Economics and Law


Niall Ferguson on the National Debt

  Niall Ferguson: The Shutdown Is a Sideshow. Debt Is the Threat   In the words of a veteran investor, watching the U.S. bond market today is like sitting in a packed theater and smelling smoke. You look around for signs of other nervous sniffers. But everyone else seems oblivious. Yes, the federal government shut down this week. Yes, we are just two weeks away from the point […]


Financial Reform Newsletter – October 2, 2015

October 2, 2015 If you loved bailing out AIG ($182 billion plus) and so many other reckless financial firms in 2008, then root for MetLife to win its lawsuit against the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s designation of it as systemically significant: October 1st marked the fifth anniversary of the first meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), the country’s only early warning systemfor systemic threats posed to […]


The End of Our Financial Illusions By SIMON JOHNSON APRIL 17, 2014

Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is the Ronald A. Kurtz professor of entrepreneurship at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and co-author of “White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You.” The global financial crisis that broke out following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 was a big shock. This is literally true in […]


Bernanke: Wall St execs should have gone to jail for crisis

Monday October 05, 2015 09:47 WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says some Wall Street executives should have gone to jail for their roles in the financial crisis that gripped the country in 2008 and triggered the Great Recession. Billions of dollars in fines have been levied against major banks and brokerage firms in the wake of the economic meltdown that was in large part […]


Volkswagen’s Diesel Deception

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Are Affected in Diesel Deception By JACK EWING  ,   SEPT. 22, 2015 FRANKFURT — The scope of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal broadened on Tuesday, when the company said that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with the same software that was used to cheat on emissions tests in the United States. The German automaker said it was […]


French Court confirms Monsanto Guilty of Chemical Poisoning

September 10, 2015 12:09 PM  . View photo French cereal farmer Paul Francois leaves Lyon courthouse December 12, 2011. REUTERS/Robert Pratta LYON/PARIS, France (Reuters) – A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso weedkiller. The decision by an appeal court in […]


The Battle for Labeling Genetically Modified Foods

Politics | Tue Sep 8, 2015 4:18pm EDT Related: POLITICS, HEALTH Battle lines drawn as legislative fight over labeling looms BY CAREY GILLAM    Combatants in a national food fight over labeling genetically modified products are gearing up for a showdown in the U.S. Senate, campaign leaders said on Tuesday. The tactics range from old-fashioned lobbying to modern social media campaigns, and both sides say it is too […]


Financial Crisis of 2008

For the single best analysis of the Financial Crisis of 2008, please click on this PDF Link.  Article written by The Consumer Education Foundation and Wall Street Watch.org. Wall Street Watch Sold Out. Long Version  pdf The Financial Crisis of 2008 is a striking example of the breakdown of the Rule of Law in the business and economic sphere, where the regulators are controlled by those they are […]