Jamie Dimon, the exalted ruler of the giant banking trading firm, JPMorganChase (NYSE: JPM), commanding a hefty trillion dollars balance sheet -- including my small fortune as a depositor at the local Chase branch in New Jersey -- seemed to make a lot of sense when he went public the other day to reveal that the largest of the remaining Wall Street banks through his legendary world oversight had managed to create a massive $2 billion trading loss. That was the good news. The bad news: It could really be more. Soon they could be talking about real money.
In a rare misstep, the financial wizard Dimon explained his bank’s London office managed to make a wrong bet in creating derivatives. “The wounds are self-inflicted,’ the widely respected, iconic mastermind declared, absolving himself of guilt, “and this is not how we want to do business in the future.”
Like Louis Renault, I was shocked (shocked!) that there was gambling going on with my money, hard earned by charging me $12 (Overdraft Protection Fee) for every risky strategy I use kiting a check before the money is available, and all the other outrageous rising fees, which I now learn are going toward betting the farm on the future.
If only I had gone to a school of banking -- instead of studying art history and cultural anthropology, as important as was my specialty in early Zuni civilization, tracing how they went from hunting buffalo to waiting on customers in gift shops -- I might have a greater understanding of the computer models and other complexities of this bet gone awry.
Not necessarily. I might have wound up at a JP Morgan trading desk.
As I gather, though, the problem was they made what Jamie Dimon called a stupid mistake, exceedingly stupid because they were betting European bonds would rise, while countries like Spain, Portugal, and Greece were on the brink of depression.
Why, even I would know, without going to that school of banking, you’d be better off going to the racetrack than betting on those Eurozone ponies.
All you had to do was read the London financial papers, watch the Wall Street TV shows, or look at the BBC and you’d know the situation was dire. It wasn't a hidden secret. So why did these geniuses at JP Morgan, as the custodians of my money, think they could make such a goofy bet?
Apparently, the “mistaken” strategy was approved by those senior genius know-it-alls, the risk committee of the bank. I bet a number of folks blew this year’s bonus.
I would have liked to be a fly in the office the days they decided to buy ever more European bonds, on the premise they would go up in value: “Oh, what are those extra zeros doing here?”
I think the undisputed leader of the Wall Street banking world has to revamp hiring practices, and only hire people who are literate enough to read the financial pages.
My confidence in my friendly bankers at JP Morgan is badly shaken. I don’t care if they think of themselves as the Masters of the Financial Universe and their belief in the almighty derivative prevails. As my sainted mother told me, it’s impossible to predict the future of what will go up or down. Not even God can do that with any regularity.
By the time this is all over, I wouldn't be surprised if some people at my bank’s London branch will be taking early retirement.
And in return for the opportunity I pledge not to post anything I cannot support with a source and a sincere belief that it is the truth. Or at least something that is clearly labled as my opinion.
Well, like I said, it's a free country and the Internet has lowered the barrier to entry to anybody that wants a voice. That's the beauty of it. And you have your own media venue right here on Investor Uprising.
Maybe you can become the next financial markets version of Rush Limbaugh! I would welcome that of course, we would not complain about that kind of audience.
Let me answer your final question first @Scott, if I am ranting as you call it, it is at liars that I rant. And I don't care what the politics of the liar happen to be, I reject all of them.
I have no difficulty finding out that Sean Hanity is a conservative, though I would like you to support your statement that he "hates Obama," with facts, not your opinion. I also have no difficulty knowing that Rush Limbaugh is a conservative. You see, both have proudly stated that they are Conservatives. However, even the definition of "Conservative" has been bastardized, not all conservatives have the same views on every subject, they are not monolithic.
What I would like to see you show me, though, is evidence that Bill Moyers has labeled himself a Liberal or Charlie Rose, or that NPR or NTV have labeled themselves Liberal. I find just the opposite. I find them repeatedly say they are "fair minded" and that they do not pledge alligance to either party. And it doesn't end there, the vast majority of talking heads on the big three networks deny any affiliation, they all claim to be "middle-of-the-road," and yet it has been determined in anonymous polls that roughly 80% vote Democrat.
Sure I can tune out anyone I wish. However, unfortunately that does not prevent them from affecting the uneducated. Nevertheless, I have never tried to shut them up, only to encourage them to tell the truth and keep their opinions in the editorials.
On the other hand, there have been countless attempts to shut the mouths of confessed Conservatives, to prevent them from taking to the airwaves. Remember the "fairness doctrine?" Fortunately it was eliminated, but it was attempted as a means of shutting up the source of opposing views.
Nobody reads the LA Times you say, but that is also true of CNN and MSNBC both of which have declining share while Fox and the WSJ continue to grow. Nevertheless, a liar is a liar even if his audience is a small one.
Finally, at least Fox airs Juan Williams, Jeraldo Rivera, Alan Combs, Greta Susternan and Bob Beckel. Who appears on NBC, CBS and ABC regularly with conservative views unless as part of a line up with one conservative and 8 liberals to ridicule him or her?
Well at least we've come this far. We agree now that there is media bias, it is only a question of what to do about it. You say tune out those with whom you disagree, I say force both sides to tell the truth or admit they are concealing it.
I already stated that the media has a wide range of views, and you can vote on any one of them with your channel changer or computer mouse.
You were talking about examples. I noticed you listed a bunch of news organizations but you happened to leave out News Corp., run by possibly the most influential news mogul since William Randolph Hearst -- Rupert Murdoch. Is he a "liberal" too? Why'd you leave him out? No Fox News? Doesn't Sean Hannity hate Obama? Seems that way.
Newsmax is a large, growing Internet force run by a conservative founder Chris Ruddy. You can read about it here.
So, we could selectively chose one media camp and list a bunch of media outlets that have "bias" toward that camp, and claim the other is left out... but that is just not true. There are many camps and political "teams."
But back to my original point... who cares? The media in this country is a product of democratic capitalism. The media companies have shareholders and viewers who vote on the product every day. Even if you do think it is "biased," this is the product of the system... the viewers and shareholders have voted... and it's the tyranny of the majority.
So if you don't like it what exactly are you going to do about it? Your options are 1) Start a media company 2) Launch a hostile takeover of CBS and GE or 3) Leave the country.
Really, that's it, isn't it? You can continue ranting but the system is what it is... at whom exactly are you ranting?
You are ignoring my point. I do not deny that verbal blunders have been made by most if not all in the public eye and George Bush is not an exception, nor is Sarah Palin. Both have made many, but please show me examples in the media where Obama has been treated with the same disdain and venom for any of his gaffs as George Bush and Sarah Palin have been treated by the mainstream media for theirs.
Then, more important than that is why you want me to prove to you that I am not biased. Of course I am biased. I have never hidden the fact that I have a clear and well defined desire to see the defeat of President Obama in the next election. The fact that I am a registered independent plays no role in that desire.
That said, I try very hard to post only what I believe to be the truth and I support every statement with what I believe to be the facts. I am open to you or anyone showing me where I have misstated what I believe to be the truth.
I do not resort to the ad hominem argument like the contributor who said that if I had learned any of my foolish ideas while as college it gave him a good reason to keep his children out of school.
Finally, the fact that the WSJ is or is not biased in one direction does not lessen the impact of CBS, NBC, ABC, NYT, LAT and Washington Post being biased in the opposite direction. The only important fact is whether or not the news source is being honest or not and if biased states the facts on page one and the interpretation elsewhere labeled as such.
My favorite quote on that list is "Why can't I just eat my waffle?"
I've thought that, too...you wait too long, and those little squares get soggy, although that may only be because I use too much pure Maple Syrup.
Thanks for doing the legwork @Noreen, and also to the contributor who listed the many blunders of Dan Quayle.
However, the point I was trying to make was not that people in the public eye often make verbal blunders, it was the difference in the way the media treats them depending on their bias. Dan Quayle was not liked and so he was destroyed for his miscues.
Obama on the other hand has mostly gotten a pass for his blunders.
Here are a few more Obama remarks for your collection:
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong. Barack Obama Does Obama see dead people?
I'm here with the Girardo family here in St. Louis. Barack Obama Speaking via satellite to Democratic National Convention, while in Kansas City, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2008.
Let me introduce to you the next President -- the next Vice President of the United States of America, Joe Biden. Barack Obama Slipping up while introducing Joe Biden at their first joint campaign rally, Springfield, Illinois, Aug. 23, 2008.
Just this past week, we passed out of the out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee -- which is my committee -- a bill to call for divestment from Iran as way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon. Barack Obama Referring to committee he is not on, Sderot, Israel, July 23, 2008.
Let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel's. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under a McCain...administration. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under an Obama administration. So that policy is not going to change. Barack Obama Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008.
Why can't I just eat my waffle? Barack Obama Asked a foreign policy question by reporter while visiting a diner in Pennsylvania during
Come on! I just answered, like, eight questions. Barack Obama Exasperated by reporters after news conference during 2008 US presidential camapaign.
In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed. Barack Obama On Kansas tornado that killed 12 people, 2007 speech blunder.
And Obama didn't miss Montana, he went flyfishing here. And he's always going to be keeping tabs on MT Senator Max Baucus, who is the powerful Chairman of the Senate Meltdown Committee -- er I mean Senate Finance Committee.
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