http://news.linktv.org Link TV News Videos (Filtered by topics: Bank) en-us Fri, 05 Apr 2013 05:47:00 -0700 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://news.linktv.org/videos/huge-leak-blows-lid-off-worlds-offshore-banking-secrets?start=0 A colossal data leak obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has exposed the secret offshore accounts of tens of thousands of people and companies -- including more than a few politicians. The ICIJ's deputy director talks to Al Jazeera about the link.<br /> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 05:47:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/huge-leak-blows-lid-off-worlds-offshore-banking-secrets Offshore bank, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Tax avoidance and tax evasion, Bank, Investigative journalism, Banking in Switzerland, Al Jazeera English A colossal data leak obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has exposed the secret offshore accounts of tens of thousands of people and companies -- including more than a few politicians. The ICIJ's deputy director talks to Al Jazeera about the link. http://news.linktv.org/videos/french-tax-czar-i-hid-my-cash-in-foreign-banks?start=0 When you're the French budget minister in charge of cracking down on tax dodgers for the Socialist government, it's probably not a good idea to evade taxes yourself by hiding funds in foreign banks. But that's what J&eacute;r&ocirc;me Cahuzac has admitted to doing after months of angry denials and the threat of a lawsuit against the media organization that broke the story. Cahuzac has resigned, and could now face charges. Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:40:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/french-tax-czar-i-hid-my-cash-in-foreign-banks Jérôme Cahuzac, Tax avoidance and tax evasion, Bank, Social democracy, France, François Hollande, Euronews When you're the French budget minister in charge of cracking down on tax dodgers for the Socialist government, it's probably not a good idea to evade taxes yourself by hiding funds in foreign banks. But that's what Jérôme Cahuzac has admitted to doing after months of angry denials and the threat of a lawsuit against the media organization that broke the story. Cahuzac has resigned, and could now face charges. http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-crowds-seek-cash-as-cyprus-banks-finally-reopen?start=0 Security was tight and the crowds were large but mostly patient as Cypriot banks opened their doors for the first time in nearly two weeks. Strict controls are in place to pre<span style="color: #222244; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #f2f5f7;">vent people from taking large sums out of the country and cash withdrawals have been limited to $383 per person per day.</span> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:25:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-crowds-seek-cash-as-cyprus-banks-finally-reopen Cyprus, Economy of Cyprus, Bank of Cyprus, 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis, European sovereign debt crisis, Bank run, Central Bank of Cyprus, Bank, Raw video, Associated Press Security was tight and the crowds were large but mostly patient as Cypriot banks opened their doors for the first time in nearly two weeks. Strict controls are in place to prevent people from taking large sums out of the country and cash withdrawals have been limited to $383 per person per day. http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-banks-looting-depositors-to-save-their-assets?start=0 Democracy Now takes a look at the stunning Cyprus deal that allows money to be to "snatched" from depositors' bank accounts, in the words of Prof. Richard Wolff. In exchange for a $13 billion Eurozone bailout, all bank deposits above $130,000 will be frozen and up to 40 percent of the funds will be used to help pay off the banking sector's debts. Wolff calls it "blackmail" to force people who had nothing to do with the crisis to pay for it. Banks, through the government, are "looting their own depositors" to save themselves, he charges. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:41:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-banks-looting-depositors-to-save-their-assets Cyprus, 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis, Bailout, Eurozone, Economy of Cyprus, European sovereign debt crisis, Bank account, Bank, Deposit account, Democracy Now! Democracy Now takes a look at the stunning Cyprus deal that allows money to be to "snatched" from depositors' bank accounts, in the words of Prof. Richard Wolff. In exchange for a $13 billion Eurozone bailout, all bank deposits above $130,000 will be frozen and up to 40 percent of the funds will be used to help pay off the banking sector's debts. Wolff calls it "blackmail" to force people who had nothing to do with the crisis to pay for it. Banks, through the government, are "looting their own depositors" to save themselves, he charges. http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriot-deposits-slashed-in-bailout-deal?start=0 A last-minute deal on a bailout for Cyprus' crippled banks has been reached, but could cost depositors with more than $130,000 in savings in the nation's staggering Laiki Bank up to 40 percent of their deposits. Laiki is being wound down so that the Bank of Cyprus can survive, but that bank will assume some of Laiki's liabilities, and its depositors will also take a hit. In turn, the eurozone will come through with a $13 billion bailout. &nbsp; Sun, 24 Mar 2013 22:25:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriot-deposits-slashed-in-bailout-deal 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis, Cyprus, Bailout, European sovereign debt crisis, Economy of Cyprus, Eurozone, Bank, Bank of Cyprus, Deposit account, Al Jazeera English A last-minute deal on a bailout for Cyprus' crippled banks has been reached, but could cost depositors with more than $130,000 in savings in the nation's staggering Laiki Bank up to 40 percent of their deposits. Laiki is being wound down so that the Bank of Cyprus can survive, but that bank will assume some of Laiki's liabilities, and its depositors will also take a hit. In turn, the eurozone will come through with a $13 billion bailout. http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriots-proud-eurozone-rattled-after-bailout-tax-nixed?start=0 Cypriot ministers voted down a proposed levy on the island's bank deposits as part of a bailout arrangement, delighting protesters gathered outside, but shaking up the Eurozone."We are a strong example, not only for this country, but&nbsp;for&nbsp;Greece,&nbsp;Italy,&nbsp;Spain.&nbsp;The&nbsp;people&nbsp;can&nbsp;resist," said one protester. The Cyprus finance minister has left to seek aid in Russia, which is heavily invested in the nation. Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:07:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriots-proud-eurozone-rattled-after-bailout-tax-nixed Cyprus, Debt, European sovereign debt crisis, Eurozone, Bank, Greece, Spain, Italy, Russia, Euronews Cypriot ministers voted down a proposed levy on the island's bank deposits as part of a bailout arrangement, delighting protesters gathered outside, but shaking up the Eurozone."We are a strong example, not only for this country, but for Greece, Italy, Spain. The people can resist," said one protester. The Cyprus finance minister has left to seek aid in Russia, which is heavily invested in the nation. http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriots-cry-foul-over-personal-savings-bailout-tax?start=0 Cypriots are furious with government plans to take some of their savings to part-fund a bailout of the country's banks. The EU and IMF are lending 13 billion dollars to Cyprus and insist ordinary Cypriots must contribute to the bailout. Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:47:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/cypriots-cry-foul-over-personal-savings-bailout-tax Bailout, European Union, European sovereign debt crisis, Cyprus, Eurozone, Savings account, Nicosia, Economy of Greece, Bank, Al Jazeera English Cypriots are furious with government plans to take some of their savings to part-fund a bailout of the country's banks. The EU and IMF are lending 13 billion dollars to Cyprus and insist ordinary Cypriots must contribute to the bailout. http://news.linktv.org/videos/eu-backs-plan-to-slap-cap-on-banker-bonuses?start=0 European Union lawmakers, in a bid to curb the kind of risk-taking that leaves banks needing bailouts, have agreed on a plan to cap bonuses at no more than one year's salary. The banking industry -- and the British government -- are opposed, arguing that the move would drive talent elsewhere.<br /> Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:15:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/eu-backs-plan-to-slap-cap-on-banker-bonuses Bankers' bonuses, European Union, European Banking Federation, Othmar Karas, Financial regulation, European Parliament, Bank, Euronews European Union lawmakers, in a bid to curb the kind of risk-taking that leaves banks needing bailouts, have agreed on a plan to cap bonuses at no more than one year's salary. The banking industry -- and the British government -- are opposed, arguing that the move would drive talent elsewhere. http://news.linktv.org/videos/iceland-president-says-let-banks-go-bankrupt?start=0 Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson tells Al Jazeera's Stephen Cole that Europe should let banks that are ran "irresponsibly" go bankrupt. Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Grimsson also held his country as a model of economic recovery after its near-collapse four years ago. "We didn't follow the traditional prevailing orthodoxies. And the end result four years later is that Iceland is enjoying progress and recovery." Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:23:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/iceland-president-says-let-banks-go-bankrupt Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Davos, World Economic Forum, Iceland, Global Financial Crisis, Icelandic financial crisis, Bank, European sovereign debt crisis, Economic recovery, Bankruptcy Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson tells Al Jazeera's Stephen Cole that Europe should let banks that are ran "irresponsibly" go bankrupt. Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Grimsson also held his country as a model of economic recovery after its near-collapse four years ago. "We didn't follow the traditional prevailing orthodoxies. And the end result four years later is that Iceland is enjoying progress and recovery." http://news.linktv.org/videos/bank-rejections-force-south-koreans-into-high-interest-loans-linkasia?start=0 Although South Korea has escaped the worst of the global recession, the country is still feeling the crunch. MBC reports that major banks are rejecting most loan applications, forcing people to take out extremely high interest loans from private lenders. Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:51:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/bank-rejections-force-south-koreans-into-high-interest-loans-linkasia South Korea, Economy, Loan, Bank, Recession, World economy, Seoul, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, LinkAsia, Yul Kwon Although South Korea has escaped the worst of the global recession, the country is still feeling the crunch. MBC reports that major banks are rejecting most loan applications, forcing people to take out extremely high interest loans from private lenders. http://news.linktv.org/videos/sour-loans-send-south-korean-banks-into-abyss-linkasia?start=0 Twenty banks have already closed and South Koreans have lost almost $900 million in savings after an epidemic of bad real estate loans hit the banking sector. And the worst is still to come. South Korean broadcaster MBC reports on the impending wave of bankruptcies. &nbsp; Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:43:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/sour-loans-send-south-korean-banks-into-abyss-linkasia South Korea, Bank, Bankruptcy, Seoul, Government of South Korea, Financial institution, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, LinkAsia, Yul Kwon Twenty banks have already closed and South Koreans have lost almost $900 million in savings after an epidemic of bad real estate loans hit the banking sector. And the worst is still to come. South Korean broadcaster MBC reports on the impending wave of bankruptcies. http://news.linktv.org/videos/arrest-of-banking-tycoon-sends-vietnam-reeling?start=0 Vietnamese businessman Nguyen Duc Kien has been arrested for corruption, but is he just the tip of the iceberg? Contributor Nguyen Qui Duc reports from Hanoi on people's reactions to the financial scandals rocking Vietnam. Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:01:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/arrest-of-banking-tycoon-sends-vietnam-reeling Vietnam, Bank, Corrupt practices, Hanoi, Southeast Asia, LinkAsia, Nguyen Qui Duc, Yul Kwon Vietnamese businessman Nguyen Duc Kien has been arrested for corruption, but is he just the tip of the iceberg? Contributor Nguyen Qui Duc reports from Hanoi on people's reactions to the financial scandals rocking Vietnam. http://news.linktv.org/videos/inside-story-americas-as-bank-profits-soar-us-foreclosure-crisis-continues?start=0 While US banks report tens of billions of dollars in profits in the last quarter, millions of Americans are still at risk of losing their homes. Six years after the foreclosure crisis began, how much will it impact the upcoming presidential elections? Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:13:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/inside-story-americas-as-bank-profits-soar-us-foreclosure-crisis-continues Foreclosure, Banking in the United States, Global Financial Crisis, US economy, Politics of the United States, Bank, Take Back the Land, Barack Obama, US presidential election, 2012, Swing state While US banks report tens of billions of dollars in profits in the last quarter, millions of Americans are still at risk of losing their homes. What is behind the persistent housing crisis more than six years after it began, and how much will this impact the upcoming presidential elections? Guests Cathy Albisa, Robert Hockett, and Max Rameau discuss. http://news.linktv.org/videos/banking-on-change?start=0 J.S. Parthibhan is a bank manager with a difference: he's interested in people, not numbers. Through micro loans, he's helping villagers in rural areas develop a sense of entrepreneurship and self-respect. Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:57:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/banking-on-change Microfinance, India, South India, Microcredit, Rural area, Bank account, Savings account, Bank, Journeyman Pictures, ViewChange.org J.S. Parthibhan is a bank manager with a difference: he's interested in people, not numbers. Through micro loans, he's helping villagers in rural areas develop a sense of entrepreneurship and self-respect. ---- Many of India's 1.2 billion population are forced to borrow from private moneylenders at very high interest rates. Once they begin to borrow they rarely get free. One man decided to challenge this system My Name is Parthibhan. I am a bank manager in a place called Salem, South India. Banking on Change. I don't see myself as someone who sits in the office signing papers and totaling, all those things. I used to go out in the afternoon after my lunch, just for a stroll. I saw a lot of fruit vendors, shoeshine boys, palm wallahs. These people, they all come from the villages with one dream: that is, to make money. But I found out, they all had problems with the private moneylenders. I used to wonder how much they would be earning. Do they ever save money? And to my surprise I found out even a beggar earns a little over 500 rupees a day. Most of these 500 rupees will go to the hands of the private moneylenders. He'll collect it on a daily basis. So I slowly suggested to them, why can't they open a bank account and start saving? And with the saving they can repay the loan taken from the moneylender, and take home some money as well. We break the bags, clean them, and turn them into rope. We go to the village markets three times a week and sell the ropes. The first time we took a loan from the bank we repaid it properly. The second time we repaid in time also. The third time we arranged a loan through a self-help group, not individually. I made it a point, I will take my cup of tea from a particular shop only. And I'll buy fruits from a particular man. That is how I made friends with these people. I told them about my bank branch, without telling them that I was a bank manager there. I told them why don't you go to this bank, at least that is nearby. But for two, three days afterwards they have not come to the bank. Then one day a group of five entered and they went straight to the clerk at the counter and told them that they want to open an account. By that time I had already briefed my staff about their plight and that we must do something about that. Later, when I went out for my afternoon walk most of these people that I knew said, "Sir, you are working in the bank? Oh I see we also want to open an account." "Okay, you come tomorrow." So like that we had opened a little over 300 savings accounts, ordinary saving accounts. And slowly everyone started repaying the money taken from the private moneylenders, and they were able to save. And the one thing I always told them is, if they save and live within those savings, they'll have self-respect. Many of the villages are not covered by bus service so instead of them coming to my bank, I take the bank to the people. Sindran here, he has finished his school. He wants 25,000 rupees. He'll buy more goats with that loan amount. I want to earn enough for our needs. We also want to save enough to give our children a good education. I want to make her a teacher so that she can help others. For me as a banker, it is more than just dealing with money. It is dealing with people, it's dealing with their aspirations. See this is a special group we formed, with all the physically handicapped, challenged people, and people affected with leprosy. If they can come to the bank as one group and apply, we can definitely consider some financial help. I call them Pearl, Diamond, Ramu, Somu, and Queen. Now she would like to get a buffalo. How much will a buffalo cost you? If I buy it with a calf it will cost 3,000 rupees We can arrange a buffalo for you. How will you repay it? Every month I will make a payment. After finishing my school finals I went to the town to look for a job, but when they saw my hands nobody would employ me. She said she had finished her school finals. She went around asking for some people to give her some job. Nobody came forward to give because of her fingers. Don't cry, because … You are looking at your fingers. Some people don't have legs. Some people are roaming on the streets deranged. God has given you good eyesight and a good brain. What else do we need? You recently got a good husband. Pearl, Diamond, Ramu, Somu, and Queen are all your children. Have courage: God keeps you with great affection. You don't need to cry. All of us want a bright future. It is everyone's dream to have our house, clothes to wear, and good food. When I see some people don't have these things, there's something wrong with the system. These people's needs are so simple and necessary. This is a good loan application for starting a brick kiln. We must encourage such entrepreneurship. If you have too many people applying to do the same thing in the village, it is not a sign of improvement. This is really a good one. Do you have any other kiln in the area? MAN: No, we bring bricks from the plains [62km away]. Oh, you can do really well. Do you have a bank account? You must understand one thing: when you begin a new venture don't think only of yourself and your family. It should benefit the community, the village, and the entire surroundings. I am happy about such ventures. It is for these ventures that the bank extends its help. We'll definitely sanction the loan for you. I encourage more group lending. It binds them together, and they take pride when the project is successful. The whole village celebrates. I feel an individual growth is important but, more than that, the growth of the entire village, the entire area, is more important. I suppose both go hand in hand. Some of them have managed to bring in primary health centers, a small library also in certain areas. There has been an increasing number of oneness of mind, oneness of spirit. If I were a doctor, I would care for the people coming to me the same way as I do now. If I were a teacher, I'd be teaching my students with the same sincerity. I feel it doesn't matter what you are or what your work is. It is your approach. It is the conviction behind the approach. You can talk about global economic or financial crisis, or the need to bring about a drastic change in the system. But the importance is cultivating people. If you do that, everything falls into the right place. If you help them change their attitude towards life: what they are doing, why they are doing, how they can be. If you can help them to find answers to all these things, I think we have found an answer to all the big headlines in the newspapers. http://news.linktv.org/videos/us-banks-accused-of-racial-discrimination?start=0 Protesters say that Wells Fargo and some other major banks offers higher mortgage rates to minorities. The US Department of Justice says they have reached a settlement with one of the lenders, Wells Fargo - which has agreed to a $175m payout. Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:12:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/us-banks-accused-of-racial-discrimination US Department of Justice, Wells Fargo, Discrimination, Bank of America, Institutional racism, Mortgage loan, African American, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Racism in the United States, Race and ethnicity in the United States Census Protesters say that Wells Fargo and some other major banks offer higher mortgage rates to minorities. The US Department of Justice says they have reached a settlement with one of the lenders, Wells Fargo - which has agreed to a $175m payout. However, that sum is tiny in comparison to the $4.2bn profit the bank made in just the first quarter of this year. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett reports http://news.linktv.org/videos/spain-and-italys-troubled-banks-get-eu-bailout?start=0 Italy and Spain meet in Warsaw in the final of the euro 2012 on Sunday. And both countries will be pleased with their performance in the political arena too as the crucial EU summit goes into a final day. The deal allows bailout funds to go directly to banks without further austerity measures being applied. Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:57:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/spain-and-italys-troubled-banks-get-eu-bailout European sovereign debt crisis, Spain, Italy, Bailout, Austerity, European Council, Eurozone, European Union, Bank, François Hollande Italy and Spain meet in Warsaw in the final of the euro 2012 on Sunday. And both countries will be pleased with their performance in the political arena too as the crucial EU summit goes into a final day. The deal allows bailout funds to go directly to banks without further austerity measures being applied. http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-22-2012?start=104 In the first hearing of its kind, a Senate panel heard testimony this week on the psychological and human rights implications of solitary confinement in US prisons. In a rare interview, former Texas death row prisoner Anthony Graves joins Democracy Now! to recount his experience in solitary confinement and how he was fully exonerated and released. And the 2012 presidential election is set to become the most expensive race in history, so will it be decided by the secret spending of the super-rich? Plus headlines, and more. Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:33:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-22-2012 Solitary confinement, Incarceration in the United States, United States, US Senate, Anthony Graves, United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, Dick Durbin, Prison, James Ridgeway, Prisoner abuse Credit agency Moody's has downgraded the credit ratings of 15 of the world’s biggest banks, saying all are at risk of major losses. The downgraded banks include Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan Chase, which recently lost $3 billion on risky bets. In a statement, a Moody's executive said the banks "have significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses inherent to capital market activities." http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-14-2012?start=843 Protesters confronted JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday as he testified on Capitol Hill about how his bank lost up to $3 billion in risky bets. Lawmakers, however, gave a warmer greeting to "Washington's favorite banker." Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:02:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-14-2012 JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, United States Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs , Barack Obama, United States, Syria, Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, National security, Syrian Civil War, Crimes Against Humanity Protesters confronted JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday as he testified on Capitol Hill about how his bank lost up to $3 billion in risky bets. Lawmakers, however, gave a warmer greeting to the man described as Washington's favorite banker. JPMorgan spent $7.6 million on lobbying last year, and Dimon has a long record of contributing campaign donations to lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee. We speak to former investment banker Nomi Prins, author of "Black Tuesday." Prins calls Dimon's appearance "the tamest — and there have been very tame ones — hearing for any of the bank leaders since the [financial] crisis began in 2008." She adds that "what we saw yesterday was a glimpse of how lobbying money, as well as additional campaign money ... have a tremendous impact on regulations and ... the power that [the financial industry has] within the Senate and, therefore, with respect to regulation of their own industry. ... This is why there's no line between legislators and bankers." JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday for the first time since his bank lost up to $3 billion in a risky speculative bet. Dimon apologized for the loss but failed to explain how the money was actually lost. He also continued his voice his opposition to new banking regulations. During the hearing, Dimon was repeatedly confronted by protesters. PROTESTER: This man is a criminal, and people need to shout out about this man and 18 other cronies that have been stealing near-zero-interest loans from the people, when the small businesses can't get the same loans, when the people are deprived loans to get into their—to keep their houses, when people are being thrown out on the streets. While protesters attempted to confront Dimon, many lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee warmly welcomed him and repeatedly praised the bank. This is Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. SEN. JIM DEMINT: Thank you, Mr. Dimon. I really appreciate you voluntarily coming in to talk with us. It is important that we talk about things happening in the industry. It will, I think, advise us, help us and—as we look forward, and hopefully it will contribute to best practice scenario in the industry, and I appreciate your emphasis on a continuous quality improvement. We can hardly sit in judgment of your losing $2 billion. We lose twice that every day here in Washington and plan to continue to do that every day. And it's comforting to know that even with the $2 million—$2 billion loss in a trade last year, your company still, I think, had a $19 billion profit. During that same period, we lost over a trillion dollars. So if we had a clawback provision, none of us would be getting paid here. So the intent today is really not to sit in judgment, but to maybe understand better what happened. Jamie Dimon's warm welcome did not come as a surprise to many on Capitol Hill. JPMorgan spent $7.6 million on lobbying last year. According to the watchdog group Open Secrets, Dimon has a long record of contributing campaign donations to lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee. Recipients have included committee chair Tim Johnson; Democrat Mark Warner; the top Republican on the committee, Richard Shelby; and Bob Corker. Meanwhile, at least one current staffer on the Senate Banking Committee is a former lobbyist for JPMorgan Chase, and at least five former committee staffers now work at JPMorgan. While JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon apologized for the bank's recent $3 billion loss, he failed to say how the money was lost. I think that, no matter how good you are, how competent people are, never, ever get complacent in risk. Challenge everything. Make sure people on risk committees are always asking questions, that's sharing information, and that you have very, very granular limits when you're taking risk. A granular limit says you could take no more than x risk in y, no more this risk in a name nor this risk in a market, including things like liquidity risks, so that you're controlled. In the rest of the company, we have those disciplines in place. We didn't have it here, and that's what caused the problem. To talk more about JPMorgan, we're joined by financial journalist Nomi Prins. She formerly worked on Wall Street as a managing director at Goldman Sachs and ran the international analytics group at Bear Stearns in London. Her latest book is called Black Tuesday, which is a novel about corruption and romance surrounding the 1929 stock market crash. She's also the author of It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street as well as Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America. Nomi Prins, you tweeted all through yesterday's hearing. Why was Jamie Dimon called to speak before, testify before the Senate Banking Committee? Well, as we just heard, apparently, from one senator, he wasn't called to sit there and be judged for the loss, how it was created, how he felt sorry but unaccountable for its creation. So that didn't seem to be the purpose for a lot of the senators there. What did seem to be an overriding purpose for this hearing was a judgment on regulation of the industry, where Jamie Dimon was sort of used as the pin for the senators that were talking about the need to not further regulate or more harshly regulate the banking industry, to which he of course falls very neatly in line, and the ones that sort of were talking about regulating it, but not so much. You know, as you mentioned in the read-up, there really wasn't a lot of grilling in this particular hearing. I thought it was the tamest—and there have been very tame ones—hearing for any of the bank leaders since the crisis began in 2008. Well, I'd like to play a clip of Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, asking Dimon how much regulators at the OCC, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, knew about the risky investments that led to JPMorgan Chase's loss. SEN. SHERROD BROWN: Was the OCC told about the trades taking place in your CIO office prior to the April 6 media reports? We are—we try to be very open kimono with regulators. We give them reports. They did—they do get some reports. We give them what they want. We give them the information they want. In this particular case, I think that we—since we were a little misinformed, we probably had them misinformed. The mistake we made, we passed on to them, and we—but the second we found out, the first people we got on the phone with was our regulators to explain: "We have a problem. We want to describe it to you." And, of course, they've been deeply been engaged since then. Nomi Prins, your reaction to this relationship's explanation of how they were dealing with the regulators? Yeah, well, when I was tweeting about it, I think my reaction was to laugh. But I know it's not really funny. It's really quite sad. What he—to interpret what he just said there, it's something like: "We didn't really tell the regulators what was going on, because they didn't ask. And when we knew what was going on, which we weren't really watching, we told them, and then they sort of looked into it, and then all this happened." It's this chicken-and-egg thing with regulators. And actually, throughout his testimony, he was very admissive of regulators doing anything. But he basically said, "Look, we misinformed them because we were misinformed." And the use of the word "we" kind of indicates a general "we." You know, on the one hand, he's sorry. You know, "I am sorry." Jamie Dimon is sorry. On the other hand, "we sort of collectively didn't really know, and then we did know, and when we did know, we told the regulators," and so forth. First of all, it's the regulators' job. This was 20 percent of the firm's assets. Twenty percent of the largest bank in the world's assets were tied up in these trades. You're not allowed to, as a regulator, not know, not ask every single day, hour, whatever, what is going on in that trade. So that was definitely a fault of the regulators. But on the side of Chase, yes, we don't know—and that's sort of what he admitted, without wanting to admit it—what was really going on as that trade was going wrong. And again, the trade was a substantial portion of the assets of the firm. It was not a little trade that blew up. It was not something that, you know, he calls a mistake. It was a dedicated transaction, which he did not explain yesterday, for which, in a derivative's way, in something called a synthetic derivative's way, which is the most risky way of putting on the trade they were putting on, the position that they were taking, as we are seeing, they basically lost money by betting that North American corporate credits were going to improve over that period of time, and they did not. And the way that they bet that was a very expensive and risky way to do it. So, for Jamie Dimon to indicate that he kind of didn't know until he did know is not—it cannot be true. I want to play, Nomi Prins, one of the few tense exchanges from yesterday's hearing, and it's quite something that there were only a few. This is Oregon Democrat, Senator Jeff Merkley, questioning JPMorgan Chase's CEO, Jamie Dimon. In 2008, 2009, your company benefited from half-a-trillion dollars in low-cost federal loans, $25 billion in TARP loans, of TARP funds, untold billions indirectly through the bailout of AIG that helped address your massive exposure in repurchase agreements and derivatives. With all of that in mind, wouldn't JPMorgan have gone down without the massive federal intervention, both directly and indirectly, in 2008 or 2009? I think you were misinformed. And I think that misinformation is leading to a lot of the problems we're having today. JPMorgan took TARP because we were asked to by the Secretary of Treasury of the United States of America, with the FDIC in the room, head of the New York Fed, Tim Geithner, chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. We did not, at that point, need TARP. We were asked to, because we were told—I think correctly so—that if the nine banks there—and some may have needed it—take this TARP, we can get it to the—all these other banks and stop the system from going down. We did not— I'm going to cut you— We did not borrow from the Federal Reserve, except when they asked us to. They said, "Please use these facilities, because it makes it easier for other" — We would all like to be asking— And we were not bailed out by AIG, OK? If AIG itself would have—we would have had a direct loss of maybe a billion or $2 billion if AIG went down, and we would have been OK. Then you have a difference of opinion with many analysts of the situation who felt the AIG bailout did benefit you enormously. And I'm not going to carry that argument with you now. Well, but they're factually— Sir— They're factually wrong. Sir, this is not your hearing. I'm asking you to respond to questions. And I also only have five minutes. Oregon Democrat, Senator Jeff Merkley, questioning JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon before the Senate Banking Committee, testifying yesterday. Your response, Nomi Prins? Well, first of all, it should be noted that Senator Merkley is not one of the recipients of JPMorgan Chase's campaign contributions, so that gave him, I think, the latitude, which we need from our senators, in asking these kind of questions, number one. Number two, this has been the myth that Jamie Dimon has perpetuated from the get-go, that JPMorgan Chase was the only bank that was somehow isolated from the interrelationship of all of the subprime assets that were basically toxically created and fraudulently distributed through the global investor community on the backs of subprime loans that were basically extracted from individuals throughout the country and that somehow they were the only bank that was clean on this. In other words, it would not have suffered any losses, any negativity, had there not been any form of bailout or guarantees from the United States government. The—two points on that. First of all, he wasn't separate from the New York Fed. You know, Tim Geithner was not someone kind of separate from him. Jamie Dimon, then and now, was and is a Class A director of the New York Fed, so he is the New York Fed in a lot of instances. But on a wider point, JPMorgan Chase benefited from two very big things that Senator Merkley didn't even mention, which was that they achieved an acquisition of Bear Stearns, for which the government is still backing to the tune of $29 billion of guarantees for the assets in that acquisition, and it received some very favorable terms, and in negotiations, to acquire Washington Mutual. So, the result of that entire period was for JPMorgan to have emerged, by the help of so many things that Merkley mentioned as well as the two things I have just mentioned, to become the largest bank in the United States. So for him to sit there and say, "You know what? No, this was all just because I was really good, and it was—I was taking one for the team on Wall Street; otherwise—you know, they arm-twisted me. You know, they had a gun to my head. I couldn't help it; I had to take the money," is absolutely ridiculous. Nomi Prins, I'd like to ask you about this whole issue of this incestuous relationship between people connected to JPMorgan Chase and these Senate and House committees. For instance, Kate Childress, a JPMorgan lobbyist since 2008, was also a former aide to Chuck Schumer, who sits on the Banking Committee. You've got Mel Martinez, who was a senator in the United States, is now the JPMorgan Chase executive in charge of Florida, Central America and the Caribbean. You've got P. Michael Nielsen, a lobbyist with a firm run by former Senator Bob Bennett, who was also on the Banking Committee. He's been retained by JPMorgan for help with federal probes. And it goes on and on. Yeah. What we saw yesterday was a glimpse of how that lobbying money, as well as additional campaign money, and in many meetings and phone calls throughout the entire process, which we don't even really quantify in those terms but have a tremendous impact on regulations and on how the industry is viewed and how particular members of it, certainly the larger ones like JPMorgan Chase, are viewed and the power that they have within the Senate and, therefore, with respect to regulation of their own industry. And the fact that there is a revolving door is very much intrinsic to the problem there. You've got an industry where—before, JPMorgan was talking about effectively policing himself, you know, regulators not knowing until we told them, and when we did, you know, and all of that. You know, we have a Senate Banking Committee that's comprised, except for six members, actually, of people who have gotten contributions in some manner from JPMorgan Chase. You know, we have lobbyists who are going back and forth. Chuck Schumer is an example of someone who asked incredibly tepid questions yesterday. One of the things he said, I think, was, "Well, you know, shareholders lost some money, but taxpayers didn't." And then he kind of proceeded to tag a question onto that, which was very, very light-handed. And so, these people really protect, on the side of Washington, the relationships with JPMorgan Chase. They go and work there, or they come from there— Nomi Prins, so, let— —and work within the Senate Banking Committee. Let's talk more— And they write their own rules. And that's partly why we have— Let's talk more about the amounts of money. —no real structural regulation of the industry. We have detailed regulation. We have reports that have to be filled out by the bank, when they want to fill out and with the information they choose to provide. You have regulators running around the offices of these banks. But in terms of real structural change and regulation to make these banks smaller, to make them more accountable, to separate, you know, the deposits and loans of individuals from these types of trades that can go on in a chief investment office and lose billions of dollars, or even make billions of dollars, but have that kind of risk swing, is all because of the relationships, the monetary relationships and revolving door between the banking industry and the banking regulations. Nomi Prins, I want to go to that issue of the money the Senate Banking Committee members have received—in fact, millions of dollars from the financial industry. This is some of the figures: Michael Bennet, the Democrat from Colorado, received $2.5 million; Robert Menendez, Democrat from New Jersey, $2.3 million; Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, who you were just talking about, $5.6 million; Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, $2.5 million; Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, $3.4 million; Roger Wicker, Republican in Mississippi, $1.5 million. And we could go on. Yeah, I mean, this is—this is why there's no line between legislators and bankers. And beyond the millions of dollars that they are getting to run their campaigns and to stay in office or to get elected into office and so forth, there's also all the sort of additional value that is received by the fact that JPMorgan Chase actually is giving them money, because if one bank is giving them money, it's not the only bank giving them money, it's the entire industry. And we're looking at a piece of it through, you know, the largest and most powerful commercial bank in the United States, but this is the way it works. And these people know that partially why they are sitting there in those seats is, unfortunately, not because they were simply voted in, but because they had the money to basically market themselves and stay in and connect to their real friends, which are the banking community they're supposed to be legislating against. Well, we want to thank you very much for being with us, Nomi Prins. Nomi Prins is author of a number of books, It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street, Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America, formerly walked on—worked on Wall Street as a managing director at Goldman Sachs and was with Bear Stearns in London. And her latest book is a novel called Black Tuesday, a novel about corruption and romance surrounding the 1929 stock market crash. http://news.linktv.org/videos/little-relief-in-bank-bailout-for-spains-jobless?start=0 The EU bailout of Spain's banks may have brought some relief to Madrid and eurozone leaders, but not for those struggling to find work in the country. Spain's unemployment rate over 24 percent and there is little sign of any improvements. Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:04:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/little-relief-in-bank-bailout-for-spains-jobless Spain, 2008-2013 Spanish financial crisis, European sovereign debt crisis, Unemployment, Economy of Spain, Bailout, Eurozone, European Union, Recession, Politics of Spain The EU bailout of Spain's banks may have brought some relief to Madrid and eurozone leaders, but for those struggling to find work in the country the outlook remains grim. At more than 24 percent Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in the eurozone and there is little sign of an improvement anytime soon. One man queuing at a benefits office in Madrid evoked the impact of the crisis on many of Spain's jobseekers. "I'm not optimistic. Every day I see it getting worse. I'm unemployed, with two children, separated (from my wife), I can't pay them maintenance pension. I'm partially disabled and the companies exploit us very badly." The government is pushing ahead with cutbacks and reforms that some fear will only worsen the situation, reflecting a wider austerity versus stimulus debate across Europe. http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-1-2012?start=2638 The Justice Department has ordered Florida to end a controversial voter purge that has primarily targeted Latino and Democratic voters. New constitutional amendment aims to overturn the Citizens United decision by banning corporate campaign cash. In victory for marriage equality, appeals court rules Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against same-sex couples. And "Inside Job" director Charles Ferguson asks: where are the criminal prosecutions for the financial crisis? Plus headlines, and more.<br /> Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:06:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-june-1-2012 United States, Politics of the United States, Same-sex marriage, Defense of Marriage Act, US Department of Justice, Mitt Romney, Ted Deutch, LGBT rights, Freedom to Marry, United States courts of appeals The Labor Department has just announced the United States economy gained only 69,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent. We air part two of our interview with Academy Award-winning director Charles Ferguson, who first examined the network of academic, financial and political players who contributed to the nation's financial crisis in his documentary, "Inside Job." In his new book, "Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America," Ferguson draws on newly released court filings to continue his investigation. Ferguson notes the Clinton administration oversaw the most important financial deregulation, and since then, "We've seen in the Obama administration very little reform and no criminal prosecutions, and the appointment of a very large number of Wall Street executives to senior positions in the government, including some people who were directly responsible for causing significant portions of the crisis." Ferguson also calls for raising the salaries of senior regulators and imposing stricter rules for how soon they can lobby for the private sector after leaving the public sector. The Labor Department has just announced the U.S. economy gained only 69,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent. We end today's show with part two of my conversation with the Academy Award-winning director Charles Ferguson. He first examined the network of academic, financial and political players who contributed to the nation's financial crisis in his documentary, Inside Job. Charles Ferguson now has a new book out that's called Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America. It's based on newly released court filings that reveal how major players contributed to the financial crisis. I began by asking Charles Ferguson about a recent comment of Mitt Romney's. President Obama is an old-school liberal whose first instinct is to see free enterprise as the villain and government as the hero. America counted on President Obama to rescue the economy, to tame the deficit and help create jobs. Instead, he bailed out the public sector, gave billions of your dollars to companies of his friends, and added almost as much debt to this country as all the prior presidents combined. The consequence is that we are now enduring the most tepid recovery in modern history. And let's follow that up with the interview he did with CNN's Soledad O'Brien when he talked about not being concerned about the poorest Americans. I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it You just said, "I'm not concerned about the very poor," because they have a safety net. And I think there are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. Can you explain that? Well, you had to finish the sentence, Soledad. I said I'm not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net, but if it has holes in it, I will repair them. Got it. OK. The challenge right now—we will hear from the Democrat Party the plight of the poor, and—and there's no question, it's not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor. But my campaign is focused on middle-income Americans. My campaign—I mean, you can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That's not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That's not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans. Mitt Romney. Charles Ferguson, your response? Mr. Romney is doing a good job of focusing on the rich, including himself, with a net worth of almost $300 million. Unfortunately, the best way to—in the long run, to help the poor in the United States is to give them fairness and opportunity. And that is not something that Mr. Romney's policies or the direction of the country have been giving us recently. And his comments about the adequacy of America's safety net also seem highly questionable. In fact, in this morning's New York Times, there's an article about the imminent cessation of long-term unemployment benefits for very large numbers of Americans who have been unemployed for, in some cases, up to four years. So, I fear that a Romney administration would not bring us a solution to America's economic problems. And Mitt Romney's advisers you referred to earlier, as you talk about, for example, Larry Summers and President Obama? Who does Mitt Romney turn to? And also talk about the fact that he is running for president not as the former governor of Massachusetts but as the former head of the private equity firm Bain. That is what he is saying is his—are his credentials for the job. Yes, both disturbing. Glenn Hubbard is one of his principal economic advisers, and Hubbard not only has the major financial conflicts of interest that I detail in the film and also in the book, he also, when he was head of the Council of Economic Advisers in the George W. Bush administration, was one of the principal designers of the Bush tax cuts, half of whose benefits went to the upper 1 percent of the population. So, I do not think that Mr. Romney's choice of economic advisers indicates his concern for the middle class, needless to say not for the poor. With regard to his record at Bain Capital, the private equity industry, in general, and including Bain Capital, is an industry that is largely unregulated. And although in some cases private equity deals, private equity transactions, have had benefits for companies that are required, for the most part private equity is an extremely efficient machine for making lots of money for private equity executives, in some cases at the direct expense of the companies themselves or the government. One thing that is not widely discussed about the private equity industry is that it frequently depends on hidden subsidies from the government, of the sort that Mr. Romney says he opposes. For example, for-profit—largely unregulated, for-profit universities depend extremely heavily on subsidized student loans, and there have been very widespread abuses of—by private universities that have been owned by private equity firms, including Goldman Sachs. I want to go to a clip, Charles Ferguson, of your Academy Award-winning film, Inside Job. The clip includes your interview with Scott Talbott, one of the top lobbyists for the Financial Services Roundtable. In the U.S., the banks are now bigger, more powerful and more concentrated than ever before. MARTIN WOLF: There are fewer competitors. A lot of smaller banks have been taken over by big ones. JPMorgan today is even bigger than it was before. NOURIEL ROUBINI: JPMorgan took over first Bear Stearns and then WaMu. Bank of America took over Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. Wells Fargo took over Wachovia. After the crisis, the financial industry, including the Financial Services Roundtable, worked harder than ever to fight reform. The financial sector employs 3,000 lobbyists, more than five for each member of Congress. Do you think the financial services industry has excessive political influence in the United States? No. I think that every person in the—in the country is represented here in Washington. And you think that all segments of American society have equal and fair access to the system? The—you can walk into any hearing room that you would like. Yes, I do. One can walk into any hearing room. One cannot necessarily write the kind of lobbying checks that your industry writes or engage in the level of political contributions that your industry engages in. Between 1998 and 2008, the financial industry spent over $5 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions. And since the crisis, they're spending even more money. That was Matt Damon, the actor, narrating the Academy Award-winning film, Inside Job. Charles Ferguson directed that film and then went on to write Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America. Take the lessons we learn from Scott Talbott, Charles Ferguson, to what we're seeing today, for example, with Jamie Dimon and the $3 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase. Who has access? Who doesn't? His lobbying, for example, JPMorgan Chase and Jamie Dimon, against the Volcker Rule and what this all means? Is it strong enough? The fierce lobbying about the implementation of the Volcker Rule is yet another example of this phenomenon. The banking industry, including and frequently led by JPMorgan and Mr. Dimon, have spent enormous sums of money to push back against strong implementation of the Volcker Rule and other aspects of even the relatively weak regulation embodied in Dodd-Frank legislation. And Mr. Dimon repeatedly has said that he doesn't think that such regulation is required. And indeed, one of the most astounding things about JPMorgan's recent loss is that regulation is still sufficiently weak that we don't know what that trade actually is. We do not know the details of that transaction, because they do not have to be publicly disclosed. It has been said by people who apparently do know something about the transaction that if the situation in Europe worsens, the losses could extend upwards of $5 billion. And this is a loss that occurred in a relatively forgiving economic environment, at least in the United States, and in a bank that is widely regarded, probably correctly regarded, as the best-run bank in the United States. So, it doesn't give one a great deal of security about what could happen if we have another financial crisis and what could happen in other less well-run, less financially strong banks. You talk about the crisis in Predator Nation being not just, you know, a Republican affair or a Democrat affair, it's a bipartisan affair. Talk about the role of Democrats in all of this. The role of Democrats, I would say, has been at least as great as the role of Republicans. The most important deregulatory legislation was actually passed in the Clinton administration, championed by Robert Rubin, who was secretary of the treasury, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, and then also Larry Summers, who was first deputy treasury secretary and then treasury secretary. First there was the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the law that separated investment from commercial banking. And then, in 2000, the— That was under Clinton. Yes, under the Clinton administration. And then, in the year 2000, also in the Clinton administration, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which actually banned regulation of all so-called over-the-counter derivatives, including the credit default swaps and many other instruments that were at the heard of the 2008 crisis. To his credit, President Clinton has actually publicly stated that he now regrets having passed that law. But it was definitely championed by major fractions of the Democratic Party and policy leadership. And then, of course, we've seen in the Obama administration very little reform and no criminal prosecutions, and the appointment of a very large number of Wall Street executives to senior positions in the government, including some people who were directly responsible for causing significant portions of the crisis. You also talk about how the once-revered figures Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers have simply become courtiers of the—to the elite. Unfortunately, I think that's an apt description. Of course, Alan Greenspan was a private economist before he went into the government, and had even taken money in the 1980s for lobbying on behalf of savings and loan executives who were later sent to prison, including Charles Keating. Larry Summers was first an academic and actually did not start working for the financial sector until after he left government for the first time, when he was president of Harvard and then subsequently a professor at Harvard. But he has consistently favored the financial sector's interests in all ways, and now he has made, by this point, tens of millions of dollars from the financial sector. The issue of regulatory capture—you talk about the importance of more regulation, but what about the—that revolving door between business and regulators? Very important problem. Difficult to address, but not impossible. I think that one very important measure that would be very beneficial would be raising the salaries, dramatically raising the salaries, of senior regulators and senior civil service personnel responsible for economic policy. In some other nations, senior regulators are very well paid, hundreds of thousands, even in some cases over a million dollars a year. And if that's the case, their temptation to favor banks, to go to work for banks, is of course much reduced. And I think that increased pay for the public sector should be accompanied by much stricter restrictions on what people can do after they leave government. Of course, people should be permitted to work in the private sector, but, for example, a five- or 10-year ban on lobbying would, I think be a very beneficial thing. http://news.linktv.org/videos/scared-europeans-withdraw-cash-from-troubled-banks?start=0 The European Central Bank has asked financial institutions across Europe to stand behind their struggling counterparts in countries such as Greece and Spain. But, while banks have an incentive to support their rivals, will Europe's savers be as patient? Thu, 31 May 2012 13:58:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/scared-europeans-withdraw-cash-from-troubled-banks European sovereign debt crisis, European Central Bank, Bank run, Anti-austerity protests, Economy of Spain, Economy of Greece, Spain, Greece, Austerity, Financial institution The European Central Bank has asked financial institutions across Europe to stand behind their struggling counterparts in Greece, Spain and other countries caught in the euro debt crisis. Banks have an incentive to support their rivals. But will Europe's savers be as patient and keep their money where it is? VOA's Dominic Laurie reports. http://news.linktv.org/videos/investment-chief-first-casualty-in-jpmorgan-chase-fallout?start=0 The chief investment officer of one of Wall Street's biggest banks, JP Morgan Chase, is to leave the company following trading losses that could reach three billion dollars. The firm said Ina Drew, who ran the London-based division responsible for the losses, is to retire after 30 years service. Mon, 14 May 2012 16:19:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/investment-chief-first-casualty-in-jpmorgan-chase-fallout JPMorgan Chase, Chief investment officer, Jamie Dimon, London, Bank, Wall Street, Euronews The chief investment officer of one of Wall Street's biggest banks, JP Morgan Chase, is to leave the company following trading losses that could reach three billion dollars. The firm said Ina Drew, who ran the London-based division responsible for the losses, is to retire after 30 years service. "JPMorgan has a great reputation", says Reuter columnist Agnes Crane, "but I think it's like you are never good enough to run a big bank and I think that's what is coming out from this, I think investors are going to start looking at other banks as well. I think this is going to reverberate beyond JPMorgan." The loss will undoubtedly dent the bank's profits although with revenues totalling 37 billion euros it should be able to withstand the blow. In a statement the bank said Matt Zames will take over Drew's position. The bank's boss, Jamie Dimon, has admitted he was wrong to have dismissed concerns about trading at the bank. There have also been unconfirmed reports that two other executives at the bank could resign. http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-april-30-2012?start=115 Bahrain has granted appeals for 21 people accused of trying to overthrow the US-backed monarchy after the Arab Spring protests began last last year, including human rights leader Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is on the 82nd day of his hunger strike. We interview the producers of "Booker's Place," a new documentary that tells the story of a black Mississippi waiter who lost of life by speaking out. And ahead of the Occupy Movement's May Day protests, leading social theorist David Harvey details urban uprisings from Occupy Wall Street to the Paris Commune. Plus headlines, and more. Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:12:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-april-30-2012 Occupy movement, Bahrain Uprising, Occupy Wall Street, May Day, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Bahrain, Protest, General strike, International Workers' Day, Booker Wright Labor, Occupy Prepare for May Day Protests Labor and progressive groups are preparing for a national slate of protests on Tuesday in what's expected to be one of the largest May Day turnouts since the immigrant rights marches of 2006 and 2007. Occupy Wall Street is seeking a turnout of tens of thousands under the slogan of "General Strike. No Work. No Shopping. Occupy Everywhere." Report: Banks, Police Share Occupy Monitoring Ahead of May Day, new reports have emerged of major banks working with police to monitor Occupy protesters. According to Bloomberg News, the nation's largest banks are sharing information about protesters' May Day plans amongst themselves, as well as with police. Tuesday's day of action includes a list of 99 sites in Manhattan where protesters will gather to rally against corporate power. The banks are also sharing intelligence in preparation for the antiwar protests set for the NATO summit in Chicago later in May. The information sharing is relying on video surveillance, robots and officers positioned in buildings to monitor protesters' movements. Hundreds March on New York Stock Exchange On Friday, hundreds of Occupy activists rallied in Manhattan as part of a weekly march to the New York Stock Exchange. A handful of arrests were made. http://news.linktv.org/videos/argentine-protesters-attack-uk-banks-over-falklands-tension?start=0 Protesters in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, have attacked British banks in the city as tensions rise over the disputed Falklands Islands. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:09:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/argentine-protesters-attack-uk-banks-over-falklands-tension Argentina, Buenos Aires, Falkland Islands, Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute, Protest, Argentina–UK relations, HSBC, Bank, Raw video, United Kingdom Protesters in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, have attacked British banks in the city as tensions rise over the disputed Falklands Islands.