24th June 2010
The Terminator Comes to Wall Street
“How computer modeling worsened the financial crisis and what we ought to do about it.
23rd June 2010
The Quiet Coup
“The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former 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.
18th May 2010
When Washington Took On Wall Street
“Nearly 80 years ago, on Capitol Hill, Ferdinand Pecora forced J. P. Morgan Jr. and other “banksters” to reveal the corruption that had fueled the Great Depression—bringing shame on the financial industry and resulting in new laws to curb abuses. Today, with Republicans having threatened to block reform and Goldman Sachs fighting fraud charges, the author looks back at the Pecora Commission hearings, which riveted America, and asks why there is no comparable investigation now.
14th May 2010
The New Sheriffs of Wall Street
“A few weeks back, at an event to celebrate the role of women in finance, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tried to get things started with a joke. He said he had recently come across a headline that asked, “What If Women Ran Wall Street?”
17th May 2009
Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities
“On Sept. 20, 2000, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled its case against a 15-year-old high-school student named Jonathan Lebed. The S.E.C.’s news release explained that Jonathan — the first minor ever to face proceedings for stock-market fraud — had used the Internet to promote stocks from his bedroom in the northern New Jersey suburb of Cedar Grove. Armed only with accounts at A.O.L. and E*Trade, the kid had bought stock and then, ”using multiple fictitious names,” posted hundreds of messages on Yahoo Finance message boards recommending that stock to others.
