Stop the Idiocracy: Banking Industry

Showing posts with label Banking Industry. Show all posts

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Germany steps up in the fight against Putin, reverses ban on weapon sales to Ukraine and announces it will support SWIFT banking restrictions on Russia

AP/Christoph Schmidt/dpa

At this time 80 years ago, Germany was the aggressor. Today, it is arguably the leader of the free world; a peaceful, prosperous, and responsible nation. Could Russia ever make that same transition? There were high hopes at the end of the Cold War, but those have been gradually shattered as Vladimir Putin came to power and set about restoring the empire. Germany’s redemption was due, in large part, to the strong character and work ethic of the German people (full disclosure - I am of German blood, so I may be a little biased.) While I do not wish to entirely disparage the Russian people, I’ve seen scant evidence over the years that they possess those same qualities that allowed Germany to successfully rebuild. Indeed, it has been 30 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, but Russia remains a despotic and largely impoverished backwater whose only leverage comes from its large geographic size, its military might (re: nuclear weapons), and its cunning, evil mastermind dictator. Associated Press -

VIENNA (AP) — In a significant shift, the German government said Saturday it will send weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine, which is fighting to keep Russia from invading its capital city. Germany is also ready to also support some restrictions of the SWIFT global banking system for Russia, officials said.
Germany’s chancellery announced Saturday evening that it will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine “as quickly as possible.”
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. It threatens our entire post-war order,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. “In this situation, it is our duty to help Ukraine, to the best of our ability, to defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.”
The news came shortly after the German economy and climate ministry said in a Saturday evening statement that Germany is allowing the Netherlands to ship 400 German-made anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. The government has also approved the shipment of 9 D-30 howitzers and ammunition originally from Estonia.
Germany had long stuck to a policy of not exporting deadly weapons to conflict zones, including Ukraine. As recently as Friday, government officials said they would abide by that policy. (Read more)

Friday, February 25, 2022

The United States joins the EU and UK in levying personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister

AP/Andreea Alexandru

An important and necessary step, but it is not at all clear that anything is going to dissuade Putin from carrying this invasion further. Associated Press -

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Biden administration announced Friday that it will move to freeze the assets of President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following the European Union and Britain in directly sanctioning top Russian leadership.
The Treasury Department announced the sanctions shortly after the EU said it had also approved an asset freeze against Putin and Lavrov as part of a broader package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also told NATO leaders during a call Friday that Britain would move to impose sanctions against Putin and Lavrov.
It wasn’t immediately clear how impactful an asset freeze would be on Putin or Lavrov, but the direct action targeting the Russian president was meant to be seen as a warning to Putin that he could emerge as an international pariah if he doesn’t end the invasion of Ukraine. (Read more)

Monday, February 14, 2022

Donald Trump’s own accounting firm gives up on him, says financial records for the last ten years cannot be trusted

Reuters

Any question now as to why he will not release his taxes? Yet, people will still not repent for supporting this most obvious of conmen, nor is the Republican Party going to change course. The perverse devotion and loyalty this man inspires among so many is simply impossible to break. It is baffling, it is scary, and it is not going to end well. Via the New York Times -

Donald J. Trump’s longtime accounting firm cut ties with him and his family business last week amid ongoing criminal and civil investigations into whether Mr. Trump illegally inflated the value of his assets, court documents filed on Monday show.
In a letter to the Trump Organization on Feb. 9, the accounting firm notified the company of its decision and disclosed that it could no longer stand behind annual financial statements it prepared for Mr. Trump. The firm, Mazars USA, compiled the financial statements based on information the former president and his company provided.
The letter instructed the Trump Organization to essentially retract the documents, known as statements of financial condition, from 2011 to 2020. In the letter, Mazars noted that the firm had not “as a whole” found material discrepancies between the information the Trump Organization provided and the actual value of Mr. Trump’s assets. But given what it called “the totality of circumstances,” the letter directed the Trump Organization to notify anyone who received the statements that they should no longer rely on them.
The statements, which Mr. Trump used to secure loans, are at the center of the two law enforcement investigations into whether Mr. Trump exaggerated the value of his properties to defraud his lenders into providing him the best possible loan terms.
The disclosures about Mazars’ work for Mr. Trump appeared in new court documents filed by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who is seeking to question the former president and two of his adult children under oath as part of her civil investigation.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers had asked a judge to prohibit the questioning, and in response, Ms. James’s office argued in court papers last month that the company had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” practices.
Her filing on Monday — which marked her latest attempt to press ahead with questioning Mr. Trump as well as Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump — included a copy of the Mazars letter, signed by the accounting firm’s general counsel.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been conducting a separate criminal investigation, with the assistance of lawyers from Ms. James’s office. (Read more)