Finance guru looks at Wall Street scandals

Wash Times ^ | 6/29/02 | Warren Rogers

[DoctorMichael]

Paul Volcker is an outsized man, basketball-player big, and so you listen when he speaks, and he chuckles and chortles, which makes you feel good, even when he tells you nobody has a magic wand to wave over the stock market and make brokers and accountants stop cheating investors.

[DoctorMichael]

If anybody remembers, this is the guy that had the interest rates at 20% to kill inflation..........which also killed Carter's relection chances........and ushered in the era ofReganomics.

"There's still a lot of money to be made."...........THIS may be true and I agree that this may be the buying opportunity of the next 50 years but...............

...........without knowing whose ooks are cooked and the wild card of Al Qaeda terrorism........its dicey out there.

[McGavin999]

Well, it might be dicey, but it's still the best investment in the world. Everyone keeps thinking "short term, quick money". That's the whole problem.

Anyone who didn't figure out that things were a little too good, just wasn't paying attention. Business cycles....period. When the average business didn't cycle, then something was rotten in Denmark. One of the things that brought all this on was the constant rant about how much money everyone was making. When suddenly, there wasn't a good year, the executives started fudging the books so they wouldn't be the only ones losing when everyone else was winning.

These are cowardly men who, rather than stand up and say, we're doing our best and we plan to pull out of this slump by doing thus and so...instead fudged the books.

I'm sure that Arthur Andersen isn't the only accounting firm that was pointing the easy way out, either.

[Stentor]

I agree that this may be the buying opportunity of the next 50 years but...............

It won't take more than 15 to get back to the 2000 highs.

[David]

It is unfortunate that Volker is 74 years old. The country is in serious trouble and Volker might be part of the solution--he is one of the more capable minds available, Democrat though he is.

[Positive]

There's still a lot of money to be made.

Think of it this way - the only way money is made is by the U.S. Mint...everybody else has to "earn" it.

So Mr. Volker may be telling the truth...the Government will have to "make" a lot of money to keep its scam going.

[Red Jones]

bump

[section9]

Part of the problem was the Tulip Craze Economy of the second Clinton term.

There was nothing but Blue Sky ahead. So there was no incentive for anyone to rain on the parade by exposing shady practices. AA could get away with what they did because they never thought that they would have a comeuppance !

Everyone did. And now it is left for Bush to clean up this mess.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[ThePythonicCow]

killed Carter's relection chances........and ushered in the era ofReganomics.

Just that alone is a pretty impressive item for ones resume.

[VOA]

Just that alone is a pretty impressive item for ones resume.

I used to know a finanacial planner who was in graduate school when Volker was calling the shots.

She may have not had a PhD. in international finance, but she was of the opinion that
Volker was the guy who "saved the country". She said that he "threw the dice" with
some of his moves and kept the US economy from totally tanking.

(Sorry I can't give her detailed explanation...but she did have advanced business degrees from one
of the Pac Ten business schools and a long career in personal finance.)

[Ken H]

Yes, I agree.

The corruption from that era was wide and deep, and it's still with us. My guess is we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.

[Donald Stone]

Volcker forgot to mention that both the Democrats and Republicans knew huge amounts of badly needed campaign finance dollars could be obtained thru political donations derived from securities fraud by so-called professionals:

law firms (that were making millions in legal fees on these fraudulent securities offerings),

brokers,and

investment bankers

that had close personal and political ties to the Republican and Democratic parties and the best way to finance any election campaign was thru securities fraud.

"corruption has been widespread since the 1990s" in the stock market, with "huge amounts of money being made by investment bankers pressing the envelope of manipulation."

Mr. Volcker told a breakfast meeting of reporters that "corruption has been widespread since the 1990s" in the stock market, with "huge amounts of money being made by investment bankers pressing the envelope of manipulation." He said the scandalous implosions of Enron, Tyco, Arthur Andersen and other companies have made just about everybody aware that "we have a lot of people trying to figure out how to get around the rules."

[DoctorMichael]

.........only way money is made is by the U.S. Mint.........

Hahahahaha.

[DoctorMichael]

........unfortunate that Volker is 74 years old.......

Agreed. There are many older people that need to be 'tapped' for their knowledge.

My understanding is that he is still employed as a "Consultant" in these types of matters. Hopefully the egos in Congress will listen to his opinion

[DoctorMichael]

.........campaign finance dollars could be obtained thru political donations derived from securities fraud by so-called professionals.........

Terry McCauliph (sp?) and his receiving a "personal"- "donation" of GLOBAL CROSSING stock which he turned around and sold at an "opportune" time (ala Martha) comes to mind.