Capital Markets

Paul P. Farrell about "Wall Street Diseases":

MarketWatch: Goldman's secret moral pathology, 15 symptoms of a Wall Street disease destroying democracy and capitalism, by Paul P. Farrell, Nov. 24, 2009

1. Gross denial of any moral damage caused by their rampant greed
2. Narcissistic egomaniacs with secret 'God complexes'
3. Paranoid obsessives about secrecy, guilt and non-disclosure
4. Power-hungry need to control government using Trojan Horses
5. Borderline personalities who regularly ignore conflicts of interest
6. Pathological liars incapable of honesty even with own investors
7. Sole fiduciary duty to insiders, not investors, never the public
8. Moral issues are PR glitches, violations of 'don't get caught' rule
9. Charitable donations are tax and PR opportunities, not moral issues
10. When exposed in a massive fraud, feign humility, fake an apology
11. When bankruptcy threatens, bribe friends in 'Happy Conspiracy'
12. Engage co-conspirators to cover up, distract, do your dirty work
13. As money-hungry vultures they will prey on vulnerable Americans
14. Treat everyone not in the 'Happy Conspiracy' with tough love
15. Addicts consumed by money: 'Jesus would throw them out ...'

This is at least some food for thought. I doubt whether in a still rather pluralistic world few single banks can control markets through conspiracy. Maybe the currently strongest ones have just better business models, risk control systems and people... Opinion are welcome.