Following Barclays scandal, British customers moving from banks

When (not if) the Libor scandal reaches the US shores, there's a high likelihood of US customers shifting away from banks and into credit unions, again. The previous wave involved millions of customers shutting down their accounts with the mega-banks and moving over to smaller credit unions. Hopefully action groups are preparing for the next wave of disgust with the corruption of big banks because we're getting very close to a lot more news of blatant corruption within that putrid industry.

If you are banking with one of the big banks, chances are very high that you're only enabling bad behavior by giving them business. It's a hassle to change, but why help the corrupt? The Guardian:

Angry bank customers have been voting with their wallets and bombarding co-ops, building societies and credit unions with applications for current accounts over the past week, after the NatWest computer meltdown and the Barclays rate-rigging scandal.

Data compiled by the campaign group Move Your Money UK shows an explosion in requests to switch from large high street banks to smaller alternatives that consumers hope will take a more ethical approach. Charity Bank, which lends its savers' money to charities, has seen a 200% increase in depositors; the Ecology Bank has had a 266% jump in applications; and Triodos, a Bristol-based "sustainable bank", a 51% increase.

Credit unions, which are often small institutions investing people's savings in their local economy, have seen week-on-week increases of at least 20%, some of them up to 300%. Evidence of the growing number of switchovers comes as Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, on Sunday calls on the government to make it easier for consumers to switch to another bank or building society. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Balls will say that while people are increasingly dissatisfied with their banks, it is still too difficult for customers to switch accounts. He told the Observer: "Ministers are dragging their feet on reforms to improve competition and consumer choice in the banking sector. Consumers must come first. It's time for action."

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Stiglitz debates with pro-inequality Romney supporter

This had to be a frustrating discussion for Joe Stiglitz. He constantly threw in facts to show the destructive nature of the pro-inequality movement and the former Bain director ignored everything. It should come as no surprise since the 0.1% have been winning the class warfare battle for a few decades. Republicans take delight in the destruction of the middle class and want to continue down the same old path.

The embedded video is having some difficulties so if it's not showing, please use this link. Read the rest of this post...

Oregon set to vote on legalizing marijuana in November

It's time to recognize that the "war on drugs" has been an expensive waste of time. It's also been an enormous failure that has done nothing to slow down the sale of drugs. The political class is lagging far behind public opinion and facts on this issue.

Oregon will soon qualify as the third U.S. state to ask voters in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could put the state on a collision course with the federal government, proponents said on Friday.

Backers of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said they have collected 165,000 signatures on petitions seeking to put the measure on the ballot, nearly double the 87,000 they were required to submit by Friday's deadline to qualify.

"We believe we're going to make it easily," said Paul Stanford, the chief petitioner and founder of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, which runs medical marijuana clinics in several states.

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Mitt Romney needs to answer basic questions about his offshore millions

There's nothing complicated about this at all and no, it's not "distorting reality" at all as the Romney campaign says. It's not asking too much to see tax returns for Romney that show a better picture of his financial dealings and how he may be evading taxes in the US.

Is "not technically breaking the law" a high enough standard for someone who wants to be president of the United States? Easy question for most but not for Mitt Romney. It's only natural that people see this behavior and wonder, what is Mitt Romney hiding overseas in tax havens? Read the rest of this post...

Deutsche Bank under investigation for Libor manipulation

Barclays may have opened up this show, but there is an extremely high likelihood that many more global banks will be involved. When setting Libor rates, the top four and the bottom four would be dismissed and Deutsche Bank is only the second bank that we know of to be investigated. We're likely to see at least ten, if not closer to the full list of sixteen global banks involved in this $800 trillion market ripoff.

If bankers don't go to jail this time, forget about ever hoping for a reformed industry. We have a generation or more of corrupt-to-the-bone bankers who need to be removed from the system. Mitt Romney is doing a London fundraiser with a bunch of Barclays bankers though chances are high other bankers who we will know are under investigation will also surely be in the crowd.

The entire banking system is a stinking heap of corruption and it must be gutted.

German markets regulator BaFin is conducting a special probe of Deutsche Bank as part of a wider investigation into possible manipulation of the London Inter Bank Offered Rate (Libor), two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The German regulator declined to comment specifically on whether it was probing Deutsche Bank, but said it was in looking into suspected manipulation of Libor rates by banks.

"We are making use of our entire spectrum of regulatory instruments, so far as this is necessary,'' a spokesman said.

Deutsche Bank shares extended losses after the news and traded 5 percent lower in trading on Friday.

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Duke Energy CEO resigns after 1 day, to receive up to $44 million

Anyone want to take a guess why America's energy system is a mess? Maybe a Republican can explain about how efficient private industry is compared to government run organizations? Anyone?  From the Chicago Trib:

The decision by the 18-person Duke board, with 11 legacy Duke directors and seven Progress directors, to install Rogers as chief executive officer was "the most blatant example of corporate deceit that I have witnessed," Mullin wrote.

Duke declined to comment on Friday. Earlier in the week, the company and its lead director, Ann Maynard Gray, declined to give any further details about Johnson's resignation.

Under a non-disparage clause in the separation agreement, Johnson and Duke are not allowed to make statements that cast the other "in a critical or unfavorable light.

This is exactly the type of cronyism and corruption that is killing American business and equality. The corporate world needs as much reform as Wall Street but with election campaigns costing as much as they do, reform is not on the agenda.

How much do middle class workers make during such transitions? Just a guess, but it's probably less than the abusive $44 million. Read the rest of this post...

T Rex - Get it on

Last weekend while running to catch the bus in London for Netroots UK, I looked d up and saw on a house near the bus stop. My friend lives a few blocks away, closer to Clapton station. One of the fun things about visiting cities like London (or Paris or any old city) is discovering the local history.

In my own neighborhood, we have a number of plaques for artists (Man Ray, Gauguin, Fujita, Kandinsky) who lived in the neighborhood. When Montmartre became too expensive, they all moved down here because it was cheap and new. (A detail that was incorrectly portrayed in Woody Allen's otherwise fantastic Midnight in Paris film.) For me it's always fun to look up and see the markers and read who lived where. Read the rest of this post...