Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Bus Econ 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bus Econ 2012. Show all posts

Friday, March 23, 2012

Catherine Rampell – New York Times: Making Sure Your Exit Music Is Loud and Clear – Greg Smith’s exit from Goldman Sachs

Catherine Rampell – New York Times: Making Sure Your Exit Music Is Loud and Clear – Greg Smith’s exit from Goldman Sachs


Over the years, Hollywood has offered many examples of employees who’ve made dramatic exits from jobs or situations. Clockwise from top left are Jennifer Aniston as a waitress in the 1999 film “Office Space”; Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire” (1996)”; Edward Norton in “Fight Club” (1999); and Anne Hathaway, shown with Meryl Streep, who was playing her imperious boss, in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006).

Published: March 17, 2012

WE’VE all dreamed about it at one time or another — that exquisite moment when we finally muster the courage to tell the boss what we really think.

For Greg Smith, that moment arrived last Wednesday.

As the world now knows, Mr. Smith is the young man who made one of the most spectacular exits Wall Street has ever seen. He resigned from Goldman Sachs — but he didn’t stop there. He also wrote an Op-Ed article in The New York Times, in which he contended that the culture inside Goldman was “toxic.” The bank, he said, routinely took advantage of its clients. (Goldman vigorously disagreed.)

To some, Mr. Smith was a hero — not quite Norma Rae, granted, but close enough for post-bailout Wall Street. After all, he stood up to the mighty Goldman, the Street’s version of The Man.

Related



March 21, 2012



"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






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Thursday, March 22, 2012

When Vampire Squids Become Cannibals – by Kevin Dayhoff – The Tentacle March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012



In case you missed it, last Wednesday Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive, resigned. Actually it was really no big deal, except while he was on his way out the door, he burned his bridges and then strafed the wounded.

Mr. Smith publicly nuked Goldman Sachs in a scathing op-ed article in The New York Times that left many holding their hands up high and shouting “Alleluia.”

Last Wednesday began the same as many of the most recent monotonous mid-week editions of the end of winter blues as our nation’s wounded business and financial community continues to snort and bellow while it tries to extricate itself from an economic tar pit and in the process, try not to pee all over itself anymore than it already has.

The European sovereign debt crisis continues to languish in the markets like a bad hangover and economic public policy, especially unchecked profligate U.S. sovereign spending and debt, continue as troublesome issues. And where there is a financial cesspool, one can count on Goldman Sachs merrily swimming with the rest of the bottom-feeders and leaches.

So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Kristi Hedges – Huffington Post: Guess Who's The Next Greg Smith?

Kristi Hedges – Huffington Post: Guess Who's The Next Greg Smith?

3/19/2012


When I read Greg Smith’s blistering op-ed about Goldman Sachs in the New York Times last week, I was floored. My first thought was “How brave!” quickly followed by, “Is he crazy?” Publicly quitting your job with a resignation letter to the world stating that your former company is “ripping people off” with “morally bankrupt” leadership is not a good career move… http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/03/19/guess-whos-the-next-greg-smith/

[…]

Though Goldman attempted to undermine his credibility by calling him a “disgruntled, mid-level employee,” numerous accounts corroborate what Smith himself said: he was a star performer on a fast-track who felt compelled to call out an ethical breakdown in one of our vaulted institutions. One of Smith’s colleagues described him as having a “clear moral compass.”

I can’t speak to the accuracy of Smith’s account at Goldman, or why it took him 12 years to figure all this out. And frankly, that’s not why I’m writing about it.

At some point in our careers, many of us will find ourselves in a place where what we’re asked to do at work directly contradicts our own deeply held values. I’m not talking about the small indignities that come from having a boss on a power trip or a job you hate. But rather the piercing jabs at your conscience that make you wonder who you really are.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, count yourself lucky… http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/03/19/guess-whos-the-next-greg-smith/

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Mashable Business: Apple to Spend $45 Billion on Dividend and Share Buyback



March 19, 2012 by Stan Schroeder

Ahead of today’s call, Apple has announced it plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which starts July 1, 2012.

Furthermore, the company will start a $10 billion share repurchasing program, starting in Apple’s fiscal 2013, which starts on September 30, 2012.

This means Apple will spend approximately $45 billion of its cash reserves on dividends and share buyback in the first three years of these new programs…http://mashable.com/2012/03/19/apple-dividend/

*****

Monday, March 19, 2012

GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff

GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff


I'm still hearing from folks, literally, from all over the world about, "The kerfuffle was no fluke." It must have struck a nerve.

So far in the presidential election of 2012 the only debate among historians is just which national election in history has the opposition party collectively conducted a more inept campaign to unseat a sitting president?

One of the places i wanted to go when I wrote "The kerfuffle was no fluke," was the 1860 presidential election. Fortunately, on March 16, 2012, TheTentacle writer, Roy Meachum picked-up that portion of the story: “Inevitable GOP Tuesday,” “As Tuesday pointed out, Republicans seem headed for the fate that led to Abraham Lincoln’s election, establishing the party on the American political scene.
In 1860, Democrats ruled the land. Nomination on their ticket was tantamount to a key to the White House. The great favorite was Stephen Douglas, who had defeated Mr. Lincoln for the U.S. Senate two years before. At their convention in Charleston, South Carolina, they went through 55 ballots before adjourning to Baltimore. Mr. Douglas was the winner of a divided party. The pro-slavery Democrats chose Vice President John Breckenridge, of Kentucky…” http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4978

[…]

The idea that the Republican Party is on a great march, en masse, off a cliff, is starting to be discussed in a hushed tone of voice that is only growing louder as November approaches.

Apparently I am not the only political observer to ponder such matters. Nor I am the only person to have the temerity to actually put it in print. Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza wrote at length last Monday, “2012: The Republican party’s Gotham election.”

[…]

“That idea — that the only way to truly rebuild something is for it first bottom out — is one that some within the Republican party have begun to toy with privately as the divisions between its tea party wing and the more establishment/moderate side of the party become more and more apparent.”

Although Mr. Cillizza illustrated it better; every time you hear a Republican say that they will not support a ‘R.I.N.O.’ candidate, please understand that paradoxically you are hearing the voice of a foot soldier for the Democrats in the costume of a Republican. I mean, let me get this straight, you would really rather endure another four more years of President Obama than support a moderate candidate for office.

I would not give a rat’s behind if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton changed parties and won the Republican nomination, the only criteria for the Republican nominee for the presidential election of November 2012 is that he or she have a chance at beating President Obama at the polls.

For pity sake, forget about all the hand wringing and Exorcist-gyrations about how the liberal media is in the tank for President Obama. We get it. Now get over it because there is not a darn thing you are going to do about it - - except message control and party discipline.

And speaking of that, please do not waste anyone’s time over whether or not the media treatment of Mr. Limbaugh utterly stupid attack on Ms. Fluke was fair or unfair.

Of course it is not fair to suggest that Mr. Limbaugh speaks for rank and file Republicans any more than it is fair to suggest that the crude and vulgar attacks on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin by Bill Maher are representative of the run of the mill Democrats.

[…]

The only thing I regret about the piece is that I did not emphasize enough that the entire kerfuffle had nothing to do with the Democrat Party – President Barack Obama talking point, the "war on women." This issue, as Ron Miller said better than me, “is manufactured out of whole cloth by a Leftist messaging apparatus that is breathtaking in its coordination, its scope, and its chutzpah."

This more about the war for the women’s vote…

Nevertheless, I’ve written it before and I will repeat it now: at this point, President Barack Obama could kill a puppy on national TV and still win the election this coming November… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4959

I stand in good company with columnist George Will and especially Peggy Noonan who recently observed, “… the Republican nominee will emerge so bloodied his victory will hardly be worth having; the Republicans are delving into areas so extreme and so off point that by the end Mr. Obama will look like the moderate.”

For other columns by Kevin Dayhoff:

March 14, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Weary taxpayers and consumers, who continue to be frustrated and exhausted by an uncertain future, the ongoing economic malaise, and a ‘new economic normal,’ are in the midst of perpetuating a sea change in how business is conducted in this country.

March 7, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Rush Limbaugh and conservatives could not have looked more like total and complete idiots in the recent national discussions over the private lives of individual Americans than if the liberal media and Democrats had written the script for this Kabuki circular firing squad.

February 29, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It was a warm day last Thursday as I took a left turn off Tuttle Avenue on to 12th Street in Sarasota (FL) and tried to remember how to get into the Baltimore Orioles spring training parking lot at Ed Smith Stadium.

February 22, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The first day of Baltimore Orioles’ spring training began Sunday when the pitchers and catchers reported for the annual ritual in Sarasota, Florida.

February 15, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
There have been many tragedies of economic malaise in the last five years. Kodak’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seems especially sad; and it is only fitting that we pause for a moment to pay our respects.

February 8, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Now that the Super Bowl is over there may be no better time to focus some attention on the continuing Greek tragedy that is unfolding over in the economic Twilight Zone, known as the Eurozone.

February 1, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Legislation to address how Maryland estate taxes inhibit farmers from passing-down the family farm to succeeding generations has gained some much-needed interest in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly.

January 25, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal year 2013 state budget, released a week ago, is a full menu of difficult choices. However, one of the most troubling is the lack of funding for police protection and highway user revenue for municipalities.

January 18, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The consensus continues to gather steam that the GOP nomination to challenge President Barack Obama for president this fall will be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Perhaps all the drama now moves to who will be his choice for vice president.

January 11, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It is fairly well accepted among keen observers of national politics that the Iowa caucuses of Tuesday a week ago are much more about political and media-theater than a prognosticator of who will vie for the Oval Office this fall.

January 4, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Next Wednesday, on January 11, the 430th taxing tradition of the Maryland General Assembly opera will once again take center stage.

+++++++++++++++++++

20120319 KED seo GOP still headed for a cliff

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED


GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED

The following is the message Lloyd C. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn sent March 14, 2012 to the people of Goldman Sachs.



By now, many of you have read the submission in today’s New York Times by a former employee of the firm. Needless to say, we were disappointed to read the assertions made by this individual that do not reflect our values, our culture and how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.

In a company of our size, it is not shocking that some people could feel disgruntled. But that does not and should not represent our firm of more than 30,000 people. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But, it is unfortunate that an individual opinion about Goldman Sachs is amplified in a newspaper and speaks louder than the regular, detailed and intensive feedback you have provided the firm and independent, public surveys of workplace environments.

While we expect you find the words you read today foreign from your own day-to-day experiences, we wanted to remind you what we, as a firm – individually and collectively – think about Goldman Sachs and our client-driven culture.
First, 85 percent of the firm responded to our recent People Survey, which provides the most detailed and comprehensive review to determine how our people feel about Goldman Sachs and the work they do… http://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/comments-and-responses/current/nyt-op-ed-response.html

UPDATE: ++++++++++


March 21, 2012



So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






________




*****

Friday, March 16, 2012

New York Times Greg Smith: Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs

New York Times Greg Smith: Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs


OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs

By GREG SMITH

March 14, 2012

TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.



To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for… http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB

Related




"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." …http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






*****

Monday, February 27, 2012

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by S&P


Financial Times February 27 S&P puts Greece in selective default

S&P on Monday night declared that Greece was in selective default on its long and short-term ratings, pointing to the terms of the sovereign debt deal offered to private bondholders last week. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9dffdd30-6147-11e1-a738-00144feabdc0.html


+++++++++

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by Standard and Poor
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/greece-ratings-cut-to-selective-default-by-s-p.html
By Greg Chang - Feb 27, 2012 4:36 PM ET

Greece had its long-term sovereign credit ratings cut to selective default from CC by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which cited an action by Greece’s government regarding its sovereign debt that began a “distressed debt restructuring.”

The downgrade was triggered after Greece retroactively inserted collective action clauses in the documentation of certain sovereign debt series last week, according to S&P.

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by Standard and Poor

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by S&P
Orestis Panagiotou/Landov
The Stock Exchange in Athens on Feb. 21, 2012.







Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Obama's Dividend Assault and others news and views from The Wall Street Journal


The Wall Street Journal Online - On Opinion Journal Email
  Online Journal E-Mail Center   
February 22, 2012 -- 5:00 a.m. EST
See all of today's editorials and op-eds, video interviews and commentary on Opinion Journal.

Obama's Dividend Assault
A plan to triple the tax rate would hurt all shareholders.
 

*  *  *

HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR. 
Jenkins: A Stock Market for the Rest of Us?
A Silicon Valley start-up shows big business how its best customers can also be its best shareholders.
 

*  *  *

JOHN B. TAYLOR 
John Taylor: A Better Grecian Bailout
The fears of contagion from Athens were always exaggerated. Now the issues are whether Greece will reform and whether Europe will cut it off if it doesn't.
 

 
REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Racial Preferences Redux
The Supreme Court revisits discrimination and government.
 

 
The Tragic Greek Sideshow
No country should be forced to remain in the euro against its will.
 

 
JAMES TARANTO
Best of the Web Today: Mystification and Triumphalism
Why the left can't handle the truth about social conservatism.
 

 
COMMENTARY

RICHARD HAASS AND MICHAEL LEVI
Haass and Levi: How to Talk Down Tehran's Nuclear Ambitions
Before deciding on war or containment, the West should offer a good-faith compromise to the mullahs and the Iranian people.
 

*  *  *

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE
Austan Goolsbee: Jeremy Lin and America's 'New Exports'
The U.S. runs a huge trade surplus in tourism, tuition paid by foreign students, even NBA jerseys sold abroad.
 

*  *  *

ANDREW KLAVAN
Andrew Klavan: Gary Carter Showed Me How to Play the Game
I never met the baseball great, who died last week. But he spoke to me in my darkest hour.
 

*  *  *

BENN STEIL
Benn Steil: Why We Can't Believe the Fed
The bank's predictions of its own behavior are only as good as its predictions of the economy. It has a poor track record.
 

*  *  *

Notable & Quotable
Walter Russell Mead on the government's costly biases against entrepreneurs and small firms.
 

*  *  *

MICHAEL SHERMER
Defying the Doomsayers
"Abundance" argues that growing technologies have the potential not only to spread information but to solve some of humanity's most vexing problems. Michael Shermer reviews.
 

 
See all of today's editorials and op-eds, video interviews and commentary on Opinion Journal.


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