Wall Street bonuses and scandals

The authors of the biggest financial catastrophe in world history—executives and traders at US investment and commercial banks—will see their year-end bonuses rise by an average of 40 percent compared to last year, according to a report issued Wednesday by Johnson Associates, a Wall Street-based compensation consulting firm: here.

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Documents relating to the investigation of Bernard Madoff released last Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlight the complicity of the US regulatory agencies in one of the biggest financial frauds in history: here.

For the first time in more than a quarter century, unemployment in the United States has reached double digits: here.

Scott Rothstein, Senator JohnMcCain fundraiser, orchestrated huge Ponzi scheme: here.

Politicians Won’t Return Ponzi Payoffs. Michael Winship, Moyers & Co.: “On Tuesday, Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford was convicted in a Houston federal court on 13 out of 14 criminal counts of fraud…. But what most of this week’s stories failed to mention was the large amount of his clients’ cash that was spent on campaign contributions, greasing the corrupt nexus of money and politics for personal gain. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were given to candidates, including Barack Obama, John McCain, John Boehner and Harry Reid; as well as national fundraising committees for the Republican and Democratic parties”: here.