Financial Sector Resignations Continue.. This Phenomena Really Has Legs.

In a continuation of our previous article, we continue with the assistance of those previously acknowledged to follow this seemingly mass migration of senior financial experts globally.  This now far exceeds “normal attrition”.  If we are to believe Benjamin Fulford and others, this is the “taking down” of the cabal that has been responsible for the biggest theft of wealth in history. As we also said, the nature of these resignations is most telling.  Fifty-one percent resigned or stepped down, 26 percent retired, and only 9 percent left to take other jobs….

I would welcome anyone in “the know” to comment.  I know a lot of financial industry folks read this blog.  Maybe it is time and it may be the only time to contribute positively to this discussion and the events unfolding.

Certainly, the evidence is supporting that events are unfolding as Fulford and others are contending.  If that is so, then we should be seeing some sort of major media announcement within the next week.  We will continue to follow this closely.  It does seem important enough to pay close attention.

Also, if this is what is happening (a complete do-over of the global financial system), it is the most important event of our lifetimes.  Anyone who can help us understand this correctly is welcome to join the discussion.

3/07/12 (AUSTRALIA) Customers Ltd, Tim Wildash has cashed himself out as chief executive of Australia’s largest ATM operator
http://goo.gl/eZJMb

3/07/12 (USA CA) CALSTRS, Pascal Villiger, senior private equity portfolio manager at the $145 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System resigns
http://goo.gl/ub0ke

3/07/12 (USA) Astaire quits Bank of America Merrill to dance to Barclays Capital’s tune
http://goo.gl/Zv6Ny

3/08/12 (UK)  Schroders, Chairman  Michael Miles  depart as fees, inflows drop. UK’s biggest fund management firm.
goo.gl/TgURM

3/08/12 (USA NY) Schroders, CIO Alan Brown is steps down
http://goo.gl/ZTtYo

3/08/12 (USA IL) CBOE Executive Patrick Fay Put on Leave Amid SEC Probe
http://goo.gl/x5snO

3/08/12 (USA NH & RI) Bristol County Savings Bank president E. Dennis Kelly retires after 35 years
http://goo.gl/8KVKn

3/08/12 (GERMANY) Clearstream Banking AG – Katja Rosenkranz To Leave Deutsche Börse Group [stockmarket]
http://goo.gl/RiVNi

3/08/12 (UK) B&CE CEO Brian Griffiths is to retire later this year
http://goo.gl/AV7Sk

3/08/12 (UK) Invesco Trimark Ltd, portfolio manager Dana Love has resigned.
http://goo.gl/MyQ90

3/08/12 (ISRAEL) Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer will hand in his shock resignation in the coming days and take up a new position as head of the Bank of Zambia. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is believed to be furious with Fischer’s decision. Treasury officials said he even canceled his participation in the office’s annual Purim party in order to convince Fischer to reverse his decision.
http://goo.gl/0DlSA

3/08/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Standard Bank Group Limited (SBK), board member Sir Paul Judge retires.
http://goo.gl/SjSPg

3/08/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Standard Bank Groupl Limited (SBK), board member Sir Sam Jonah retires.
http://goo.gl/SjSPg

3/09/12 (MONGOLIA) Mongol Bank President Alag Batsukh submitted his resignation letter to Speaker of Parliament D. Demberel at the end of last month. He described his reason for resigning as a lack of support by Parliament.
http://goo.gl/RDmNx

3/09/12 (MONGOLIA) Asia Pacific Securities, General Manager Narantuguldur Saijrakh recently resigned, to focus on his role as Director of Khan Investment Management, investment advisor to the Khan Mongolia Equity Fund – the first open-ended investment vehicle with monthly dealing that invests in Mongolia related equities listed both domestically and internationally.
http://goo.gl/2T4R6

3/09/12 (Côte d’Ivoire) Banque Central des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) The Ivorian governor of the multi-billion dollar West Africa Francophone bank, Philippe-Henry Dacoury-Tabley, resigned his post.
http://goo.gl/CevLn

3/09/12 (UK) Lazard , co-head of investment banking Alexis de Rosnay quits. De Rosnay specialises in the healthcare sector, he has advised Teva Pharmaceutical and Novartis.
http://goo.gl/3gzbi

3/09/12 (UK) Deutsche Bank PWM, UK head of portfolio management Martyn Surguy resigned.
http://goo.gl/5Ti2p

3/09/12 (UK) Deutsche Bank PWM, head of discretionary management, Kypros Charalambous, having also stepped down.
http://goo.gl/5Ti2p

3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, K.J. Kim, responsible for Southeast Asia, resigned
http://goo.gl/sE7xh

3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jimmy Choi, who was in charge of high-yield debt, resigned.
http://goo.gl/sE7xh

3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leonard Ng, a vice-president in Hong Kong resigned.
http://goo.gl/sE7xh

3/09/12 (AUSTRALIA) Bank of Queensland CFO Ram Kangatharan plans to leave the bank.
http://goo.gl/ieNea

3/09/12 (USA) Cerberus Capital Management LP, CEO Robert Nardelli resigns.
http://goo.gl/9uKVx

3/10/12 (AUSTRALIA) WESTPAC, Rob Chapman opted to quit running its regional subsidiary St George Bank.
http://goo.gl/G6MD

3/10/12 (TURKEY) Garanti Bank, The deputy CEO of Turkish lender Tolga Egemen, has decided to quit.
http://goo.gl/vAMzV

3/10/12 (CHINA) Korea Development Bank, Shanghai unit senior manager Stella Wen resigned.
http://goo.gl/55CqZ

3/10/12 (HONG KONG) Deutsche Bank, Johan Sudiman resigns as director.
http://goo.gl/6CYGP

3/12/12 (USA) John Lewis Partnership Pension Trust, head of investments Andrew Chapman, resigns
http://goo.gl/hevqh

3/12/12 (USA CA) California’s Department of Financial Institutions, commissioner William Haraf resigned. The DFI did not say why he is leaving.
http://goo.gl/zquTc

3/12/12 (KUWAIT) Gulf Bank, Chairman Ali Rashaid Al Bader quits
http://goo.gl/LDz9b

3/12/12 (UK and IRELAND) Allfunds Bank, head of UK and Ireland Alan Gadd is stepping down from his role at the end of April.
http://goo.gl/4DF6i

3/12/12 (USA) ICAP, CEO of the electronic broking business David Rutter step down following a restructuring of the business.
http://goo.gl/SUHqW

3/12/12 (UK) SVG Capital, chairman Nicholas Ferguson resigns. His departure left him well placed to succeed James Murdoch as chairman of BSkyB should the latter bow to investor pressure and step down. Other investors in the satellite broadcaster suggested Ferguson might be seen as too close to Murdoch to win the support of institutional shareholders.
http://goo.gl/z19wH

3/12/12 (UK) Park Hill Group – Blackstone Group’s fundraising advisory arm, Managing Partner of private equity and hedge fund distribution Chris Leach resigns
http://goo.gl/jnHax

3/12/12 (UK) Park Hill Group – Blackstone Group’s fundraising advisory arm, Managing Partner Justin Bower resigns
http://goo.gl/jnHax

3/12/12 (UK)  The chief executive David Rutter of the electronic broking business at interdealer broker Icap stepping down.
http://goo.gl/sxk4y

3/12/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), CEO Paul Baloyi resigns.
http://goo.gl/yX4xo

3/12/12 (USA) Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, CEO Bryan Marsal Resigns Title, Remains on as Adviser
http://goo.gl/1K9zV

3/12/12 (USA IL) CME Group Inc, CEO Craig Donohues will step down at year end.
http://goo.gl/lvzgC

3/13/12 (USA) Eaton Vance Corp, Treasurer and CFO Robert J. Whelan has stepped down.
http://goo.gl/oxmbL

3/12/12 (USA IL) CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE), senior compliance executive Patrick Fay has resigned. The options exchange being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fay had been placed on leave after the SEC began investigating the options-market operator’s oversight of traders.
http://goo.gl/gj4W6

3/13/12 (USA) Mithras Investment Trust, chairman Mike Wooderson will step down
http://goo.gl/UjO2e

3/13/12 (USA) PHH Mortgage, President Luke Hayden resigned from to pursue what the company calls “other interests.” http://goo.gl/iaqQf

3/13/12 (USA) PHH Mortgage, Treasurer Mark Johnson.resigned
http://goo.gl/iaqQf

3/13/12 (AUSTRALIA) WESTPAC, head of corporate affairs after David Bell decided to step down from the role. Bell is the latest top executive to leave the bank.
http://goo.gl/FntUz

3/13/12 (UK) Capula’s Systemic Trading Head Qiang Dai to Leave Fund
http://goo.gl/zkrN2

3/13/12 (UAE) National Bank of Abu Dhabi, CEO Michael Tomalin, will retire from the post in a few months.
http://goo.gl/dzBW8

3/13/12 (ISRAEL) Osem Investments Ltd, CEO Gazi Kaplan has tendered his resignation, effective April 2, citing heath reasons. Nestlé SA owns 58.8% of Osem.
http://goo.gl/t032l

3/13/12 (USA) Paulson & Co.’s, partner and head of the global bank team Robert Lacoursiere has quit to form his own hedge fund
http://goo.gl/I8UNd

3/13/12 (AUSTRALIA) ASX Ltd, Chairman David Gonski will step down from his role at Australia’s main stock market operator after being appointed to oversee almost A$90 billion ($95 billion) in the nation’s sovereign-wealth funds.
http://goo.gl/gJN33

3/13/12 (UK) JP Morgan, Asset Management European chief Jamie Broderick is to step down more than 20 years at the firm.
http://goo.gl/MV65V

3/13/12 (UK) SVG Chairman Nicholas Ferguson retires.
http://goo.gl/hTDDY

3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Edgar Koning retires.
http://goo.gl/hTDDY

3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Denis Raeburn retires.
http://goo.gl/hTDDY

3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Francis Finlay retires.
http://goo.gl/hTDDY

3/14/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs, executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Greg Smith, is resigning today.
http://americankabuki.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html

3/14/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA chairman Garth Griffin to retire
http://goo.gl/Mhjb5

3/14/12 (UK)  WorldSpreads, CEO Conor Foley  resigns
http://goo.gl/GgT4z

3/15/12 (US WA) HomeStreet Bank, EVP and CFO  David Hooston  resigns
goo.gl/UUlc0

3/15/12 (DENMARK)  Sparekassen Faaborg board member  Steen Grønved Nielsen  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/6rd3m74

3/15/12 (UK)  RBC Capital Markets head of SSA syndicate desk Noel Williams  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/7zcf4z8

3/15/12 (UK)  Novia London sales manager Dave Chassell  quits
http://tinyurl.com/7gx6sn2

3/15/12 (US CA)  Prosper Finance (online venture captial services) CEO  Chris Larsen  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/6lhu8xx

3/15/12 (UK)  The Royal British Legion’s (fund) director of corp. communications  Stuart Gendall  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/7bhtysl

3/15/12 (IRELAND)  President of Sinn Fein USA (fund)  Larry Downes  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/7uqnwcg

3/16/12 (AUSTRALIA)  Investorfirst CFO and company secretary  Ariel Sivikofsky resigns
http://tinyurl.com/7jdshty

3/16/12 (MALAYSIA)  Amanah Raya Bhd (trust) managing director  Datuk Ahmad Rodzi Pawanteh  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/7wbujpm

3/16/12 (UK) Towry (investment & fin. advice)  Non-exec chairman Glyn Jones steps down
http://tinyurl.com/83g3y8b

3/16/12 (GERMANY)  Deutsche Bank Chief risk officer (CRO)of  Hugo Bänziger  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/7pmal9k

3/16/12 (US IL)  Henderson Global Investors Inc. head of the International Opportunities Fund  Iain Clark  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/7kfxz3j

3/16/12 (US CA)  Executive VP and Chief Compliance Officer of Heritage Bank of Commerce  Margaret Incandela  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/6wcaqaz

3/16/12 (US VA)  Genworth Financial board member  J. Robert Kerrey  resigns to campaign for senate seat
http://tinyurl.com/7566f74

3/16/12 (UK)  CEO of the FSA (Financial Services Authority)  Hector Sants  to leave
http://tinyurl.com/7av7v5n>

3/19/12 (US IA)  ISU Foundation (fund), President and CEO of the  Dan Saftig  to step down
http://tinyurl.com/7jvb24x

3/19/12 (BRAZIL)  HSBC Brazil CEO Conrado Engel  steps down
http://tinyurl.com/89uayoo

3/19/12 (UAE)  Finance head at SNR Denton Islamic  Sheikh Muddassir Siddiqui  resignsto pursue advisory role
http://tinyurl.com/84avxch

3/19/12 (SWITZERLAND)  Julius Baer bank’s chairman  Raymond Baer  steps down in a “surprise departure”
http://tinyurl.com/84gcl3z

3/19/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank, asset management chief  Kevin Parker  to leave executive committee
http://goo.gl/ahZlJ

3/19/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank, head of private wealth management Pierre de Weck resigns from executive committee
http://goo.gl/wRZkU

3/19/12 (HONG KONG)  China Development Bank HK branch CEO  Di Weiping  retires
http://tinyurl.com/7xcskmp

3/19/12 (US ID)  SunTrust Bank president and CEO  Thomas Rueger  to retire
http://tinyurl.com/7n2l6sr

3/19/12 (SWEDEN)  AP6 (private equity) CEO  Marianne Dicander Alexandersson steps down
http://tinyurl.com/7bnvygp

3/19/12 (SWITZERLAND)  FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority)  Vice-chair Monica Mächler  to step down
http://tinyurl.com/7r9akho

3/20/12 (KUWAIT)  National Investments Co. chairman  Yousef Al Majid  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/7maw3xx

3/20/12 (UK)  Bank of America, Co-head of distressed debt at  Michael Guy  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/75eml6v

3/20/12 (US PA)  Penseco Financial Services Corp, Former state senator Robert J. Mellow resigns from board
http://tinyurl.com/6rxqeo9

3/20/12 (US TX)  Acquisition chief Dan Magder  quits Lone Star Investments
http://tinyurl.com/6qm2rj4

3/20/12 (NIGERIA)  Chairman of House Committee on Capital Markets  Hon. Herman Hembe  resigns due to allegations of bribery
http://tinyurl.com/7r6dk54

3/20/12 (Hong Kong)  Head of Deutsche Bank Asia-Pac  Loh Boon Chye quits
http://tinyurl.com/6muckmq

3/20/12 (US NY)  Deutsche Bank, head of asset management  Kevin Parker  steps down from executive committee
goo.gl/4NO66

3/20/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank, Chairman and CEO  Josef Ackermann exits with pension of €18.7 million
http://goo.gl/eiF39

3/20/12 (UK) Coller Capital, CEO Charles Hippsley has left to help lead a Christian organisation in London.
http://goo.gl/rVFz0

3/21/12 (GERMANY)  Deutsche Bank AG, Co-head Wolfgang Hammes  leaves
http://tinyurl.com/74ks8jk

3/21/12 (UK)  Aviva Investor’s European equity head  John Botham  exits
http://tinyurl.com/7qwlc26

3/21/12 (CANADA)  National Bank’s Ontaria, Atlantic region manager  Mike Miller leaves
http://tinyurl.com/7kq4bdp

3/21/12 (UK)  Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s global head of equity prime services  Gregory Wagner  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/6vz8f8k

3/21/12 (US DC)  Liquidity Services Inc, Chief information officer Eric Dean  resigns
http://tinyurl.com/7v2c4ku

3/22/12 (UK)  Global equity head Neil Rogan  resigns from Henderson Global Investors
http://tinyurl.com/7v2c4ku

3/22/12 (NETHERLANDS) CIO at Nedlloyd Pension Fund  Bert Tibben  step down
http://goo.gl/NHE94

3/22/12 (UK) Bank of America Corp, chairman of global banking and markets, Andrea Orcel steps down, goes to UBS
http://goo.gl/AVXL2

3/22/12 (UK) Bank of America Corp, Jonathan Moulds steps down, helped build the bank’s over-the-counter derivatives trading business and held positions including global head of rate derivatives trading, head of global derivatives and head of global rates and commodities.
http://goo.gl/AVXL2

3/25/12 (EGYPT) National Bank of Egypt, CEO Tarek Amer said that he will step down from his position at the end of 2012.
http://goo.gl/tC7Ma

It is not however just the number of resignations, but more interesting is the nature of how a lot of these players are exiting.  Consider this very revealing OP-ED piece from the New Times Opinion Page, which appeared on 14 March.  It is like the saying, when it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and now THE DUCK himself says it’s a duck.  Well, you be the judge.

Op-Ed Contributor – New York Times Opinion Section

Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs By GREG SMITH, Published: March 14, 2012

TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for.

It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture was always a vital part of Goldman Sachs’s success. It revolved around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility, and always doing right by our clients. The culture was the secret sauce that made this place great and allowed us to earn our clients’ trust for 143 years. It wasn’t just about making money; this alone will not sustain a firm for so long. It had something to do with pride and belief in the organization. I am sad to say that I look around today and see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working for this firm for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.

But this was not always the case. For more than a decade I recruited and mentored candidates through our grueling interview process. I was selected as one of 10 people (out of a firm of more than 30,000) to appear on our recruiting video, which is played on every college campus we visit around the world. In 2006 I managed the summer intern program in sales and trading in New York for the 80 college students who made the cut, out of the thousands who applied.

I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look students in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work.

When the history books are written about Goldman Sachs, they may reflect that the current chief executive officer, Lloyd C. Blankfein, and the president, Gary D. Cohn, lost hold of the firm’s culture on their watch. I truly believe that this decline in the firm’s moral fiber represents the single most serious threat to its long-run survival.

Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of the largest hedge funds on the planet, five of the largest asset managers in the United States, and three of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of more than a trillion dollars. I have always taken a lot of pride in advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the firm. This view is becoming increasingly unpopular at Goldman Sachs. Another sign that it was time to leave.

How did we get here? The firm changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.

What are three quick ways to become a leader? a) Execute on the firm’s “axes,” which is Goldman-speak for persuading your clients to invest in the stocks or other products that we are trying to get rid of because they are not seen as having a lot of potential profit. b) “Hunt Elephants.” In English: get your clients — some of whom are sophisticated, and some of whom aren’t — to trade whatever will bring the biggest profit to Goldman. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like selling my clients a product that is wrong for them. c) Find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym.

Today, many of these leaders display a Goldman Sachs culture quotient of exactly zero percent. I attend derivatives sales meetings where not one single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. It’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them. If you were an alien from Mars and sat in on one of these meetings, you would believe that a client’s success or progress was not part of the thought process at all.

It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail. Even after the S.E.C., Fabulous Fab, Abacus, God’s work, Carl Levin, Vampire Squids? No humility? I mean, come on. Integrity? It is eroding. I don’t know of any illegal behavior, but will people push the envelope and pitch lucrative and complicated products to clients even if they are not the simplest investments or the ones most directly aligned with the client’s goals? Absolutely. Every day, in fact.

It astounds me how little senior management gets a basic truth: If clients don’t trust you they will eventually stop doing business with you. It doesn’t matter how smart you are.

These days, the most common question I get from junior analysts about derivatives is, “How much money did we make off the client?” It bothers me every time I hear it, because it is a clear reflection of what they are observing from their leaders about the way they should behave. Now project 10 years into the future: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the junior analyst sitting quietly in the corner of the room hearing about “muppets,” “ripping eyeballs out” and “getting paid” doesn’t exactly turn into a model citizen.

When I was a first-year analyst I didn’t know where the bathroom was, or how to tie my shoelaces. I was taught to be concerned with learning the ropes, finding out what a derivative was, understanding finance, getting to know our clients and what motivated them, learning how they defined success and what we could do to help them get there.

My proudest moments in life — getting a full scholarship to go from South Africa to Stanford University, being selected as a Rhodes Scholar national finalist, winning a bronze medal for table tennis at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, known as the Jewish Olympics — have all come through hard work, with no shortcuts. Goldman Sachs today has become too much about shortcuts and not enough about achievement. It just doesn’t feel right to me anymore.

I hope this can be a wake-up call to the board of directors. Make the client the focal point of your business again. Without clients you will not make money. In fact, you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people, no matter how much money they make for the firm. And get the culture right again, so people want to work here for the right reasons. People who care only about making money will not sustain this firm — or the trust of its clients — for very much longer.

Greg Smith is resigning today as a Goldman Sachs executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

All I can say is I expect an exciting next few months.  I also think it needs to be said here that it also appears that there is a major effort by some very courageous people (like Greg Smith), who are taking great personal risk, to assist in this “cleansing”.  We owe them a large debt of gratitude.

Is There a Major Change in Global Financial Markets Just Around the Corner?

Since the economic crash in 2008, much has surfaced as to how it happened, who was involved, the reaction of regulators, The President and Congress.  What amazed me in the months following the implosion, nothing seemed to materialize, either in the way of criminal actions or new regulations.

It was at this point, I began my blog.  I needed to look deeply into the situation and see what I could discover.  I have written over 100 articles outlining my findings.  What I have spent nearly the last two months doing was following and trying to validate some amazing stories that were circulating the internet concerning the financial cabal and the fact it was under attack by some unknown forces.

The whole story was first introduced by Benjamin Fulford, who was a Forbes Business Editor in Japan.  You can learn all about Benjamin here, http://benjaminfulford.net/.  To say the least, Benjamin’s story is on the surface, was too much to believe.  Although I must say, over time, I began to see that while I could  not accept the whole of Benjamin’s story, there were events unfolding in real-time, that were similar to Benjamin’s previous statements as to what would occur in the near future.

Then last month, the well known writer and a New York Best Selling Author, David Wilcox did an exhaustive piece on his blog which you can find here, Financial Tyranny – Defeating the Greatest Cover-Up of All Time.  Again, most of this article was mind-blowing to say the least, but again there was hard evidence presented for some of the key points that was undeniable, but accepting the whole premise was a bit too much for me.

So for me the bottom line was there has to be proof that this financial cabal is collapsing.  This started my two months of investigating on my own.  What I found I have outlined in detail below.  Forgive the long article, but to see it all, you must know it all.

Since September of 2011, I have been tracking and following the major players in the global financial arena.  If there was any weight to what Fulford and Wilcox were saying, the rats would be jumping ship.  Honestly, I thought I would find normal patterns of revolving doors and resignations.  I will let you be the judge of what I uncovered as a matter of public record and verified reporting.  I started first in the US.

Over 20,000 resignations/house arrests are visible using data from the SEC Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires that publicly traded companies must report to the SEC whenever members of the Board or certain officers resign. Also, the SEC has a database named EDGAR that is open to the public. After a little research, what was discovered is that corporations must report said resignations on Form 8-K, Item 5.02. From there, it was a simple matter of searching only Form 8-Ks within a specific range of dates, and including the boolean search terms “Resigns” and “Resignation”.

From the start of 2008 to the second quarter of 2011 the resignations remained steady @ about 2000 per quarter. Suddenly in the 3rd quarter of 2011 they increased by 50% to 3000 for that quarter. (That’s an extra 1000). Then in the 4th quarter they jumped to 7000. (That’s an additional extra 5000 resignations). Now without the full quarter results for the first quarter of 2012 they are up to 16,000. (That’s an extra 14,000 resignations & increasing fast).  That’s a total of 20,000+ extra resignations that no one is reporting in news papers & nothing of course in the major media!

OK, well that is interesting, but how does this hold-up on the international scene.  First of all I want to thank americankabuki.blogspot.com and Gabriel@ Facebook Global Mass Resignations for doing an immense amount of research that was invaluable to my effort, and I am indebted to their willingness to share it so freely.

What we uncovered…

358 MAJOR RESIGNATIONS FROM WORLD BANKS, INVESTMENT HOUSES, MONEY FUNDS
Abreviations used:
CEO = Chief Executive Officer, CFO = Chief Financial Officer, CIO = Chief Investment Officer, COO = Chief Operating Officer
INC = Incorporated (can be private held or publically traded shares)
PLC = Public Limited Company (publicly traded shares can be listed or unlisted on stock market)
LTD = Limited Company (privately held)
LLC = American version of LTD, but can have a shareholder/member that is an INC, often hybrids of both
AG = German version of PLC
AB = Swedish version of PLC
SA = Society Anonymous in various Latin languages – same as PLC
NV = Dutch version of PLC
BV = Dutch version of LTD
LP = Limited Partners (partnership with limited liability)
REIT = Real Estate Investment Trust
Click here to scroll to latest additions to list from AmericanKabuki, then scroll up.

1. 9/01/11 (USA NY) Bank of New York Mellon Chief Robert P. Kelly Resigns in a Shake-UP.  Bank of New York Mellon’s chief executive and chairman, Robert P. Kelly, stepped down late Wednesday because of “differences in approaches to managing the company,” the bank said. Pressure on the bank has been growing for months.  Kelly’s departure — the sudden, shocking resignation of a star CEO  (editor note: #2 among CEO compensation in the banking industry)– has received remarkably little attention or explanation.
   http://goo.gl/NdW7q
2. 9/06/11 (BELGIUM) Dexia confirmed that its CEO Stefaan Decraene had left the company. Its exposures to sovereign debt in the PIIGS nations are larger than its core Tier 1 capital.  Dexia’s CEO Resigns Suddenly – by Erin Davis | 06 Sep 11

On Monday, Dexia confirmed that its CEO Stefaan Decraene had left the company and will be replaced by Jos Clijsters, an executive at the bank since January and a former senior executive at the failed bank Fortis.

We continue to think that Dexia is the most troubled publicly traded bank in the eurozone outside of Greece. Its exposures to sovereign debt in the PIIGS nations are larger than its core   Tier 1 capital, it has an inadequate deposit base to support its loan book, and it is overly leveraged, in our opinion. We think Dexia is likely to undertake a highly dilutive capital raise, and           wonder if it might come sooner rather than later given the management change.            http://goo.gl/vuhvd

1. 9/09/11 (GERMANY) European Central Bank (ECB) governing board member Jürgen Stark, who has resigned.  The dramatic resignation of a senior European central banker sent stock markets plunging, amid fears that Greece is on the brink of default and the fragile consensus in Berlin over support for the ailing Italian and Spanish economies was close to disintegration.

Bank stocks, down more than 5% in some cases, were the worst affected as the Dow Jones        dropped almost 3% to below 11,000. European exchanges joined the panic with the FTSE falling more than 100 points to 5230.  Speculation that several French and German banks would soon   embark on massive capital raising schemes to offset write-offs on holdings of Greek debt, added            to the febrile atmosphere.    Stark “and his wife, Christine, whom he married in 1973, have a retirement house on the Baltic Sea. http://goo.gl/t83S4

1. 9/12/11 (HONG KONG) HSBC Group Hang Seng Bank Non-Executive Director Mark McCombe resigns.  In a release, the Board of Directors of Hang Seng Bank Limited hereby announces that following his resignation from the HSBC Group, Mr. Mark S McCombe has tendered his resignation as a Non-executive Director of the Bank with effect from 9 September 2011.

Mr.  McCombe has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the Board and that he is not     aware of any matter relating to his resignation that needs to be brought to the attention of the    shareholders of the Bank. Mark moved to BlackRock Asian Operations.  http://goo.gl/mCTgi

1. 9/14/11 (USA NJ) Columbia Bank CEO Raymond G. Hallock Announces Retirement
   http://goo.gl/UjUZY
2. 9/14/11 (NEW ZELAND) AMP NZ Office Limited (ANZO), Mark Verbiest has resigned as a director. His resignation arises due to his desire to devote the necessary time and energy to his prospective new role as Chairman of Telecom, assuming the Telecom demerger is sanctioned by Telecom shareholders.
   http://goo.gl/LjSI0
3. 9/15/11 (USA NY) Morgan Stanley, Chairman John Mack resigns.  Mack, 66, joined Morgan Stanley in 1972 as a bond salesman and worked his way up through the ranks to become president and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 1997. Mack will retire from a full-time role but remain a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley. http://goo.gl/jWWv7
4. 9/18/11 (JORDAN) Central Bank governor Faris Sharaf resigns over policy.  They did not disclose the reasons for the surprise resignation of Sharaf, who took the five-year post last November.

But bankers and some officials say Sharaf was enraged by an appeasement policy adopted by   the government to win over disgruntled public sector employees in the wake of Arab unrest that endangered the country’s financial and monetary stability.

Bankers say Sharaf, a highly respected financial expert who had senior posts in the banking and                financial industry, has increasingly voiced privately his alarm at the government’s expansionary            fiscal policy.   A bit of fuel was added to the fire when Faris Sharaf’s mother, Leila Sharaf,           resigned from her post in the Senate the very next day, stating that she will not be part of a         “corrupted government”. Leila claims her son was “removed” for attempting to combat              corruption and also voiced her displeasure over the way her son was “removed” from office,             claiming that the bank was surrounded by armed guards who supposedly were there to keep   him from entering. http://goo.gl/8yU5N

1. 9/20/11 (SCOTLAND) SCOTTISH WIDOWS (RETIREMENT INVESTMENT SAVINGS FUND) There could be no Scottish representative on the board of Lloyds Banking Group, owner of Bank of Scotland, in future after it announced the departure of Lord Sandy Leitch, the chairman of Scottish Widows and group deputy chairman.  Less than a year after Labour first won power in 1997, Sandy Leitch was invited to No10 for breakfast with other business leaders.  He went on to run several Labour projects, becoming one of Mr Blair’s most trusted business advisers.  His reward came in 2004 – the same year he left Zurich – when he was made a Labour peer, becoming Baron Leitch of Oakley in Fife. The multi-millionaire entrepreneur was introduced into the Lords by Mr Blair’s chief fundraiser, Lord Levy.  But Lord Leitch, 60, has maintained links with Gordon Brown’s government, donating £5,000 last year to his leadership campaign.  http://goo.gl/Dx8qs
   1. 9/21/11 (AUSTRALIA & NZ) JP Morgan Australia and New Zealand Worldwide Securities Services CEO Jane Perry resigned
      http://goo.gl/Qx0Va
   2. 9/25/11 (SWITZERLAND) UBS  CEO Oswald Gruebel quits over £1.5bn rogue trader crisis.  The head of the Swiss bank at the centre of the rogue trading scandal resigned yesterday after telling colleagues it was his duty to take responsibility for the £1.5 billion loss.

UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel stepped down from his £1.9 million-a-year job in an             attempt to limit further damage to the bank’s reputation.  http://goo.gl/WCeqB

1. 9/25/11 (USA CA) Douglas E. Tow, Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer, will retire from American River Bankshares (NASDAQ: AMRB) .  Mr. Tow has made the decision to retire in order to pursue personal interests. http://goo.gl/24aAU
2. 9/28/11 (SWITZERLAND) SNB Bank Council: Fritz Studer resigns as per end-April 2012
   http://goo.gl/7dNiD
3. 9/29/11 (JAPAN) BLIFE Investment Corporation, Asset Manager Director Masaomi Yamadaira resigned.
   http://goo.gl/Vsmk3
4. 9/29/11 (UK) Barclays, Head of UK & European Retail Banking Deanna Oppenheimer resigned.
   http://goo.gl/o63jO
5. 9/29/11 (USA NM) New Mexico Pension Fund Director Terry Slattery Resigns
   http://goo.gl/BzLn4
6. 9/30/11 (SINGAPORE) AIMS AMP CAP INDUSTRIAL REIT, Ms Tang Buck Kiau resigned.
   http://goo.gl/VGxjv
7. 10/01/11 (USA MO) Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas M. Hoenig retired on Oct. 1, 2011
   http://goo.gl/B8WK7
8. 10/03/11 (INDIA) The of Euram Bank Asia, president Arun Panchariya, has resigned after being implicated in a stock trading scandal in India.
   http://goo.gl/yh2bF
9. 10/03/11 (GHANA) Intercontinental Bank Ghana Limited, Managing Director and CEO Albert Mmegwa resigned.
   http://goo.gl/Vc252
10. 10/03/11 (USA FL) Quantek Opportunity Fund, portfolio manager Javier Guerra. Arbitration awarded $1 million damages to Aris Multi-Strategy Fund. Quantek Asset Management made false statements to Aris.
    http://goo.gl/udpBA
11. 10/05/11 (UK) UBS co-chief François Gouws of global equities had resigned after last month’s revelation of a $2.3 billion loss from unauthorized trading.
    http://goo.gl/OuUjr
12. 10/05/11 (UK) UBS co-chief Yassine Bouhara of global equities had resigned after last month’s revelation of a $2.3 billion loss from unauthorized trading.
    http://goo.gl/OuUjr
13. 10/10/11 (BELGIUM) Dexia (Franco-Belgian bank) its chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene will give up his role on the board of Dexia’s Belgian division, which is being sold to the Belgian state as part of a rescue deal, the group said on Monday.
    http://goo.gl/vyldE
14. 10/11/11 (UK) BlackRock, head of sterling portfolios and manager of the Corporate Bond fund, Paul Shuttleworth, has resigned after 11 years at the firm.
    http://goo.gl/FMBjw
15. 10/11/11 (UK) Dynamic Funds, portfolio manager David Taylor has resigned.
    http://goo.gl/GZCt5
16. 10/11/11 (CHINA) China Construction Bank Non-Executive Direct Sue Yang resigns for personal reasons.
    http://goo.gl/ip8Un
17. 10/13/11 (UK) Cogent Partners co-head research department Katita Palamar resigned.
    http://goo.gl/TVLWO
18. 10/13/11 (UK) Cogent Partners co-head research department Bill Farrell resigned.
    http://goo.gl/TVLWO
19. 10/14/11 (USA TX) Deutsche Bank Investment Advisor Griffin Perry resigns, SEC regulations prevented him from campaigning for his father Rick Perry’s Presidential campaign.
    http://goo.gl/R0PgH
20. 10/23/11 (USA) Fairholme Capital Management LLC, Director Charles Fernandez stepped down for personal reasons. Fairholme Fund has lost 26 percent of its net asset value due to bets that have backfired on AIG Inc, Bank of America Corp and Florida-based landowner and developer St Joe Co.
    http://goo.gl/vzTbY
21. 10/24/11 (ICELAND) Icelandic State Financial Investments board members of Icelandic State Financial Investments have resigned following “outside interference” with their Sept. 30 decision to hire Pall Magnusson, the former political adviser to the island’s industry minister, as chief executive officer. [names and positions have been requested from the reporter on 3/9/12]
    http://goo.gl/lEpz2
22. 10/24/11 (SINGAPORE) Keppel Corporation Limited, Teo Soon Hoe will resign from his role as group finance director Jan 1.
    http://goo.gl/l90be
23. 10/26/11 (INDIA) Beed District Bank (Coop Bank) CEO B S Deshmukh arrested for embezzling Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd payment deposits.
    http://goo.gl/CXL7Z
24. 10/26/11 (INDIA) Beed District Bank (Coop Bank) former CEO A N Kulkarni arrested for embezzling Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd payment deposits.
    http://goo.gl/CXL7Z
25. 10/27/11 (USA NY) Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc (KBW) CEO John Duffy stepped aside. Duffy has prostate cancer.
    http://goo.gl/i1s3E
26. 10/29/11 (CHINA) China Construction Bank Corp Chairman Guo Shuqing resigns
    http://goo.gl/fdd9v
27. 10/29/11 (CHINA) Agricultural Bank of China Ltd Chairman Xiang Junbo resigns
    http://goo.gl/yWX9R
28. 10/31/11 (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY) European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, resigns.
    http://goo.gl/ygG59
29. 11/01/11 (INDIA) Beed District Bank (Coop Bank More directors resign [research still being conducted on the names]
    http://goo.gl/HD8BQ
30. 11/02/11 (UK) Lloyds Banking Group chief executive, António Horta-Osório, is to take leave of absence on health grounds for six to eight weeks, the BBC has reported. (STILL OUT AS OF 2/24/12 – DEFACTO RESIGNATION)
    http://goo.gl/3L9gE
31. 11/03/11 (POLAND) Nordea Bank Poland, Wlodzimierz Kicinski resigned from as President of the Management Board of Nordea Bank Poland as of the 10th of November.
    http://goo.gl/oKUVZ
32. 11/04/11 (USA NY) MF Global, Jon Corzine, stepped down as chairman and CEO, hired criminal attorney to represent him.
    http://goo.gl/tUaVY
33. 11/07/11 (SINGAPORE) Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX), CEO Framroze Pochara quits.
    http://goo.gl/eum87
34. 11/08/11 (SINGAPORE) The Singapore Fund, Inc, Austin C. Dowling has resigned as Director of the Fund
    http://goo.gl/bCUhI
35. 11/09/11 (USA NY) HSBC Israeli desk, managing director Issac Doueck resigned.
    http://goo.gl/zuCJE
36. 11/09/11 (ISRAEL) HSBC Israeli desk, senior representative Simon Hakim resigned.
    http://goo.gl/zuCJE
37. 11/09/11 (SWITZERLAND) HSBC Israeli desk, head of Israel Dan Sagi resigned.
    http://goo.gl/zuCJE
38. 11/09/11 (USA NY) HSBC Israeli desk, ????? resigned.
    http://goo.gl/zuCJE
39. 11/09/11 (USA NY) HSBC Israeli desk, ????? resigned.
    http://goo.gl/zuCJE
40. 11/10/11 (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY) European Central Bank Lorenzo Bini Smaghi resigned from the European Central Bank’s Executive Board.
    http://goo.gl/Invjc
41. 11/11/11 (HONG KONG) Goldman Sachs’ Asia Pacific co-head Yusuf Alireza is retiring from the investment bank after 19 years
    http://goo.gl/pejs3
42. 11/10/11 (INDIA) UBS The head of India operations at UBS AG , Manisha Girotra, has resigned
    http://goo.gl/3aTh2
43. 11/15/11 (USA NY) Icahn Enterprises LP, senior managing director of health-care investing, Alex Denner, has resigned.
    http://goo.gl/X1A4i
44. 11/16/11 (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY) International Monetary Fund Europe, director Antonio Borges resigns for personal reasons.
    http://goo.gl/55CqZ
45. 11/17/11 (NETHERLANDS) Syntrus Achmea (pensions manager), CIO Marjolein Sol is resigning.
    http://goo.gl/Xqxsr
46. 11/18/11 (SCOTLAND) Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Limited (SWIP) Private Equity Fund, wish to announce the resignation of John Brett from the Board of Directors of the Company, for business reasons.
    http://goo.gl/MLsp8
47. 11/21/11 (JAPAN) UBS’s Japan Investment Banking Chairman Matsui to Resign
    http://goo.gl/OiDiq
48. 11/23/12 (USA SC & NC) Bank of the Carolinas, CFO Eric Rhodes resigns for personal reasons. Bank of the Carolinas was delisted from the NASDAQ on 3/9/12
    http://goo.gl/oytcD
49. 11/24/12 (IRELAND) AXA Rosenberg Management Ireland Limited, director Simon Vanstone resigns.
    http://goo.gl/x5Fl6
50. 11/28/11 (LATVIA) Latvia’s chief banking regulator, Irena Krumane, said she resigned today, a week after the state took over Latvijas Krajbanka AS (LKB1R), the Baltic News Service reported. The bank regulator suspended operations at Krajbanka, a subsidiary of Lithuania’s Bankas Snoras AB, on Nov. 21 and said around 100 million lati ($191.8 million) was missing. The Lithuanian government seized Snoras on Nov. 16 saying assets reported on the lender’s balance sheet were missing.
    http://goo.gl/mUvLF
51. 11/29/11 (USA) R. David Land Submits Resignation from the Boards of Directors of Peoples Bancorp. and Seneca National Bank
    http://goo.gl/XncOc
52. 11/29/11 (NORWAY) Carnegie ASA’s co-head of investment banking in Norway, Cato Holmsen, has resigned
    http://goo.gl/utIfy
53. 11/29/11 (FRANCE) AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, Global head of business development, strategy and research for Kiran Patel, has handed in his resignation. Patel was with the firm for 11 years.
    http://goo.gl/iGjB6
54. 11/30/11 (LITHUANIA) Lithuania Central Bank, Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas fired Kazimieras Ramonas, head of the banking supervision department, after seizing Bankas Snoras AB, the country’s third-biggest deposit bank.
    http://goo.gl/EiqUC
55. 12/01/11 (SRI LANKA) Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Indrani Sugathadasa resigned.
    http://goo.gl/6qzny
56. 12/02/11 (PAKISTAN) NIB Bank, Singapore forced resignation of CEO Khawaja Iqbal Hassan, for mismanagement
    http://goo.gl/ojDcu
57. 12/03/11 (USA SC) South Carolina’s $25 billion pension fund chief investor Robert Borden resigned. Borden’s resignation comes as the SC Retirement System faces a $13 billion deficit, prompting state lawmakers to call for a massive overhaul of the system.
    http://goo.gl/ypK2G
58. 12/05/11 (BERMUDA) HSBC Bermuda Ltd, chairman of the board and director John Campbell resigns
    http://goo.gl/peFGD
59. 12/05/11 (BERMUDA) HSBC Bermuda Ltd, CEO  Philip Butterfield retires
    http://goo.gl/peFGD
60. 12/06/11 (USA ) Western Liberty Bancorp CFO George Rosenbaum has resigned.
    http://goo.gl/ozuwB
61. 12/08/11 (USA) Fidelity Global Special Situations Fund, manager Jorma Korhonen resigned.
    http://goo.gl/a7Rhw
62. 12/08/11 (INDIA) Nomura’s co-head of equity-linked solutions Neeraj Hora, resigns
    http://goo.gl/WYcjR
63. 12/14/11 (MAURITIUS) African Alliance Africa Pioneer Fund I (the “Fund”), Portfolio Manager Paul David Austin Clark resigned
    http://goo.gl/YiagF
64. 12/14/11 (USA NY) Goldman Sachs global head Milton R. Berlinski retiring at the end of the year
    http://goo.gl/Xj0l4
65. 12/15/11 (UK) Coutts [private bank] Senior private banker James Fleming resigns
    http://goo.gl/ANN5B
66. 12/19/11 (CANADA) Holloway Lodging Real Estate Investment Trust (a REIT) CEO Glenn Squires has resigned
    http://goo.gl/8rAKb
67. 12/19/11 (JAPAN) Citibank Japan CEO, Darren Buckley, resigns after Citibank was punished by regulators for the third time in seven years.
    http://goo.gl/ScT47
68. 12/19/11 (DENMARK) Danske Bank Peter Straarup, who will retire February 15
    http://goo.gl/06c2b
69. 12/19/11 (DENMARK) Danske Bank Eivind Kolding has resigned as Chairman of the Board of Directors and from the three board committees on which he served, He continues as member of Danske Bank’s Board of Directors until he assumes the position of Chairman of the Executive Board on 15 February 2012. On the same day, at the latest, Eivind Kolding will resign from the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.
    http://goo.gl/06c2b
70. 12/20/11 (UK) Prudential (UK) Chairman Harvey McGrath has informed the Board of his intention to retire from the Board in 2012 once a successor has been found.
    http://goo.gl/IPOzf
71. 12/20/11 (USA MA) Century Bancorp, Inc., Director Roger S. Berkowitz resigned.
    http://goo.gl/bbdeT
72. 12/21/11 (USA MN) Voyager Bank, fired CEO trade accusations, New details have emerged in Voyager Bank’s firing of its CEO in a court filing that accuses him of defrauding the bank of $15 million. The former CEO, Timothy Owens, has sued the bank for wrongful termination and accused the bank of defaming him.
    http://goo.gl/3Q1Vg
73. 12/23/11 (USA VA)  Virginia National Bank (VNB) Chairman Mark Giles quits
    http://goo.gl/dFDpH
74. 12/23/11 (USA VA)  Virginia National Bank (VNB) Board Member Claire Gargalli quits
    http://goo.gl/kowkW
75. 12/23/11 (USA VA)  Virginia National Bank (VNB) Board Member Leslie Disharoon quits
    http://goo.gl/kstLp
76. 12/23/11 (USA VA)  Virginia National Bank (VNB) Board Member Neal Kassell quits
    http://goo.gl/NrrPZ
77. 12/23/11 (USA) Third Avenue Value Fund, co-manager Marty Whitman is leaving.
    http://goo.gl/iMe99
78. 1/01/12 (NIGERIA) United Bank for Africa Plc Victor Osadolor resigns
    http://goo.gl/b6AoA
79. 1/01/12 (ISRAEL) Israel’s Bank Leumi CEO Galia Maor steps down after 16 years
    http://goo.gl/xwlFt
80. 1/03/12 (GREECE) Marfin Popular Bank Public Co Ltd, Mr Eleftherios Hiliadakis has resigned from the Board of Directors.
    http://goo.gl/MuFa0
81. 1/03/12 (USA VA) Suffolk Bancorp president and CEO J. Gordon Huszagh steps down
    http://goo.gl/joExI
82. 1/03/12 (USA WI) Michael Falbo, president and CEO of Southport Bank, has resigned just six months after accepting the position.
    http://goo.gl/DP1uK
83. 1/03/12 (UK) Arbuthnot Banking Group: Neil Kirton resigned from the Board
    http://goo.gl/SKE7j
84. 1/03/12 (UK) Arbuthnot Banking Group: Atholl Turrell left the Board.
    http://goo.gl/bzZtQ
85. 1/05/12 (UK) Saunderson House [Private Bank] CEO Nick Fletcher steps down
    http://goo.gl/zvo1L
86. 1/05/12 (USA NY) Blackstone/GSO Senior Floating Rate Term Fund and Blackstone/GSO Long-Short Credit Income Fund announced that John R. O’Neill has resigned.
    http://goo.gl/ZiWGL
87. 1/07/12 (UK) Arab Banking Corporation Intl. Bank (ABCIB) Manama, Bahrain: ABCIB announced retirement of CEO Nofal Barbar from its London office.
    http://goo.gl/yF0Mm
88. 1/09/12 (SWITZERLAND) SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand resigns
    http://goo.gl/5qsUu
89. 1/09/12 (USA WASHINGTON DC) Whitehouse former banker and Chief of Staff William M. Daley resigned
    http://goo.gl/34F0B
90. 1/09/12 (USA NY) Morgan Stanley Chief Legal Officer Frank Barron retires.
    http://goo.gl/XYCwJ
91. 1/09/12 (SWITZERLAND) Temenos Group AG, provider of core banking software announced the resignation of Mark Austen as a member of the Board of Directors.
    http://goo.gl/l6QzM
92. 1/10/12 (USA IN) Security Bank of Springfield, president and CEO Steve Cour has announced plans to retire at the end of June.
    http://goo.gl/jFbYA
93. 1/11/12 (KAZAKHSTAN) BTA Bank, CEO Marat Zairov resigns for health reasons.
    http://goo.gl/yAHgr
94. 1/11/12 (SWITZERLAND) La Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild, CEO Claude Messulam resigns, replaced by Christophe de Backer, Claude Messulam to become a director of the bank holding company.
    http://goo.gl/vWr3i
95. 1/12/12 (USA) Goldman Sachs, Co-Head Securities Trading Edward K. Eisler retires
    http://goo.gl/i2TVk
96. 1/12/12 (USA) Goldman Sachs, Co-Head Securities Trading David B. Heller retires
    http://goo.gl/i2TVk
97. 1/13/12 (IRELAND) National Asset Management Agency, head of lending Graham Emmett is resigning
    http://goo.gl/GN3h3
98. 1/13/12 (USA DC) World Bank, Vice President for Africa, Oby Ezekwesili will retire from her position at the World Bank in May.
    http://goo.gl/fiUsU
99. 1/17/12 (CANADA) Cumberland Private Wealth Management CIO John Wilson quit to join another money manager.
    http://goo.gl/3JuNJ
100. 1/17/12 (HONG KONG) Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) CEO David Conner retires.
     http://goo.gl/83Z1i
101. 1/17/12 (UK) Morgan Stanley Intl, chairman Walid Chammah is retiring. An inside source speculated that it could mean that the company had suffered exposure to European sovereign debt woes under Chammah’s purview.
     http://goo.gl/e7vS7
102. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Ali Yousef Al Awwadhy resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
103. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Miss Anoud Fadhel Al Hathran resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
104. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Mr. Tarek Farid Al Othman resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
105. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Mr. Salem Ali Hassan Al Ali resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
106. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Mr. Majed Ali Oweid Awadh resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
107. 1/17/12 (KUWAIT) Commercial Bank of Kuwait S.A.K. Board Member Mr. Badr Suliman Al Ahmed resigned.
     http://goo.gl/0PoIM
108. 1/18/12 (USA) Goldman Sachs co-heads of Goldman’s securities business David Heller resigns.
     http://goo.gl/TMHvx
109. 1/18/12 (USA) Goldman Sachs co-heads of Goldman’s securities business Edward Eisler resigns.
     http://goo.gl/TMHvx
110. 1/18/12 (USA) Goldman Sachs co-head of its investment management division Ed Forst resigns.
     http://goo.gl/TMHvx
111. 1/19/12 (UK) Santander, senior director Americas division Francisco Luzón is retiring with a pension pot of about €56m, a package whose generous size is expected to reignite controversy over bankers’ remuneration.
     http://goo.gl/XMRvP
112. 1/19/12 (EGYPT) Beltone Financial Holding (BTFH) Alaa’ Sabaa resigned from board of directors.
     http://goo.gl/5Eze1
113. 1/19/12 (EGYPT) Beltone Financial Holding (BTFH) Wael EL Mahgary resigned from board of directors.
     http://goo.gl/5Eze1
114. 1/20/12 (USA NY) JPMorgan Chase, Mortgage Banking Default organization head Scott Powell has decided to leave the bank.
     http://goo.gl/TCYpT
115. 1/20/12 (JAPAN) Normura’s head of wholesale banking Jasjit Bhattai quits
     http://goo.gl/6FuWe
116. 1/20/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) First National Bank’s sharia banking division is in a state of flux after it was hit by a corporate governance scandal in which its chief executive, Ebi Patel, was put on “special leave” for almost a month while an internal probe was conducted. Patel has been reinstated, but is facing disciplinary action.  Islamic finance forbids the payment and receipt of interest (riba), and investment in some industries. Sharia law states that interest-bearing transactions result in economic ills such as unemployment and high inflation. Trading in derivatives and speculative investment are also forbidden. Sharia law requires all transactions to be backed by tangible assets.
     http://goo.gl/NmGJP
117. 1/20/12 (USA) TIAA-CREF executive vice president and president of Asset Management, Scott C. Evans resigned
     http://goo.gl/f6qLs
118. 1/20/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) South African deputy economic development minister Enoch Godongwana quit his post this week in the face of growing outrage in government circles about his involvement in a company that allegedly defrauded clothing factory workers of R100-million of their pension fund money.
     http://goo.gl/ZADvn
119. 1/21/12 (UK) Butterfield Private Bank head Danny Dixon Steps Down
     http://goo.gl/sdY1p
120. 1/21/12 (SINGAPORE) ANZ Asia’s private banking head Nina Aguas resigns as managing director of Asia-Pacific private banking.
     http://goo.gl/hlHvG
121. 1/21/12 (USA CA) Nara Bancorp (Now called BBCN) President and CEO Min Kim Resigns
     http://goo.gl/rcfJ3
122. 1/22/12 (KENYA) National Bank of Kenya’s (NBK) managing director, Mr Reuben Marambii, will resign before year end.
     http://goo.gl/c2n7r
123. 1/24/12 (IRELAND) Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited fund, Paul Shevlin resigned as a director
     http://goo.gl/OjZFF
124. 1/24/12 (SWITZERLAND) Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, a French clinical immunologist and head of the $22.6 billion fund has abruptly resigned, since revelations about corruption and misspending severely rattled some of its biggest donors. The resignation came on the eve of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, which played a role in its creation a decade ago. A dinner for the public-private fund is planned Thursday with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and major backers Bill Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The shakeup resulted from an internal review to address problems highlighted in Associated Press stories last year about the loss of tens of millions of dollars in grant money because of mismanagement and alleged fraud. Its biggest private donor is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has pledged $1.15 billion and provided it with $650 million so far.
     http://goo.gl/bqXs8
125. 1/25/12 (UK) SOFIA PROPERTY FUND LIMITED, Gerry Williams has resigned as a Director, following his resignation from Ardel Holdings Limited (“Ardel”) where he was CEO. Ardel is the holding company of Ardel Fund Services Limited which provides administration services in Guernsey to the Company.
     http://goo.gl/kDfVv
126. 1/25/12 (USA NY) Fortress Private Equity, CEO Daniel Madrid (aka Daniel Mudd) has resigned. Madrid was forced to leave in order to deal with SEC allegations. Prior to joining Fortress, Madrid served as Fannie Mae CEO and was forced to resign. SEC sued Madrid and former Freddie Mac CEO Richard West Long (aka Richard Syron) for hiding hundreds of billions of dollars in subprime loans. Madrid denied the SEC allegations saying the US govt. and investors were informed of Fannie Mae’s loan data.
     http://goo.gl/u9IdB and http://goo.gl/v94ik and http://goo.gl/tXQwP
127. 1/27/12 (SINGAPORE) AIMS AMP CAP INDUSTRIAL REIT, Mr Graham Sugden resigned.
     http://goo.gl/VZYHY
128. 1/27/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA Group COO Alfie Naidoo would be leaving to pursue personal interests
     http://goo.gl/cVWnA
129. 1/27/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA Group chief marketing and communication officer Happy Ntshingila, will be taking up an “exciting position” outside banking
     http://goo.gl/cVWnA
130. 1/27/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA Group CEO Daphne Motsepe retires at the end of April after a 10-year career at the bank.
     http://goo.gl/cVWnA
131. 1/29/12 (PORTUGAL) Banco Santander Totta SA executive chairman Nuno Manuel da Silva Amado has resigned
     http://goo.gl/Glvdn
132. 1/29/12 (NEW ZEALAND) New Zealand Reserve Bank Gov Alan Bollard to Step Down
     http://goo.gl/BwUgv
133. 1/29/12 (UAE) NBD, Emirates ‘s investment banking division CEO Suresh Kumar is leaving the bank
     http://goo.gl/S1x0F
134. 1/30/12 (UK) British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) COO Andrew Graham steps down
     http://goo.gl/4SDW8
135. 1/31/12 (SCOTLAND) Royal Bank of Scotland former CEO Fred Goodwin Stripped of Knighthood
     http://goo.gl/CoLVS
136. 2/01/12 (SYRIA) Arab Bank Syria Board member Basma Talal Zein resigns.
     http://goo.gl/WXxzw
137. 2/01/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA [Barclay’s Bank] deputy CEO Louis von Zeuner resigns
     http://goo.gl/IP8nH
138. 2/01/12 (UK) Lloyds Bankging Group head of wholesaleTruett Tate quits
     http://goo.gl/OqRVo
139. 2/01/12 (UK) Llyods Banking Group Tim Tookey leaving end of February
     http://goo.gl/vjO5M
140. 2/02/12 (VENEZUELA) Banking Crisis Arne Chacon arrested for Banking Corruption
     http://goo.gl/bb5sh
141. 2/02/12 (USA) American Perspective Bank, President and CEO Thomas J. Beene resigned.
     http://goo.gl/K66eb
142. 2/02/12 (USA) NIR Group hedge funds, Corey Ribotsky was forced out of NIR by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, the court-appointed liquidator, following allegations of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In September, the SEC sued Ribotsky and NIR for taking more than $1 million of investors’ money to buy cars and watches.
143. 2/02/12 (IRELAND) AXA Rosenberg Management Ireland Limited, director Nathalie Savey resigned.
     http://goo.gl/cXB8u
144. 2/03/12 (UK) VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd, Non-Executive Director Horst Geicke has resigned.
     http://goo.gl/r955T
145. 2/03/12 (UK) UBS London trader, Kweku M. Adoboli, was arrested and charged with fraud and false accounting, forcing UBS to announce a $2.3 billion trading loss.
     http://goo.gl/ClTaq
146. 2/05/12 (USA – NY) Morgan’s investment banking chairman Joseph Perella quit
     http://goo.gl/pG2jF
147. 2/05/12 (USA – NY) Morgan Stanley investment banking Tarek Abdel-Meguid quit
     http://goo.gl/bRv9K
148. 2/06/12 (INDIA) Dhanlaxmi Bank CEO Amitabh Chaturvedi quits:
     http://goo.gl/OhCEb
149. 2/06/12 (USA NY) TD Ameritrade, head of retail distribution John Bunch resigns. Bunch is leaving to take the top job at a small investment advisory firmin Kansas City.
     http://goo.gl/kgS7M
150. 2/07/12 (USA) Bank Of America’s Mortgage Business Chief Barbara Desoer Retires
     http://goo.gl/i7AUY
151. 2/07/12 (INDIA) Kotak Mahindra Bank Falguni Nayar quits
     http://goo.gl/fP03J
152. 2/07/12 (IRAN) Iran denies central bank resignation rumor (don’t believe until its denied?)
     http://goo.gl/PiQSy
153. 2/08/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Standard Bank Group Ltd – Resignation of Group Secretary Loren Wulfsohn
     http://goo.gl/K1pfn
154. 2/08/12 (USA OH) Cleveland International Fund (CIF) private equity fund, A. Eddy Zai launched and led the Cleveland International Fund, an investment outfit that pairs wealthy foreign investors hoping for U.S. residency with job-creating projects. Zai resigned from his job this week, before being indicted in a bank-fraud scheme that, according to investigators, contributed to the collapse of a credit union in Eastlake.
     http://goo.gl/tgamf
155. 2/08/12 (UAE) Emirates NBD makes top-level changes Bank’s deputy chief executive officer Abdul Wahed Al Fahim has resigned.
     http://goo.gl/JUdNd
156. 2/09/12 (VATICAN) Institute for Religious Works (IOR aka “Vatican Bank”), 62 year old Monsignor Emilio Messina, the Archdiocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche investigated on money laundering by Italian officials.
     http://goo.gl/uztVU
157. 2/09/12 (VATICAN) Institute for Religious Works (IOR aka “Vatican Bank”), 49 year old Father Don Salvatore Palumbo of the socially popular parish of San Gaetano
     http://goo.gl/uztVU
158. 2/09/12 (VATICAN) Institute for Religious Works (IOR aka “Vatican Bank”), 37 year old Father Horace Bonaccorsi of Catania, already tried and acquitted in Sicily for money laundering offenses recycling money through accounts at IOR
     http://goo.gl/uztVU
159. 2/09/12 (VATICAN) Institute for Religious Works (IOR aka “Vatican Bank”), 85 year old Father Don Evaldo Biasini of Rome. Father Don Evaldo Biasini is known as the “Don of Cash”.
     http://goo.gl/uztVU
160. 2/09/12 (UKRAINE) National Bank of Ukraine deputy governor Volodymyr Krotiuk quits
     http://goo.gl/8BuXy
161. 2/09/12 (UK) JP Morgan Chinese Investment Trust PLC, non-executive Director Madam Yujiang Zhao resigned
     http://goo.gl/CPO23
162. 2/09/12 (UK) Alliance Trust Savings (ATS), Robert Burgess is stepping down as CEO.
     http://goo.gl/ohHG3
163. 2/10/12 (KOREA) Korea Exchange Bank chief Larry Klane steps down
     http://goo.gl/DBKdc
164. 2/10/12 (INDIA) Tamilnad Mercantile Bank CEO A K Jagannathan resigns
     http://goo.gl/wMl5g
165. 2/13/12 (KUWAIT) Kuwait Central Bank CEO Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabbah resigns
     http://goo.gl/GFvIy
166. 2/13/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs confirmed on Monday that George N. Mattson, one of the firm’s top deal makers in the industrial sector, will retire. He was a senior relationship banker with a client list that included General Motors, General Electric and Caterpillar.
     http://goo.gl/vgnq2
167. 2/13/12 (HONDURAS) Honduras finance minister William Chong Wong, resigned on Monday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the country did not reach its deficit and monetary targets for 2011.
     http://goo.gl/drgHY
168. 2/14/12 (NICARAQUA) Nicaraqua Central Bank President Antenor Rosales resigns
     http://goo.gl/iQ0n8
169. 2/14/12 (UK) Social finance pioneer Malcolm Hayday quits Charity Bank
     http://goo.gl/uHp6C
170. 2/14/12 (PAKISTAN) National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) chairman Syed Ali Raza resigned
     http://goo.gl/scexo
171. 2/14/12 (USA NY) Goldman Sachs Jeffrey Moslow resigns, an investment banker to companies such as Tyco International Ltd, Nstar, the Boston-based utility, and defense contractor Dyncorp International Inc.
     http://goo.gl/7h4O7
172. 2/15/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) HPA – Hospitality Property Fund Limited, chairman Frank Berkeley resigned.
     http://goo.gl/wJmpR
173. 2/15/12 (USA) Boston Properties (REIT), Executive VP and COO E. Mitchell Norvilleto resigned
     http://goo.gl/AW7X7
174. 2/15/12 (WORLD) World Bank CEO Zoellick resigns
     http://goo.gl/dHDSm
     Did the White House tell the World Bank president that he’s out?
     http://goo.gl/wUOgb
175. 2/15/12 (CHINA) Morgan non-executive chairman Stanley Stephen Roach will be retiring.
     http://goo.gl/MQeGW
176. 2/15/12 (SLOVENIA) Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor CEO Andrej Plos resigns
     http://goo.gl/SNsVI
177. 2/15/12 (SLOVENIA) Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. CEO Bozo Jasovic resigns
     http://goo.gl/TyYiJ
178. 2/16/12 (USA IL) Deerfield Capital Management LLC, CEO Daniel Hattori and CEO of CIFC Corp resigned.
     http://goo.gl/LLNnD
179. 2/16/12 (USA IL) Deerfield Capital Management LLC, COO Luke Knecht and CEO of CIFC Corp, resigned both positions.
     http://goo.gl/LLNnD
180. 2/16/12 (UK) The Financial Services Authority Margaret Cole is to step down
     http://goo.gl/yT6rS
181. 2/16/12 (GHANA) Databank Group Executive Chair Ken Ofori-Atta steps down
     http://goo.gl/c7PtU
182. 2/16/12 (SAUDI ARABIA) Saudi Hollandi Banks Managing Director Geoffrey Calvert Quits
     http://goo.gl/CtmOU
183. 2/16/12 (AUSTRALIA) ANZ Bank Australia CFO Peter Marriott resigns
     http://goo.gl/I7Alo
184. 2/16/12 (UK) Royal Bank of Scotland Sr Equities Trader Jason Edinburgh Arrested
     http://goo.gl/WczHh
185. 2/16/12 (UK) Royal Bank of Scotland director equities bus. Vincent Walsh director Arrested
     http://goo.gl/I7Alo
186. 2/16/12 (UK) Marex Spectron senior trader Michael Elsom Arrested
     http://goo.gl/I7Alo
187. 2/16/12 (AUSTRALIA) Royal Bank of Scotland Austraila CEO Stephen Williams resigns
     http://goo.gl/4r16D
188. 2/17/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Coronation Fund Managers CEO Hugo Nelson is stepping down at age of 40.
     http://goo.gl/I3NY8
189. 2/17/12 (PAKISTAN) PICIC Asset Management Company Limited CFO Ahmed Raza resigns
     http://goo.gl/K8A2I
190. 2/17/12 (USA NY) Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein out as by summer
     http://goo.gl/UjpzD
191. 2/17/12 (SWITZERLAND) SNB Council President Hansueli Raggenbass resigns
     http://goo.gl/1n1Nr
192. 2/17/12 (UK) Insight Investment, asset manager Mike Pinggera has resigned..
     http://goo.gl/uDplK
193. 2/17/12 (USA NY) Harbinger Group Inc. CFO Francis T. McCarron has advised the Company of his resignation effective April 30
     http://goo.gl/6il4F
194. 2/17/12 (BULGARIA) Bulgaria National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), The managing director Neli Nesheva, resigned after a two-day row about end-of-year bonuses paid by NHIF to its employees.
     http://goo.gl/7UQxv
195. 2/18/12 (PAKISTAN) The Bank of Azad Jammu and Kashmir executive Zulfiqar Abbasi resigns 
     http://goo.gl/G0woP
196. 2/19/12 (MALTA) Bank of Valletta, director of the Multi-Manager Fund John C. Ripard, has resigned being reprimanded by the MFSA for disposing of his holdings in the Fund whilst in possession of sensitive information which was not available to the public.
     http://goo.gl/1li3r
197. 2/20/12 (RUSSIA) Head of Russian Bank Regulator Gennady Melikyan Steps Down
     http://goo.gl/Unuez
198. 2/20/12 (SWITZERLAND) Credit Suisse Chief Joseph Tan resigns
     http://goo.gl/F5twL
199. 2/20/12 (ISRAEL) Bank Leumi le-Israel Ltd: Zvi Itskovitch resigns
     http://goo.gl/aA0RW
200. 2/20/12 (USA WA) First Financial Northwest Director Spencer Schneider Quits
     http://goo.gl/6Dj0i
201. 2/21/12 (ARGENTINA) Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) Gen Mgr Benigno Velez, resigns
     http://goo.gl/DuMrm
202. 2/21/12 (BANGLADESH) Nitol Insurance Co. Ltd director Abdul Matlub resigns
     conflict of interest with director seat on unknown bank
     http://goo.gl/aEmwB
203. 2/21/12 (BANGLADESH) Nitol Insurance Co. Ltd director Selima Ahmad resigns
     conflict of interest with director seat on unknown bank
     http://goo.gl/aEmwB
204. 2/21/12 (BANGLADESH) Nitol Insurance Co. Ltd director Abdul Musabbir Ahmad resigns
     conflict of interest with director seat on unknown bank
     http://goo.gl/aEmwB
205. 2/21/12 (BANGLADESH) City General Insurance Co. Ltd director Geasuddin Ahmad resigns
     conflict of interest with director seat on unknown bank
     http://goo.gl/aEmwB
206. 2/21/12 (BANGLADESH) Social Islami Bank Limited director Taslima Akter resigns
     conflict of interest with director seat on Eastland Insurance Company Limited
     http://goo.gl/aEmwB
207. 2/21/12 (JAPAN) CITIBANK JAPAN: Bakhshi is taking over duties from Brian Mccappin, who the bank said in December would resign after the unit was banned for two weeks from trading tied to the London and Tokyo interbank offered rates.
     http://goo.gl/Z1rnw
208. 2/22/12 (HONG KONG) DZ BANK project finance head Tim Meaney quits
     http://goo.gl/ppKno
209. 2/22/12 (SINGAPORE) Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund’s CEO John Stuart to resign
     http://goo.gl/ji7Q4
210. 2/22/12 (USA NY) Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Group Chief Howard Wietschner to Retire
     http://goo.gl/x4Zsr
211. 2/22/12 (UK) UBS AG’s (UBSN) Doug McCutcheon, head of Healthcare Banking in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region, has left Switzerland’s biggest bank after 25 years at the firm.
     http://goo.gl/Dnxqh
212. 2/23/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs Nordic M&A banker Luca Ferrari has decided to retire from the firm, clients included the largest telecommunications operator in Spain the Spanish telecommunications.
     http://goo.gl/qmCh3
213. 2/23/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Richard Gush resigns from Standard Bank
     http://goo.gl/DTL5S
214. 2/23/12 (SCOTLAND) Royal Bank of Scotland Group director John McFarlane resigns.
     http://goo.gl/KoEUI
215. 2/24/12 (GUERNSEY) Spearpoint Limited (SPL) Investment Funds, director Mike Kirby resigns for business reasons.
     http://goo.gl/9stPB
216. 2/24/12 (INDIA) Breaking: ICICI Bank GC Pramod Rao resigns
     http://goo.gl/5eUqU
217. 2/24/12 (HONG KONG) Citigroup Pvt Bank Global Real Estate Kwang Meng Quek Resigns
     http://goo.gl/JIC9A
218. 2/24/12 (NEW ZEALAND) FSF Executive Director Kirk Hope resigns
     http://goo.gl/6UJau
219. 2/24/12 (USA NY) Evercore Partners Head Eduardo Mestre steps down
     http://goo.gl/n5RLY
220. 2/25/12 (AUSTRALIA AND NZ) Goldman Sachs Chairman Stephen Fitzgerald quits
     http://goo.gl/nMTLW
221. 2/25/12 (DENMARK) European Investment Bank (EIB), Mr Sigmund Lubanski, of the Kingdom of Denmark tendered his resignation.
     http://goo.gl/y4XXF
222. 2/27/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank Americas chief  Seth Waugh steps down
     http://goo.gl/8lxSw
223. 2/27/12 (BAHRAIN) Khaleeji Commercial Bank CEO Ebrahim Ebrahim quits
     http://goo.gl/yKjzL
224. 2/27/12 (BAHRAIN) – Mumtalakat Holding [Sovereign Wealth Fund] CEO Al Zain resigns
     http://goo.gl/hhHSm
225. 2/27/12 (FRANCE) Societe Generale’s Investment Banking Chief Michel Péretié Steps Down
     http://goo.gl/IJ5Lw
226. 2/27/12 (MALAYSIA) Elaf Bank CEO Dr El Jaroudi resigns
     http://goo.gl/eVCS5
227. 2/27/12 (GERMANY) Equiduct chairman Artur Fischer steps down
     http://goo.gl/Q0dWR
228. 2/27/12 (IRAN) Bank Melli CEO Mahmoud Reza Khaavari Resigns – Flees to Canada!
     http://goo.gl/DDEUk
229. 2/27/12 (IRAN) Bank Saderat CEO Mohammad Jahromi resigns
     http://goo.gl/ZD0mc
230. 2/27/12 (UK) Lloyds Banking Group Glen Moreno steps down
     http://goo.gl/dsXcE
231. 2/27/12 (SINGAPORE) Standard Chartered Bank, global head of repo and collateralised financing Tanweer Khan resigned.
     http://goo.gl/hgbuc
232. 2/28/12 (HONG KONG) Hang Seng Bank CEO Margaret Leung Ko May-yee quits
     http://goo.gl/Uo800
233. 2/28/12 (CHINA) Bank of China International ECM global head Marshall Nicholson quits
     http://goo.gl/26MYq
234. 2/28/12 (SINGAPORE) DBS security head Jim Pasqurell quits, cites health reasons
     http://goo.gl/NDJze
235. 2/28/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America’s Asia-Pac. mrkts Brian Canniffe quits
     http://goo.gl/cRkCP
236. 2/28/12 (BELGIUM) KBC’s CEO Jan Vanhevel is to retire after a career spanning 41 years.
     http://goo.gl/1rCWd
237. 2/28/12 (CANADA) Ontario Securities Commission chairwoman Peggy-Anne Brown quits
     http://goo.gl/HIYXv
238. 2/28/12 (AUSTRALIA) Bank manager Colin John Carleton jailed nine years for $3m theft
     http://goo.gl/ggPvq
239. 2/28/12 (SRI LANKA) Sri Lanka Com Bank CEO Amitha Gooneratne retires
     http://goo.gl/YxvNA
240. 2/28/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) REDEFINE INCOME FUND director Gerald Leissner resigns
     http://goo.gl/F0UgN
241. 2/28/12 (ITALY) UNICREDIT: Chairman Dieter Rampl not available for a new mandate
     http://goo.gl/7aLRU
242. 2/28/12 (UK) Bank of England Sir David Lees re-appointed Chair of Bank of England and gives notice of resignation at end of 2013
     http://goo.gl/LkJhV
243. 2/28/12 (IRELAND) State Street Global Advisors Cash Funds plc Director Keith Walsh resigns
     http://goo.gl/n6uoM
244. 2/29/12 (AUSTRALIA) Perpetual portfolio manager Matt Williams steps down
     http://goo.gl/Jh9jd
245. 2/29/12 (UK) Honister Capital CEO Richard Pearson steps down
     http://goo.gl/014or
246. 2/29/12 (GUYANA) National Investment and Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL), Executive Director Winston Brassington resigns, “We feel that (Winston) Brassington knows everything…A to Z about all the transactions,” said Chairman of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, as he sounded a warning that controversial figure could be subpoenaed to appear before the Parliamentary Economic Sector Committee.
     http:// goo.gl/L7I35
247. 3/01/12 (MALAYSIA) RHB Bank Bhd deputy managing director Renzo Viegas quits
     http://goo.gl/wACrI
248. 3/01/12 (ITALY) Italian Banking Association Chairman Giuseppe Mussari talks to reporters in Rome after he and seven other executives offered to resign in protest over new banking-fee rules included in the government’s legislation on boosting competition.
     http://goo.gl/3llyT
249. 3/01/12 (USA FL) Florida Venture Forum [Venture Capital] Exec Dir Robin Lester quits
     http://goo.gl/nA8g9
250. 3/01/12 (USA NY) PineBridge Investments said Win Neuger has resigned as chief executive. Neuger helped build AIG’s third party asset management business, PineBridge still manages AIG assets
     http://goo.gl/SI7kT
251. 3/01/12 (SINGAPORE) UBS Singapore – James Tulley is leaving Switzerland’s largest bank, it is not clear where he is going.
     http://goo.gl/BGugF
252. 3/01/12 (USA NH) Piscataqua Savings Bank CEO Jay Gibson retires
     http://goo.gl/uEqDV
253. 3/01/12 (ICELAND) Iceland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) fired its director Gunnar Andersen
     http://goo.gl/VG9q5
254. 3/01/12 (USA OR) Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF) senior RE officer Brad Child will retire
     http://goo.gl/vcERz
255. 3/02/12 (CHINA) China Construction Bank Corp, assistant general manager and head of corporate banking Mickey Mehta quits
     http://goo.gl/B9dR0
256. 3/02/12 (USA NY) Deutsche Bank Student Loan CEOJohn Hupalo quits to start student loan counseling firm.
     http://goo.gl/8kZuc
257. 3/02/12 (UK) Bank of England Sir Mervin King resigns in June, Lord Sassoon tipped as replacement.
     http://goo.gl/ZEUwf
258. 3/02/12 (BOTSWANA) Barclays Bank Botswana managing director Wilfred Mpai forced to resign
     http://goo.gl/npBe2
259. 3/02/12 (HONG KONG) New Century Group Hong Kong Ltd [investment house and leisure group] Wilson Ng resigns
     http://goo.gl/wFSV8
260. 3/02/12 (USA NY) Citigroup Richard Parsons to step down as chairman
     http://goo.gl/BhZ0F
261. 3/03/12 (AUSTRIA) Volksbank AG (VBAG) The contract of CEO Gerald Wenzel will not be extended
     http://goo.gl/w99tD
262. 3/03/12 (ETHIOPIA) Dashen Bank’s board dismisses president Leulseged Teferi
     http://goo.gl/Y801M
263. 3/03/12 (RUSSIA) Enza Capital KK, Wealthy British banker Philip Townsend (Baron Townsend of Rathmore) and his wife killed at Estonia holiday home  ⑆44541444⑈
     http://goo.gl/GSOUN and http://goo.gl/x94ID and http://goo.gl/gGgLP
264. 3/04/12 (KOREA)  Hana Financial Group Inc, prominent figure in the history of South Korean finance Kim Seung-yu , resigns
     http://goo.gl/fmNxY
265. 3/04/12 (USA NY) JP Morgan prop trading chief Mike Stewart quits
     http://goo.gl/gubPj
266. 3/05/12 (SAUDI ARABIA) Al Rajhi Bank CEO Abdullah bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi has resigned
     http://goo.gl/pNx0l
267. 3/5/12 (UK) Jupiter fund co-manager Tony Nutt steps down
     http://goo.gl/RPqOp
268. 3/05/12 (UK) Jupiter fund co-manager John Hamilton steps down
     http://goo.gl/RPqOp
269. 3/05/12 (NEW ZEALAND) Insured Group Bill Jeffries has resigned as chairman and director
     http://goo.gl/gX7wu
270. 3/05/12 (USA) Reliance Bancshares chairman Patrick Gideon resigned
     http://goo.gl/u6BT4
271. 3/05/12 (UK) Charterhouse partner Gordon Bonnyman is stepping down.
     http://goo.gl/iAEYB
272. 3/05/12 (UK) HgCapital, partner Lindsay Dibden is leaving after 20 years.
     http://goo.gl/iAEYB
273. 3/06/12 (FRANCE) Blackstone Group’s Paris office leader Jean-Michel Steg will step down
     http://goo.gl/w3Ca5
274. 3/06/12 (JAMAICA) Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited, Patricia Sutherland has resigned as Executive Director
     http://goo.gl/oMwv6
275. 3/06/12 (JAMAICA) Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), Executive director Rohan Barnett, has resigned the position, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and the Public Service announced this afternoon.
     http://goo.gl/FBwFo
276. 3/06/12 USA CT) Wells Fargo & Co. said that Mackey McDonald, one of the last remaining directors from Wachovia is retiring.
     http://goo.gl/F1O4v
277. 3/06/12 (USA PA)  USA Technologies Inc Bradley M. Tirpak, a nominee of Shareholder Advocates for Value Enhancement,has resigned from its board subsequent to a settlement agreement with the investing group, according to an SEC filing. Provides a network of wireless non-cash transactions, associated financial/network services and energy management. It provides networked credit card and other non-cash systems in the vending, commercial laundry, hospitality and digital imaging industries.
     http://goo.gl/8oi7C
278. 3/06/12 (UK) Sterling Green Group has announced that Philip Kanas, a non-executive director, has decided to resign
     Sterling Green Group PLC became a cash shell following the disposal of their subsidiaries Taxdebts Ltd, Sterling Green (Mortgages) Ltd and the back books of the clients of Sterling Green Ltd. during December 2011.
     http://goo.gl/qc3jB
279. 3/06/12 (UK) Aberdeen Asset Management, non-executive director Gerhard Fusenig has resigned from the board.
     http://goo.gl/ZIkvQ
280. 3/07/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank AG’s (DB) Chief Risk Officer Hugo Baenzigeri to resign
     http://goo.gl/MWqsH
281. 3/07/12 (GERMANY) Deutsche Bank AG’s (DB) Chief Operating Officer Hermann-Josef Lamberti to resign
     http://goo.gl/MWqsH
282. 3/07/12 (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) Dubai Mercantile Exchange announced Thomas Leaver will step down as CEO
     http://goo.gl/rfhWN
283. 3/07/12 (SCOTLAND) Macfarlane Group Chairman Archie Hunter to step down after 8 years of service
     http://goo.gl/RHllr
284. 3/07/12 (USA) BlackRock Emerging Markets Fund co-head Daniel Tubbs, has left the group to pursue other opportunities.
     http://goo.gl/CpEzZ
285. 3/07/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs (GSI) Christopher French resigns from board
     http://goo.gl/3yQDS
286. 3/07/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs (GSI) David Wildermuth resigns from board
     http://goo.gl/3yQDS
287. 3/07/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs (GSI) Matthew Westerman resigns from board
     http://goo.gl/3yQDS
288. 3/07/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs (GSI) co-head of global mergers and acquisitions Yoel Zaoui resigns
     http://goo.gl/3yQDS
289. 3/07/12 (UK) Goldman Sachs (GSI) Phil Beatty resigned as head of European power and natural-gas trading
     http://goo.gl/jqbYY
290. 3/07/12 (SINGAPORE) Nikko Asset Management Timothy McCarthy is retiring as chairman and CEO at the end of the month
     http://goo.gl/v8tcT
291. 3/07/12 (HONG KONG) UBS Senior Asia Economist Jonathan Anderson Departs
     http://goo.gl/09VqT
292. 3/07/12 (HAITI) FORMER DIRECTOR HAITI CENTRAL BANK SLAIN!  ⑆44541444⑈
     http://goo.gl/UtVz3
293. 3/07/12 (FRANCE) Société Générale Private Banking, Daniel Truchi is to step down as head of Société Générale Private Banking
     http://goo.gl/XhgJ9
294. 3/07/12 (AUSTRALIA) Customers Ltd, Tim Wildash has cashed himself out as chief executive of Australia’s largest ATM operator
     http://goo.gl/eZJMb
295. 3/07/12 (USA CA) CALSTRS, Pascal Villiger, senior private equity portfolio manager at the $145 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System resigns
     http://goo.gl/ub0ke
296. 3/07/12 (USA) Astaire quits Bank of America Merrill to dance to Barclays Capital’s tune
     http://goo.gl/Zv6Ny
297. 3/08/12 (USA NY) Schroders, CIO Alan Brown is steps down
     http://goo.gl/ZTtYo
298. 3/08/12 (USA IL) CBOE Executive Patrick Fay Put on Leave Amid SEC Probe
     http://goo.gl/x5snO
299. 3/08/12 (USA NH & RI) Bristol County Savings Bank president E. Dennis Kelly retires after 35 years
     http://goo.gl/8KVKn
300. 3/08/12 (GERMANY) Clearstream Banking AG – Katja Rosenkranz To Leave Deutsche Börse Group [stockmarket]
     http://goo.gl/RiVNi
301. 3/08/12 (UK) B&CE CEO Brian Griffiths is to retire later this year
     http://goo.gl/AV7Sk
302. 3/08/12 (UK) Invesco Trimark Ltd, portfolio manager Dana Love has resigned.
     http://goo.gl/MyQ90
303. 3/08/12 (ISRAEL) Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer will hand in his shock resignation in the coming days and take up a new position as head of the Bank of Zambia. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is believed to be furious with Fischer’s decision. Treasury officials said he even canceled his participation in the office’s annual Purim party in order to convince Fischer to reverse his decision.
     http://goo.gl/0DlSA
304. 3/08/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Standard Bank Group Limited (SBK), board member Sir Paul Judge retires.
     http://goo.gl/SjSPg
305. 3/08/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) Standard Bank Groupl Limited (SBK), board member Sir Sam Jonah retires.
     http://goo.gl/SjSPg
306. 3/09/12 (MONGOLIA) Mongol Bank President Alag Batsukh submitted his resignation letter to Speaker of Parliament D. Demberel at the end of last month. He described his reason for resigning as a lack of support by Parliament.
     http://goo.gl/RDmNx
307. 3/09/12 (MONGOLIA) Asia Pacific Securities, General Manager Narantuguldur Saijrakh recently resigned, to focus on his role as Director of Khan Investment Management, investment advisor to the Khan Mongolia Equity Fund – the first open-ended investment vehicle with monthly dealing that invests in Mongolia related equities listed both domestically and internationally.
     http://goo.gl/2T4R6
308. 3/09/12 (Côte d’Ivoire) Banque Central des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) The Ivorian governor of the multi-billion dollar West Africa Francophone bank, Philippe-Henry Dacoury-Tabley, resigned his post.
     http://goo.gl/CevLn
309. 3/09/12 (UK) Lazard , co-head of investment banking Alexis de Rosnay quits. De Rosnay specialises in the healthcare sector, he has advised Teva Pharmaceutical and Novartis.
     http://goo.gl/3gzbi
310. 3/09/12 (UK) Deutsche Bank PWM, UK head of portfolio management Martyn Surguy resigned.
     http://goo.gl/5Ti2p
311. 3/09/12 (UK) Deutsche Bank PWM, head of discretionary management, Kypros Charalambous, having also stepped down.
     http://goo.gl/5Ti2p
312. 3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, K.J. Kim, responsible for Southeast Asia, resigned
     http://goo.gl/sE7xh
313. 3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jimmy Choi, who was in charge of high-yield debt, resigned.
     http://goo.gl/sE7xh
314. 3/09/12 (HONG KONG) Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leonard Ng, a vice-president in Hong Kong resigned.
     http://goo.gl/sE7xh
315. 3/09/12 (AUSTRALIA) Bank of Queensland CFO Ram Kangatharan plans to leave the bank.
     http://goo.gl/ieNea
316. 3/09/12 (USA) Cerberus Capital Management LP, CEO Robert Nardelli resigns.
     http://goo.gl/9uKVx
317. 3/10/12 (AUSTRALIA) WESTPAC, Rob Chapman opted to quit running its regional subsidiary St George Bank.
     http://goo.gl/G6MD
318. 3/10/12 (TURKEY) Garanti Bank, The deputy CEO of Turkish lender Tolga Egemen, has decided to quit.
     http://goo.gl/vAMzV
319. 3/10/12 (CHINA) Korea Development Bank, Shanghai unit senior manager Stella Wen resigned.
     http://goo.gl/55CqZ
320. 3/10/12 (HONG KONG) Deutsche Bank, Johan Sudiman resigns as director.
     http://goo.gl/6CYGP
321. 3/12/12 (USA) John Lewis Partnership Pension Trust, head of investments Andrew Chapman, resigns
     http://goo.gl/hevqh
322. 3/12/12 (USA CA) California’s Department of Financial Institutions, commissioner William Haraf resigned. The DFI did not say why he is leaving.
     http://goo.gl/zquTc
323. 3/12/12 (KUWAIT) Gulf Bank, Chairman Ali Rashaid Al Bader quits
     http://goo.gl/LDz9b
324. 3/12/12 (UK and IRELAND) Allfunds Bank, head of UK and Ireland Alan Gadd is stepping down from his role at the end of April.
     http://goo.gl/4DF6i
325. 3/12/12 (USA) ICAP, CEO of the electronic broking business David Rutter step down following a restructuring of the business.
     http://goo.gl/SUHqW
326. 3/12/12 (UK) SVG Capital, chairman Nicholas Ferguson resigns. His departure left him well placed to succeed James Murdoch as chairman of BSkyB should the latter bow to investor pressure and step down. Other investors in the satellite broadcaster suggested Ferguson might be seen as too close to Murdoch to win the support of institutional shareholders.
     http://goo.gl/z19wH
327. 3/12/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), CEO Paul Baloyi resigns.
     http://goo.gl/yX4xo
328. 3/12/12 (USA) Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, CEO Bryan Marsal Resigns Title, Remains on as Adviser
     http://goo.gl/1K9zV
329. 3/12/12 (USA IL) CME Group Inc, CEO Craig Donohues will step down at year end.
     http://goo.gl/lvzgC
330. 3/13/12 (USA) Eaton Vance Corp, Treasurer and CFO Robert J. Whelan has stepped down.
     http://goo.gl/oxmbL
331. 3/12/12 (USA IL) CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE), senior compliance executive Patrick Fay has resigned. The options exchange being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fay had been placed on leave after the SEC began investigating the options-market operator’s oversight of traders.
     http://goo.gl/gj4W6
332. 3/13/12 (USA) Mithras Investment Trust, chairman Mike Wooderson will step down
     http://goo.gl/UjO2e
333. 3/13/12 (USA) PHH Mortgage, President Luke Hayden resigned from to pursue what the company calls “other interests.” http://goo.gl/iaqQf
334. 3/13/12 (USA) PHH Mortgage, Treasurer Mark Johnson.resigned
     http://goo.gl/iaqQf
335. 3/13/12 (AUSTRALIA) WESTPAC, head of corporate affairs after David Bell decided to step down from the role. Bell is the latest top executive to leave the bank.
     http://goo.gl/FntUz
336. 3/13/12 (UK) Capula’s Systemic Trading Head Qiang Dai to Leave Fund
     http://goo.gl/zkrN2
337. 3/13/12 (UAE) National Bank of Abu Dhabi, CEO Michael Tomalin, will retire from the post in a few months.
     http://goo.gl/dzBW8
338. 3/13/12 (ISRAEL) Osem Investments Ltd, CEO Gazi Kaplan has tendered his resignation, effective April 2, citing heath reasons. Nestlé SA owns 58.8% of Osem.
     http://goo.gl/t032l
339. 3/13/12 (USA) Paulson & Co.’s, partner and head of the global bank team Robert Lacoursiere has quit to form his own hedge fund
     http://goo.gl/I8UNd
340. 3/13/12 (AUSTRALIA) ASX Ltd, Chairman David Gonski will step down from his role at Australia’s main stock market operator after being appointed to oversee almost A$90 billion ($95 billion) in the nation’s sovereign-wealth funds.
     http://goo.gl/gJN33
341. 3/13/12 (UK) JP Morgan, Asset Management European chief Jamie Broderick is to step down more than 20 years at the firm.
     http://goo.gl/MV65V
342. 3/13/12 (UK) SVG Chairman Nicholas Ferguson retires.
     http://goo.gl/hTDDY
343. 3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Edgar Koning retires.
     http://goo.gl/hTDDY
344. 3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Denis Raeburn retires.
     http://goo.gl/hTDDY
345. 3/13/12 (UK) SVG Director Francis Finlay retires.
     http://goo.gl/hTDDY
346. 3/14/12 (UK) Goldmand Sachs, executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Greg Smith, is resigning today.
     http://americankabuki.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html
347. 3/14/12 (SOUTH AFRICA) ABSA chairman Garth Griffin to retire
     http://goo.gl/Mhjb5

Whew!  So after all of this what is the truth?  It does appear that the financial elite are in some kind of retreat.  Also you can a pattern where the further we come forward to the present, the more major CEO and board members are involved, in other words, the most senior management.  Also odd was the number of en masse resignations of board members.  What is disturbing is the fact that I tracked everyone of these people stepping down, really hoping to see that a majority of them were just making “career moves”, but exactly the opposite was true for the majority.  Words and phrases such as, “sudden resignation”, “unexpected move” “surprising” were often contained in the news articles chronicling the moves.

I went one step further to see if I could independently verify where these folks were going.  Here is where it gets a bit murky and interesting.  A number of these very successful people in their prime are “retiring”, “going to follow personal pursuits”, “personal matters”, and they are NOT resurfacing.

Some of this information is leaking into MSM now within the last few weeks, but truly this phenomena is being grossly under-reported, no doubt.

In summary, as I finished this article, I asked myself one question, and I think it is the same question we all ask when it comes to “high finance”, so what?  What can I do about it?  Then it hit me, now I know details and I do believe there is a financial cabal that does act in concert with one another and someone or group, or government has uncovered some extremely damaging information about this financial conspiracy, and they are trying to get them under control.  What we can do about it is insist that our governments start doing their job and regulate these guys and prosecute those who have violated criminal laws.  This should be a MAJOR platform of any presidential candidate and we should insist that Congress begin acting now.  Our voices really do count.  Just ask any woman of late, right Ladies?

The Fox is in the Henhouse Again, and We are not Watching!

We watched as the banks were bailed out after ripping off nearly $5 trillion dollars of America’s wealth.  We are on the hook for their loses.  They were too big to fail, we were told.  It would be a disaster for the world’s economy.  The same story was then foisted on our European brothers, and again with the same “chicken little” reasoning.

Well, here we are 3 years later and the economy is still in the dumpster and we have not done one thing to correct the major problem of banks being investment firms ponied up to the roulette table wildly playing with OUR money unchecked.  Now the drunken bankers are at it again.  I have written many articles concerning this crazy derivatives market that is the banker’s hedge for the downside of this slow motion crash of the world’s economy.

This WAS one market that the bankers were exposed and WE were not on the hook for bailouts.  Well, that was until last week.  No ONE is MSM National media is even reporting this.  If you aren’t mad as hell when you read this, you are certifiably in a COMA.

Source: Washington’s Blog

Bloomberg reports that Bank of America is dumping derivatives onto a subsidiary which is insured by the government – i.e. taxpayers.

Yves Smith notes:

If you have any doubt that Bank of America is going down, this development should settle it …. Both [professor of economics and law, and former head S&L prosecutor] Bill Black (who I interviewed just now) and I see this as a desperate move by Bank of America’s management, a de facto admission that they know the bank is in serious trouble.

The short form via Bloomberg:

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), hit by a credit downgrade last month, has moved derivatives from its Merrill Lynch unit to a subsidiary flush with insured deposits, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation…

Bank of America’s holding company — the parent of both the retail bank and the Merrill Lynch securities unit — held almost $75 trillion of derivatives at the end of June, according to data compiled by the OCC. About $53 trillion, or 71 percent, were within Bank of America NA, according to the data, which represent the notional values of the trades.

That compares with JPMorgan’s deposit-taking entity, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, which contained 99 percent of the New York-based firm’s $79 trillion of notional derivatives, the OCC data show.

Now you would expect this move to be driven by adverse selection, that it, that BofA would move its WORST derivatives, that is, the ones that were riskiest or otherwise had high collateral posting requirements, to the sub. Bill Black confirmed that even though the details were sketchy, this is precisely what took place.

And remember, as we have indicated, there are some “derivatives” that should be eliminated, period. We’ve written repeatedly about credit default swaps, which have virtually no legitimate economic uses (no one was complaining about the illiquidity of corporate bonds prior to the introduction of CDS; this was not a perceived need among investors). They are an inherently defective product, since there is no way to margin adequately for “jump to default” risk and have the product be viable economically. CDS are systematically underpriced insurance, with insurers guaranteed to go bust periodically, as AIG and the monolines demonstrated. [Background.]

The reason that commentators like Chris Whalen were relatively sanguine about Bank of America likely becoming insolvent as a result of eventual mortgage and other litigation losses is that it would be a holding company bankruptcy. The operating units, most importantly, the banks, would not be affected and could be spun out to a new entity or sold. Shareholders would be wiped out and holding company creditors (most important, bondholders) would take a hit by having their debt haircut and partly converted to equity.

This changes the picture completely. This move reflects either criminal incompetence or abject corruption by the Fed. Even though I’ve expressed my doubts as to whether Dodd Frank resolutions will work, dumping derivatives into depositaries pretty much guarantees a Dodd Frank resolution will fail. Remember the effect of the 2005 bankruptcy law revisions: derivatives counterparties are first in line, they get to grab assets first and leave everyone else to scramble for crumbs. [Background.] So this move amounts to a direct transfer from derivatives counterparties of Merrill to the taxpayer, via the FDIC, which would have to make depositors whole after derivatives counterparties grabbed collateral. It’s well nigh impossible to have an orderly wind down in this scenario. You have a derivatives counterparty land grab and an abrupt insolvency. Lehman failed over a weekend after JP Morgan grabbed collateral.

But it’s even worse than that. During the savings & loan crisis, the FDIC did not have enough in deposit insurance receipts to pay for the Resolution Trust Corporation wind-down vehicle. It had to get more funding from Congress. This move paves the way for another TARP-style shakedown of taxpayers, this time to save depositors. No Congressman would dare vote against that. This move is Machiavellian, and just plain evil.

The FDIC is understandably ripshit. Again from Bloomberg:

The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. disagree over the transfers, which are being requested by counterparties, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The Fed has signaled that it favors moving the derivatives to give relief to the bank holding company, while the FDIC, which would have to pay off depositors in the event of a bank failure, is objecting, said the people. The bank doesn’t believe regulatory approval is needed, said people with knowledge of its position.

Well OF COURSE BofA is gonna try to take the position this is kosher, but the FDIC can and must reject this brazen move. But this is a bit of a fait accompli,and I have NO doubt BofA and the craven, corrupt Fed will argue that moving the derivatives back will upset the markets. Well too bad, maybe it’s time banks learn they can no longer run roughshod over regulators. And if BofA is at that much risk that it can’t survive undoing this brazen move, that would seem to be prima facie evidence that a Dodd Frank resolution is in order.

Bill Black said that the Bloomberg editors toned down his remarks considerably. He said, “Any competent regulator would respond: “No, Hell NO!” It’s time that the public also say no, and loudly, to this new scheme to loot taxpayers and save a criminally destructive bank.

Professor Black provided a “bottom line” summary in a separate email:

1.The bank holding company (BAC) is moving troubled assets held by an entity not insured by the public (Merrill Lynch)  to the Bank of America, which is insured by the public
2. The banking rules are designed to prevent that because they are designed to protect the FDIC insurance fund (which the Treasury guarantees)
3. Any marginally competent regulator would say “No, Hell NO!”
4. The Fed, reportedly, is saying “Sure, no worries” by allowing the sale of an affiliate’s troubled assets to B of A
5. This is a really good “natural experiment” that allows us to test whether the Fed is protects the public or the uninsured and systemically dangerous institutions (the bank holding companies (BHCs))
6. We are all shocked, shocked [sarcasm] that Bernanke responded to the experiment by choosing to protect the BHC at the expense of the public.

Karl Denninger writes:

So let’s see what we have here.

Bank customer initiates a swap position with Bank.  In doing so they intentionally accept the credit risk of the institution they trade with.

Later they get antsy about perhaps not getting paid.  Bank then shifts that risk to a place where people who deposited their money and had no part of this transaction wind up backstopping it.

This effectively makes the depositor the “guarantor” of the swap ex-post-facto.

That the regulators are allowing this is an outrage.

If you’re a Bank of America customer and continue to be one you deserve whatever you get down the line, whether it comes in the form of higher fees and costs assessed upon you or something worse.

Stand Up to the Coup

Bank of America has repeatedly become insolvent due to fraud and risky bets, and repeatedly been bailed out by the government and American people. The government and banks are engineering an age of permanent bailouts for this insolvent, criminal bank (and the other too big to fails).  Remember, this is the same bank that is refusing to let people close their accounts.

This is yet another joint effort by Washington and Wall Street to screw the American people, and to trample on the rule of law.

The American people will be stuck in nightmare of a never-ending depression (yes, we are currently in a depression) and fascism (or socialism, if you prefer that term) unless we stand up to the overly-powerful Fed and the too big to fail banks.

This story from Bloomberg just hit the wires this week. Bank of America is shifting derivatives in its Merrill investment banking unit to its depository arm, which has access to the Fed discount window and is protected by the FDIC.

This means that the investment bank’s European derivatives exposure is now backstopped by U.S. taxpayers. Bank of America didn’t get regulatory approval to do this, they just did it at the request of frightened counterparties. Now the Fed and the FDIC are fighting as to whether this was sound. The Fed wants to “give relief” to the bank holding company, which is under heavy pressure.

This is a direct transfer of risk to the taxpayer done by the bank without approval by regulators and without public input. You will also read below that JP Morgan is apparently doing the same thing with $79 trillion of notional derivatives guaranteed by the FDIC and Federal Reserve.

What this means for you is that when Europe finally implodes and banks fail, U.S. taxpayers will hold the bag for trillions in CDS insurance contracts sold by Bank of America and JP Morgan. Even worse, the total exposure is unknown because Wall Street successfully lobbied during Dodd-Frank passage so that no central exchange would exist keeping track of net derivative exposure.

First folks, we are talking over $150 Trillion of exposure.  That is 10 times our GDP!  Would you give me 100% of your income for the next ten years because I need it to make up my gambling loses!  What would you say to me?  You know, the OWS call for a BANK TRANSFER DAY in early November is getting to be a really significant idea.  If the banks refuse to act in a responsible manner and the FED is refusing to discipline its children, then we have to just take their “toys” (our money) away from the bankers.  It is time for “time out” for our out of control children.  Check out your local credit unions, they are real functioning banking organizations owned and controlled by their depositors and members.  Congress will never vote our interest, so we have to vote with our bucks.

The Four Issues to Watch This Week and Next

In a world where everything is happening at an ever accelerating pace, and the MSM is more into lulling you to sleep mode with the psuedo-politics and celebrity watches (with as many commercials as possible per segment), it is hard to focus on the important issues; the issues that will directly affect your life.

For the next few weeks we suggest you pay attention to these issues.

Wall Street Protests

The protest that started without leaders or agenda has really picked up steam and has spread to 26 cities nationwide.  There is also a singular articulate voice arising from the group.  Simply put, it states that the 99% of us are no longer going to tolerate the greed and avarice of the 1% and their hijacking of the political system in America.

Specifically, the organization has issued this statement below.  I think you will find it both interesting that MSM is portraying these demonstrations as unorganized gatherings of druggies, the usual assortment of protestors that show up at G7 meetings, etc.  I think after reading their statement you will understand that these demonstrations are much more than that.  You be the judge.

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

The Second Issue to watch is the slow “Sam Peckinpah” demise of the EU.  There is talk of having the IMF step up and buy all of the paper, but it just that talk.  Walking the walk would mean that member countries would have to pony up about $3.7 Trillion and either they simple don’t have that kind of dough or the political will to extract it from their people.   Germany is frantically printing Deutschmarks as we speak. The impact to the markets is well.. can you say tsunami.

The Third Issue remains the solar weather.  We have currently one of the most active “earth facing” sunspot situations so far.  Two of the most active and of concern areas are Sunspot #1305 which has already produce a couple of impressive CMEs and geo-storms, and Sunspot #1313 which is just now rotating into view.  #1313 is believed to have produced the “full Halo” CME on the backside just a few days ago.  Check those batteries and candles one more time.

Finally, we have some interesting news out of NASA on Wednesday.  It seems just as we to pass through the path of the non-important ELENIN path, we ARE going to encounter a “Draconid Meteor Outburst!” Honest folks, I couldn’t make this up.  This from NASA:

Draconid Meteor Outburst

Oct. 4, 2011: On October 8th Earth is going to plow through a stream of dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and the result could be an outburst of Draconid meteors.  “We’re predicting as many as 750 meteors per hour,” says Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “The timing of the shower favors observers in the Middle East, north Africa and parts of Europe.”

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in Nov. 1998 photographed by astronomers at Kitt Peak.  Every 6.6 years Comet Giacobini-Zinner swings through the inner solar system. With each visit, it lays down a narrow filament of dust, over time forming a network of filaments that Earth encounters every year in early October.  “Most years, we pass through gaps between filaments, maybe just grazing one or two as we go by,” says Cooke. “Occasionally, though, we hit one nearly head on–and the fireworks begin.”  2011 could be such a year. Forecasters at NASA and elsewhere agree that Earth is heading for three or more filaments on October 8th. Multiple encounters should produce a series of variable outbursts beginning around 1600 Universal Time (noon EDT) with the strongest activity between 1900 and 2100 UT (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT).  Forecasters aren’t sure how strong the display will be, mainly because the comet had a close encounter with Jupiter in the late 1880s. At that time, the giant planet’s gravitational pull altered the comet’s orbit and introduced some uncertainty into the location of filaments it has shed since then. Competing models place the filaments in slightly different spots; as a result, estimated meteor rates range from dozens to hundreds per hour.

So make sure you have your popcorn and beer stocked up.  It looks like an interesting helluva of a week.

 

The Week of September 25th…What is going on?

I have written several articles chronicling how markets and banks, politicians and PTB have been moving and acting in the world.  Recently, I warned that as the markets, and now even countries, are on the verge of collapse, that Red Flag Operations may be resorted to by the PTB.

A Red Flag Operation is an act or set of events that are orchestrated by the PTB to re-focus US to their desired focus point and NOT have our attention focused on what is really going on.  I am not a conspiracist, but must admit I have always had many questions about the assassination of JFK and MLK. I think a lot of sensible people would admit the same.

I think we all now know how Ole GW got us into Iraq and consequently Afghanistan under the guise of WMDs.  I would also venture to say that we all know instinctively that the good ole boys on Wall Street criminally raped us blind and continue to do so.

But all of these past events pale given what may be potentially unfolding.  There is a flurry of disinformation out there and most of it is focused on Comet Elenin, Planet X, End of Days, etc.  However, I believe, as I have warned my readers, “don’t believe your lying eyes.”

What I believe is more important are these facts:

The insiders have vanished.  Chief executives, board members, and the head honchos gone, everywhere. These are the people who know.  Just a few weeks ago, they were out in force, buying up shares in their own companies with both hands.  No longer is that happening. They’ve disappeared, almost overnight.

“They’ve stopped buying,” says Charles Biderman, the chief executive of stock market research firm TrimTabs, which tracks the data. “Insiders aren’t buying this rally.” Insider stock purchases, which surged above $100 million a day in the market slump last month, have now collapsed to just $13 million a day.

Specifically I am talking about CEOS and Execs from these companies for example:

Sun Microsystems          Royal Bank of Scotland                 Bank Leumi of Israel
Lenovo                                Wellpoint                                            Ingersoll-Rand
Gasco                                   Syntel                                                   Motion Picture Television Fund
AgResearch                       Zain Telecom                                    Ethan Allen Institute
Uranium International Corp                                                     Argentina Central Bank
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (CFO)

These are but a selection of over 200 “players” Biderman was referring to in his quote.  I selected these particular ones, not necessarily because they were the biggest, but they represent the universal nature of this sudden move.  The pervasiveness of who acted and how they all suddenly acted in the very same way is very strange and really cannot be explained as “normal market behavior.”

Even if there was insider information that a large market adjustment was coming, there would not be this universal and coordinated response.  However, rumors of a world-wide conflict “could” trigger just this response.  Historically, just prior to WWII and even Korea, similar financial moves were made.

It is true that during the week of September 25, Elenin will make its closest approach to earth. However, here is where it gets a bit interesting and beyond coincidence, President Obama leaves DC during this week to Denver.  FEMA and 101 Colorado agencies will have a major disaster drill in Denver on that week.  The US military will conduct Operation Cocked Pistol, a DEFCON1 exercise on 27 September in Denver!   Many NASA staff will arrive that week in Denver.  The CIA has announced moving 10,000 people to their new Denver offices.  There are multiple military trains loaded with tanks, personnel carriers, fuel trucks, etc., moving towards Denver as we speak.

The Senate and House of Reps will be out of DC during this week. They always take the month of August. This is the first time they are recessing again the next month.  The British Parlament leaves for recess for this week.   The main British royalty are nowhere to be found on these dates, no scheduled events.
The UN will be off during these dates.  The Russian Duma will be in recess during this week.  The pope will be off during this week.

These various events may be just one giant coincidence, but whew!  Those are a lot of facts coming together in a very strange way.  It seems everyone is getting the Hell outta of Dodge!

And let us not forget the bizarre cryptic words of President Obama during the 911 speech.
“Psalm 46 – 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”

I will let you all be the judge of this information, but at the risk of sounding like a fool, I think we should look at this closely.  In war there is one fact I know from personal experience, those with the least amount of knowledge are the first causalities of conflict.

 

What Goes Up….! Where is the Down?

A lot of people lament the lack of upward mobility in the U.S. right now and I share those sentiments. However, equally important is downward mobility. What makes the concept of America unique is not merely the concept that the poor can become rich but that the rich can become poor. It is this second part that is the most dangerous to social cohesion when it disappears. Unfortunately, the system that we have today of an unholy alliance between Wall Street, Washington D.C. and the multi-national corporations (including the military industrial complex of course) stands there holding onto all the levers of power to serve as gatekeepers of their own empires.

Consider this when we think about how the game is “rigged” right now.  From Matthew Cardinale of the
Inter Press Service on  28 Aug 2011.

Atlanta, Georga: The first-ever audit of the U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed 16 trillion dollars in secret bank bailouts and has raised more questions about the quasi-private agency’s opaque operations.   “This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else,” U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, said in a statement.   The majority of loans were issues by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY).

“From late 2007 through mid-2010, Reserve Banks provided more than a trillion dollars… in emergency loans to the financial sector to address strains in credit markets and to avert failures of individual institutions believed to be a threat to the stability of the financial system,” the audit report states.  “The scale and nature of this assistance amounted to an unprecedented expansion of the Federal Reserve System’s traditional role as lender-of-last-resort to depository institutions,” according to the report.   The report notes that all the short-term, emergency loans were repaid, or are expected to be repaid.

The emergency loans included eight broad-based programs, and also provided assistance for certain individual financial institutions. The Fed provided loans to JP Morgan Chase bank to acquire Bear Stearns, a failed investment firm; provided loans to keep American International Group (AIG), a multinational insurance corporation, afloat; extended lending commitments to Bank of America and Citigroup; and purchased risky mortgage-backed securities to get them off private banks’ books.

Overall, the greatest borrowing was done by a small number of institutions. Over the three years, Citigroup borrowed a total of 2.5 trillion dollars, Morgan Stanley borrowed two trillion; Merryll Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America, borrowed 1.9 trillion; and Bank of America borrowed 1.3 trillion.  Banks based in counties other than the U.S. also received money from the Fed, including Barclays of the United Kingdom, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (UK), Deutsche Bank (Germany), UBS (Switzerland), Credit Suisse Group (Switzerland), Bank of Scotland (UK), BNP Paribas (France), Dexia (Belgium), Dresdner Bank (Germany), and Societe General (France).

“No agency of the United States government should be allowed to bailout a foreign bank or corporation without the direct approval of Congress and the President,” Sanders wrote.   In recent days, Bloomberg News obtained 29,346 pages of documentation from the Federal Reserve about some of these secret loans, after months of fighting in court for access to the records under the Freedom of Information Act.  Some of the financial institutions secretly receiving loans were meanwhile claiming in their public reports to have ample cash reserves, Bloomberg noted.   The Federal Reserve has neither explained how they legally justified several of the emergency loans, nor how they decided to provide assistance to certain firms but not others.

“The main problem is the lack of Congressional oversight, and the way the Fed seemed to pick winners who would be protected at any cost,” Randall Wray, professor of economics at University of Missouri- Kansas City, told IPS.   “If such lending is not illegal, it should be. Our nation really did go through a liquidity crisis – a run on the short-term liabilities of financial institutions. There is only one way to stop a run: lend reserves without limit to all qualifying institutions. The Fed bumbled around before it finally sort of did that,” Wray said.

“But then it turned to phase two, which was to try to resolve problems of insolvency by increasing Uncle Sam’s stake in the banksters’ fiasco. That never should have been done. You close down fraudsters, period. The Fed and FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Commission) should have gone into the biggest banks immediately, replaced all top management, and should have started to resolve them,” Wray said.

For many years conventional wisdom has said that the whole world is controlled by the monied elite, or more recently by the huge multi-national corporations that seem to sometime control the very air we breathe. Now, new research by a team based in ETH-Zurich, Switzerland, has shown that what we’ve suspected all along, is apparently true. The team has uploaded their results onto the preprint server arXiv.

Using data obtained (circa 2007) from the Orbis database (a global database containing financial information on public and private companies) the team, in what is being heralded as the first of its kind, analyzed data from over 43,000 corporations, looking at both upstream and downstream connections between them all and found that when graphed, the data represented a bowtie of sorts, with the knot, or core representing just 147 entities who control nearly 40 percent of all of monetary value of transnational corporations (TNCs).

When we look to the East and watch our Arab brothers struggle against tyranny, I don’t think we connect their struggle to us.  However, I assure you that the roots of that struggle was economic slavery, not unlike we, both in the US and the EU, are rapidly marching (or is it being herded?) toward at this very minute.

As we awaken to these facts, it is apparent that the PTB, who wish to continue their “project”, are having more and more of a difficult time unfolding “their solutions” to our problems.  You know “solutions’ like raiding retirement and pension funds, eliminating worker’s unions, ending any “social programs” of any kind.

Probably the most important news story of September 7^th won’t be reported by International MSM.  No, it won’t be Obama’s speech on Jobs, nor will it be the outcome of the first games in the NFL.  It will be this.

Seething discontent in Germany over Europe’s debt crisis has spread to all the key institutions.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel no longer has enough coalition votes in the Bundestag to secure backing for Europe’s revamped rescue machinery, threatening a constitutional crisis in Germany and a fresh eruption of the euro debt saga.

Mrs. Merkel has cancelled a high-profile trip to Russia on September 7, the crucial day when the package goes to the Bundestag and the country’s constitutional court rules on the legality of the EU’s bail-out machinery.   If the court rules that the €440bn rescue fund (EFSF) breaches Treaty law or undermines German fiscal sovereignty, it risks setting off an instant brushfire across monetary union.

The seething discontent in Germany over Europe’s debt crisis has spread to all the key institutions of the state. “Hysteria is sweeping Germany ” said Klaus Regling, the EFSF’s director.  German media reported that the latest tally of votes in the Bundestag shows that 23 members from Mrs Merkel’s own coalition plan to vote against the package, including twelve of the 44 members of Bavaria’s Social Christians (CSU). This may force the Chancellor to rely on opposition votes, risking a government collapse.

Christian Wulff, Germany’s president, stunned the country last week by accusing the European Central Bank of going “far beyond its mandate” with mass purchases of Spanish and Italian debt, and warning that the Europe’s headlong rush towards fiscal union strikes at the “very core” of democracy. “Decisions have to be made in parliament in a liberal democracy. That is where legitimacy lies,” he said.

A day earlier the Bundesbank had fired its own volley, condemning the ECB’s bond purchases and warning the EU is drifting towards debt union without “democratic legitimacy” or treaty backing.  Joahannes Singhammer, leader of the CSU’s Bundestag group, accused the ECB of acting “dangerously” by jumping the gun before parliaments had voted. The ECB is implicitly acting on behalf of the rescue fund until it is ratified.

Mrs. Merkel faces mutiny even within her own Christian Democrat (CDU) family. Wolfgang Bossbach, the spokesman for internal affairs, said he would oppose the package. “I can’t vote against my own conviction,” he said.   The Bundestag is expected to decide late next month on the package, which empowers the EFSF to buy bonds pre-emptively and recapitalize banks. While the bill is likely to pass, the furious debate leaves no doubt that Germany will resist moves to boost the EFSF’s firepower yet further. Most City banks say the fund needs €2 trillion to stop the crisis engulfing Spain and Italy.   Mrs. Merkel’s aides say she is facing “war on every front”. The next month will decide her future, Germany’s destiny, and the fate of monetary union.

I make all these points because we must think clearly and precisely now.  No politics, nor economic religion, just fix this now, and we can.  We start by taking some people DOWN.  Start to put some balance back into the equation.  I think the audit of the FED would be an excellent place to start that quest.

Secondly, we must be informed voters and place candidates that understand clearly the goals of restoring balance into our global economy through prudent but thorough regulatory changes.  That must, by its nature, start with the political process elements of our societies.   I cannot think of anything more important to you on a personal basis than this.

 

Finally A Step in the Right Direction

As a followup to my previous post calling out the fact that not one single bankster or Wall Street financial thug has been prosecuted for the giant fraud and ponzi schemes foisted on the world’s economy, it now appears that at least some in CONgress are beginning to fear the wrath of the people.  This is a start, but I suspect it will still be a long time before any of these crooks actually see jail time.  We all can help the process a bit by letting our Representatives and Senators that we demand justice.  They either do the right thing or we will do the right thing come next election.

This just released:

“They clearly misled their clients and they misled the Congress,”  Senator Levin added, announcing that he will recommend that his panel refer all of the Goldman executives who testified before the committee for criminal prosecution by the Justice Department and for sanctions by the SEC for violations of securities laws.

This is a fairly detailed and lengthy piece by Shahien Nasiripour.  It is worth reading in full at its source.  The only thing missing from Levin’s report is a perjury recommendation for Henry Paulson who lied before Congress repeatedly during various testimony given in 2007 and 2008 – see the right column of this website to watch his lies for yourself. Here’s the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/goldman-financial-crisis-prosecution_n_848994.html

Huff Po

WASHINGTON — Goldman Sachs executives deceived clients in order to profit off the brewing financial crisis and then misled Congress when asked to explain their actions, concluded a top lawmaker who led a two-year investigation into Wall Street’s role in the meltdown.

Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will recommend that Goldman executives who testified before his panel, including chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, be referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, the Michigan Democrat announced Wednesday. Members of the subcommittee will now deliberate Levin’s proposal.

A Goldman spokesman said its executives were truthful in their testimony, adding that the firm disagreed with many of the panel’s conclusions.

Two and a half years after a historic crisis that has yielded not a single criminal conviction of anyone who played a leading role in causing it, the prosecution of such a high-profile Wall Street executive may satisfy the public’s desire to see culprits brought to justice. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled a lawsuit it had brought against Goldman.

But the firm was just one target of a sweeping, 639-page report by the Senate panel into the causes of the crisis. Hardly a fluke occurrence, the meltdown was the product of a deeply corrupt financial system, one fueled by profit-hungry banks that deceived their clients, and overseen by lax regulators who were complicit in the firms’ chronic abuse of the most fundamental rules of the game, the report concludes.

The investigation found a “financial snake pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing,” Levin said.

More than any other government report produced in the wake of the crisis, this account names names, blaming specific people and institutions: Goldman Sachs, Washington Mutual, Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, the Office of Thrift Supervision and others. It targets four types of institutions, all of which it says played key roles in causing the crisis: mortgage lenders that offered prospective homeowners booby-trapped loans; regulators that were paid by the institutions they were regulating and cooperated in widespread deception; rating agencies that gave seals of approval to products they knew to be especially risky, all in the pursuit of market share; and Wall Street banks that duped investors into buying securities that only the insiders knew were destined to go bad.

“They clearly misled their clients and they misled the Congress,” he added, announcing that he will recommend that his panel refer all of the Goldman executives who testified before the committee for possible criminal prosecution by the Justice Department and for sanctions by the SEC for violations of securities laws.

This is a very rare time when YOU can really make a difference in the world.  Everybody call, write, email your Representatives and Senators and demand that they not only support the committee on this effort, but that they also continue hound the Justice Department to fully, completely, and swiftly investigate and prosecute these crooks.  These crooks have all but destroyed our future with their greed.  WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK!!!!

Global Revolution Must Occur

Some are looking the phenomena occurring in the Middle East as if somehow it is unique to that region and we would like to believe it is related to monarchies or religion.  I assure you nothing would be further from the truth and the facts.  I just returned from the region.  I was in fact in the streets the night Mubarak stepped down.  It is about a dignified living.

Now, in the US we have stirrings in Wisconsin, Indiana, New York, and Ohio.  We witnessed the “in-your-face” fake David Koch call to Governor Walker of Wisconsin.  What is happening in Wisconsin will spread everywhere.  Governors are meeting in Washington today to discuss the overwhelming $175 Billion budget shortfalls collectively facing the states.

However, attempting to bust unions and collective bargaining in the face of the enormous tax cuts given to the ultra wealthy is just not going to sit here as it has not been accepted globally.  There is a moment when the masses do their own math and guess what doesn’t add up?  Distribution of wealth in the society is the problem.  It is that simple and it has reached the event horizon.

The PTB and their political hacks actually still believe they can maintain their power structure and as a result they move forward with the methodical destruction of the world’s middle class as the “cost” to maintain their position.  Their solution: just print more money everywhere! Consider this great reporting by Michael Snyder – BLN Contributing Writer.

“If the U.S. dollar is being devalued so rapidly, then why does it sometimes increase in value against other global currencies?  Well, it is because everybody is recklessly printing money now.  The 6 charts which you are about to see below prove this.  The truth is that it is not just the U.S. Federal Reserve which has been printing money like there is no tomorrow.  Out of control money printing has also been happening in the UK, in the EU, in Japan, in China and in India.  There are times when one particular global currency will fall faster than the others, but the reality is that they are all being rapidly devalued.  Unfortunately, this is a recipe for a global economic nightmare.

Right now you can almost smell the panic as it rises in global financial markets.  Investors all over the world are racing to get out of paper and to get into hard assets.  Just about anything that is “real” and “tangible” is hot right now.  Gold hit a record high last year and it is on the rise again.  In fact, it just hit a new five-week high.  Demand for silver is becoming absolutely ridiculous right now.  Oil is marching up towards $100 a barrel again.  Agricultural commodities have exploded in price over the past year.  Many investors are even gobbling up art and other collectibles.

Paper money is no longer considered to be safe.  All over the globe investors are watching all of the reckless money printing that has been going on and they are becoming alarmed.  An increasing number of investors and financial institutions are putting their wealth into hard assets that are real and tangible in an effort to preserve their wealth.

The other day, a reader of this column named James sent me some charts that he had put together.  I thought they were so good that I asked him if I could include them in an article.  These charts show how central banks all over the globe have been recklessly printing money.  Over the last 30 years virtually the entire world has developed a great love affair with fiat currency….

So is everyone printing money?

The U.S. is printing lots of money…..

Source, The St. Louis Fed

The Bank of England is printing lots of money…..

Source: The BoE

The EU is printing lots of money….

Source: The ECB

Japan is printing lots of money…..

Source: The BoJ

China is printing lots of money…..

Source: The People’s Bank of China

India is printing lots of money…..

Source: Reserve Bank of India

Of course anyone with half a brain can see where all of this is ultimately headed.  In the end, inflation is going to spiral out of control and we are going to witness financial implosion on a global scale. So why don’t these nations just adopt sound money?

Well, it turns out that if you are a member of the IMF, you are specifically prohibited from having gold-backed currency.  Yes, you read that correctly.

In fact, U.S. Representative Ron Paul once sent an open letter to the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve asking about this and he received no response.  The following is the content of that letter….

Dear Sirs:

I am writing regarding Article 4, Section 2b of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Articles of Agreement. As you may be aware, this language prohibits countries who are members of the IMF from linking their currency to gold. Thus, the IMF is forbidding countries suffering from an erratic monetary policy from adopting the most effective means of stabilizing their currency. This policy could delay a country’s recovery from an economic crisis and retard economic growth, thus furthering economic and political instability.

I would greatly appreciate an explanation from both the Treasury and the Federal Reserve of the reasons the United States has continued to acquiesce in this misguided policy. Please contact Mr. Norman Singleton, my legislative director, if you require any further information regarding this request. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives

Sadly, the truth is that the global elite don’t want nations to start adopting gold-backed currencies.  They want countries to use fiat currencies that they can openly manipulate for their own benefit.

At this point, every nation on earth (to the best of my knowledge) uses a fiat currency.  All of the major global currencies are being continually devalued.  In fact, there are times when counties will purposely devalue their currencies even more rapidly in order to gain a competitive advantage in world trade.

This is why so many investors now have such an aversion to paper currency.  It starts losing value the moment you take possession of it.  In some areas of the world, “gold fever” is absolutely exploding.  For example, China imported five times as much gold in 2010 as it did in 2009.  On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, trading volume soared 43 percent during the first 10 months of 2010.

And while these reckless monetary policies continue, consider the fact that NOT ONE individual has faced any kind of criminal charges in the 2008 collapse, NOT ONE.  However, the “Baby Ruth” always floats to the top of the pool.  Consider this just out over at the Huffington Post.

Source: Huffington Post

Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account, receiving the bulk of those funds after AIG received an enormous taxpayer rescue, according to the final report of an investigative panel appointed by Congress.

The fact that a significant slice of the proceeds secured by Goldman through the AIG bailout landed in its own account–as opposed to those of its clients or business partners– has not been previously disclosed. These details about the workings of the controversial AIG bailout, which eventually swelled to $182 billion, are among the more eye-catching revelations in the report to be released Thursday by the bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

The details underscore the degree to which Goldman–the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history–benefited directly from the massive emergency bailout of the nation’s financial system, a deal crafted on the watch of then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who had previously headed the bank.

“If these allegations are correct, it appears to have been a direct transfer of wealth from the Treasury to Goldman’s shareholders,” said Joshua Rosner, a bond analyst and managing director at independent research consultancy Graham Fisher & Co., after he was read the relevant section of the report. “The AIG counterparty bailout, which was spun as necessary to protect the public, seems to have protected the institution at the expense of the public.”

Goldman and AIG both declined to comment.

When news first broke in 2009 that Goldman had been an indirect beneficiary of the AIG bailout, collecting the full value of some $14 billion in outstanding insurance polices it held with the firm, the officials who brokered the deal justified these terms as a necessary stabilizer for the broader financial system. As the world’s largest insurance company, AIG’s inability to cover its outstanding obligations could have threatened the solvency of the institutions holding its policies, asserted the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversaw the deal.

Goldman fended off claims that the arrangement amounted to a backdoor bailout by asserting that none of the money from the AIG rescue landed in its own coffers. Rather, those funds went to compensate clients or institutions on the other side of its trades, Goldman said.

Many times in past posts, I have both predicted and worried over what a violent reaction would look like in say the US or the UK.  Now more than ever, I see the kindling for such a fire is about to be lit.  I only hope that the people, when they do stand up, do so peacefully.  If there is any lesson we can learn from Tahrir Square was the dignified and resolute manner in which the people imposed their will.

Is Hyperinflation Just Around the Corner? Update from the Currency Wars

As I have provided many times in this blog, one of the key factors to preventing a full economic collapse in the US has been the fact that the US Dollar has been the world’s reserve currency.  The impacts of the dollar NOT being the world’s reserve currency has impacts world-wide, but nowhere more significant than in the US itself.

This fact (dollar is world’s reserve currency) has allowed the FED to continue with its “quantitative easing” (QE) policies unabated (read print more money).   Indeed the Fed has ignored warnings from financial experts world-wide that if the FED continued these policies, they would be jeopardizing the entire financial stability of global trade and could set off hyperinflation which could kill any hopes of recovery.

This QE policy combined with the US government’s lack of control of the deficit spending (now over $14 Trillion) could trigger a global collapse.  Both the FED and the US Congress have down played the impacts of the QE1,2,3 citing the very fact that the Dollar was the world’s reserve currency and therefore, the impacts of both spending and printing money was not going to significantly impact world economics and in fact, they contend that getting the US Economy going was the most import element of stabilizing the world’s economy.

This may be reasonable IF the US Dollar remains the world’s reserve currency, but I also have stated that recent efforts by both Russia and China to push the dollar off the world reserve status could have a disastrous effect both in the US and the world.  My concerns centered on the hyperinflation effect that would be created both domestically in the US and the effects on most of the world’s economy as well.

It appears that my fears for a world-wide push to “bump” the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency are now being manifested in fact and ahead of the timeline I though it may happen. Consider this article that appeared in CNN Money yesterday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The International Monetary Fund issued a report Thursday on a possible replacement for the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The IMF said Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, could help stabilize the global financial system.

SDRs represent potential claims on the currencies of IMF members. They were created by the IMF in 1969 and can be converted into whatever currency a borrower requires at exchange rates based on a weighted basket of international currencies. The IMF typically lends countries funds denominated in SDRs

While they are not a tangible currency, some economists argue that SDRs could be used as a less volatile alternative to the U.S. dollar.  Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF, acknowledged there are some “technical hurdles” involved with SDRs, but he believes they could help correct global imbalances and shore up the global financial system. “Over time, there may also be a role for the SDR to contribute to a more stable international monetary system,” he said.

The goal is to have a reserve asset for central banks that better reflects the global economy since the dollar is vulnerable to swings in the domestic economy and changes in U.S. policy.  In addition to serving as a reserve currency, the IMF also proposed creating SDR-denominated bonds, which could reduce central banks’ dependence on U.S. Treasuries. The Fund also suggested that certain assets, such as oil and gold, which are traded in U.S. dollars, could be priced using SDRs.

Oil prices usually go up when the dollar depreciates. Supporters say using SDRs to price oil on the global market could help prevent spikes in energy prices that often occur when the dollar weakens significantly.

The dollar alternatives

Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said at a conference in Washington that IMF member nations should agree to create $2 trillion worth of SDRs over the next few years.  SDRs, he said, “will further diversify the system.”

Dollar firms after starting 2011 weak

The dollar has been drifting lower so far this year as the global economy improves and investors regain their appetite for more risky assets such as stocks and commodities.  After rising above 81 in early January, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of other international currencies, eased below 77 earlier this week.

However, the dollar was higher Thursday against the euro, pound and yen as disappointing corporate results weighed on stock prices following several days of gains on Wall Street. The rally in the commodities market also cooled, with the price of oil and metals backing off recent highs.

0:00 /4:40Bernanke vs. Ryan: Inflation wars

In addition, renewed concerns about the debt problems facing troubled European economies put pressure on the euro and supported the dollar. The yield on Portugal’s benchmark bond rose to a record high Wednesday, and borrowing costs for Ireland, Spain and Greece remain elevated.

“The market is shedding risk, with equities and commodities weakening and the U.S. dollar broadly stronger” said Camilla Sutton, currency strategist at Scotia Capital.

Traders were also digesting comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who told Congress Wednesday that despite a strengthening economic recovery, the unemployment rate remains high while inflation is “still quite low.”

Those remarks reaffirmed the view that “the Fed would be very slow to tighten policy given its dual mandate of price stability and employment,” analysts at Sucden Financial wrote in a research report.  Bernanke also urged lawmakers to come up with a “credible plan” to bring down “unsustainable” federal budget deficits.

“We expect that the outlook for the U.S. fiscal position will weigh heavily on the U.S. dollar in the quarters ahead,” said Sutton. In the near-term, however, she said “a strengthening growth profile” could help provide “a temporary period of dollar strength.”

As we have watched middle eastern  governments implode over the last few weeks, primarily due to inflation of basic commodity prices and large percentages of unemployment, we see the harbinger of days to come in the EU, Russia, and yes the US.  If we stay on this same course the effects of hyperinflation, followed by significant deflation would end the world’s economic system as we know it. Does that sound like an over reaction?  We will see, we will see.  How’s your food stocks?  Judging from Egypt, it looks like you need a minimum of 18 days, no?

Why 2011 Could Be the Year of Economic Collapse

What could cause an economic collapse in 2011? Well, unfortunately there are quite a few “nightmare scenarios” that could plunge the entire globe into another massive financial crisis.  The United States, Japan and most of the nations in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt.  The Federal Reserve continues to play reckless games with the U.S. dollar.  The price of oil is skyrocketing and the global price of food just hit a new record high.  Food riots are already breaking out all over the world.  Meanwhile, the rampant fraud and corruption going on in world financial markets is starting to be exposed and the whole house of cards could come crashing down at any time.  Most Americans have no idea that a horrific economic collapse could happen at literally any time.  There is no way that all of this debt and all of this financial corruption is sustainable.  At some point we are going to reach a moment of “total system failure”.

The whole system is currently standing on one wobbly leg, China’s willingness to buy paper.  If we do not consider the lesson we were just exposed to of when is big too big, then we are doomed to repeat the lesson.  China has become too big of a financial partner.  Consider this:

Source: BBC

Two Chinese state controlled banks have lent more to developing countries than the World Bank, according to a report.

The China Development Bank and the China Export Import Bank offered loans of at least $110 bn (£69.2 bn) to governments and firms in developing countries in 2009 and 2010.  The research was undertaken by the Financial Times newspaper.  Between mid-2008 and mid-2010, the World Bank’s lending arm issued loans of just over $100bn (£63bn).

The two Chinese banks do not publish a detailed breakdown of their overseas loans, so this research is based on public announcements about specific deals from them, their borrowers or the Chinese government. That means the figure arrived at for the amount of Chinese lending is more likely an underestimate than an overestimate because some – more sensitive – loans will not have been made public.

The Chinese lenders are so-called policy banks – they have a mandate to further whatever Beijing sees as its national interest. One of China Development Bank’s specific tasks is to try to alleviate and, where possible, eliminate bottlenecks in supplies of raw materials or land for China’s economy.

It also tries to open up foreign markets for Chinese companies. The period looked at by the researchers included the worst of the global financial crisis. Chinese banks were offering loans to producers of raw materials at a time when it was hard for them to attract financing from elsewhere.

That helped secure long-term energy deals, including oil supplies from Russia, Venezuela and Brazil. The Chinese government, which is sitting on $2 trillion (£1.26 trillion) of foreign exchange reserves, has ample amounts of cash to fund loans which help promote its strategic objectives.

But what is interesting is that in the private sector, it is a different story.  Outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by Chinese companies (not including banks) was around $50bn (£31.5bn) last year – around half the FDI that flowed from foreign companies into China.

As Niall Ferguson, MA, D.Phil., who is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School warned us.  The collapse of an empire can come suddenly and is almost always related to financial crises that occur when debt service exceeds 50% of tax revenue.

Consider this report by  Emily Flitter of Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – When borrowing money it’s always good to have a Plan B in case a big creditor pulls the plug. That should be true whether the sum is a few thousand dollars or about a trillion, the size of the United States government’s debt to China.

China is officially the United States’ biggest foreign creditor, with roughly $900 billion in Treasury holdings — or over $1 trillion with Hong Kong’s holdings included.  That means it could do severe damage to U.S. debt markets if it suddenly started selling large amounts.

Most experts say if there were signs of this happening, the U.S. government would go for a combination of persuading Americans to buy more U.S. debt, the same way they did in World War II, and finding friendly foreign governments to make additional purchases.

Banks could be called on to increase their holdings of treasuries, and as a last resort, the Federal Reserve could also be called on to fill the gap, though this could risk turning any dollar weakness into a slump.

“The U.S. government should have and maybe still could call on the people of the U.S. to invest in U.S. debt,” said David Walker, a former U.S. comptroller general who heads an advocacy group calling on the government to curb the U.S. budget deficit and borrowings.

To be sure, the idea that China would suddenly sell its U.S. debt holdings is almost unimaginable to some.  After all, any weakening in the U.S. debt markets and the resulting global markets turmoil, including likely weakness in the dollar, would bounce back on China and could hurt its economy badly, especially as the United States is such a huge Chinese export market.

It likely would take something like a massive rise in tensions over an issue like Taiwan or oil exploration in disputed areas of the South China Sea, including possible military confrontation between the two nations. Such a confrontation would also make it easier for Washington to appeal to the American public to buy its debt for patriotic reasons.

But Beijing could also justify pulling back sharply from U.S. Treasuries if the dollar were to plunge, perhaps because of Washington’s failure to curb its budget deficit and debt. “I worry that we could be at a tipping point,” said Eswar Prasad, a Brookings Institution economist and former International Monetary Fund official with responsibility for China.

“If the Chinese say ‘We’re not buying any more Treasuries,’ this could act as a trigger around which nervous market sentiment coalesces,” he said. “People could start wondering how the U.S. is going to finance its deficit.”

So we had all better be getting prepared for hard times.  The following are 12 economic collapse scenarios that we could potentially see in 2011….

Source: The Economic Collapse

#1 U.S. debt could become a massive crisis at any moment.  China is saying all of the right things at the moment, but many analysts are openly worried about what could happen if China suddenly decides to start dumping all of the U.S. debt that they have accumulated.  Right now about the only thing keeping U.S. government finances going is the ability to borrow gigantic amounts of money at extremely low interest rates.  If anything upsets that paradigm, it could potentially have enormous consequences for the entire world financial system.

#2 Speaking of threats to the global financial system, it turns out that “quantitative easing 2″ has had the exact opposite effect that Ben Bernanke planned for it to have.  Bernanke insisted that the main goal of QE2 was to lower interest rates, but instead all it has done is cause interest rates to go up substantially.  Is Bernanke this incompetent or is he trying to mess everything up on purpose?

#3 The debt bubble that the entire global economy is based on could burst at any time and throw the whole planet into chaos.  According to a new report from the World Economic Forum, the total amount of credit in the world increased from $57 trillion in 2000 to $109 trillion in 2009.  The WEF says that now the world is going to need another $100 trillion in credit to support projected “economic growth” over the next decade.  So is this how the new “global economy” works?  We just keep doubling the total amount of debt every decade?

#4 As the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve continue to pump massive amounts of new dollars into the system, the floor could fall out from underneath the U.S. dollar at any time.  The truth is that we are already starting to see inflation really accelerate and everyone pretty much acknowledges that official U.S. governments figures for inflation are an absolute joke.  According to one new study, the cost of college tuition has risen 286% over the last 20 years, and the cost of “hospital, nursing-home and adult-day-care services” rose 269% during those same two decades.  All of this happened during a period of supposedly “low” inflation.  So what are price increases going to look like when we actually have “high” inflation?

#5 One of the primary drivers of global inflation during 2011 could be the price of oil.  A large number of economists are now projecting that the price of oil could surge well past $100 dollars a barrel in 2011.  If that happens, it is going to put significant pressure on the price of almost everything else in the entire global economy.  In fact, as I have explained previously, the higher the price of oil goes, the faster the U.S. economy will decline.

#6 Food inflation is already so bad in some areas of the globe that it is setting off massive food riots in nations such as Tunisia and Algeria.  In fact, there have been reports of people setting themselves on fire all over the Middle East as a way to draw attention to how desperate they are.  So what is going to happen if global food prices go up another 10 or 20 percent and food riots spread literally all over the globe during 2011?

#7 There are persistent rumors that simply will not go away of massive physical gold and silver shortages.  Demand for precious metals has never been higher.  So what is going to happen when many investors begin to absolutely insist on physical delivery of their precious metals?  What is going to happen when the fact that far, far, far more “paper gold” and “paper silver” has been sold than has ever actually physically existed in the history of the planet starts to come out?  What would that do to the price of gold and silver?

#8 The U.S. housing industry could plunge the U.S. economy into another recession at any time.  The real estate market is absolutely flooded with homes and virtually nobody is buying.  This massive oversupply of homes means that the construction of new homes has fallen off a cliff.  In 2010, only 703,000 single family, multi-family and manufactured homes were completed.  This was a new record low, and it was down 17% from the previous all-time record which had just been set in 2009.

#9 A combination of extreme weather and disease could make this an absolutely brutal year for U.S. farmers.  This winter we have already seen thousands of new cold weather and snowfall records set across the United States.  Now there is some very disturbing news emerging out of Florida of an “incurable bacteria” that is ravaging citrus crops all over Florida.  Is there a reason why so many bad things are happening all of a sudden?

#10 The municipal bond crisis could go “supernova” at any time.  Already, investors are bailing out of bonds at a frightening pace.  State and local government debt is now sitting at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP.  According to Meredith Whitney, the municipal bond crisis that we are facing is a gigantic threat to our financial system….

“It has tentacles as wide as anything I’ve seen. I think next to housing this is the single most important issue in the United States and certainly the largest threat to the U.S. economy.”

Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan is convinced that things are so bad that literally 90% of our states and cities could go bankrupt over the next five years.

So do not buy the “Happy Talk” that is flying around.  The financial facts and realities simply do not support it.  In fact, it already appears that 2011 is going to be much worse than 2010.  In the US I think this will primarily be set off by the financial crisis facing municipalities, counties, and states.  The reality is the collapse will be caused by some small event that creates a panic perception in the financial markets or the social condition.

I am not saying this is inevitable, in 2011, but I am suggesting you might want to go over those survival plans one more time to make sure everything is up to snuff.