Bishops – Morally Corrupt?

So five senior Church of England Bishops pronounce that the Labour government is morally corrupt, I don’t know if this latest bombshell from clerics in the Church of England is worthy of comment since Church clerics lead such a sheltered and remote life and indulge in rather narrow concerns aloof from the troubles of ordinary people. They condemn the Labour government for finding a way through the mess that the banks have created do they the Church clerics have an alternative policy – NO!

The five senior Bishops merely confirm their own irrelevance; their own fixation of maintaing their huge fortune in Church financial assets; perhaps if they had been more concerned with judgements on the behaviour of the banks before this credit crunch arose we might think they have something to say: instead they just join anti Labour forces in their squeals of protests.

Cars, Cars and yet more Cars!

The current crisis hitting the car industry is indeed serious. There is some debate as to whether the government should or should not make money available for rescue after all the government has given the banks considerable sums of money despite the fact that bankers bear the responsibility for causing the economic crisis we are in and have wrecked the economy.

Our TV screens recently showed huge car parks of unsold cars and we all know our local garages equally cannot sell cars except for the few.

Jaguar and Land Rover serve a particular community mostly wealthy people home and abroad. These vehicles are wasteful, gas guzzling vehicles. Should a Labour government be investing in vehicles meant for the rich and are wasteful on fuel?

We should also consider that the Indian company, Tata, bought Jaguar and Land Rover this year when it was already known the market for selling cars was going to plummet, now they present us with a begging bowl.

There are thousands of jobs at stake people with useful skills face unemployment and communities no doubt will be hit if the factory closes.

We need a strategy; if a Labour government is to rescue this company it must obtain a majority stake in the company and the company must redesign its vehicles so that future production will be based on fuel efficient vehicles. We should be producing cars that are green and move away from oil based fuel.

If a Labour government can do this I would be all in favour of rescuing Jaguar and Land Rover and any other British based car manufacturer based on the same formula.

We cannot go on producing cars that are the same old, same old, we need new vehicles that are energy efficient and run on non oil based fuels.

Urgent Need to End Reliance on Oil.

The decision by the oil cartel OPEC and its allies to cut oil production in order to force up the price for consumers and businesses is a stark reminder that we are still far too reliant on oil. We have an urgent need to close oil fired power stations; Thatcher’s project to close coal fired power stations with oil fired stations was a step backward; we need to enable the expansion of clean coal fired power stations using British coal. There needs to be also a commitment by British car manufacturers to increase the supply of cars that are fuel efficient or electrically driven. Before taxpayers money is given to Jaguar or Land Rover we need to see a plan to develop fuel efficient vehicles. Government should fix a a yearly target by which we can measure the decline of imported oil.

The Great $50 billion “Ponzi” Scheme Fraud Part 2.

If you google Madoff you are offered the Hoovers.com site whih reports on  Bernard L. Madoff Invesment Securities LLC which is described as a “market maker”    yeah digg that “market maker” don’t you just love it. Even worse Hoovers.com has this to say: 

“Madoff Securities Company Description

Madoff makes markets. Founded in 1960, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (aka Madoff Securities) is a market maker in US stocks, including all of the S&P 500 and more than 350 Nasdaq stocks, as well as bonds and other financial instruments. It is also a member of the London Stock Exchange. The firm moves large blocks of stock for institutional clients by splitting up orders or arranging off-exchange transactions between parties. It also performs clearing and settlement services. Clients include brokerages, banks, and other financial institutions.In addition, Madoff Securities manages assets for high-net-worth individuals, hedge funds, and other institutional investors.”  Have they no shame at Hoovers.com!  

You can pay for – yes you can pay for a report though you can get one for free:

“The Company Description provides a historical perspective of Madoff Securities’s organization from inception to current status.

Produced by Hoover’s in-house editorial team, the Company Description tracks ownership transitions, company progress via mergers and acquisitions, major growth milestones, and strategic initiatives, to provide a holistic view of Madoff Securities’s evolution in the marketplace.”

So can we observe that Hoovers.com produce analysis (a holistic review – what!)  not worth the paper they are printed on!   Surely, there must be some very red faces at Hoovers.com

Are there any more surprises like this (major fraud)  ahead?

The Great $50 billion “Ponzi” Scheme Fraud.

Santander, RBS and HBOS along with a multitude of other finance houses have fallen for the biggest fraud in history. Don’t these people look beyond their computer screens before investing our money! 

Isn’t capitalism wonderful (for some); Bernard L. Madoff has given the world the greatest fraud in financial history. His investment company a “hedge fund” was a Ponzi scheme.

New buzz word ” Ponzi” .  Explanation as follows from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) web site:

“Ponzi” Schemes

“Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s. Ponzi thought he could take advantage of differences between U.S. and foreign currencies used to buy and sell international mail coupons. Ponzi told investors that he could provide a 40% return in just 90 days compared with 5% for bank savings accounts. Ponzi was deluged with funds from investors, taking in $1 million during one three-hour period—and this was 1921! Though a few early investors were paid off to make the scheme look legitimate, an investigation found that Ponzi had only purchased about $30 worth of the international mail coupons.

Decades later, the Ponzi scheme continues to work on the “rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” principle, as money from new investors is used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses. For more information, please read in our Fast Answers databank.”

http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm 

So. this is the history of the “Ponzi” schemes.

The SEC  has issued the following:

SEC Charges Bernard L. Madoff for Multi-Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-293

Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Bernard L. Madoff and his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, with securities fraud for a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that he perpetrated on advisory clients of his firm. The SEC is seeking emergency relief for investors, including an asset freeze and the appointment of a receiver for the firm.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Madoff yesterday informed two senior employees that his investment advisory business was a fraud. Madoff told these employees that he was “finished,” that he had “absolutely nothing,” that “it’s all just one big lie,” and that it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme.” The senior employees understood him to be saying that he had for years been paying returns to certain investors out of the principal received from other, different investors. Madoff admitted in this conversation that the firm was insolvent and had been for years, and that he estimated the losses from this fraud were at least $50 billion.”"We are alleging a massive fraud — both in terms of scope and duration,” said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “We are moving quickly and decisively to stop the fraud and protect remaining assets for investors, and we are working closely with the criminal authorities to hold Mr. Madoff accountable.

Andrew M. Calamari, Associate Director of Enforcement in the SEC’s New York Regional Office, added, “Our complaint alleges a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions.”

According to regulatory filings, the Madoff firm had more than $17 billion in assets under management as of the beginning of 2008. It appears that virtually all assets of the advisory business are missing.

Madoff founded the firm in 1960 and has been a prominent member of the securities industry throughout his career. Madoff served as vice chairman of the NASD, a member of its board of governors, and chairman of its New York region. He was also a member of NASDAQ Stock Market’s board of governors and its executive committee and served as chairman of its trading committee.

The complaint charges the defendants with violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition to emergency and interim relief, the SEC seeks a final judgment permanently enjoining the defendants from future violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering them to pay financial penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest.

The SEC’s investigation is continuing.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.”

 

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-293.htm

 

Source: SEC, New York with thanks.