By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: September 6, 2017 Hillary Clinton’s Excuses Tour continues in the form of her new book, What Happened, set for release on September 12. Enough photos of pages with text from the book have been leaked by media outlets to get a reliable feel for what Hillary hopes to accomplish with her latest tome. For starters, Hillary portrays herself as the mature politician who understands what can and cannot be accomplished in Washington while Senator Bernie Sanders (the wildly popular candidate who opposed her in the primary race; has survived for a quarter of a century in Congress without a scandal; and was secretly targeted for defeat by the Democratic National Committee) was irrationally promising ponies to get votes. Hillary provides a passage for how this pony-promising-strategy by Sanders derailed her message: Bernie: I think America should get a pony. Hillary: How will you pay … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: September 5, 2017 As if someone had quietly turned on a light bulb last month illuminating the corporate takeover of America, a series of articles from multiple outlets chronicled the demise of American democracy under the jackboot of the corporate state. David Dayen at the New Republic wrote: “Far from selfless arbiters of right and wrong, CEOs are as responsible as anyone in America for skyrocketing inequality, climate crisis, waves of consumer fraud, and the biggest financial meltdown since the Depression. Condemning the unpopular views of an unpopular president whom they see as an inferior businessman is no sacrifice, especially when they are simultaneously plotting with administration officials to win as many perks as possible. CEOs aren’t ‘finding their voice’; they’re finding a way to control government like a marionette, while hiding the strings.” Last week, Don Kopf, writing for Quartz, provided more clarity. … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 31, 2017 Ayn Rand made her mark by writing and lecturing on a philosophy called Objectivism. It’s a philosophy that flips upside down everything that most Americans hold dear. Under Objectivism, greed is good, selfishness is noble, helping one’s fellow human beings is for suckers and an outright evil. The philosophy also holds that big government is bad and obscenely rich corporate titans are the real heroes of society. (See related articles below.) The Koch brothers’ network of billionaires has been financing the proliferation of Rand’s books into high schools and colleges for decades. Trump is the personification of the Ayn Rand creed and his elevation from reality TV host to the Oval Office is valid proof that the Kochs and their ilk have spent their money wisely. Trump’s gilded mansions and lifestyle are also mother’s milk to the one percenters he has … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 30, 2017 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal agency created after the 2008 financial crash to protect consumers from predator banks, has issued a warning on what smells like the latest financial blood sport: bank employees selling reverse mortgages to seniors under the guise that it will allow them to reap a larger Social Security benefit down the road by delaying Social Security payments to a later age. Reading through the CFPB report that accompanied the warning, it reminded us of how the tobacco industry had secretly targeted young people as “replacement smokers” while intentionally hiding the deadly effects of smoking from the public. The CFPB report advises that “nearly five million homeowners will turn age 62 by 2020.” That’s the earliest age at which one can collect Social Security retirement benefits as well as the earliest age to apply for … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 29, 2017 According to insurance experts, approximately 80 percent of the homeowners impacted by flooding in Houston may not have flood insurance policies on their home. That’s because much of Houston falls outside of designated Special Flood Hazard Zones where mortgage holders are required to maintain flood insurance policies. Hoping to relieve some of the panic by homeowners rescued from water-logged homes in Texas who have no idea when they may be able to return to their home or where the money will come from to restore the home to livability, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a fact sheet on what types of disaster assistance it can make directly to individuals along with specifics on how to apply. The fact sheet makes clear that not all individuals are being guaranteed each form of assistance. It notes that the assistance “can … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 28, 2017 When Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, Texas briefed reporters yesterday evening, it was clear that Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States with 2.3 million residents, was in deep trouble. The Mayor appeared calm but the numbers he presented evoked images of a nightmare unfolding in a city vastly understaffed for an epic flood disaster. With highways and residential streets experiencing unprecedented flooding, people were trapped in cars, on rooftops and in homes across the city. The mayor said there had been 6,000 calls for rescues but only more than 1,000 people thus far rescued. With much of the city impassable, flood waters rising fast and the Army Corps of Engineers releasing more water from reservoirs to prevent dams from failing, these were the rescue assets that the Mayor listed: 35 boats making rescues, 22 airplanes looking for people … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 25, 2017 The Swiss central bank may be part of a modern age Tulip Bubble. Since June 30 of last year, Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank, has increased its stock holdings of five U.S. social media/tech stocks from $5.3 billion to $9.38 billion, an increase of 77 percent in 12 months. The stocks are Apple, Alphabet (parent to Google), Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook. The stock information comes from a 13F filing the Swiss National Bank made this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a quarterly form required of institutional investment managers who manage $100 million or more. According to the SEC form, the Swiss central bank owns the following positions as of June 30, 2017: $2.76 billion in Apple common stock; over $2 billion in two classes of Alphabet stock; $1.864 billion in Microsoft common; $1.434 billion in … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 24, 2017 According to recent studies, U.S. corporations’ debt levels could pose some serious headwinds for the United States’ economy in the next major downturn. In April, the International Monetary Fund announced the following red flags: The U.S. corporate sector has added $7.8 trillion in debt and other liabilities since 2010; Among S&P 500 firms, median net debt “is close to a historic high of more than 1 ½ times earnings”; Looking at a “broader set of nearly 4,000 firms accounting for about half of the economy-wide corporate sector balance sheet, suggests a similar rise in leverage across almost all sectors to levels exceeding those prevailing just before the global financial crisis”; Debt is especially high “in the energy, real estate, and utilities sectors, ranging between four and six times earnings”; “The average interest coverage ratio — a measure of the ability for … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 23, 2017 In 1996 the U.S. had 845 Initial Public Offerings. Last year, after twenty passing years of research and budding new technologies should have fueled growth in the IPO market, the U.S. had a paltry 98 IPOs. According to a study by the law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, gross proceeds from IPOs in 2016 were $18.54 billion while the “average annual gross proceeds for the 12-year period preceding 2016 were $35.73 billion — 93 percent higher than the corresponding figure for 2016.” Not only has the U.S. seriously lost ground in IPOs but the total number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. is down by almost half in the same 20 year span. Last September, Jim Clifton, the Chairman and CEO of Gallup, the polling company, explained why he thinks this is happening. Clifton wrote: “The number of publicly … Continue reading →

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 22, 2017 As summer draws to a close and the Wall Street titans enjoy the last of their lazy long weekends in the Hamptons, summering next door to the army of lawyers that keep them out of jail, it’s a curious time to be reading about a major new lawsuit that has the potential to shake Wall Streeters right down to their Gucci loafers. The charges include conspiracy to restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Act and unjust enrichment in a $1.7 trillion market. Since the Senate hearings of the early 1930s, which examined the Wall Street practices and conspiracies that led to the 1929-1932 stock market collapse and Great Depression, there have been rumblings that Wall Street’s system for lending stock for traders to short is a viper’s nest of ripoffs. Now two major law firms, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan … Continue reading →