In case you didn't catch the article titled "Guilty Pleas Hit the 'Mark'" in the Wall Street Journal, I'm here to make sure you don't miss it.
This is too good.
Three former employees of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) were charged with conspiracy to falsify books and records and wire fraud. They were accused of mismarking prices on bonds in their trading books by soliciting trumped-up prices for their withering securities from friends in the business.
By posting higher "marks" for their bonds in late 2007, they earned big year-end bonuses.
What a shock!
What's not a shock is that, after a bang-up 2007, Credit Suisse had to take a $2.85 billion write-down in the first quarter of 2008. No one knows how much of that loss was attributable to the three co-conspirators who were fired over their "wrongdoing."
Two of the three accused pled guilty. Also not shocking is the reason David Higgs - one who pled guilty - gave for his actions. He said he did it "to remain in good favor" with bosses, who determined his bonus and who profited handsomely themselves from his profitable trading and inventory marks.
As for Salmaan Siddiqui, the other trader who pleaded guilty? His attorney Ira Sorkin, the former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement chief, said of his client: "What he did was the result of his boss and his boss' boss directing him to do it."
You know what else is shocking?
Credit Suisse Group
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Bankers Committed Fraud to Get Bigger Bonuses
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De-Coupling Back in Vogue as Emerging Economies Outshine the U.S.
While the U.S. economy is struggling to break its slump, growth remains strong in other places around the world - so strong, in fact, that analysts are breaking out a term that's spend much of the past two years on the shelf: De-coupling.
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) will meandered along with a meager 1.7% expansion in the second quarter and is expected to grow by less than 2% for the full year.
Meanwhile, Brazil's GDP is on pace to expand by 7.5%, India's economy is projected to grow by 8.5% and China's economy is expected to grow by 9.5% this year.
Emerging market economies are moving ahead at such a brisk rate that their combined GDP will be bigger than developed countries by 2015, according to the World Bank.
Now, the biggest Wall Street firms - including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE ADR: CS) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) - are betting that the global economy has de-coupled from the United States, and will shake off any slowdown in the world's largest economy.
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) will meandered along with a meager 1.7% expansion in the second quarter and is expected to grow by less than 2% for the full year.
Meanwhile, Brazil's GDP is on pace to expand by 7.5%, India's economy is projected to grow by 8.5% and China's economy is expected to grow by 9.5% this year.
Emerging market economies are moving ahead at such a brisk rate that their combined GDP will be bigger than developed countries by 2015, according to the World Bank.
Now, the biggest Wall Street firms - including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE ADR: CS) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) - are betting that the global economy has de-coupled from the United States, and will shake off any slowdown in the world's largest economy.
Investment News Briefs
With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world.
Sovereign Fund Attempts to End $7.5 Billion Citi Share Purchase; Credit Suisse to Pay U.S. $536 Million Penalty; Cohen: U.S. Economy to Slow in 2010; Roy Disney Dead at 79; Former TPG, Lazard Employees Sued by SEC for Insider Trading; Galleon Group Founder Indictment Alleges Fraud, Conspiracy; Comcast Launches Online TV Service
Sovereign Fund Attempts to End $7.5 Billion Citi Share Purchase; Credit Suisse to Pay U.S. $536 Million Penalty; Cohen: U.S. Economy to Slow in 2010; Roy Disney Dead at 79; Former TPG, Lazard Employees Sued by SEC for Insider Trading; Galleon Group Founder Indictment Alleges Fraud, Conspiracy; Comcast Launches Online TV Service
- The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is trying to call off a deal it made to buy $7.5 billion of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) stock at eight times yesterday's (Wednesday) price, saying Citi misled it about the investment, Bloomberg News reported. The sovereign fund alleged "fraudulent misrepresentations" and seeks more than $4 billion in damages if the deal is upheld, ADIA said in an arbitration claim. Citi calls ADIA's claims "entirely without merit."
- Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE ADR: CS) will pay the U.S. government $536 million for conducting business with Iran and other sanctioned countries, prosecutors said yesterday (Wednesday). The bank moved more than $1.6 billion through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Cuba and Libya, documents filed in federal court and obtained by Reuters showed.
- U.S. housing starts rebounded sharply, rising 8.9% to a seasonally adjusted 574,000 units on an annualized basis in November, the Commerce Department said. Economists polled by MarketWatch.com were expecting a pace of 563,000. "We now expect both starts and permits to rally significantly further over the next few months, though the big test for the market will come in the spring," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd.