing unpolished."

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Weekly Pulse: Giffords Shooting Reveals Flaws in U.S. Mental Health Services

The Media Consortium | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Adele Stan, State, Violence, Repeal, Rate, change.org, Arizona, Medical Loss Ratio, Dc, Lawsuit, California, Alternet, Insurance, Guttmacher Institute, Legislature, Autism, Disability, Health Care, Abortion, Mmr, Conflict of Interest, Blue Shield, Shooting, Brie Cadman, Chamber of Commerce, Rachel Gold, Care2, Choice, Kristina Chew, Vote, Suzi Khimm, Health Insurance, Andrew Wakefield, Gabrielle Giffords, Mental Illness, Elizabeth Nash, Rhetoric, Home News
The Media Consortium

By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head at a constituent outreach event in a supermarket...

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Dan Ariely Decodes Why Humans Are Hard-Wired to Inflate

Chris Martenson, Ph.D. | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Groupthink, Conflict of Interest, Dan Ariely, Wishful Blindness, Inflation, Identifiable Victim Effect, Global Warming, Behavioral Economics, Business News
Chris Martenson, Ph.D.

Looking back at the bursting of the credit bubble, it's natural to scratch your head and ask "How did we ever let that happen?" Behavioral economics exists to answer questions like this.

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Med Schools Flunk At Keeping Faculty Off Pharma Speaking Circuit

ProPublica | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stanford Medical School, Conflict of Interest, Stanford, Propublica, College News

As medical schools wrestle with how to keep drug companies from corrupting their faculties, Stanford University is often lauded for its tough stance. ...

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The Kelly Conflict

Len Levitt | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Adrian Schoolcraft, Rose Gil Hearn, New York City Police Foundation, Conflict of Interest, Ed Koch, Nypd, Bernard Kerik, Ray Kelly, Michael Bloomberg, Harvard Club, Hamilton South, New York News
Len Levitt

New York City's Conflict of Interest Law seems pretty straightforward. And it appears that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has violated it.

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Reuters Hit With Massive Internal Scandal

David Spencer Seconi | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Thomson Reuters, Journalism Ethics, Financial Reporting, Financial Writer, Neil Collins, Media News
David Spencer Seconi

It should be a given that those writing about corporations should not have any financial stake within them. A recent scandal at Reuters, however, shows how difficult it still is to monitor these unethical acts.

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Brad Miller: Politician Wants To Level The Playing Field For Homeowners

The New York Times | GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conflict of Interest, Hamp, Brad Miller, Making Home Affordable, Mortgage Servicers, Liens, Financial Reform, Banks, Foreclosure, Obama, Wall Street, Second Mortgages, Underwater Mortgages, Business News

[Rep. Brad Miller] is worth getting to know, not only because of his deep concern about the foreclosure epidemic, but also because he has made a compe...

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Demand Full Media Disclosure: What's Your Tax Bracket?

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Couric, Taxes, Conflict of Interest, Newspapers, Wealthy, Full Disclosure, Msm, Nbc, Journalist, Media, Rich, Brian Williams, Journalism, Bush Tax Cuts, Old Media, Mainstream Media, Television, Chris Weigant, Disclosure, Tax, Katie Couric, Ethics, Williams, Tax Cuts, Journalistic Ethics, Gatekeeper, News, Tax Brackets, Ethical Standards, Media News
Chris Weigant

Anyone in the media talking about raising income tax rates on the top two income brackets should disclose their possible conflict of interest. "Full disclosure, I fall into the top tax bracket myself, so I would personally be affected by changing this rate."

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