Simon Johnson: Goldman Faces Special Audit and Possible Ban in E "The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government - a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF's staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation; recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform." ~ The Atlantic Monthly, May 2009, by Simon Johnson Regular readers will be aware of our thesis that the American Wall Street banks have become dominated by a culture of compulsive sociopaths who are incapable of reforming or restraining their greed. Goldman Sachs may have reached that point. This is in no way an excuse for the Greek government.
Unrest in Egypt Egypt announces curfew of 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez: State TV CNN reporting that Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest. CNN also reporting that President Hosni Mubarak will soon speak CNN saying street curfew has now been effect for about 10 minutes in major Egyptian cities. RT @bencnn Massive cloud of tear gas at Zamalek end of 6 October Bridge..into the Nile. Protesters continue to chant "Down Down Mubarak." CNN saying that Mubarak is due to address the country "any minute now" TV footage is now showing ruling party headquarters in Cairo on fire.
Goldman Sachs: the Greek connection - Business News, Business - With European finance ministers meeting in Brussels today and tomorrow to discuss ways to prevent a debt crisis threatening the eurozone as a whole, a spotlight has been shone on techniques used by Greece and other indebted countries to give the appearance of lower budget deficits and debt levels. The euro membership rules place strict caps on the size of government deficits relative to a national economy, but Goldman Sachs and other banks helped Greece raise cash earlier in the decade in ways that did not appear in the official statistics. With the current recession causing even official budget deficits to balloon all across the continent, fears of further hidden liabilities have been contributing to the crisis of confidence in Greek debt and pulling down the value of the euro. Goldman Sachs has been the most important of more than a dozen banks used by the Greek government to manage its national debt using derivatives.
Greek Hospital Workers Understand the Core of the Debt Problem Written by Mira Tekelova on . The debts are created by bankers who create money out of thin air and collect interest, just because our governments gave them the right to do so. The health workers who have occupied a hospital in Greece and placed it under workers control have issued following statement regarding the occupation: Hello all, Thank you so much for your interest and support. The occupation of our hospital in Kilkis by its workers started on Monday, February 20th, 8:30 local time.