Daily Archives: June 21, 2012

Eleven more corruption arrests in Quebec

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Source: Huffington Post

June 21, 2012

MONTREAL – Eleven people were arrested in the latest dragnet by Quebec’s anti-corruption squad, as police announced Thursday that criminal charges will be laid against small-town municipal officials and construction industry players.

Those arrested are accused of participating in fraud schemes of at least $1 million on public-works projects worth $20 million overall.

The arrests are being tied to construction projects south of Montreal, in several municipalities near the U.S. border including St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. About 77 charges have been laid against those 11, and nine companies, for suspected crimes as well as violations of federal competition laws.

The charges include breach of trust, influencing a public official, defrauding the government, producing and using counterfeit documents, accepting a bribe, extortion and conspiracy.

Those arrested Thursday were being questioned and released. They must appear in court on Sept. 7.

The arrests stem from a two-year investigation and are only the latest in a series conducted by the provincial anti-corruption squad. A public inquiry is also underway.

Around 30 people have been arrested in three major raids by the anti-corruption squad since last year, along with other isolated arrests. Eleven companies, including the nine Thursday, are also implicated.

The corruption issue is expected to loom large, along with the student-related unrest, in a provincial election expected as early as September.

Former Lehman banker hangs himself

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Source: Business Insider

For Charles Hopper, a former star at Lehman Brothers, the hurt of the financial crisis never subsided.

Last month, after years of failed recoveries and financial instability, the 63-year old hanged himself in the garage of Greenwich, CT home, leaving behind wife Kathryn and three formerly-estranged children, the Post reports

The later years of his life, marked by quickly vanishing wealth and underemployment, were a far cry from the Hopper’s pre-crisis lifestyle. From the Post:

In New York, Hopper was considered a class act at Lehman, where he had built up the firm’s hedge-fund advisory and private-client business for a decade, catering to the ultra-wealthy.

“He was one of the elder statesmen of the asset-management advisory industry,” said a hedge-fund executive.

And he had the material wealth to match. Friends knew him for his fancy watches, showy cars and for giving his wife whatever she wanted, which included tuition to the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University, membership at the elite Greenwich Water Club and expensive photography equipment.

STOCKS Collapse: Here’s what you need to know | Business Insider

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Source: Business Insider

Markets plunged ahead of Moody’s expected downgrade of the banking sector.

But first, the scoreboard:

Dow: 12,576.9, -247.4, -1.93%
Nasdaq: 2,858.6, -71.84, -2.46%
S&P 500: 1,325.48, -30.2, -2.23%

Here’s what you need to know.

  • Before 8:00 a.m., Sky News reported rumors that Moody’s would initiate downgrades of the U.K. banking sector. The report slowly gained its teeth. First Barclay’s was identified as a potential candidate. Minutes later RBS, Lloyd’s, and HSBC had their names thrown in.
  • U.S. markets opened flat after weak initial jobless claims and flash PMI report. Initial claims fell by 2,000 week-on-week to 387,000. However, that was above expectations for a 383,000 read and last week’s figures were revised higher to 389,000. The U.S. flash PMI report also disappointed, falling 110 basis points to 52.9, an 11-month low.
  • By mid-morning U.S. names like Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs were added to the list of banks that were expected to get hit with a downgrade. Reports out of CNBC and Dow Jones indicated that Moody’s would ultimately take action on all 17 global banks it said it would take action on in June.
  • At 10 a.m. two gauges of the U.S. housing market were released. existing home sales and FHFA home prices. The FHFA house price index gained 0.8 percent sequentially in April, standing at the level as May 2004. Meanwhile, existing home sales missed expectations plunging 1.5 percent month-over-month.
  • Also out at 10 a.m. was the Philadelphia Fed Survey which shows manufacturing conditions for the mid-Atlantic region.
  • At noon a stress test report by Oliver Wyman showed Spanish banks would need up to €62 billion for a black sky scenario. The three biggest issues in Spain you need to be watching.
  • Oil prices were pressured, with crude oil falling almost 4 percent and dropping below $90 a barrel for the first time in 18 months following weak data out China, the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, natural gas prices surged as much as 3.5 percent after a bullish inventory report out of the EIA.
  • Just before the market close CNBC reported that Bank of America would be hit by a one-notch downgrade by Moody’s. Citi, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs were reported to be hit by two-notch downgrades. The downgrade is expected at 4 p.m. ET. Follow the Moody’s Downgrade report LIVE at Business Insider >