Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Fall of Humpty Dumpty
This morning, share price of Citigroup was down to $2.62; Bank of America Corp. was $4.12. 52-Week highs were $27.35 (C) and $43.50 (BAC). The financial sector continues to receive a drubbing....well-deserved drubbing. There is apprehension that some of the late, great financial institutions will end up being nationalized. Do I hear anyone say "Masters of the Universe"?
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
--Nursery rhyme
Unfortunately, the executives -- at Wall Street and elsewhere -- responsible for the current woes facing America and the world will not suffer much. They have made obscene amounts of money and stashed it away. It is a different story for the people who lost their jobs directly or indirectly from the actions of the shysters.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is staggering under load of its toxic assets.
A step in the right direction though is that both American and British governments are moving against the long-standing practice by Swiss banks to provide shelter for ill gotten wealth of shady people -- from drug dealers to corrupt politicians -- of different national origins. See: The End of Swiss Banking as We Knew it (Business Week).
*****
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
--Nursery rhyme
Unfortunately, the executives -- at Wall Street and elsewhere -- responsible for the current woes facing America and the world will not suffer much. They have made obscene amounts of money and stashed it away. It is a different story for the people who lost their jobs directly or indirectly from the actions of the shysters.
Across the Atlantic, in Europe things are not much better. Ireland, the much vaunted Celtic tiger, is facing high unemplyment rate and exodus of foreign investments.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is staggering under load of its toxic assets.
A step in the right direction though is that both American and British governments are moving against the long-standing practice by Swiss banks to provide shelter for ill gotten wealth of shady people -- from drug dealers to corrupt politicians -- of different national origins. See: The End of Swiss Banking as We Knew it (Business Week).
