The Spectacle of the Tragedy

The Girls of Berlusconi

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:38:00 -0400

# 01 Elena Russo*
1971, Italian

# 02 Evelina Manna
1973, Italian

# 03 Belen Rodriguez
1984, Argentine

# 04 Mara Carfagna
1975, Italian

# 05 Francesca Lodo
1982, Italian

# 06 Linda Santaguida
1978, Italian

# 07 Sara Tommasi
1981, Italian

# 08 Aida Yespica
1982, Venezuelan

# 01 Elena Russo*
1971, Italian

Source

# 02 Evelina Manna
1973, Italian

Source

# 03 Belen Rodriguez
1984, Argentine

Source

# 04 Mara Carfagna
1975, Italian

Source

# 05 Francesca Lodo
1982, Italian

Source

# 06 Linda Santaguida
1978, Italian

Source

# 07 Sara Tommasi
1981, Italian

Source

# 08 Aida Yespica
1982, Venezuelan

Source

# 09 Maylin Aguirre
1983, Cuban

Source

# 10 Barbara Guerra*
1980, Italian

Source

*These are Berlusconi’s favorite girls. Based on the number of dates and the amount of money against it, the media claims that Berlusconi prefers some of the girls over others.

How Goldman Sachs Invested in Child Sex Trafficking

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:21:00 -0400

The biggest forum for sex trafficking of under-age girls in the United States appears to be a Web site called Backpage.com.

This emporium for girls and women — some under age or forced into prostitution — is in turn owned by an opaque private company called Village Voice Media. Until now it has been unclear who the ultimate owners are.

That mystery is solved. The owners turn out to include private equity financiers, including Goldman Sachs with a 16 percent stake.

Goldman Sachs was mortified when I began inquiring last week about its stake in America’s leading Web site for prostitution ads. It began working frantically to unload its shares, and on Friday afternoon it called to say that it had just signed an agreement to sell its stake to management.

“We had no influence over operations,” Andrea Raphael, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman, told me.

Let’s back up for a moment. There’s no doubt that many escort ads on Backpage are placed by consenting adults. But it’s equally clear that Backpage plays a major role in the trafficking of minors or women who are coerced. In one recent case in New York City, prosecutors say that a 15-year-old girl was drugged, tied up, raped and sold to johns through Backpage and other sites.

Backpage has 70 percent of the market for prostitution ads, according to AIM Group, a trade organization.

Village Voice Media makes some effort to screen out ads placed by traffickers and to alert authorities to abuses, but neither law enforcement officials nor antitrafficking organizations are much impressed. As a result, pressure is growing on the company to drop escort ads.

After my last column on this issue, 19 U.S. senators wrote the company, asking it to stop abetting traffickers. On Thursday, antitrafficking campaigners protested outside the Village Voice newspaper (which is owned by Village Voice Media). A petition on Change.org criticizing the company has gathered 220,000 signatures.

In Washington State, the governor signed a bill into law on Thursday that could expose Backpage to criminal sanctions if it advertises under-age girls for sex without verifying their ages. (There’s some uncertainty about the constitutionality of the law.)

Village Voice Media has been able to resist pressure partly because, as a private company, it doesn’t disclose its owners. But I’ve obtained documents that, with some digging, shed light on who’s behind it.

The two biggest owners are Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, the managers of the company, and they seem to own about half of the shares. The best known of the other owners is Goldman Sachs, which invested in the company in 2000 (before Backpage became a part of Village Voice Media in a 2006 merger).

A Goldman managing director, Scott L. Lebovitz, sat on the Village Voice Media board for many years. Goldman says he stepped down in early 2010.

Let’s be clear: this is a tiny investment by a huge company, and I have no reason to think that Goldman’s top executives knew of its connection to sex trafficking. Goldman prides itself on its work on gender: its 10,000 Women initiative does splendid work supporting women in business around the globe. Full disclosure: Goldman’s foundation was one of about 15 funders of a public television documentary version of a book that my wife and I wrote about the world’s women.

That said, for more than six years Goldman has held a significant stake in a company notorious for ties to sex trafficking, and it sat on the company’s board for four of those years. There’s no indication that Goldman or anyone else ever used its ownership to urge Village Voice Media to drop escort ads or verify ages. Elizabeth L. McDougall, chief counsel for Village Voice Media, told me Friday that she was “unaware of any dissent” from owners.

Several lesser-known financial companies also hold significant stakes in Village Voice Media, and one person close to the company says that there are about a dozen owners in all. One is Trimaran, an investment company in New York. It wouldn’t disclose the size of its stake but told me that it had “no influence whatsoever” on management and is now trying to sell its shares.

Two other companies, Alta Communications and Brynwood Partners, did not respond to my repeated inquiries about ties to Village Voice Media (Brynwood may be an asset manager rather than an owner). One thought: If the minority shareholders, Goldman included, worked together instead of rushing for the exits, they might be able to pressure Village Voice Media to get out of escort ads.

There are no easy solutions to sex trafficking. I think the most important single step is for prosecutors to focus more on pimps and johns. Closing down the leading Web site used by traffickers would complicate their lives, and after so many years of girls being trafficked on this site, it’s time to hold owners accountable.

Barroso Build The Secret Plan for a New Europe

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:38:00 -0400

Prime Minister David Cameron has clashed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the UK’s involvement in discussions about the eurozone crisis. Mr Sarkozy believes the final talks on Wednesday should be limited to nations which actually use the euro. Mr Cameron said all EU leaders should be present to debate issues which could affect them in one way or another. The clash came on the day when leaders agreed to change the Union’s treaty if necessary to help resolve the crisis.

EU president Herman Van Rompuy said after a day of emergency talks in Brussels that members would “explore the possibility of limited change”. Mr Cameron said he had sought assurances to protect the UK’s interest if there is change. All EU leaders are now set to attend the final meeting on Wednesday, which was originally meant to be attended by only the 17 countries that use the euro. That prompted French leader Mr Sarkozy to speak out. He said he was sick of reading in newspapers about advice Mr Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne were offering the eurozone. At one point in the exchanges, Mr Sarkozy was quoted as telling Mr Cameron: “We are sick of you criticising us and telling us what to do.”

On Sunday morning the leaders of all the European Union’s 27 members held talks about the Greek debt crisis, recapitalising banks, and bolstering the bailout fund. This was followed in the afternoon by a separate meeting of the 17 nations that use the euro. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Van Rompuy said that altering the treaty was under discussion. Although no proposed details were given, any change is likely to involve closer fiscal and economic cooperation. “The aim is deepening our economic convergence and strengthening economic discipline,” Mr Van Rompuy said. He said the words “limited change” meant “not a general overhaul of the institutional architecture”. He added: We also said that we would need the agreement of all the 27 (member states) before we can decide on a treaty change.”

‘Progress needed’

Mr Cameron said he had secured safeguards to ensure that Britain’s national interest within the EU was protected as the eurozone nations moved towards greater fiscal and economic integration. He told a news conference: “This must not be at the expense of Britain’s national interest. I have secured a commitment today that we must safeguard the interests of countries that want to stay outside the euro, particularly with respect to the integrity of the single market for all 27 countries of the EU.” The prime minister said the EU needed to build on the progress of the work done on Saturday on recapitalising the banks. “More progress is needed. I think we are beginning to see the elements of a strong package coming together,” he said. Mr Cameron has cancelled visits to Japan and New Zealand this week in order to attend Wednesday’s summit.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint press conference on Sunday, Mr Sarkozy said “a quite broad agreement was taking shape on the reinforcement” of the bailout fund. Mrs Merkel said a French idea for the fund to acquire a banking licence was dead, leaving a mix of plans to use the fund to offer insurance to eurozone bond holders, and moves to create a “fund within the fund” that would be topped up by some of the main emerging nations. On Saturday eurozone finance ministers struck a provisional deal that will see banks raise more than 100bn euros (£87bn) in new capital to shield them against possible losses to indebted countries. It is conditional on a wider accord, including a write-down of Greek debt.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said the 100bn euros agreed in the deal will be provided to banks by commercial investors, national governments and the EU’s bailout fund. Debt-laden Greece has been bailed out - twice - along with the Irish Republic and Portugal. The eurozone is working on a third package for Greece, as well as a solution that could help the much bigger economies of Spain and Italy, which are faltering.

Source

An Extraordinary Romance

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:50:00 -0400

Merkel and Sarkozy applaud at the conclusion of a European elections rally in Berlin.

May 10, 2009

Merkel and Sarkozy in Berlin after talks on battling the Greek debt crisis.

October 9, 2011

Merkel and Sarkozy wave to the crowd at the Chancellery in Berlin.

October 18, 2010

Sarkozy welcomes Merkel to a working lunch at the Elysee palace in Paris.
December 5, 2011

Merkel and Sarkozy wave to the crowd at the Chancellery in Berlin.
June 17, 2011

Merkel and Sarkozy applaud at the conclusion of a European elections rally in Berlin.
May 10, 2009

Merkel and Sarkozy in Berlin after talks on battling the Greek debt crisis.
October 9, 2011

Merkel and Sarkozy at the Chancellery on in Berlin, Germany.
June 17, 2011

Sarkozy and Merkel stroll at sunset along a beach promenade in Deauville, France.
October 18, 2010

The Fallen Leaders

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:39:00 -0400

# 01
Brian
Cowen

# 02
Gordon
Brown

# 03
Jose
Socrates

# 04
Robert
Fico

# 05
Mari
Kiviniemi

# 06
Lars
Rasmussen

# 07
Iveta
Radicova

# 08
George
Papandreou

# 09
Silvio
Berlusconi

# 10
Jose
Zapatero

# 11
Borut
Pahor

# 12
Tarja
Halonen

# 13
Mark
Rutte

# 14
Lucas
Papademos

# 01
Brian Cowen

Former Prime Minister
of Ireland

Date of Resignation
March 9, 2011

Lost elections

Source

# 02
Gordon Brown

Former Prime Minister
of United Kingdom

Date of Resignation
March 11, 2010

Lost elections

Source

# 03
Jose Socrates

Former Prime Minister
of Portugal

Date of Resignation
June 5, 2011

Lost elections

Source

# 04
Robert Fico

Former Prime
of Slovakia

Date of Resignation
June 13, 2010

Lost elections

Source

# 05
Mari Kiviniemi

Former Prime Minister
of Finland

Date of Resignation
June 22, 2011

Lost elections

Source

# 06
Lars Rasmussen

Former Prime Minister
of Denmark

Date of Resignation
October 3, 2011

Election defeat

Source

# 07
Iveta Radicova

Former Prime Minister
of Slovakia

Date of Resignation
October 11, 2011

Fall of government

Source

# 08
George Papandreou

Former Prime Minister
of Greece

Date of Resignation
November 11, 2011

Resigned under pressure
from Europe

Source

# 09
Silvio Berlusconi

Former Prime Minister
of Italy

Date of Resignation
November 16, 2011

Resigned under pressure
from Europe

Source

# 10
Jose Zapatero

Former Prime Minister
of Spain

Date of Resignation
December 20, 2011

Resigned under pressure 
from Spain

Source

# 11
Borut Pahor

Former Prime Minister
of Slovenia

Date of Resignation
February 10, 2012

Fall of government

Source

# 12
Tarja Halonen

Former President
of Finland

Date of Resignation
March 1, 2012

Fullfilled maximum term
as president

Source

# 13
Mark Rutte

Former Prime Minister
of The Netherlands

Date of Resignation
April 22, 2012

Fall of government

Source

# 14
Lucas Papademos

Former Prime Minister
of Greece

Date of Resignation
May 17, 2012

Transitional government

Source

# 15
Nicolas Sarkozy

Former President
of France

Date of Resignation
May 6, 2012

Lost elections

Source

The Goldman Sachs Masters

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:55:00 -0400

Antonio
Borges
1949, Portugal

Petros
Christodoulou
1960, Greece

Guillermo
De La Dehesa
1941, Spain

Mario
Draghi
1947, Italy

Luis
De Guindos
1960, Spain

Otmar
Issing
1936, Germany

Karel
Van Miert
1949, Belgium

Mario
Monti
1943, Italy

Lucas
Papademos
1947, Greece

Romano
Prodi
1939, Italy

Antonio Borges
1949, Portugal

Head of IMF European Department since 2010 till 2012.

Former vice chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International in London from 2000 till 2008.

Source

Petros Christodoulou
1960, Greece

Head of Greece’s dept management agency since 2010.

Banker at Goldman Sachs from 1987 till 1998.

Source

Guillermo de la Dehesa
1941, Spain

Monetary expert of the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parliament.

International advisor of Goldman Sachs International.

Source

Mario Draghi
1947, Italy

President of the ECB since November 2011.

Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International for Europe from 2002 till 2005.

Source

Luis de Guindos
1960, Spain

Minister of Economic Affairs in Spain since December 2011.

Former Banker of Lehman Brothers from 2006 till the downfall in 2008.

Source

Otmar Issing
1936, Germany

Former board member of Bundesbank from 1990 till 1998 and the European Central Bank from 1998 till 2006.

Adviser to Goldman Sachs.

Source

Karel van Miert
1949, Belgium

Former EU Competition Commissioner from 1993 till 1999.

International Advisor of Goldman Sachs.

Source

Mario Monti
1943, Italy

Prime Minister of Italy since November 2011.

International Advisor of Goldman Sachs from 2005 till 2011.

Source

Lucas Papademos
1947, Greece

Prime Minister of Greece from November 11 2011 till May 17 2012.

Governor of the Greek central bank from 1994 till 2002. In this capacity, he falsified the public accounting in cooperation with Goldman Sachs.

Source

Romano Prodi
1939, Italy

Prime Minister of Italy from 1996 till 1998. President of the European Commission from 1999 till 2004.

From March 1990 to May 1993 and when not in public office, Prodi acted as a consultant to Goldman Sachs.

Source

Peter Sutherland
1946, Ireland

Former Attorney general
of Ireland.

Prominent voice during Irelands bail-out from 2008 till 2011. Director (non-executive) of Goldman Sachs International.

Source

Merkel's Style — The Blazer

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:27:00 -0400

June 10, 2008
Meseburg
Germany

Sept 28, 2009
Berlin
Germany

June 1, 2012
Berlin
Germany

June 1, 2008
Berlin
Germany

June 11, 2008
Meseberg
Germany

May 22, 2012
Berlin
Germany

June 28, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Oct 29, 2010
Muninch
Germany

Feb 17, 2012
Berlin
Germany

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Sept 9, 2008
Berlin
Germany

June 9, 2011
Berlin
Germany

August 25, 2010
Berlin
Germany

March 31, 2009
Berlin
Germany

August 26, 2009
Berlin
Germany

June 17, 2011
Berlin
Germany

July 15, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Feb 12, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Sept 27, 2011
Berlin
Germany

June 16, 2011
Berlin
Germany

June 5, 2009
Dresden
Germany

June 28, 2011
Berlin
Germany

May 21, 2010
Berlin
Germany

August 26, 2009
Berlin
Germany

August 25, 2010
Berlin
Germany

July 24, 2008
Berlin
Germany

June 11, 2008
Meseberg
Germany

Oct 4, 2010
Berlin
Germany

June 5, 2010
Meseberg
Germany

June 10, 2008
Meseburg
Germany

Feb 2, 2012
Beijing
China

May 5, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Oct 14, 2010
Berlin
Germany

July 15, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Jan 9, 2012
Berlin
Germany

July 8, 2009
L’aquila
Italy

Nov 5, 2010
Leipzig
Germany

April 1, 2010
London
England

April 23, 2012
Wolfsburg
Germany

May 22, 2012
Berlin
Germany

Nov 19, 2010
Berlin
Gemany

Sept 28, 2009
Berlin
Germany

May 19, 2012
Washington
United States

June 25, 2009
Washington
United states

Feb 9, 2009
Berlin
Germany

July 25, 2011
Bayreuth
Germany

June 9, 2011
Berlin
Germany

March 15, 2011
Berlin
Germany

April 28, 2010
Berlin
Germany

Feb 12, 2008
Berlin
Germany

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Feb 22, 2009
Berlin
Germany

April 23, 2010
Berlin
Germany

August 21, 2011
Berlin
Germany

May 20, 2012
Chigago
Illinois

June 17, 2011
Berlin
Germany

July 18, 2008
Nuremberg
Germany

August 31, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Sept 9, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Oct 27, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Sept 6, 2009
Düsseldorf
Germany

July 25, 2010
Bayreuth
Germany

July 8, 2008
Toyako
Japan

April 12, 2010
Washington
United states

Sept 27, 2011
Berlin
Germany

May 27, 2011
Deauville
France

May 15, 2012
Berlin
Germany

Feb 17, 2012
Berlin
Germany

May 18, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Sept 29, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Dec 30, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Sept 30, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Sept 28, 2007
Berlin
Germany

Oct 22, 2009
Berlin
Germany

April 23, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Feb 5, 2011
Munich
Germany

June 16, 2011
Berlin
Germany

August 29, 2010
Berlin
Germany

Oct 14, 2009
Berlin
Germany

June 20, 2011
Frankfurt
Germany

March 31, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Jan 15, 2009
Frankfurt
Germany

July 30, 2011
Salzburg
Austria

July 4, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Sept 22, 2010
Berlin
Germany

March 5, 2010
Berlin
Germany

Feb 23, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Oct 29, 2010
Muninch
Germany

April 4, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Dec 7, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Nov 3, 2010
Berlin
Germany

Oct 1, 2008
Berlin
Germany

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Nov 2, 2010
Brussels
Belgium

June 1, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Jan 23, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Jan 9, 2009
Erfurt
Germany

Jan 11, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Oct 8, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Nov 11, 2010
Seoul
South Korea

Nov 29, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Sept 7, 2011
Berlin
Germany

June 12, 2010
Sassnitz
Germany

Nov 18, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Nov 20, 2010
Lisbon
Portugal

March 18, 2012
Berlin
Germany

March 16, 2008
Ben Gurion
Israel

June 17, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Feb 13, 2011
Berlin
Germany

March 3, 2011
Berlin
Germany

Nov 14, 2011
Leipzig
Germany

Oct 9, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Oct 13, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Dec 5, 2011
Paris
France

Jan 5, 2009
Berlin
Germany

Dec 3, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Feb 23, 2012
Berlin
Germany

Oct 30, 2008
Londen
England

Nov 17, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Nov 9, 2008
Berlin
Germany

Lagarde Leads IMF But Pays Not Any Taxes

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:03:00 -0400

Everything You Need Know About Hollande

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:03:00 -0400

Rutte Laughs about Something

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:52:00 -0400

April 18, 2008
Amersfoort
Netherlands

Nov 17, 2008
Blijswijk
Netherlands

May 12, 2009
Almere
Netherlands

Feb 25, 2010
Alblasserdam
Netherlands

May 25, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

June 10, 2010
Scheveningen
Netherlands

August 10, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 14, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Jan 29, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

March 1, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

June 9, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Sept 21, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Dec 5, 2011
Stockholm
Sweden

Sept 22, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Jan 27, 2012
Rotterdam
Netherlands

April 19, 2012
Amsterdam
Netherlands

Sept 30, 2005
—
—

Dec 9, 2005
—
—

May 21, 2006
Leeuwarden
Netherlands

Sept 15, 2007
Veldhoven
Netherlands

Nov 10, 2007
The Hague
Netherlands

April 18, 2008
Amersfoort
Netherlands

April 18, 2008
Leusderkwartier
Netherlands

May 18, 2008
Scheveningen
Netherlands

June 2, 2008
Zeeland
Netherlands

June 5, 2008
Amsterdam
Netherlands

Nov 17, 2008
Blijswijk
Netherlands

Dec 8, 2008
Veenendaal
Netherlands

May 11, 2009
Almere
Netherlands

May 12, 2009
Almere
Netherlands

July 4, 2009
The Hague
Netherlands

June 13, 2009
Amsterdam
Netherlands

Dec 4, 2009
Apeldoorn
Netherlands

Dec 11, 2009
The Hague
Netherlands

Feb 10, 2010
—
—

Feb 23, 2010
Ede
Netherlands

Feb 25, 2010
Alblasserdam
Netherlands

April 17, 2010
Utrecht
Netherlands

May 18, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

May 25, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

May 25, 2010
—
—

May 29, 2010
Harderwijk
Netherlands

May 29, 2010
Noordwijk
Netherlands

June 5, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

June 10, 2010
Scheveningen
Netherlands

June 16, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

June 30, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

August 3, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

August 10, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Sept 22, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Sept 30, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 14, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 21, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 26, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 28, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Nov 18, 2010
The Hague
Netherlands

Nov 19, 2010
Berlin
Germany

Dec 1, 2010
Astana
Kazachstan

Dec 1, 2010
Zurich
Switzerland

Dec 19, 2010
Enter
Netherlands

Jan 14, 2011
Nieuwpoort
Netherlands

Jan 18, 2011
Groningen
Netherlands

Jan 25, 2011
Haren
Netherlands

Jan 29, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Feb 4, 2011
Brussel
Belgium

Feb 16, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Feb 26, 2011
Purmerend
Netherlands

Feb 26, 2011
—
—

March 1, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

March 3, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

April 13, 2011
Ooij
Netherlands

May 5, 2011
Wageningen
Netherlands

May 6, 2011
Wageningen
Netherlands

May 21, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

June 9, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

June 15, 2011
Vught
Netherlands

June 25, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

June 30, 2011
Zaltbommel
Netherlands

July 21, 2011
Brussel
Belgium

August 1, 2011
Almelo
Netherlands

August 6, 2011
Spaarnwoude
Netherlands

August 16, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

August 23, 2011
—
—

Sept 20, 2011
Amsterdam
Netherlands

Sept 21, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Sept 22, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Oct 15, 2011
London
UK

Oct 28, 2011
Moscow
Russia

Oct 28, 2011
The Hague
Netherlands

Nov 6, 2011
Lunteren
Netherlands

Nov 8, 2011
Lubmin
Germany

Nov 12, 2011
Frankfurt
Germany

Nov 29, 2011
Washington
United States

Dec 5, 2011
Stockholm
Sweden

Dec 20, 2011
Hilversum
Netherlands

Jan 19, 2012
The Hague
Netherlands

Jan 27, 2012
Rotterdam
Netherlands

Feb 13, 2012
Berlin
Germany

March 1, 2012
Brussels
Belgium

March 7, 2012
Kunduz
Afghanistan

March 20, 2012
—
—

March 29, 2012
The Hague
Netherlands

April 12, 2012
The Hague
Netherlands

April 19, 2012
Amsterdam
Netherlands

—
—
—

April 21, 2012
The Hague
Netherlands

Leaders In Talks Over Eurozone

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:33:00 -0400

French Prosecutor Launches DSK Rape Probe‎

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:03:00 -0400

Everything was in place to enable Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF head, to declare next month his candidacy for the Socialist primary, ahead of French presidential elections next year. Polls consistently showed that he was the most popular Socialist candidate, and the best placed to beat President Nicolas Sarkozy in a run-off. But Mr Strauss-Kahn’s arrest on May 14th in New York, for an alleged sexual assault, has thrown all those plans in the air, and looks almost certain to wreck his political future.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was arrested when he was already aboard an Air France plane at Kennedy International Airport, just minutes before it was due to take off. New York police said he was charged with ‘criminal sexual act, attempted rape, and an unlawful imprisonment in connection with a sexual assault’ on a chambermaid in a Manhattan hotel. Reports suggested that Mr Strauss-Kahn had left his hotel room in a hurry. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told Reuters that his client would plead not guilty.

The news has rocked the political class in Paris. Martine Aubry, the Socialist Party leader, called it a ‘thunderbolt’. Others talked of a ‘cataclysm’. Even were Mr Strauss-Kahn to be cleared eventually of the charges, the prospect of a court case and the intense scrutiny of his private life would make it virtually impossible for him to return to France to fight a primary. Already, in 2008, he faced an internal IMF investigation into an affair with a fellow member of staff. In the end, the fund concluded that Mr Strauss-Kahn had not abused his position, but he accepted their view that he had made ‘a serious error of judgment’. His wife, Anne Sinclair, a popular and well-known French television journalist, stood by him. The Fund‚Äôs decision then to keep him on now looks timid and ill-judged.

Even before this latest shock, it was becoming clear that the French presidential campaign was set to be a nasty exercise in low politics. Over the past week or so, doubtless fed by the political right, the French media has been filled with reports about Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lifestyle, complete with photographs of his pad in Marrakech and swanky Paris flats. A picture of him getting into a Porsche, belonging to an adviser, set off a fierce and tortured French debate about whether it is possible to be left-wing and rich.

Men who made £1bn as banks were bailed out

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:20:00 -0400

Lloyd
Blankfein
Goldman Sachs

Jimmy
Cayne
Bear Stearns

Eric
Daniels
Lloyds

Robert
Diamond
Barclays

Richard
Fuld
Lehman

Stephen
Green
HSBC

Andy
Hornby
HBOS

Stan
O’Neal
Merill Lynch

Henry
Paulson
Goldman Sachs

Charles
Prince
Citigroup

John
Varley
Barclays

Sanford
Weill
Citigroup

Lloyd Blankfein
Goldman Sachs

Total remuneration
£163.1m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£37.8bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£24.6bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£19.4bn

Source

Jimmy Cayne
Bear Stearns

Total remuneration
£164.2m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£6.8bn

Now
Bear Stearns delisted, June 2008

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£2.3bn

Source

Eric Daniels
Lloyds

Total remuneration
£10.2m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£66.4bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£10.7bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£11.0bn

Source

Robert Diamond
Barclays

Total remuneration
£39.8m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£44.4bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£7.4bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£26.1bn

Source

Richard Fuld
Lehman Brothers

Total remuneration
£134.5m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£15.9bn

Now
Lehman Bros delisted,
September 2008

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£21.2bn

Source

Stephen Green
HSBC

Total remuneration
£12.5m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£105.8bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£65.7bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£26.7bn

Source

Andy Hornby
HBOS

Total remuneration
£7.6m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£66.4bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£10.7bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£21.1bn

Source

Stan O’Neal
Merill Lynch

Total remuneration
£196.7m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£30.9bn

Now
Merrill Lynch bought by
Bank of America

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£60.5bn

Source

Henry Paulson
Goldman Sachs

Total remuneration
£119.9m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£37.8bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£24.6bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£19.4bn

Source

Charles Prince
Citigroup

Total remuneration
£77.5m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£114.8bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£13.0bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£140.6bn

Source

John Varley
Barclays

Total remuneration
£11.8m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£44.4bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£7.4bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£26.1bn

Source

Sanford Weill
Citigroup

Total remuneration
£121.7m (since 1999 or during length of service)

Bank market capitalisation
(August 2007)
£114.8bn

Bank market capitalisation (now)
£13.0bn

Credit crunch hits
(since August 2007)
£140.6bn

Source

Carla Bruni Handbag Collection

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:14:00 -0400

May 26, 2011
Deauville
France

Silver Metal Clutch Bag

Sep 23, 2008
New York
United States

Golden Silk Clutch Bag

June 22, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Christian Dior Babe Frame Bag

Oct 27, 2009
Tunis
Tunisia

Nude Guilted Handbag

Sep 13, 2004
Paris
France

Beige Leather Shoulder Bag

Nov, 2008
New York
United States

Goyard Hotel Du Parc Bag

June 14, 2011
Paris
France

YSL Cabas
Chyc Leather

March 28, 2010
New York
United States

Christian Dior 3D Handbag

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe handbag

May 27, 2011
Deaville
France

YSL Cabas
Chyc Leather

May 26, 2011
Paris
France

Hermes Victoria Travel Bag

Sep 24, 2009
Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania

Hermes Clutch Bag

Sep 24, 2009
Coraopolis
Pennsylvania

Hermes Leather Clutch Bag

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Brown Leather Bowling bag

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Dec 22, 2008
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

Purple
Handbag

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Chanel Floral Clutch Bag

April 4, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Chanel Bubble Quilted Bag

April 3, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

June 23, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Navy Silk Clutch Bag

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Navy Satin Purse

Sep 12, 2008
Paris
France

Lana Marks Handbag

Nov 11, 2008
Douaumont
France

Hermes Bombay Bag

June 23, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

March 16, 2009
Paris
France

Black Handbag Golden Chain

June 18, 2010
London
England

Christian Dior 3D Handbag

March 6, 2009
Paris
France

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Pochette Roger Vivier Léopard

March 24, 2009
Paris
France

Black Leather Purse

Jan 27, 2012
Paris
France

Black Velours Clutch Bag

June 4, 2012
Paris
France

Navy Canvas Tote Bag

Feb 11, 2009
Burkina Faso
Africa

Black Canvas Tote Bag

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Black Shiny Clutch Bag

Jan 30, 2009
Paris
France

Black and Metal Velours Purse

March 27, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe Frame Bag

March 29, 2010
New York
United States

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Sep 18, 2010
New York
United States

Black Leather Handbag

Nov 18, 2009
Doha
Qatar

Gucci Bamboo Handbag

July 27, 2009
Paris
France

Black Leather Shoulder Bag

—
—
—

Chanel 2.55 White Handbag

Source

May 26, 2011
Deauville
France

Silver Metal Clutch Bag

Source

Sep 23, 2008
New York
United States

Golden Silk Clutch Bag

Source

April 30, 2008
Tunis
Tunisia

Nude Leather Shoulder Bag

Source

June 22, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Christian Dior Babe Frame Bag

Source

Oct 27, 2009
Tunis
Tunisia

Nude Guilted Handbag

Source

Sep 13, 2004
Paris
France

Beige Leather Shoulder Bag

Source

—
—
—

Tod’s G Shoulder Bag

Source

Nov, 2008
New York
United States

Goyard Hotel Du Parc Bag

Source

Feb 28, 2008
Cape Town
South Africa

Carla Yellow Shoulder Bag

Source

June 14, 2011
Paris
France

YSL Cabas
Chyc Leather

Source

March 28, 2010
New York
United States

Christian Dior 3D Handbag

Source

March 29, 2010
Paris
France

Brown Leather Handbag

Source

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe handbag

Source

May 27, 2011
Deaville
France

YSL Cabas
Chyc Leather

Source

—
—
—

Hermes Kelly Handbag

Source

May 26, 2011
Paris
France

Hermes Victoria Travel Bag

Source

July 29, 2010
Paris
France

Leather Shoulder Bag

Source

Sep 24, 2009
Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania

Hermes Clutch Bag

Source

Sep 24, 2009
Coraopolis
Pennsylvania

Hermes Leather Clutch Bag

Source

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Brown Leather Bowling bag

Source

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Source

Dec 22, 2008
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

Purple
Handbag

Source

—
—
—

Hermes Constance Bag

Source

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Chanel Floral Clutch Bag

Source

April 4, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Chanel Bubble Quilted Bag

Source

April 3, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

Source

June 23, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Navy Silk Clutch Bag

Source

July 10, 2011
South of France
France

Blue Printed Shoulder Bag

Source

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Navy Satin Purse

Source

Sep 12, 2008
Paris
France

Lana Marks Handbag

Source

Nov 11, 2008
Douaumont
France

Hermes Bombay Bag

Source

Sep 21, 2009
New York
United States

Black
Handbag

Source

May 23, 2007
Cannes
France

Decorative Black Purse

Source

June 23, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

Source

Sep 20, 2010
Paris
France

Christian Dior Libertine Hobo

Source

March 16, 2009
Paris
France

Black Handbag Golden Chain

Source

June 18, 2010
London
England

Christian Dior 3D Handbag

Source

March 6, 2009
Paris
France

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Source

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

Source

—
—
—

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Source

Dec 5, 2010
New Delhi
India

Pochette Roger Vivier Léopard

Source

—
—
—

Tommy Hilfiger Handbag

Source

March 24, 2009
Paris
France

Black Leather Purse

Source

—
—
—

Chanel Velours Black Handbag

Source

2010
—
—

Christian Dior Shoulder Bag

Source

Jan 27, 2012
Paris
France

Black Velours Clutch Bag

Source

June 4, 2012
Paris
France

Navy Canvas Tote Bag

Source

Feb 11, 2009
Burkina Faso
Africa

Black Canvas Tote Bag

Source

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Black Shiny Clutch Bag

Source

Jan 30, 2009
Paris
France

Black and Metal Velours Purse

Source

March 27, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Babe Frame Bag

Source

Sep 24, 2009
Pittburgh
Pennsylvania

Roger Vivier Black Clutch

Source

March 29, 2010
New York
United States

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Source

July 14, 2009
—
—

Christian Dior Babe Handbag

Source

Sep 18, 2010
New York
United States

Black Leather Handbag

Source

Nov 18, 2009
Doha
Qatar

Gucci Bamboo Handbag

Source

—
—
—

Roger Vivier Carla La La

Source

July 27, 2009
Paris
France

Black Leather Shoulder Bag

Source

March 21, 2010
New York
United States

Roger Vivier Miss Viv Bag

Source

Leading from the Front

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:12:00 -0400

Oslo Norway
April 12, 2008

Oslo Norway
April 12, 2008

Source

Merkozy Teddy Bear

Sun, 20 May 2012 05:24:00 -0400

# 01 Nicolas Sarkozy unwraps a gift from Angela Merkel.

October 25, 2011

# 02 Pleased by the Angela Merkel choice of a Steiff teddy bear.

October 25, 2011

# 03 Sarkozy hands Merkel his
mobile phone.

October 25, 2011

# 04 The chancellor then congratulates Carla Bruni on the birth of her baby.

October 25, 2011

# 01 Nicolas Sarkozy unwraps a gift from Angela Merkel.

October 25, 2011

# 02 Pleased by the Angela Merkel choice of a Steiff teddy bear.

October 25, 2011

# 03 Sarkozy hands Merkel his mobile phone.

October 25, 2011

# 04 The chancellor then congratulates Carla Bruni on the birth of her baby.

October 25, 2011

People to Blame for the Financial Crisis

Wed, 02 May 2012 06:55:00 -0400

George
Bush

Joseph
Cassano

Jimmy
Cayne

Bill
Clinton

Chris
Cox

Kathleen
Corbet

John
Devaney

Richard
Fuld

George W. Bush

From the start, Bush embraced a governing philosophy of deregulation. That trickled down to federal oversight agencies, which in turn eased off on banks and mortgage brokers. Bush did push early on for tighter controls over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but he failed to move Congress. After the Enron scandal, Bush backed and signed the aggressively regulatory Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But SEC head William Donaldson tried to boost regulation of mutual and hedge funds, he was blocked by Bush’s advisers at the White House as well as other powerful Republicans and quit. Plus, let’s face it, the meltdown happened on Bush’s watch.

Source

Joseph Cassano

Before the financial-sector meltdown, few people had ever heard of credit-default swaps (CDS). They are insurance contracts — or, if you prefer, wagers — that a company will pay its debt. As a founding member of AIG’s financial-products unit, Cassano, who ran the group until he stepped down in early 2008, knew them quite well. In good times, AIG’s massive CDS-issuance business minted money for the insurer’s other companies. But those same contracts turned out to be at the heart of AIG’s downfall and subsequent taxpayer rescue. So far, the U.S. government has invested and lent $150 billion to keep AIG afloat.

Source

Jimmy Cayne

Plenty of CEOs screwed up on Wall Street. But none seemed more asleep at the switch than Bear Stearns’ Cayne. He left the office by helicopter for 3 ½-day golf weekends. He was regularly out of town at bridge tournaments and reportedly smoked pot. (Cayne denies the marijuana allegations.) Back at the office, Cayne’s charges bet the firm on risky home loans. Two of its highly leveraged hedge funds collapsed in mid-2007. But that was only the beginning. Bear held nearly $40 billion in mortgage bonds that were essentially worthless. In early 2008 Bear was sold to JPMorgan for less than the value of its office building. “I didn’t stop it. I didn’t rein in the leverage,” Cayne later told Fortune.

Source

Bill Clinton

President Clinton’s tenure was characterized by economic prosperity and financial deregulation, which in many ways set the stage for the excesses of recent years. Among his biggest strokes of free-wheeling capitalism was the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, a cornerstone of Depression-era regulation. He also signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which exempted credit-default swaps from regulation. In 1995 Clinton loosened housing rules by rewriting the Community Reinvestment Act, which put added pressure on banks to lend in low-income neighborhoods. It is the subject of heated political and scholarly debate whether any of these moves are to blame for our troubles, but they certainly played a role in creating a permissive lending environment.

Source

Chris Cox

The ex-SEC chief’s blindness to repeated allegations of fraud in the Madoff scandal is mind-blowing, but it’s really his lax enforcement that lands him on this list. Cox says his agency lacked authority to limit the massive leveraging that set up last year’s financial collapse. In truth, the SEC had plenty of power to go after big investment banks like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch for better disclosure, but it chose not to. Cox oversaw the dwindling SEC staff and a sharp drop in action against some traders.

Source

Kathleen Corbet

By slapping AAA seals of approval on large portions of even the riskiest pools of loans, rating agencies helped lure investors into loading on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that are now unsellable. Corbet ran the largest agency, Standard & Poor’s, during much of this decade, though the other two major players, Moody’s and Fitch, played by similar rules. How could a ratings agency put its top-grade stamp on such flimsy securities? A glaring conflict of interest is one possibility: these outfits are paid for their ratings by the bond issuer. As one S&P analyst wrote in an email, “[A bond] could be structured by cows and we would rate it.”

Source

John Devaney

Hedge funds played an important role in the shift to sloppy mortgage lending. By buying up mortgage loans, Devaney and other hedge-fund managers made it profitable for lenders to make questionable loans and then sell them off. Hedge funds were more than willing to swallow the risk in exchange for the promise of fat returns. Devaney wasn’t just a big buyer of mortgage bonds — he had his own $600 million fund devoted to buying risky loans — he was one of its cheerleaders. Worse, Devaney knew the loans he was funding were bad for consumers. In early 2007, talking about option ARM mortgages, he told Money, “The consumer has to be an idiot to take on one of those loans, but it has been one of our best-performing investments.”

Source

Richard Fuld

The Gorilla of Wall Street, as Fuld was known, steered Lehman deep into the business of subprime mortgages, bankrolling lenders across the country that were making convoluted loans to questionable borrowers. Lehman even made its own subprime loans. The firm took all those loans, whipped them into bonds and passed on to investors billions of dollars of what is now toxic debt. For all this wealth destruction, Fuld raked in nearly $500 million in compensation during his tenure as CEO, which ended when Lehman did.

Source

Burton Jablin

The programming czar at Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV and other lifestyle channels, helped inflate the real estate bubble by teaching viewers how to extract value from their homes. Programs like Designed to Sell, House Hunters and My House Is Worth What? developed loyal audiences, giving the housing game glamour and gusto. Jablin didn’t act alone: shows like Flip That House (TLC) and Flip This House (A&E) also came on the scene. To Jablin’s credit, HGTV, which airs in more than 97 million homes, also launched Income Property, a show that helps first-time homeowners reduce mortgage payments by finding ways to economically add rental units.

Source

Wen Jiabao

Think of Wen as a proxy for the Chinese government — particularly those parts of it that have supplied the U.S. with an unprecedented amount of credit over the past eight years. If cheap credit was the crack cocaine of this financial crisis — and it was — then China was one of its primary dealers. China is now the largest creditor to the U.S. government, holding an estimated $1.7 trillion in dollar-denominated debt. That massive build-up in dollar holdings is specifically linked to China’s efforts to control the value of its currency. China didn’t want the renminbi to rise too rapidly against the dollar, in part because a cheap currency kept its export sector humming — which it did until U.S. demand cratered last fall.

Source

Fred Goodwin

For years, the worst moniker you heard thrown at Goodwin, the former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), was “Fred the Shred,” on account of his knack for paring costs. A slew of acquisitions changed that, and some RBS investors saw him as a megalomaniac. Commentators have since suggested that Goodwin is simply “the world’s worst banker.” Why so mean? The face of over-reaching bankers everywhere, Goodwin got greedy. More than 20 takeovers helped him transform RBS into a world beater after he assumed control in 2000. But he couldn’t stop there. As the gloom gathered in 2007, Goodwin couldn’t resist leading a $100 billion takeover of Dutch rival ABN Amro, stretching RBS’s capital reserves to the limit. The result: the British government last fall pumped $30 billion into the bank, which expects 2008 losses to be the biggest in U.K. corporate history.

Source

Phil Gramm

As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee from 1995 through 2000, Gramm was Washington’s most prominent and outspoken champion of financial deregulation. He played a leading role in writing and pushing through Congress the 1999 repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial banks from Wall Street. He also inserted a key provision into the 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act that exempted over-the-counter derivatives like credit-default swaps from regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Credit-default swaps took down AIG, which has cost the U.S. $150 billion thus far.

Source

Alan Greenspan

The Federal Reserve chairman — an economist and a disciple of libertarian icon Ayn Rand — met his first major challenge in office by preventing the 1987 stock-market crash from spiraling into something much worse. Then, in the 1990s, he presided over a long economic and financial-market boom and attained the status of Washington’s resident wizard. But the super-low interest rates Greenspan brought in the early 2000s and his long-standing disdain for regulation are now held up as leading causes of the mortgage crisis. The maestro admitted in an October congressional hearing that he had “made a mistake in presuming” that financial firms could regulate themselves.

Source

David Oddsson

In his two decades as Iceland’s Prime Minister and then as central-bank governor, Oddsson made his tiny country an experiment in free-market economics by privatizing three main banks, floating the currency and fostering a golden age of entrepreneurship. When the market turned … whoops! Iceland’s economy is now a textbook case of macroeconomic meltdown. The three banks, which were massively leveraged, are in receivership, GDP could drop 10% this year, and the IMF has stepped in after the currency lost more than half its value. Nice experiment.

Source

Stan O’Neal

Merrill Lynch’s celebrated CEO for nearly six years, ending in 2007, he guided the firm from its familiar turf — fee businesses like asset management — into the lucrative game of creating collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), which were largely made of subprime mortgage bonds. To provide a steady supply of the bonds — the raw pork for his booming sausage business —O’Neal allowed Merrill to load up on the bonds and keep them on its books. By June 2006, Merrill had amassed $41 billion in subprime CDOs and mortgage bonds, according to Fortune. As the subprime market unwound, Merrill went into crisis, and Bank of America swooped in to buy it.

Source

Henry Paulson

When Paulson left the top job at Goldman Sachs to become Treasury Secretary in 2006, his big concern was whether he’d have an impact. He ended up almost single-handedly running the country’s economic policy for the last year of the Bush Administration. Impact? You bet. Positive? Not yet. The three main gripes against Paulson are that he was late to the party in battling the financial crisis, letting Lehman Brothers fail was a big mistake and the big bailout bill he pushed through Congress has been a wasteful mess.

Source

David Lereah

When the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, an industry trade group, tells you the housing market is going to keep on chugging forever, you listen with a grain of salt. But Lereah, who held the position through early 2007, did more than issue rosy forecasts. He regularly trumpeted the infallibility of housing as an investment in interviews, on TV and in his 2005 book, Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?. Lereah says he grew concerned about the direction of the market in 2006, but consider his January 2007 statement: “It appears we have established a bottom.”

Source

Bernard Madoff

His alleged Ponzi scheme could inflict $50 billion in losses on society types, retirees and nonprofits. The bigger cost for America comes from the notion that Madoff pulled off the biggest financial fraud in history right under the noses of regulators. Assuming it’s all true, the banks and hedge funds that neglected due diligence were stupid and paid for it, while the managers who fed him clients’ money — the so-called feeders — were reprehensibly greedy. But to reveal government and industry regulators as grossly incompetent casts a shadow of doubt far and wide, which crimps the free flow of investment capital. That will make this downturn harder on us all.

Source

Ian McCarthy

Homebuilders had plenty to do with the collapse of the housing market, not just by building more homes than the country could stomach, but also by pressuring people who couldn’t really afford them to buy in. As CEO of Beazer Homes since 1994, McCarthy has become something of a poster child for the worst builder behaviors. An investigative series that ran in the Charlotte Observer in 2007 highlighted Beazer’s aggressive sales tactics, including lying about borrowers’ qualifications to help them get loans. The FBI, Department of Housing and Urban Development and IRS are all investigating Beazer. The company has admitted that employees of its mortgage unit violated regulations — like down-payment-assistance rules —at least as far back as 2000. It is cooperating with federal investigators.

Source

Angelo Mozilo

The son of a butcher, Mozilo co-founded Countrywide in 1969 and built it into the largest mortgage lender in the U.S. Countrywide wasn’t the first to offer exotic mortgages to borrowers with a questionable ability to repay them. In its all-out embrace of such sales, however, it did legitimize the notion that practically any adult could handle a big fat mortgage. In the wake of the housing bust, which toppled Countrywide and IndyMac Bank (another company Mozilo started), the executive’s lavish pay package was criticized by many, including Congress. Mozilo left Countrywide last summer after its rescue-sale to Bank of America. A few months later, BofA said it would spend up to $8.7 billion to settle predatory lending charges against Countrywide filed by 11 state attorneys general.

Source

Frank Raines

The mess that Fannie Mae has become is the progeny of many parents: Congress, which created Fannie in 1938 and loaded it down with responsibilities; President Lyndon Johnson, who in 1968 pushed it halfway out the government nest and into a problematic part-private, part-public role in an attempt to reduce the national debt; and Jim Johnson, who presided over Fannie’s spectacular growth in the 1990s. But it was Johnson’s successor, Raines, who was at the helm when things really went off course. A former Clinton Administration Budget Director, Raines was the first African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company when he took the helm in 1999. He left in 2004 with the company embroiled in an accounting scandal just as it was beginning to make big investments in subprime mortgage securities that would later sour. Last year Fannie and rival Freddie Mac became wards of the state.

Source

Lew Ranieri

Meet the father of mortgage-backed bonds. In the late 1970s, the college dropout and Salomon trader coined the term securitization to name a tidy bit of financial alchemy in which home loans were packaged together by Wall Street firms and sold to institutional investors. In 1984 Ranieri boasted that his mortgage-trading desk “made more money than all the rest of Wall Street combined.” The good times rolled: as homeownership exploded in the early ‘00s, the mortgage-bond business inflated Wall Street’s bottom line. So the firms placed even bigger bets on these securities. But when subprime borrowers started missing payments, the mortgage market stalled and bond prices collapsed. Investment banks, overexposed to the toxic assets, closed their doors. Investors lost fortunes.

Source

Sanford Weill

Who decided banks had to be all things to all customers? Weill did. Starting with a low-end lender in Baltimore, he cobbled together the first great financial supermarket, Citigroup. Along the way, Weill’s acquisitions (Smith Barney, Travelers, etc.) and persistent lobbying shattered Glass-Steagall, the law that limited the investing risks banks could take. Rivals followed Citi. The swollen banks are now one of the country’s major economic problems. Every major financial firm seems too big to fail, leading the government to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to keep them afloat. The biggest problem bank is Weill’s Citigroup. The government has already spent $45 billion trying to fix it.

Source

During the Eurotop in Bruxelles

Wed, 02 May 2012 06:08:00 -0400

During the Eurotop in Bruxelles
July 22, 2011

During the Eurotop in Bruxelles
July 22, 2011

Source

Carla Bruni Dress Collection

Wed, 02 May 2012 05:08:00 -0400

Dec 5, 2010
Bangalore
India

Sep 24, 2009
Coraopolis
Pennsylvania

April 3, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Nov 11, 2008
Douaumont
France

Sep 12, 2008
Paris
France

March 26, 2008
London
England

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

April 30, 2010
Shanghai
China

July 14, 2008
Paris
France

March 28, 2008
London
England

March 27, 2008
London
England

March 9, 2009
Mexico City
Mexico

June 6, 2009
Normandy
France

March 2, 2011
Paris
France

Dec 7, 2010
Mumbai
India

May 26, 2011
Deauville
France

July 16, 2009
Paris
France

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

April 28, 2010
Beijing
China

March 16, 2009
Paris
France

June 22, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

Christian Dior Cotton Camel Dress

Source

Dec 5, 2010
Bangalore
India

Christian Dior Nude Scalloped Dress

Source

Sep 24, 2009
Coraopolis
Pennsylvania

Christian Dior Cashmere Skirt Suit

Source

April 3, 2009
Strasbourg
France

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Collection

Source

—
—
—

Light Grey Suede Belted Dress

Source

June 18, 2010
London
England

Christian Dior Salt and Pepper Dress

Source

Nov 11, 2008
Douaumont
France

Christian Dior High Waisted Grey Dress

Source

Sep 12, 2008
Paris
France

Tailored Grey Skirt Suit

Source

Sep 21, 2009
New York
United States

Grey Shift Dress Skinny Black Belt

Source

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior By John Galliano

Source

Sep 22, 2008
New York
United States

Christian Dior Navy Simple Dress

Source

Dec 6, 2010
New Delhi
India

Light blue Dress and Hermes Shawl

Source

April 30, 2007
London
England

Velours Navy Spaghetti Straps Dress

Source

June 22, 2009
Qatar
Saudi Arabia

Azzoro By Vanessa Seward

Source

March 1, 2010
Paris
France

Roland Mouret Fall 2009 Collection

Source

Jan 7, 2011
Fort de France
France

Navy Velours Dress Skinny Black Belt

Source

June 7, 2009
Paris
France

Blue Printed Short Sleeve Sun Dress

Source

August 22, 2008
Languedoc
France

Navy High Waisted Sun Dress

Source

August 22, 2008
Languedoc
France

Navy Dress and White Hermes Shawl

Source

March 26, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior Silk Evening Dress

Source

Jan 30, 2009
Paris
France

Yves Saint Laurent Edition Soir Collection

Source

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Christian Dior
Navy Belted Dress

Source

July 14, 2009
New York
United States

Christian Dior Origami Neck Skirt Suit

Source

April 30, 2010
Shanghai
China

Christian Dior Short Sleeve Belted Dress

Source

July 14, 2008
Paris
France

Christian Dior Cruise Collection

Source

March 28, 2008
London
England

Purple Sleeveless Simple Dress

Source

May 10, 2008
Paris
France

Hermes Spring 2008 By Jean Paul Gaultier

Source

March 27, 2008
London
England

Christian Dior By John Galliano

Source

March 9, 2009
Mexico City
Mexico

Christian Dior Blush Pink Skirt Suit

Source

June 6, 2009
Normandy
France

Christian Dior White Cap Sleeve Dress

Source

Nov 22, 2005
Paris
France

Black Strapless Tailored Simple Dress

Source

March 2, 2011
Paris
France

Black One Shoulder Tailored Dress

Source

March 23, 2007
Cannes
France

Transparent Black Tailored Dress

Source

April 30, 2008
Tunis
Tunisia

Blue and White Tailored Sun Dress

Source

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Christian Dior Black Dress

Source

March 5, 2009
Paris
France

Chanel Tailored Satin Dress

Source

Dec 7, 2010
Mumbai
India

White Dolls Collar Shirt and Dress

Source

May 26, 2011
Deauville
France

Chanel White Tweed Dress

Source

June 23, 2008
Jerusalem
Israel

White Satin Short Sleeve Belted Dress

Source

July 16, 2009
Paris
France

Christian Dior Peter Pan Collared Dress

Source

July 13, 2010
Paris
France

Black Sleeveless Simple Dress

Source

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Collection

Source

Nov 4, 2010
Paris
France

Chanel Black Floor Length Dress

Source

July 14, 2008
Paris
France

Christian Dior Cruise Collection

Source

April 3, 2009
Baden Baden
Germany

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Collection

Source

Sep 23, 2008
New York
United States

Black Sleeveless Simple Dress

Source

Nov 17, 2009
Paris
France

Black Sleeveless Simple Dress

Source

April 27, 2009
Madrid
Spain

Audrey Hepburn Black Dress

Source

April 28, 2010
Beijing
China

Christian Dior Black Dress Skinny Belt

Source

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—
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Alexis Mabille Sleeveless Dress

Source

March 16, 2009
Paris
France

Black Simple Short Sleeve Dress

Source

Sep 24, 2009
Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania

Black Simple Short Sleeve Dress

Source

Dec 22, 2008
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

Black Simple Short Sleeve Dress

Source

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—
—

Black Belted Short Sleeve Dress

Source

May 27, 2011
Deauville
France

Black V Neck Simple Dress

Source

Sep 25, 2009
Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Collection

Source

Nov 11, 2009
Paris
France

Black Simple Long Sleeve Dress

Source

Dec 5, 2010
Bangalore
India

Black Floor Length Boatneck Dress

Source

July 3, 2009
Paris
France

L’Wren Scott Spring 2008 Collection

Source

Jan 27, 2012
Paris
France

Chanel Dress with Diamond Button

Source

The Worlds Richest Politicians

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:20:00 -0400

Dmitry
Ananyev

Worth
$1.8 billion

Silvio
Berlusconi

Worth
$5.9 billion

Michael
Bloomberg

Worth
$22 billion

Tom
Golisano

Worth
$1.5 billion

Jeff
Greene

Worth
$2.1 billion

Andrei
Guriev

Worth
$3.5 billion

Saad
Hariri

Worth
$1.7 billion

Bidzina
Ivanishvili

Worth
$6.4 billion

Alexander
Lebedev

Worth
$1.1 billion

Najib
Mikati

Worth
$3 billion

Henry Ross
Perot

Worth
$3.5 billion

Sebastian
Pinera

Worth
$2.4 billion

Mikhail
Prokhorov

Worth
$13.2 billion

David
Sainsbury

Worth
$1.1 billion

Naguib
Sawiris

Worth
$3.1 billion

Meg
Whitman

Worth
$1.4 billion

Dmitry Ananyev

Worth
$1.8 billion

The Connection
Federal Council Representative, Russia (2006 — Present)

With brother and fellow billionaire Alexei, Dmitry started out importing computers to Russia. The brothers then set up a bank and have been active in real estate and media. In 2011, they bought the Alfa Arbat Center, an office building in central Moscow, for $230 million. In 2010, the brothers sold their telecom company Synterra to Megafon, which is owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Alfa Group, for $745 million. Despite their wealth they felt a lack of education and completed executive MBAs at the University of Chicago in 2005. Both brothers are very religious. Dmitry is a Federal Council (Senate) representative for the gas-rich polar region of Yamal. Since he became a senator in 2006, his brother Alexei handles all their businesses.

Source

Silvio Berlusconi

Worth
$5.9 billion

The Connection
Prime Minister, Italy
(2008 — 2011)

Silvio Berlusconi is out of office and out of jail, at least for now. The former Italian Prime Minister resigned in November amid scandals, gaffes and a crumbling economy. This past February, the media and banking maven had corruption charges thrown out of Italian court thanks to a statute of limitations, but he still faces separate charges for sex with a minor and tax fraud. He denies all allegations. He started his career as a cruise ship crooner.

Source

Michael Bloomberg

Worth
$22 billion

The Connection
Mayor, New York City
(2002 — Present)

In January the longtime equal rights advocate joined with other mayors nationwide to launch Mayors for Freedom to Marry. In February he won plaudits from women’s rights groups for pledging to match $250,000 in donations to Planned Parenthood when the Susan G. Komen Foundation controversially and briefly cut funding.

Source

Tom Golisano

Worth
$1.5 billion

The Connection
Gubernatorial candidate, New York (1994, 1998, 2002)

Golisano is the national spokesman and major funder of the National Popular Vote Initiative, an organization dedicated to abolishing the electoral college and instituting the direct election of the President of the United States by popular vote. His charitable Golisano Foundation “is devoted exclusively to supporting programs for people with developmental disabilities so that they may achieve their maximum potentials by integrating independence, self-determination, and productivity into all facets of their lives”.

Source

Jeff Greene

Worth
$2.1 billion

The Connection
Senate candidate in 2010 Democratic Primary, Florida

Greene lost his primary battle to Kendrick Meek, who in turn lost to up-and-coming Republican all-star Marco Rubio.

Source

Andrei Guriev

Worth
$3.5 billion

The Connection
Senator to Federation Council, Russia (2001 — Present)

The former Communist leader turned fertilizer billionaire is considered one of Russia’s most powerful politicians.

Source

Saad Hariri

Worth
$1.7 billion

The Connection
Prime Minister of Lebanon (2009 — 2011)

Saad Hariri lost his post as prime minister of Lebanon last year after Hezbollah cabinet members walked out on him for refusing to reject the findings of a tribunal implicating members of the Islamist group in his father’s murder. He now leads the opposition against Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a fellow billionaire, but has been living mostly in Saudi Arabia, reportedly for security reasons. He’s chairman and chief executive of Saudi Oger, the source of the family’s wealth. A recent ski injury temporarily slowed down his relentless tweets against the Syrian dictatorship.

Source

Bidzina Ivanishvili

Worth
$6.4 billion

The Connection
Candidate for Prime Minister
of Georgia (Fall 2012)

Bidzina’s wealth is equal to half of Georgia’s GDP, and he’s used it to provide for the people living in his hometown of Chorvila - creating a modern feudal municipality.

Source

Alexander Lebedev

Worth
$1.1 billion

The Connection
Political ally, Mikhail Gorbachev

Alexander Lebedev is a leading critic of Russian authorities; the former KGB agent refuses to leave his country for fear he’ll be forced into exile. Lebedev’s National Reserve Bank in Moscow and his Crimean hotel were both searched last year. Lebedev’s political career has not been as successful as his business life: a member of Russia’s parliament until 2007, he then tried to launch a new social democrat party with Mikhail Gorbachev, but the effort fizzled. Lebedev financially supports the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation which has built a free children’s cancer hospital in St. Petersburg.

Source

Najib Mikati

Worth
$3 billion

The Connection
Prime Minister, Lebanon
(2011 — Present)

Najib Mikati became prime minister of Lebanon in January 2011 and immediately faced a series of threats to the country’s stability—not least the violence in neighboring Syria. Mikati, who’s a moderate in a divided nation, keeps in touch with a growing following on Twitter to explain his policies.

Source

Henry Ross Perot

Worth
$3.5 billion

The Connection
Two time presidential candidate (1992, 1996)

Perot dropped $60 million on his first presidential campaign in 1992, capturing 19% of the vote. He founded the Reform Party in 1995 and ran under that banner in 1996, gaining 8% of the vote.

Source

Sebastian Pinera

Worth
$2.4 billion

The Connection
President of Chile
(2010 — Present); Senator
(1990 — 1998)

After he was elected president in 2010, Pinera kept his campaign promise to sell his holdings, a popular move. He unloaded his 26% stake in Chilean airline LAN for $1.5 billion, sold the TV channel Chilevision to Time Warner for a reported $150 million, and sold his share of popular soccer team Blanco Negro. But last year after student protests, worker strikes, and raging wildfires in Torres del Paine National Forest, Pinera’s approval ratings dropped to a reported 23%, the lowest of any Chilean president since Pinochet.

Source

Mikhail Prokhorov

Worth
$13.2 billion

The Connection
Leadership, Right Cause Party Congress (2011); Candidate for President of Russia (2012)

Prokhorov left Right Cause as the movement collapsed, calling the party a “farce.” He garnered 8% of the vote against Vladimir Putin in the race for president.

Source

David Sainsbury

Worth
$1.1 billion

The Connection
Minister of Science and Innovation, UK (1998 — 2006)

Lord David Sainsbury of Turville inherited a stake in $30 billion (pre-tax revenues) Sainsbury’s, one of the U.K.’s largest grocers. Sainsbury served as chairman and CEO of the supermarket chain but withdrew in 1998, when he was appointed to the government; he spent 8 years as UK’s Minister of Science and Innovation but resigned in 2006. He has been loyal to the Labour Party, donating over $15 million since 2000. However, he has reportedly been disinterested in supporting the party since Ed Miliband took the helm; Sainsbury supports Ed’s brother, David Miliband.

Source

Naguib Sawiris

Worth
$3.1 billion

The Connection
Founder, Free Egyptians Party (2011)

Sawiris plunged into politics when he formed last year the Free Egyptians party to promote free markets and a secular government. Although he apologized, hard-line Islamists wanted him tried on charges of insulting Islam for tweeting a bearded Mickey Mouse and a veiled Minnie.

Source

Meg Whitman

Worth
$1.4 billion

The Connection
Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, California (2010)

After spending her way to a gubernatorial loss in California last year, Whitman is back on top as the latest CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Whitman is tasked with turning around the struggling technology firm in the wake of the ousting of her predecessor, Leo Apotheker, fired just weeks after he announced that HP would be getting out of the PC business for good.

Source