Stocks rose after the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month, driving the Nasdaq Composite to an 11-year high and sending the Dow near its highest reading in nearly four years.
Value Blog
US Senate backs Congress insider trading ban
February 2nd, 2012 | Source: BBC
The US Senate has approved a bill seeking to ban insider trading by members of Congress.
Under current rules, lawmakers can trade stock unrestricted even though they may have specialist knowledge.
The bill, passed by a bipartisan 96-3 vote, would require them to file disclosures of trades within 30 days.
Congress is suffering from historically low approval ratings, prompting frank admissions that the bill is aimed at cleaning up its public image.
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LOST GROUND, 2011: DISPARITIES IN MORTGAGE LENDING AND FORECLOSURES
February 2nd, 2012 | Source: Responsible Lending.org
“Lost Ground, 2011” is based on an analysis of 27 million mortgages made over a five-year period. Here are our top-line findings:
The nation is not even halfway through the foreclosure crisis. 6.4 percent of mortgages made between 2004 and 2008 have ended in foreclosure, and an additional 8.3 percent are at immediate, serious risk.
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How Bain's Lobbying Saved Mitt Millions
January 30th, 2012 | Source: Mother Jones
Private equity titans like Bain Capital used K Street to preserve the GOP front-runner's favorite—and most lucrative—tax loophole.
The ex-governor has benefited handsomely from the influence-peddling of Bain Capital, the private equity firm he cofounded in 1983. Though he's been gone from Bain for over a decade, Romney continues to rake in millions from accounts with the firm—and in 2007, he took Bain's side in a key lobbying battle with Washington—one that saved him millions of dollars.
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Food Aid to Developing Nations May Increase Armed Conflict
January 30th, 2012 | Source: WSJ Blog
The country is torn by conflict. The people are hungry.
Our natural response is to send food, but in practice that can be problematic. For decades, aid workers, journalists and others have documented cases where food aid has been misappropriated by armed groups who use it to feed their soldiers and buy weapons. Convoy trucks and other equipment are often captured.
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Tim Cook blasts the New York Times' report on Apple's Chinese iPad factories
January 28th, 2012 | Source: Fortune
Calls the suggestion that his company doesn't care about the health and safety of workers in the supply chain he built "patently false and offensive"
Here's one thing that's changed since Steve Jobs died.
When Tim Cook, Apple's (AAPL) new CEO, thinks his company has been wronged by the media, he doesn't shrink from hitting back -- swiftly and in a way that he knows will quickly become public.
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The CEO Bankruptcy Bonus
January 27th, 2012 | Source: WSJ
Firms Sidestep Rule Limiting Rewards for Executives
On the way to bankruptcy court, Lear Corp., a car-parts supplier, closed 28 factories, cut more than 20,000 jobs and wiped out shareholders.
Still, Lear sought $20.6 million in bonuses for key executives and other employees, including an eventual payout of more than $5.4 million for then-Chief Executive Robert Rossiter.
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A Few Firms Have Outsized Influence in D.C.
January 25th, 2012 | Source: HBS Working Knowledge
"The whole perspective of how firms influence policy environments is a relatively new question to economists."
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There is no conflict between responsible investment and fiduciary duty
January 18th, 2012 | Source: Responsible-Investor.com
Rob Lake, Director of Strategic Development for the United Nations-backed organization Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), has years of experience in socially responsible investing.
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