[Daily Beast] At the shareholders meeting there was no mention of the details behind the “mistake” that cost the bank $2 billion, just that it “should never have happened.” (The Titanic shouldn’t have sunk either.) Most shareholders had already voted before the loss became public anyway. Ultimately, 91 percent of them approved Dimon’s pay, and 60 percent voted for him to retain both executive positions. This makes the timing of the loss announcement, if not suspicious, then, self-serving—or self-inflicted.

Wall Street needs to be dismantled. 

[NYT] Two years later, despite a challenging fund-raising climate for private equity, Solamere, named after a wealthy enclave in Utah’s Deer Valley where the Romneys have a winter home, finished raising its first fund. The firm blew past its $200 million goal, securing $244 million from 64 investors, including a critical, early $10 million from Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, and hefty commitments from wealthy supporters of the campaign.

Tagg Romney stated that "No one we went to as an investor said, ‘Oh, your dad is Mitt Romney, I’m going to give you $10 million." 

His father gave him $10 million. And 64 people gave a complete novice tens and tens of millions of dollars to invest on their behalfs. 

People who argue that many successful, wealthy individuals made their fortunes by virtue of their own hard work, rarely ever mention the incredible benefits that privilege guarantees: Connections. This convenient truth is swept under the rug because it hints at cheating. And that's exactly what it is. 

Mitt Romney wouldn't be Mitt Romney if not for his father. Tagg Romney sure as hell wouldn't have been able to raise over $200 million in investments if his name was Bob Smith son of a plumber. 

There are the rare individuals who were able to amass stupendous fortunes without the benefit of inheritances or familial connections. But there are far more plutocrats for whom the moniker "silver spoon" fits like a tattoo and the Romney's are case study number one. 

I'd recommend reading the rest of the article because the authors go into great detail about the sleazy connections and conflicts of interest between the Romney campaign and Solamere Capitol.

Read the article >>

[AP] JPMorgan Chase faced intense criticism Friday for claiming that a surprise $2 billion loss by one of its trading groups was the result of a sloppy but well-intentioned strategy to manage financial risk.

[AP] But Dimon's contention that the $2 billion loss came from a hedging strategy that backfired, not an opportunistic bet with the bank's own money, faced doubt on Friday, if not outright ridicule.

Do you beleive that Jamie Dimon has good intentions?

[WAPO] The IRS received 2.2 million fraudulent tax returns in 2011 and found that 940,000 of the returns, with $6.5 billion in associated fraudulent refunds, involved identity theft, according to J. Russell George, head of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Georgetold lawmakers that the IRS cannot definitively say how many identity thieves are filing fraudulent returns on an annual basis.

What is the problem? One of the primary factors increasing the likelihood that fraudulent claims will go undiscovered is budget cuts that have erased the jobs of 5,000 tax processors within the IRS. 

Thanks Republicans! 

[WAPO] The list of those facing federal bribery inquiries stretches well beyond 100 and includes prominent names such as Pfizer, 3M, Goldman Sachs and Alcoa. Even icons of corporate responsibility such as General Electric and IBM have paid hefty sums to settle allegations, part of a broader effort that has netted the government billions in fines in recent years and landed some executives in prison.

Corporate America has mounted a well-funded lobbying campaign in recent years to persuade Congress to make changes to the law, known as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977. That effort now appears stalled amid the outcry over allegations thatWal-Mart engaged in rampant bribery of officials in Mexico.

There are two very intersting points raised by this article:

1. Corporate America is spending tens of millions to defend against charges of bribery
2. Corprate America is spending hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying Congress to overturn or loosen the restrictions governing bribery

At some level, bribery is considered "legal" and "ethical" and "standard practice" in business.

What the fuck does this tell you about corporate America and free enterprise? 

[Zillow] The “American Idol” host and television producer first listed the home in 2010 for $14.95 million. When it did not sell, Seacrest took it off the market for a year before relisting it recently for $11.985 million.

Meh. I'm just irritated that he'll be providing color commentary for the Summer Olympics. Bob Costas is bad enough. 

[New York Post] Ryboloviev bought the 15 Central Park West apartment of former Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill for an astounding $88 million, the highest price ever paid for a residential property in New York City.

You may remember this story: This is the apartment that he supposedly purchased for his daughter Ekaterina to live in while she attends school in New York.

Turn out he's been on a bit of a spending spree in an attempt to hide as much of his wealth as possible in order to prevent his wife from taking half of his estimated $9 billion fortune. 

[Raw Story] A 25-year-old Belgian sex worker has accused former French finance minister and head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn of gang rape, saying that he and three other men forcibly restrained and sodomized her in a room at Washington, DC’s tony W hotel. U.K. news daily The Telegraph reports that the alleged incident took place in December of 2010.

[Yahoo] According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, Mayweather is guaranteed $32 million for Saturday's (May 5th, 2012) match for the World Boxing Association super welterweight championship being held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the largest guarantee for a boxer in history.

Mayweather will also take home a hefty share of the pay-per-view profits which means his actual take home payment will be significantly more, perhaps three times more.

It doesn't matter that Ann Romney spends more on a single blouse than most people take home in their paycheck per week. It doesn't matter that Mitt's suit or Barack's suit probably cost more than three times that amount. Rich people will always spend their money on things that make them look rich. And I don't give two shits about Michelle's shoes. 

I don't care that Michelle Obama buys an expensive gown now and again. Barbara Bush spent money on expensive gowns when she was first lady and you can rest assured that Ann Romney would spend a small fortune to look good for visiting dignitaries as well. I also don't care that Michelle Obama spends lots of money at JCrew. To the best of my knowledge, JCrew doesn't have a single item that costs $1000. 

What makes this galling are the lies and obfuscation surrounding why Ann Romney spends so much money on expensive designer clothing. Instead of just saying, "I can afford to buy expensive things", Mrs. Romney deflects attention from her obscene wealth by telling people that "I just bought it off the rack". As if the words, "I just bought it off the rack" instantly lowers the perceived "cost" of the item to an intellectually manageable sales price for an easily confused voting public. Because everyone knows that the "rack" in a clothing store isn't partial to the wealth of the buyer ... Never mind that the "rack" at Bergdorf's doesn't cater to your kind.