Activism by Shareholders Picks Up Steam Online

Some campaigns aim to unseat board members. The CtW Investment Group, which is affiliated with a coalition of labor unions, wants board members at six financial firms, including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, to explain what they did to manage subprime-loan risks. Says CtW’s Mike Garland: “Absent compelling explanations, we’ll recommend that shareholders vote against reelection.”

Department of about damn time. Notice that it is labor unions taking action, NOT institutional investors. Remember who your friends are, it is not the manager of your mutual fund.

I’m reminded of that scene in Godfather III, for which I can’t seem to find a YouTube, in which Michael learns that Old Yurp ain’t so askeerd of his new world tough guy shit after all. I don’t know jack about econ, but this seems important to me:

IHT - Politicians, regulators and financial specialists outside the United States are seeking a role in oversight of American markets, banks and rating agencies in the wake of recent problems related to subprime mortgages.

Their argument is simple: The United States is exporting financial products, but losses to investors in other countries suggest that American regulators are not properly monitoring the products or alerting investors to the risks.
“We need an international approach, and the United States needs to be part of it,” said Peter Bofinger, a member of the German government’s economics advisory board and a professor at the University of Würzburg.  Read more 

Thai Billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra denies that he and the billionaire elite are staging terrorist attacks against Thai citizens. The alliance between telecom, finance and terrorism is one of the intersections of modern global domination that goes unnoticed.  Read more 

I can’t take it seriously. I just can’t. I mean Obama couldn’t beat Bobby Rush. If he isn’t the classic example of made man I don’t know what is.  Read more