- Goldman Tells Its Side of ‘09
- Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit
- Mr. Dimon Goes to Washington
- Greek banks plead for more aid in debt crisis
- Geithner Urges Europe to Revise Hedge-Fund Rule Plan
- Geithner to Meet With the Chinese Vice Premier
- Fliers up in arms about carry-on fee
Goldman Tells Its Side of ‘09 – WSJ
The year 2009 was one that some Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives would like to forget. Yet the firm is reliving some of its biggest controversies in its longest-ever annual letter to shareholders.
The eight-page note, released Wednesday, presents Goldman’s point of view directly to shareholders ahead of the firm’s May 7 annual meeting. For example, criticized for putting the bank’s own interests ahead of customers, Goldman Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and President Gary Cohn say in the letter that clients are at the top of the pecking order……
Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit – Reuters
The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.
Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax “was not as toxic an idea” as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary…..
Mr. Dimon Goes to Washington – WSJ
James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., isn’t one of them. Buoyed by J.P. Morgan’s relative good health, he’s spent the past year launching his own campaign to stave off government proposals that would rein in profits, boost consumer protections and impose new fees.
Mr. Dimon’s bank shelled out more for lobbying efforts last year—$6.2 million—than any of its peers, and the CEO has lately been a regular presence in the halls of Congress. He preaches about how new regulations could force J.P. Morgan to further crimp credit-card lending and raise fees for consumers. One move aimed at banks he’s characterized as “un-American.”….
Greek banks plead for more aid in debt crisis – Reuters
Greek banks, hit by a series of credit rating downgrades linked to the country’s debt crisis, have asked the government for more financial support, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Wednesday.
“The banks have asked to use the remaining funds of the support plan,” he told reporters, referring to a package first agreed by the previous conservative government in 2008…..
Geithner Urges Europe to Revise Hedge-Fund Rule Plan – Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said European policy makers shouldn’t block U.S. investment funds from their markets and praised recent delays to a planned set of hedge-fund regulations.
“As you consider how to design this important set of reforms, I hope you will keep in mind our shared commitment to create regulatory reform that does not discriminate against foreign firms,” Geithner said in a letter to four European finance ministers released today by the U.S. Treasury…..
Geithner to Meet With the Chinese Vice Premier – NY Times
In a sign of improving economic relations between the United States and China, the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, will meet with China’s vice premier, Wang Qishan, in Beijing on Thursday on his way back to the United States from India, a Treasury spokesmen said here on Wednesday.
The unexpected meeting comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity between Washington and Beijing to avoid a confrontation on China’s policy of keeping its currency, the renminbi, pegged to the U.S. dollar at a nearly fixed exchange rate of about 6.827……
Fliers up in arms about carry-on fee – Detroit Free Press
The low-fare carrier on Tuesday became the first U.S. airline to announce it will charge for stowing bags in overhead bins. Starting this summer, prices will range from $20 for members of Spirit’s $9 fare club to $45 for last-minute fliers who don’t book a $30 carry-on fee in advance online. Items that can be stowed beneath seats will remain free…..
Like many other fliers, Chris Spiek of Auburn Hills was irritated that Spirit plans to start charging passengers for carry-on bags.
“It seems like they’re just trying to gouge you more and more,” said the 30-year-old computer software company owner who flies regularly and said he last took a trip to Miami on Spirit about three months ago…..
Tags: Airlines, Baggage fees, CDS, China, Economy, Goldman Sachs, Greece, Mortgage meltdown, Paul Volcker, Sovereign debt, Taxes, Tim Geithner, U.S.. Treasury, VAT
