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Ballads of Bernie Madoff, Ben Bernanke and February
February 27, 2009 @ 07:32 AM | By Penny Crosman

The Madoff scandal, Washington's efforts to fix the economy, and even the waning month of February have been a musical inspiration to some talented YouTubers.

Ballad of Bernie Madoff

Madoff plays the banjo and sings a catchy jingle about himself, in the style of a Free Credit Report.com commercial.

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Did One Math Formula Cause The Financial Crisis?
February 25, 2009 @ 03:08 PM | By Melanie Rodier

When math wizard David X. Li invented a formula to price collateral debt obligations, many on Wall Street adopted it. But now this formula is being blamed for the collapse of the financial sector. In this MarketPlace interview, Kai Ryssdal discusses the formula with Felix Salmon, who wrote about it in Wired magazine.

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TGIF: Credit Crunch Cereal; New Surprises on the Madoff Victim List
February 20, 2009 @ 07:14 AM | By Penny Crosman

A breakfast cereal to beat the recession blues; new victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme come to light; alternative uses for cell phones.

Credit Crunch Cereal

To start your day off right with the crunchy goodness of Credit Crunch cereal.

Try This Brand New Depression Era Cereal! - watch more funny videos

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25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis
February 13, 2009 @ 08:20 AM | By Greg MacSweeney

There is plenty of blame to go around in the current economy. Congress, Wall Street, regulators, homeowners, CEOs, and the list goes on. But make no mistake, fairness and blame do not go hand in hand. Time Magazine has just published a list of the top 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis. While the list is fairly accurate, don’t expect similar lists, raving commentaries or funny Saturday Night Live skits at the expense of Wall Street to go away any time soon.

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What Ken Lewis Really Should Have Told Congress
February 12, 2009 @ 04:12 PM | By Melanie Rodier

Ken Lewis, chief executive of Bank of America, along with 7 other leaders of top financial firms, faced a grilling by Congress on Wednesday.

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UK Bankers Apologize, U.S. Bankers Are Contrite
February 11, 2009 @ 04:46 PM | By Melanie Rodier

Top U.S. bankers faced a grilling Wednesday by Congress over their use of the government's financial bailout.

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Wall Street’s Other P.R. Problem
February 09, 2009 @ 11:56 AM | By Penny Crosman

Besides the glaringly obvious public relations problems Wall Street faces – huge losses from subprime-related instruments, large bonuses to executives of firms receiving taxpayer assistance, the demise of Bear and Lehman and the Madoff scandal, to name a few – the industry has another, more subtle and less-talked-about P.R. problem: it fails to do P.R.

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TGIF: Sponsor A CEO
February 06, 2009 @ 07:45 AM | By Penny Crosman

Pay caps notwithstanding, with your help, a CEO could continue to live in the style to which he’s been accustomed.

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New Calls for Investigation on Financial Crisis
February 05, 2009 @ 04:48 PM | By Melanie Rodier

Just a few months ago, investigators began probing the causes behind the financial crisis, including allegations of fraud by some Wall Street firms. After all, the collapse of some of these companies had just sent world markets into turmoil.

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Madoff Victim List Includes Many Investment Advisors
February 05, 2009 @ 10:05 AM | By Penny Crosman

The New York Post has posted the 162-page list of customers of Bernard Madoff that was released yesterday by the bankruptcy court handling Madoff Securities. In addition to Hollywood actors such as John Malkovich and Kevin Bacon and baseball legend Sandy Koufax, the list includes several investment advisory firms, including Argent Wealth Management, Bank of America Private Bank, Citi Smith Barney, Citigroup Private Banking, Fairfield Greenwich, Fleet Bank and Ivy Asset Management.

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Maybe It's The Regulators Who Need Bonuses
February 04, 2009 @ 04:49 PM | By Melanie Rodier

NYT chief M&A reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin says Obama’s cap on executive pay isn’t going down well in the financial industry as Wall Street needs to incentivise its workers to do well, or risk losing its best people.

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Ponzi Schemes Proliferate Beyond Madoff, Particularly in Florida
February 04, 2009 @ 03:52 PM | By Melanie Rodier

Ever since the Madoff scandal broke in December, authorities have been uncovering one suspected Ponzi scheme after another across the country.

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Obama Caps Bailout Exec Pay at $500,000
February 04, 2009 @ 11:55 AM | By Penny Crosman

Saying that "failure to act now will turn crisis into catastrophe," President Obama announced today a $500,000 compensation cap for top executives at firms that receive bailout money from the government.

In order to restore trust in the financial industry, the government has to make sure taxpayer funds are not being used to fund excesses on Wall Street, Obama said, repeating his remark last week that lavish bonuses at these loss-heavy firms are "the height of irresponsibility."

"We don't disparage wealth or begrudge anyone their success," he said. "What gets people upset is reward for failure." In addition to the limit on total compensation for the highest-level managers of firms receiving taxpayer money, Obama said there will be a new requirement for these firms to publicly report all the perks and luxuries these top executives receive.

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Madoff Whistleblower Slams SEC Incompetence
February 04, 2009 @ 10:31 AM | By Penny Crosman

Former money manager and investigator Henry Markopolos’ testimony before Congress this morning about the SEC’s failure to address Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme in spite of Markopolos’ many warnings since 2000, including detailed evidence proving Madoff's investment performance had to be a fraud, makes for fascinating reading. Among the interesting points he made were these:

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Davos Diary, Final Day: Rays of Hope Still Break Through
February 02, 2009 @ 02:05 PM | By Greg MacSweeney

Guest Blog Entry: by Ashok Vemuri, InfoSys Technologies

After four days at Davos, there are some things that are starting to become clear. Collaboration and innovation are going to be two of the biggest ways to pull ourselves out of the current economic situation, and there is also still optimism amongst the Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum, which is deeply encouraging.

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Saturday Night Live Gives A Glimpse of Bernard Madoff Pre-Superbowl
February 02, 2009 @ 11:03 AM | By Penny Crosman

Friends don't seem to be returning Bernie Madoff's calls in this skit from Saturday night's show.

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Davos Diary, Day 3: Prepare to Be Socialized for Profit
February 02, 2009 @ 08:47 AM | By Greg MacSweeney

Guest Blog Entry: by Richard Muirhead, Tideway

The fast moving wave that is social computing swept through Davos on Thursday in a session titled “Organizing the Unorganizable: Social Computing and the Enterprise.” The interactive workshop at the World Economic Forum assembled such luminaries as Paulo Coelho, Jim Schwartz, Michael Arrington, Robert Scoble, Jimmy Wales, Matt Cohler, and Reid Hoffman, among others. The goal was to address many of the questions around social computing’s business applicability, such as: What advantages does it bring? What are its risks and how can they be mitigated? How can it support leadership, decision-making, product development and innovation? And what role does it play in investor/client relations and support?