Larry Doyle's Blog, page 17

Video: C-SPAN2/BookTV In Bed with Wall Street

I have remarked to many people that with the publishing of In Bed with Wall Street, I am taking the pursuit of issues I have written extensively about at this blog to an entirely new level. To that end, the airing by CSPAN2 BookTV of my recent talk in Washington DC is enormously beneficial in doing just that.

My remarks provide a context on my background, my experience on Wall Street, my motivation for writing the book, the paths that I have travailed in the process, and ultimately specific reforms I would propose. The clip runs 39 minutes. I am pleased with how it is presented and am obviously interested in knowing what others might think as well. Click on the image below to launch the video page at C-SPAN.

I thank the law firm of Cuneo, Gilbert & LaDuca for hosting the reception at which my remarks were captured.

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

C-Span2 BookTV Presentation: In Bed with Wall Street, 1-19-14 @ 7pm

[image error]Pinch me.

I am more than a little bit pleased that C-SPAN2 Book TV chose to tape a recent talk and Q/A I had in Washington DC in which I discussed my book, In Bed with Wall Street.

For those watching the NFL playoffs, please set your DVRs at 7pm on C-SPAN2 for this 40 minute broadcast.  I provide some personal background, my motivations for writing the book, some of the paths I went down that are detailed in the book, and take some questions from the audience. I want to thank my publicists — and especially Sarah Hausman — at Meryl Moss Media for making this event happen.

For those who cannot watch or tape it this evening, it will be available for online viewing on the BookTV web site once the show has aired.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

What is Greatest Global Risk Lurking in Shadows? Look East

What is the greatest risk within the global financial system currently?

That is a question that could likely be answered with as many opinions as there are global financial sectors. Yet that was a question posed at a recent lunch I attended.

An individual who is highly respected within the industry and who has his pulse on much of what transpires within global finance opined that he believed the risks within the shadow banking sector in China would be the linchpin for our next market meltdown. I found that to be a fascinating insight as I thought about how much or perhaps how little people truly know about this space.

Well, I open the Financial Times this morning to see this lead headline: Chinese Shadow Banks Face Major Test >>>>>>>>>

China’s vast shadow banking sector is facing its biggest test after ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by assets whose branches sell many of these wealth products, refused to bail out investors in a dud $500m issue.

The enormous growth of poorly regulated financing outside the formal banking sector in China and the potential for a panicked run on these shadowy products and institutions poses one of the biggest risks to the global economy this year.

Interesting. Remind you of anything? Like sub-prime products originated by bucket shops and distributed through an array of questionable financial transactions on Wall Street.

Shadow banking worries extend far beyond China. Paul Tucker, a former Bank of England deputy governor, claimed on Thursday that regulators around the world were struggling to keep up with the pace of change in the “shape-shifting” non-bank sector. He warned of “faltering vigour” in official oversight of global markets.

“Faltering vigour?” As in perhaps limited or no meaningful investor protection from financial cops in bed with their government and industry friends? Haven’t we seen this movie before?

In China investment trusts and other wealth management products have become a vital source of off-balance sheet funding, and now account for almost a third of total credit in the world’s second-largest economy, up from less than a quarter in 2012.

Sounds like a whole lot of financial engineering undertaken to keep the game going. Anybody concerned about quality controls?

In China the funds are often invested in more troubled sectors of the economy and they have been snapped up by retail investors seeking better returns than those afforded by bank savings.

Most wealth management products are sold with some form of bank guarantee, leading many investors to believe that the products are effectively risk-free, despite the often high promised yield.

Sounds like the old ‘something for nothing’ trick or what those of us in these parts knew as AAA-backed sub-prime CDOs. We know how those worked.

“In the past we’ve had several examples of trust companies bailing out investors. I don’t think we’ve had a situation where investors have lost money,” said Mr Zhang. “I think it’s going to change the expectations for some investors for the potential credit risk, and have some risks for the rolling over of a lot of these trust products.”

The trust offered investors a 10 per cent yield, compared to the benchmark deposit rate of just 3 per cent. The first payment is not due until the end of this month.

Double digit returns risk free, right? Here we go again.

Would this shadowy activity be contained much as our central bankers assured us that our sub-prime issues would back in 2007?

This has raised increasing concern at government level, with the State Council warning earlier this month that shadow banking risks are “complex and hidden, and vulnerabilities can emerge suddenly and spread easily causing systemic problems”.

Analysts warn that the economic effects of a major problem in the Chinese shadow banking sector would not be confined to the People’s Republic.

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

Gary Aguirre at Notre Dame Details SEC Corruption

Instead of wasting three hours watching The Wolf of Wall Street, I have a much better video for you to view — and in less than half the time. Much better.

If  you really want to know what our financial regulators were doing while the destructive behaviors on Wall Street brought down our markets and our nation’s economy, find 80 minutes to watch remarks delivered recently by former SEC attorney and noted whistleblower Gary Aguirre at the University of Notre Dame. Aguirre’s remarks put a whole new spin on the moniker, Fightin’ Irish. Major props to those at ND for giving Aguirre the forum to speak and spread the truth. Other colleges and universities should be so courageous.

Gary Aguirre is a true American hero. If you cannot watch this video today, come back to it over the weekend. After you watch the clip, I guarantee you will want to share it with your friends and colleagues so they can understand how cronyism and corruption within the financial regulatory system has eroded the sense of trust and confidence that currently permeates our nation. You really need to watch this.

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this video and comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

Video Teaser: In Bed with Wall Street

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this video and comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

Radio Interview: “Business Talk with Jim Campbell”

I have truly had the great fortune of meeting some very interesting individuals via Sense on Cents.

As I recently wrote to somebody, I never could have written a book if there were no relationships that had emanated from writing this blog. In that spirit, a few years back I met a renowned business radio personality Jim Campbell after he found my blog.

I had a fabulous discussion with Jim that aired Sunday morning on his nationally syndicated radio show, “Business Talk with Jim Campbell.”

Jim’s easy manner and command of the subject matter made me feel like I was catching up with a former colleague. Jim Campbell is truly a pro’s pro. The interview touches on a wide array of topics. I hope readers will enjoy listening to this interview as much as I enjoyed giving it.

Business Talk with Jim Campbell

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

 

MarketWatch: Don’t Fall Victim to QE Trap

I have a commentary running today on MarketWatch that addresses some perils and potential pitfalls stemming from the tapering of the Fed’s quantitative easing.

4 Ways The Fed Taper Puts Your Money at Risk: Don’t Fall Victim to The Fed’s QE Trap

“I don’t know what they are, but I know where they are!”

I had to chuckle when a fellow trader with whom I worked uttered that remark about the markets in which he trafficked. In so many words, he was admitting that he focused almost entirely on daily flows and technical developments within his market sector, while paying little attention to the underlying fundamentals of the securities themselves.

Ignoring fundamentals is dangerous. 

Given the high-frequency trading influencing the stock markets and the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing activity dominating the bond market, investors need to be careful not to get complacent or trapped into making investments under the influence of either of these activities.

The Fed’s tapering of its quantitative easing program assumes a calming corollary — that the central bank will keep rates low for a longer period of time than previously thought. But I would caution investors to remain on guard. Here are a few of the risks that could unsettle investors as the Fed scales back its QE policy:

1. Ongoing lack of liquidity in the inter-dealer market

We witnessed a serious lack of liquidity in late spring 2013 when the concept of tapering was first broached. Little has changed on this front. In fact, do not be surprised if the broker-dealer community provides even less liquidity this year, fighting against an aggressive implementation of the Volcker Rule . Your point of entry into an investment is ever more important in the current environment, where liquidity at the point of exit is increasingly uncertain.

2. A pickup in volatility from historically low levels

The Fed’s quantitative easing has thrown an enormous blanket over volatility VIX -5.82% in the marketplace. The bulls might argue that a tapering of a mere $10 billion per month should be viewed as the equivalent of serving 90-proof spirits rather than the 100-proof stuff that has liquefied the party so far.

While that’s true, markets will often look at marginal moves to ascertain forward prices, not simply absolute levels. From this standpoint, we should be extremely concerned that even a small tapering will cause a move higher in volatility, especially when viewed on a percentage basis. As such, investments that suffer from higher levels of volatility — that is, securities with an embedded short optionality component — should be viewed with a greater degree of caution.

Please read the final 2 traps at MarketWatch that should be avoided as the Fed’s taper slowly but methodically plays out over the coming year.

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

 

Interview on Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox Business

There is never any bad press. Although my interview on Lou Dobbs Tonight last evening may have only run for 3 plus minutes, the points covered go to the core of my recently released book.

I was about to connect and expose the third leg of the Wall Street-Washington conspiracy, that being the scandalous corruption within our regulatory system, when host Lori Rothman inquired about Dodd-Frank.

What didn’t we talk about last evening but is covered in the book?

Misappropriation of funds by regulatory agencies, investor abuse, lying to Congress, kangaroo courts in Wall Street arbitration, codes of silence with the firing and intimidation of whistleblowers. And more, along with my well detailed and developed proposed reforms.

I thank the reviewer at Amazon who wrote,

Special contempt is reserved for Mary Schapiro who lined her pockets at FINRA and the SEC while utterly failing in her mandate to protect individual investors and regulate the money center banks. You read this book and you wonder why no one in Congress or the media has been willing or able to call a spade a spade. With the publicatIon of “In Bed With Wall Street,” the ruse is laid bare.

Buy two copies, one for yourself and one for your Congressman.

Navigate accordingly.

Larry Doyle

Please order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.

For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this video clip and to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’

Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail. 

I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.