The Ethical Barometer

Chase was the bank the others were to model.  Jamie Dimon was its unflappable leader.  But the loss of, oh, say, $6 to $8 billion dollar through whopping trades made by the infamous “London Whale” trader brought the bank under the microscope and its leaders to Washington for testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. If you were expecting accountability and an understanding of what went wrong, well, you were dreaming.  The blame went up the ladder to Mr. Dimon and down the ladder to the whale and other traders, but the here’s the crux of the testimony, “Not my job,” and “I didn’t know.”

I offer one quick summary from an executive friend of mine, “If it happens at your company while you are there, it is your fault. Continue reading →

A word Chase Bank executives hurled at bank examiners who were concerned about seeing records, the Bank’s risk exposure, changes in risk procedures, and use of federally guaranteed funds for the London Whale’s operations.    Chase lost between $6 and $8 billion from the London Whale’s activities.  The Senate Banking Committee report on Chase’s losses is damning.  The report’s summary of management’s behavior during the mounting risk exposure and ultimate losses is a study in hubris. Ad hominem attacks on regulators don’t change the fact that you are in over your head.  Withholding information from regulators does not change reality.   Stupid is as stupid does.

Unlike other royals and celebrities, the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) does not accept free clothes from designers. Sacre bleu! A royal who understands conflicts of interests! Why, most of them don’t even understand conflicts of interest within the bounds of matrimony, i.e., dating another whilst married does tend to create conflicts. The Duchess, who will one day be queen, pays for her clothes. She even goes to shop for her own clothes. Oh, if she could just do Continue reading →

As an aging baby boomer, the Barometer has been tickled to see Watergate sleuth/reporter, Bob Woodward, landing on the wrong side of a Democratic president.  Mr. Woodward and his Washington Post colleague, Carl Bernstein, were the bane of the Nixon White House’s existence during the Watergate scandal.  From that point forward, Mr. Woodward  became the dean of journalism with his books used as definitive history for any administration.

However, Mr. Woodward crossed a line when he stood Continue reading →

Two stories of theft caught the Barometer’s attention.  Penny Winters, a 63-year-old  maintenance worker at Walmart, faces felony charges for years of stealing Oreos and other snack foods whilst working her evening shifts at Walmart.  Quite simply, she wanted some junk food and simply could not afford these luxuries on her $11.40 per hour salary. Stare cameras have the snacking on video.  And then there is Elba Esther Gordillo, the most powerful woman in Mexico who is head of the teacher’s union, who was arrested on charges of embezzling $200 million in union funds. Prosecutors allege that she spent $2.1 million at a San Diego Neiman Continue reading →

From a Peanut Corporation of America 2009 e-mail from owner, Stewart Parnell, as reflected in a February 2013 Department of Justice  indictment charging executives and managers with knowingly shipping tainted product. The DOJ filed a 76-page indictment against three former managers and employees and a food broker of Peanut Corporation of America (now bankrupt) with charges of criminal fraud.

Peanut Corporation produced the peanut base used in peanut butter, cookies, and crackers, and in 2009, salmonella was discovered in the company’s product.  Once you find salmonella at a food production plant, here’s a safety tip:  close the place down and hose it out just a bit.  Instead, the indictment alleges Continue reading →

An AARP survey indicates that 34% of us have hidden purchases from our spouses.  There’s something about marriage because 52% of us confess to cheating in school.  Love may not conquer all but it seems to conquer 18% of our lesser selves.

Ciccio is a resident of Brindisi, Italy who happens to be a German Shepherd.  Up until last November, Ciccio went to Mass every afternoon with his owner. When she passed away in November, Ciccio accompanied the pall bearers to the church for her funeral.  Since the day of that funeral in November, Ciccio, upon hearing the bells for Mass, heads to the church.  He plops in front of the priest and stays for the full service. The good father does not have the heart or mindset to chase him away.  Parishioners give Ciccio food and water, and the patient padre at the church hopes someone adopts him soon.  Dogs are indeed loyal, in this case to their master as well as their Creator.  Ciccio’s church attendance record is rarely seen in our day.  The simplicity of faith.  The beauty of love.

Enjoy pictures of this magnificent creature here: http://now.msn.com/ciccio-the-german-shepherd-attends-church-every-day-since-owner-died