September 3, 2019

In Case You Missed It (#ICYMI): Today, Key Articles from Last Week

With last week being the unofficial end of summer, we at Better Markets thought we’d send along some of the key articles/commentary you might have missed. If you’re not a subscriber to our Newsletter and want to be in the loop on the latest in the economy, finance, financial reform and related subjects, subscribe to our Email Newsletter today!

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“Historic Asset Boom Passes by Half of Families“

The Wall Street Journal has a not-to-be-missed article on the economic stress & distress that is so pervasive in the US: “the bottom half of all US households … have only recently regained the wealth lost in the 2007-2009 recession & still have 32% less wealth …. The top 1% … have more than twice as much as they did in 2003.” The social & political implications of these facts cannot be overstated and, once again, make clear why financial crashes & financial deregulation must be avoided.

“This is a dangerous time to deregulate banks“

Don’t miss the Financial Times’ Brooke Masters on how financial deregulation now – recently including the Volcker rule – seems like the early 2000s and, given the fragile economy & how well the banks are doing, asks why?

“Fears grow that softer Volcker rule will stoke Wall Street risk“

Robert Armstrong writes “the loosening of the Volcker rule announced this week opens the door to a rebound in risky behavior on Wall Street, proponents of the initial legislation have warned, even as [others] insist there will be little impact on bank profits”

“Only the Fed Can Save Us“

While we wouldn’t agree with the column’s title, Bill Cohen is one of the most insightful & thought-provoking observers of all things finance for many years & his take on Fed policy, interest rates, the buildup of risk, Trump & much more is not to be missed.

“Blame Economists for the Mess We’re In“

After years of deep experience reporting on finance, The New York Times’ Binyamin Appelbaum is now a member of the Editorial Board and, fortunately for us, also a book author: “The Economists’ Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets and the Fracture of Society.” This column will make you want to buy it as he asks, “Why did America listen to people who thought we needed ‘more millionaires and more bankrupts?’”

“Negative rates are a risk investors have not seen before“

Merryn Somerset Webb talks about the world’s “most bizarre financial experiment ever, negative interest rates”: “Stocks are overvalued, and US stocks are particularly overvalued. Their prices are unusually high in comparison to sales, earnings, the value of their asset books, and relative to gross domestic…”

“The Unstoppable Surge in Negative Yields Reaches $17 Trillion“

Bloomberg’s John Ainger also discusses “the global stock of negative-yielding debt,” which “is now in excess of $17 trillion as rising market volatility lends extra force to this year’s unprecedented bond rally.”

“Wells Fargo pushes wrongly accused N.J. pastor toward arbitration“

“A New Jersey pastor who was falsely arrested because of errors made by Wells Fargo employees may be forced to resolve legal claims against the bank in arbitration” due to a wholly unrelated forced arbitration clause that traps millions of Americans every year.

“JPMorgan’s Chase Private Client group used false evidence to get rid of an advisor. This is how the firm tried to make sure no one knew.“

If you think the Wells Fargo story forcing a victimized pastor into arbitration is an isolated case, an outlier or particularly egregious, then read this chilling story about JP Morgan created false evidence and committing perjury to silence a whistleblower while the SEC and FINRA did nothing other than go after the whistleblower.