Archive for October, 2009
Editorial: Will Attempt by U.S. Government and Federal Reserve to Regulate Bankers’ Pay Backfire?
The idea that the U.S. government can make the decision on bankers’ pay better than banking boards and executives is ludicrous at best, and in reality, laughable. Taking into account the unbelievable disaster the government has in its own financial affairs, where essentially it is bankrupt and running at deficits unheard of in history, it’s [...]
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Picketed at Chicago Offices
Stirred up by union activists in Chicago, protesters picketed the offices of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and then went to the Sheraton hotel, where the annual American Bankers’ Association convention was held to protest there as well. Holding placards of the faces of a number of banking leaders like “wanted” [...]
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Economist Says Home Prices Could Plunge 10% in 2010
Several economists at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) say that home prices in 2010 could plunge by up to 10 percent by mid-2010, and over the next several years will appreciate little, if any. “The risk of renewed home price declines remains significant,” said Goldman economist Alec Phillips recently, in a note to clients. “Our working assumption [...]
SIPC Offers Little Protection for Investors from Scams
The Securities Investor Protector Corporation is a non-profit government-mandated corporation which protects investors from financial harm in the the investor’s brokerage company fails. As investors in the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi-scheme found out, the SIPC offers little protection to investors who are swindled by con artists. Investors lost over $7 billion by investing with Allen [...]
Mandatory Arbitration used by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Ripped-Off Customers
For several years, Credit Cardholder agreements from major banks such as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) required credit card account holders to settle their disputes using non-governmental arbitration firms. These firms essentially acted as kangaroo courts, siding with the credit card companies the vast majority of the time. The [...]
Can GEICO (NYSE: NYSE:BRK.A), Progressive (NYSE: PGR) and Allstate (NYSE: ALL) All Really Save you Hundreds Over the Competition?
GEICO (NYSE: NYSE:BRK.A), Progressive (NYSE: PGR) and Allstate (NYSE: ALL) have all recently run advertising campaigns telling consumers that their automobile insurance products could save consumers over the competition—and they’re all right. Each of these companies can correctly state that they could save consumers hundreds of dollars per year versus the competition because there are [...]
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) See Protesters on Monday
The Chicago offices of both Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) saw picketers and protesters on Monday morning, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The protest was part of a larger multi-day protest that focused on the American Bankers Association (ABA) annual meeting. Individuals carried signs and chanted slogans voicing their [...]
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Experimenting With Charging Customers New Annual Fees
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is experimenting with charging customers new annual fees on previously fee-free credit cards for approximately 1% of its customers. Many consumers have reported online that people are receiving fees between $29 and $49, with the highest report annual fee being sent out being $59.00. Bank of America is essentially testing [...]
CIT Group (NYSE: CIT), Comerica (NYSE: CMA) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Received Average of $400K in Perks
Some of the largest financial institutions in the United States, including CIT Group (NYSE: CIT), Comerica (NYSE: CMA) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) have increased the value of perks being paid to their CEOs while receiving taxpayer funded bailout money, according to the Washington Post. For Example, the CEOs of Bank of American and [...]
Vanguard Reports Majority of 401(k) Account Balances Have Recovered
Investment giant Vanguard has released a new report that shows what’s really happening with consumer’s 401(k) balances. The new report released by Vanguard takes into consideration the low in March and the recent run-up in stocks and has found that consumer’s 401(k) balances are doing much better than one might expect. Vanguard’s report showed that [...]
Citibank (NYSE: C) Raising Credit Card Interest Rates to 29.99% for Customers with Good Credit
Citibank (NYSE: C) has sent notices to untold number of credit-worthy customers in the last two weeks that their interest rate will raise to 29.99%. The letters that customers have received says that the rate increase will allow Citibank to “continue to provide our customers with access to credit.” Others that are more skeptical of [...]
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Mortgage Rates – November is the Month to Refinance
Wells Fargo & Co’s (NYSE: WFC) refinance rates have been historically low for almost all of 2009. Subjecting the summer months, Wells Fargo’s mortgage rates have been under 5% during all of 2009 to date. During the summer, there was an positive trend in the 10 year treasury rate which has lead to an increase [...]
Subpoenas Flying Out of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Pressured for Information on Countrywide Financial’s VIP Program which Possibly Manipulated Public Policy
The former Countrywide Financial Corp., which is now owned by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), has its VIP program under increasing scrutiny as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has issued subpoenas for the bank to provide information in regard to possible conflicts of interest for people in positions of power, especially politicians, who may [...]
Editorial: Is Obama Administration Attack on Executive Pay Just Politics?
The interference by the government in executive pay at banks has drawn a growing amount of criticism as to whether it’s primarily motivated by politics and garnering favor with the public. All of this is generated by the announcement of Obama “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg, who spewed out orders concerning what he is going to [...]
Editorial: Personal Responsibility Still Matters in the Post Overdraft Reform World
As legislation works its way through Congress, consumers will likely be no longer hit with several $30 or $40 fees whenever they overdraft their checking accounts, but that doesn’t mean that consumers need not worry about making sure their account is within good standing. Banks have received much public criticism for posting transactions in a [...]
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