Mock, Paper, Scissors

No’bama’s nomination of Mary Jo White to lead the SEC (head banking regulator) was just approved by the GOP-dominated Senate Banking Committee 20-1; no filibuster, no snide remarks. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was the only member to object. Her nomination now goes to the full senate.

Meanwhile, Richard Cordray’s nomination to continue as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains in limbo.

It’s an ATM receipt from a bar in Puerto Rico:

An ATM at a bar called El Ocho de Blanco in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan returned a receipt with the message “we hate fags” written in English at the bottom, sparking an uproar among the island’s LGBT community this week, as a picture of the receipt burned through social media and the blogosphere.

And of course, now the ATM company is claiming that they were hacked, which, you know, makes one feel really great about ATM security.

(HuffPo)

…takes some time out from his busy day of defending the President’s ability to drone kill us all, to say that banks that are too big to fail are too big to prosecute, too:

Criminal charges against a bank — something that could threaten its existence — may also endanger the national or global economies in the case of the largest ones, because of their size and interconnectedness. That has “made it difficult for us to prosecute” some of those institutions, Holder said today at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

“That is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large,” Holder told lawmakers. “It has an inhibiting impact on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate.”

Can someone please, Please, PLEASE hold a mirror up under his nose to see if he is breathing? Sweet Jeebus, what does it take to get him to prosecute?

(Bloomberg)

(Hat tip: Scissorhead Lambchop)

Hostess Brands Inc., makers of the ubiquitous Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business. The management claims it is because the associated workers’ unions would not accept a pay cut, and not enough scabs crossed the picket lines to keep production going:

Hostess Brands Inc. had earlier warned employees that it would file to unwind its business and sell off assets if plant operations didn’t return to normal levels by 5 p.m. Thursday. In announcing its decision, Hostess said its wind down would mean the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores in the United States.

The Irving, Texas-based company had already reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But thousands of members in its second-biggest union went on strike late last week after rejecting in September a contract offer that cut wages and benefits. Officials for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union say the company stopped contributing to workers’ pensions last year.

He denied that the decision to shut down could be a last ditch negotiation tactic to get the union back to the table.

[CEO Greg] Rayburn, who first joined Hostess earlier this year as a restructuring expert, had earlier said that many workers crossed picket lines this week to go back to work despite warnings by union leadership that they’d be fined.

“The problem is we don’t have enough crossing those lines to maintain normal production,” Rayburn told Fox Business.

And that last paragraph is the tell.

What’s interesting in the article is that it barely mentions any other factors that might be involved, like price increases of ingredients or that the demand for these “treats” has dropped in what is a highly competitive market segment.

Which is cold comfort to all those people who are losing their jobs. We are sure Rayburn will be feted as a principled Job Creator and move onto another gig.

Update 1: Gawker notes that: Out of 18,500 individuals employed by Hostess, only 5,000 belong to the bakers’ union. The strikes began on Nov. 9, when the company imposed a contract that would cut workers’ wages by 8 percent. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) said the contract would also cut benefits by 27 to 32 percent.

Update 2: Fortune has an article from August that is interesting; essentially Hostess got “Bained”:

“… Within a month of taking over, Rayburn had to preside over a public-relations fiasco. Some unsecured creditors had informed the court that last summer — as the company was crumbling — four top Hostess executives received raises of up to 80%. (Driscoll had also received a pay raise back then.) The Teamsters saw this as more management shenanigans. “Looting” is how Hall described it in TV interviews.

Rayburn announced that the pay of the four top executives would go down to $1 for the year, but that their full salaries would be reinstated no later than Jan. 1 (2012). Hostess pays Rayburn $125,000 a month, according to court filings. At the same time Rayburn became CEO, Gephardt’s son Matthew, 41, the COO of the Gephardt Group, was put on the Hostess board as a $100,000-a-year independent director.

[snip]

What the hedge funds want is some degree of capitulation from a union whose members will otherwise lose thousands of jobs in liquidation. If the hedge funds don’t get it, they’ve concluded, the company isn’t worth saving.”

(NBC)

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, said Friday they won’t make home loans much cheaper for consumers, even as they reported booming profits from that business.

Those bottom lines have been padded by federal initiatives to stimulate the economy. The Federal Reserve is spending $40 billion a month to reduce mortgage rates to encourage Americans to buy homes. Instead, its policies may be generating more benefits for banks than borrowers.

“The government can’t force banks to give out loans at lower rates any more than they can force Macy’s to sell me sheets for a dollar,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner at consulting firm Federal Financial Analytics.

Then change the Federal Reserve Policy, Ben. If the banks are not doing what you wanted, and you have no mechanism to require that they do, then stop spending $40 Billion a month on it.

(WaPo)

OK, I lied:

Comment Cat is not amused.

…Willard wants to export our vulture capitalism to the rest of the world:

“The aim of a much larger share of our aid must be the promotion of work and the fostering of free enterprise,” said Romney. “Nothing we can do as a nation will change lives more effectively and permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of America’s own economy – and that is, that free people perusing happiness in their own ways build a strong and prosperous nation.”

Romney said that freedom and free markets is not perfect, but it is more reliable and more successful. He said he wants to negotiate new partnerships and create what he will call the Reagan Economic Zone – a new free trade zone. “We’re going to couple aid with trade and private investments,” said Romney.

–His Willardness, talking at something humorously known as CGI, the Clinton Global Initiative. And it is only fair to note that Clinton signed every Free Trade Agreement that came to him and exported our jobs in the process.

Shorter Willard: “Screw Democracy, show me the cheddar!”

In a nutshell, Willard’s Reagan Economic Zone is the World Trade Organization without what few pesky regulations inhibit it from complete Corporate Rule of the entire planet. He’s been selling this snake oil since at least September of 2011, which means he’s held it as a policy position for an amazingly long time. For Willard.

But on a bright note, Willard can now join the club that names something after Saint Ronnie, so he’s completed a checklist item to win the preznincy.

(Mediaite)

Charles Schumer

Yeah, I know.

It’s uglier than we thought:

“We got the pre-spun job quantity data already, where we learned that nearly 3 times the headline print was due to seasonal and B/D adjustments and is thus nothing but noise. Now we get the quality. As can be seen below, courtesy of Table A9 from the Household Survey, in July the number of part-time jobs added was 31K, bringing the total to 27,925, just shy of the all time record of 28,038. Full time jobs? Down 228,000 to 114,345, lower than the February full-time jobs print of 114,408. Once again, more and more Americans are relinquishing any and all benefits associated with Full Time Jobs benefits, and instead are agreeing on a job. Any job. Even if it means working just 1 hour a week. For the BLS it doesn’t matter – 1 hour of work a week still qualifies you as a Part-Time worker.”

“Once again, more and more Americans are relinquishing any and all benefits associated with Full Time Jobs benefits, and instead are agreeing on a job. Any job. Even if it means working just 1 hour a week. For the BLS it doesn’t matter – 1 hour of work a week still qualifies you as a Part-Time worker.”

This has been the thing sticking in my mind. I’ve written before about seeing a former colleague of mine (a gifted engineer) working as a sales guy at Best Buy selling flat screen teevees instead of designing them.

I get it. There is a point where putting food on the table outweighs all other concerns, and so why not accept that Sales Associate job at the big box store, who will give you just enough hours to not qualify for benefits? Complain? Hey, there’s a line out the door waiting for your spot.

It isn’t just that this is the new normal, it is that you can make the argument that this is the policy of the United States. This is the desired outcome from our elected officials and their paymasters when they design legislation.

But here’s the thing that really worries me: the rising middle class in Asia is a market of 3.5 Billion people; our declining middle class in the US is 350 Million. So who do you think is going to buy more stuff? Where do you think that the market is?

Our multi-national corporations have gamed this system; it is not just that the cost of production is lower “over there” (wherever the there is), but it is also where they want to sell stuff. The various Free Trade Agreements have made this possible, and there are more in the works.

Generally, I am of the opinion that legislation can be undone; globalization is not a law of nature like gravity. But I’m guessing that even if NAFTA, CAFTA, and all the other X-AFTAs were repealed (and that’s not going to happen), these companies have moved on. Those jobs are not coming back; we’ve already gone past the tipping point.

(Zero Hedge)

Remember that time when the financial industry wanted all that government money but didn’t want any outsiders performing stress tests? Me neither! Anyway, if the current LIBOR talk has you confused, here’s a helpful inforgraphic to explain it all. (Spoiler Alert: You lose.)

Senators Fawn Over JPMorgan CEO After Massive Trading Debacle

It was too easy to predict. Sigh.

1 in 2 new graduates are jobless or underemployed

My very bright niece graduated from one of the name-brand UCs with a 4.35 average as the Great Recession started and was lucky enough to end up after a year with a cocktail waitressing job in a depressing strip mall somewhere in suburbia; she got the job because she is pretty. She saved up enough money (and was smart enough) two years later to get a fully-paid scholarship at a very good law school, where she is soon to graduate. As the world needs another lawyer so desperately, I’m sure she’s looking at another McJob to hold her over when she graduates. I think it is probably safe to say that her hard work is not going to pay off. And that’s a crying shame.

I’m really worried that we have a new Lost Generation. These bright young people are in debt up to their eyebrows and there are no jobs waiting for them upon graduation. Now imagine when they have kids, do you think that they will encourage them to go on to college? I’m not sure that I would at this point.

It’s not that the point of college is to assure anyone of a job, I don’t think that was ever true. But there was always a sense that if you showed you had the discipline to make it through the system that you at least moved ahead in the line; employers felt secure that you were at least trainable. I don’t think employers see their workers as an asset any more, as they work to tear-down minimum wage and workers rights.

I’m not sure what the future holds, but I keep returning to a line in one of Elton John’s songs–Opportunity awaits me like a rat in a drain. I wonder when the oppressed and depressed 99% have had enough, will the 1% even see it coming? Historians say that the French Aristocracy had no idea that anything was up when The Terror started.

Nothing sinister here when $700M goes missing from ex-Goldman Sachs and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine’s brokerage firm.

It’s probably on the same pallet of billions of dollars that disappeared in Iraq that no one’s been able to find.

(TPM)

Eric Cantor has raised $6.5 Million for his campaign so far this year. From Wall Street. Say, didn’t he cancel a speech recently because the 99% could theoretically attend?

“I’d like a receipt, please,” J. Wothington FatCat requested. “I want to deduct owning you from my taxes, you know, as a business expense!”

(Roll Call)

Wall Street Isn’t Winning – It’s Cheating

This is a great piece. Read it. He demolishes the frequently-heard statement on OWS that the protesters are consumed with envy and jealousy.

(Rolling Stone)

…but thankfully, Lemony Snicket is on the case.

Best quotes:

5. There may not be a reason to share your cake. It is, after all, yours. You probably baked it yourself, in an oven of your own construction with ingredients you harvested yourself. It may be possible to keep your entire cake while explaining to any nearby hungry people just how reasonable you are.

…and:

6. Nobody wants to fall into a safety net, because it means the structure in which they’ve been living is in a state of collapse and they have no choice but to tumble downwards. However, it beats the alternative.

…and:

11. Historically, a story about people inside impressive buildings ignoring or even taunting people standing outside shouting at them turns out to be a story with an unhappy ending.

…but really, the whole thing is worth reading.

(Occupy Writers)

The speech will zero in on how Washington could help a “a single working mom…a small business owner…and how we make sure the people at the top stay there,” the aide said.

–Eric Cantor’s Spox describing his speech to the Wharton School of Bidness

(Politico)

…you might enjoy Occupy the Boardroom.

They’ll help you find a pen pal with the Board of Directors of the big banks. Heh.

Political Wire

No, it is not pictures of young Mitt Romney taking bribes silly (Maybe? Yes.), it’s from his Bain Capital days so it is probably pictures of Willard offering bribes, you know, to break up US companies and off-shore the jobs, for capitalism and Mormon Jeebus.

[The unnamed source, a "longtime money manager"] added that he was disappointed that members of Congress from New York, especially Senator Charles E. Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, had not come out swinging for an industry that donates heavily to their campaigns. “They need to understand who their constituency is,” he said.

My guess is that the Senators are well aware, and the protesters show that they know, too.

(NYTimes)

…Trading Places was a movie…

…but then I read this post at Wonkette.

OK, the shorter version. Some Wall Street Dude gives a panhandler a buck, and the panhandler reads him the riot act. The Wall Street Dude is offended that the bum is not grateful for his largess.

Of course, the original article is from The Wall Street Journal, and like all journal puff pieces, our generous hero is required to say essentially, but I’m a good guy Here’s how our Wall Street Dude says this:

An isolated incident on 55th Street? Perhaps. But in a sample of more than a dozen people I know who have collectively given money to panhandlers well over 1,000 times in New York during the past few decades, not one could recall ever being turned down, much less having their money tossed away as insufficient. The rhetoric of class warfare has now invaded spontaneous charity.

So let me get this straight, you Master of the Universe: Over several decades you and a dozen of your pals may have given $1,000 to the down-trodden bums, hobos, and pan handlers while walking back from closing million dollar deals and you feel unappreciated for your $1 generosity. And because of this, you are the victims of class warfare? From Obama?

Thanks for the finger fuck, Superman.

(Wonkette)

Scissorheads -

Please to so our good friend and allie MonkeyFister’s place and get your own copy of the highly confidential and damning 2006 report from Citi Bank that details how the bankers knew that income inequality was on the way and how they could exploit it. It might not be available for long, so it is our duty to get this into as many hands as we can before Citi’s lawyers realize what has been leaked.

Here’s the executve summary from one of the documents:

The latest Survey of Consumer Finances, for 2004, has been released by the Federal Reserve. It shows the rich continue to account for a disproportionately large share of income and wealth in the US economy: the richest 10% of Americans account for 43% of income, and 57% of net worth. The net worth to income ratio for the richest 10% of Americans increased from 7.4x in 2001, to 8.4x in the 2004 survey. The rich are in great shape, financially.

We think this income and wealth inequality (plutonomy) helps explain many of the conundrums that vex equity investors, such as why high oil prices haven’t seriously dented growth, or why “global imbalances” are growing along with the equity bull market. Implication 1: Worry less about these conundrums.
We think the rich are likely to get even wealthier in the coming years.

Implication 2: we like companies that sell to or service the rich – luxury goods, private banks etc. Favored names include LVMH and Richemont.

Think Progress

Leave it to Chicago to fight back against the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

(Think Progress)

…is proof that Eric Holder is actually alive.

I’ve been reading a lot of pundits who keep saying that the protest is unfocused and no one knows what “they” want.

I think what they want is pretty simple: use the laws on the books and prosecute the Wall Street Banksters. I think we are all looking for some economic justice.

GoComics

This was the editorial page cartoon this morning; ironic because they still are not covering Occupy Wall Street (until deep inside the paper, but only mentioning arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge).

I should have known that Matt and Keith would be on it.

Oh, and they do make a point at the end that there are some Teabaggers participating. There is clearly broad, political support for this movement.

AP

…occupied the Brooklyn Bridge, and 700 were arrested. This movement has legs, so to speak.

Oh, and still not a word about it in The MSM. Maybe Mooselini is correct to call it the Lamestream Media.

Reuters – Occupy Wall Street protests are much bigger than you think.

…Bankruptcy.

College graduates are the fastest-growing group of consumers who have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past five years, according to a new study by a financial nonprofit, which underscores the broad reach of the Great Recession.

We’re screwed.

(WaPo)