Category Archives: News and Events

Rohit Bansal, a former Goldman Sachs employee, entered a guilty plea to obtaining confidential (think secret) from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and then using that info to further his career. Goldman fired Mr. Bansal, 30, after discovering … Continue reading →

Brandi Weaver-Gates was charged with theft for allegedly setting up an online fundraising scheme to raise money for her cancer treatment. The alleged scheme was elaborate. Ms. Weaver-Gates shaved her head and had her family sit in a hospital waiting … Continue reading →

Well, as Sheriff Andy Taylor used to say, “Don’t that beat all?” The attorneys general for the states of Pennsylvania and Texas were indicted this week. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was indicted for leaking grand-jury (think confidential) information to … Continue reading →

Not being a sports fan, the Barometer thought the federal government had passed another wage tax — FICA, FUTA, and now, FIFA. However, turns out the organization responsible for futbol, football, soccer, that game with the black-and-white ball they bounce … Continue reading →

How do you know when your country has reached the point of no return on corruption? Spain may have made it. The Popular Party made a pledge, drew a “red line,” as the leader of the Valencia Province phrased it, … Continue reading →

“This is the part I don’t get.” So spoke Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) in the series “Cheers,” as she was trying to understand the charm and drawing power of Carla Tortelli’s (Rhea Perlman) ex-husband, Nick Tortelli. Despite his “pond scum” … Continue reading →

In the lessons learned department, Wells Fargo, a bank that largely escaped the fall-out from the subprime mortgage market because it chose not to go down that path too far, is the first lender to recognize the evolving risk in … Continue reading →

In the class, “Sports, Ethics, and Religion,” 64 of the 272 students taking the class were suspended for cheating. How difficult is the concept of not cheating in an ethics class?

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the IMF, and one-time candidate for president of France, at his trial in Lille, France for aggravated pimping for his alleged role in organizing orgies in that city. He later admitted under oath that he … Continue reading →

The Barometer is smiling. Mr. Cohen, the trading rules are not your problem. Every single fund manager who was with you or formerly affiliated with your firm had top-notch training. Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt did some of the training … Continue reading →

Jonathan Burrows, a BlackRock fund manager for 20 years, has been banished from the finance industry by Britain’s financial regulator. The reason? Well, Mr. Burrows was commuting to work from the East Sussex to London — a one hour and … Continue reading →

The sentencing for the five aides to Bernie Madoff have been sentenced by a federal judge. In addition to their prison sentences, which range from 2.5 years to 10 years, the five defendants have been held jointly liable for $155.2 … Continue reading →

Candice Anderson, who was at the wheel of her fiancé, Gene Erickson’s, car, a Saturn Ion, when the car crashed. Mr. Erickson was killed. And with no skid marks and a trace amount of anti-anxiety medication in her bloodstream, Ms. … Continue reading →

Facebook published a study that indicated it was fooling around with newsfeeds to its users (unbeknownst to those users) to determine whether its scientists could affect users’ emotions with positive and negative news. The problem is that the 700,000 users … Continue reading →