In Washington, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has made a deal with broker-dealer, Goldman Sachs, who will pay a fine of US$550 million to settle a fraud charge brought against the firm. The SEC brought charges against Goldman for secretly betting against its own clients in the US housing crash of 2008. Goldman entered into the settlement without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.
Paul Jay of the Real News Network talks to Gerald Epstein, professor of economics and...
Leonard Gentle -
In the streets of Athens, tens of thousands march and protest, unions strike and even sections of the police and public servants join hands against an austerity programme. Daily, we go through a pattern of announcements from European Union (EU) finance ministers, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) promising bailouts and relief from market speculation, only to have the whole thing declared insufficient the next day, while “market jitters” continue...
The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed to a $146 billion bailout for Greece after Athens committed itself to years of austerity measures. Greek government workers, who are among those bearing the brunt of the measures, plan to disrupt flights and shut down hospitals and schools as protests escalate after 30 billion euros of additional wage cuts and tax increases were unveiled. Amy Goodman and Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Democracy Now speak with Costas Panayotakis, associate...
Democracy Now -
Guardian newspaper reports staff at Goldman Sachs can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms.
Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez speak to Nomi Prins, a former managing director for Goldman Sachs in New York, about the possible record bonuses, President Obama’s proposed...