Once again the U.S. Treasury and President Obama have refused to label China a currency manipulator, this time by delaying their report on exchange rates until after the election. The excuses abound, with the claim the Treasury Department must assess progress via a G-20 meeting, scheduled conveniently in November, to oh gee, the administration doesn't want to start a trade war.
The FHFA just pooped on half a million Americans and denied those underwater on their mortgage to obtain partial debt forgiveness. Millions of American homeowners holding out hope are outraged. Acting FHFA director Ed DeMarco:
Today, I provided a response to numerous congressional inquiries as to whether the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) would direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement the Home Affordable Modification Program Principal Reduction Alternative (HAMP PRA). After extensive analysis of the revised HAMP PRA, including the determination by the Treasury Department to begin using Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) monies to make incentive payments to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHFA has concluded that the anticipated benefits do not outweigh the costs and risks.
Given our multiple responsibilities to conserve the assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, maximize assistance to homeowners to avoid foreclosures, and minimize the expense of such assistance to taxpayers, FHFA concluded that HAMP PRA did not clearly improve foreclosure avoidance while reducing costs to taxpayers relative to the approaches in place today.
Banks running amok. Banks losing billions. Banks busted for fraud that went on for over 20 years. Banks overcharging customers. The hits just keep on coming. One would think, at this point, the business suit would be more a symbol of jailbirds than a uniform of respectability. Yet on and on it goes and with that we overview the latest adventures in Mafia style Banksterdom.
The headlines blare JPMorgan Chase Revives Markets when they announced a $5.8 billion dollar loss on their derivatives trades.
The largest U.S. bank tried to demonstrate Friday that the worst of the problem was in the rear-view mirror, reporting a $4.96 billion profit for the second quarter, down 8.7% from a year ago.
That's almost three times larger than the originally reported $2 billion loss and that loss could climb to $7.5 billion. What does Wall Street do with this news, why reward the bank of course!
Meanwhile new investigations against JPMorgan Chase are popping up with the bank refusing to release emails about manipulating the electricity market.
Today our statistic is from Mitt Romney. Team Romney claims women have lost 92.3% of the jobs since Obama took office. U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner, acting as political pundit, calls Romney's new favorite statistic ridiculous.
First off Romney is right. Since Obama took office in January 2009, the below graph shows the total job losses by women as a percentage of the total job losses. As of March 2012, it is 92.3%.
Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly finds that made our eyes pop. While you're watching the game, or avoiding the game, below are some choice selections for your catch on the receiving end.
Well, in response to the demand the G-20 confront currency re-evaulation, the G-20 gave China and Brazil more power.
More than 6 percent of IMF voting rights will be reallocated to countries such as China, while Europe will give up two board seats, G-20 finance ministers said yesterday after meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea. They also assigned the Washington-based fund a role in monitoring global trade imbalances and exchange rates.
Great, the biggest currency manipulator now has more power in the IMF, plus one of the biggest offshore outsourcing destination countries now have board seats.
After the changes take effect, the fund’s 10 biggest shareholders will comprise the U.S., Japan, four major European economies and Brazil, Russia, India and China. The IMF will have 24 board seats.
From International Business Times, that ain't too swank, it implies the Asian countries, particularly China, India, can act as a block, in unison.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner proposed a new trade plan to the G-20 meeting. The idea is to limit national current account balances to a hard cap of 4% annual domestic GDP.
The White House snatched back one of the few bones it's thrown to the people outraged at the looting of the United States Treasury by failed financial concerns - the big banks and Wall Street. The promised appointment Elizabeth Warren as head of the new agency to protect consumers from the financial services industry has been seriously downgraded. Instead of running the Consumer Finance Protection Agency, Warren's role has been diminished to that of special assistant to the president and adviser to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
"President Obama, sidestepping a possibly heated confirmation battle, will appoint Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren as a special advisor to the Treasury Department to launch the government's powerful new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to two Democratic officials familiar with the decision." LA Times, Sept 15
William Black, former S&L crisis regulator, is referencing the Flim-Flam man, never ending scam, coming out over the Financial collapse. The entire financial meltdown didn't need to happen if our government and regulators and especially the Federal Reserve had been doing their jobs. He calls the SEC criminally negligent. The below video clip is from the Lehman Brothers hearing in the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. The hearing is specifically the Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. bankruptcy examiner's report.
Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly under the radar finds that made our eyes pop. 
The 
Banks running amok. Banks losing billions. Banks busted for fraud that went on for over 20 years. Banks overcharging customers. The hits just keep on coming. One would think, at this point, the business suit would be more a symbol of jailbirds than a uniform of respectability. Yet on and on it goes and with that we overview the latest adventures in Mafia style Banksterdom. 
Earlier we noted 
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