Featured Articles

Johnny Reid Edwards and Bunny Mellon: A Match Made in Camelot

Steven Berk
June 14, 2011 12:00

Nearly one hundred years young, Bunny Mellon, wife of the late Paul Mellon (yes that Mellon: banks, railroads, priceless art collection, inheritor of robber-baron money) took a shine to a handsome Senator seeking the Presidency: Johnny Reid Edwards.  It was not the first go-around for Ms....

Countrywide (Bank of America) and Saxon (Morgan Stanley) Illegal Foreclosures Against Military Veterans: How Low Can You Go?

Steven Berk
May 27, 2011 16:08

Even for notoriously money-blinded financial behemoths, preying upon veterans and their families defies even the most cynical observer’s imagination. In the sea of fraud and manipulation following the financial crisis, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have hit rock bottom (or at least...

Killing Osama bin Laden, Legal, Ethical and Moral

Steven Berk
May 09, 2011 13:19

What would Abraham Lincoln have done? I don’t often stray beyond domestic policy and as most readers of this blog know, if I have a strength, it is my commentary on the plight of consumers and how they are too often manipulated by more organized and focused forces representing big business...

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Presumption of Innocence

Steven Berk
June 13, 2011 13:14

I am returning from a legal conference held in Milan, Italy over the weekend.  Not surprisingly, dinner conversation inevitably turned to Dominique Strauss-Kahn (“DSK”).  “What do you think Steve?” Before I could say a word, thank goodness, my European friends...

Transparency in Government: Bring on the Big Screen Televisions

Steven Berk
May 25, 2011 14:06

When a member of a Senate or House Committee has the floor at a hearing, picture a large television monitor (think the size of the screen in the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium) airing commercials of the member’s top 5 political contributors.  Big HD screen with stereo sound. ...

The Strange Case of Allen Stanford: Is Amnesia Contagious?

Steven Berk
September 22, 2011 15:33

This is a tough one to be sure.  The law favors the banks but we applaud the DOJ for trying.  It strains credulity that a sophisticated banker wouldn’t know what was going on with the flamboyant Stanford.  If banks are held accountable, the Stanfords of the world...

The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: How to Understand the Opposing Forces and the DOJ's Legal Action

Steven Berk
September 01, 2011 13:25

Sufficiently confused?  Decidedly undecided?  You are not alone.  TCO opined a few months ago—tentatively—that the merger is a good thing for consumers, but the Justice Department disagrees. Every coin has two sides, though in Washington we often see one side...

Sisyphus To Run Standard and Poor's

Steven Berk
August 24, 2011 15:13

Standard and Poor’s announced it has sacked former CEO Deven Sharma in favor of Doug Peterson, former Citigroup Chief Operating Officer.  (Click here for the WSJ story.)  We can’t say we’re shocked.  Under Mr. Sharma’s watch, S&P recklessly approved a...

CEOs of U.S. Companies are Fat, Happy and Overpaid -- and it's Only Getting Worse

Steven Berk
July 11, 2011 13:52

Executive Compensation is an explosive topic.  Every time I post on it, I receive … well … “hate mail.”  Vitriolic comments in the vein of “how dare I suggest limitations on compensation. It is un-American.”  One gentleman wrote me and...

Jeffrey Goldberg, the Intelligent Observer: The Repeal Amendment, A Tea Party Favorite is Lunacy

Steven Berk
May 15, 2011 16:22

On May 12, Senator Mike Enzi, Republican from Wyoming and Congressman Rob Bishop, Republican from Utah, introduced the Repeal Amendment by joint resolution to the US House and Senate.  A number of Republican Senators and members of Congress serve as cosponsors.  The Repeal Amendment, a...