Archive for March, 2009

Posted on March 26, 2009 - by Venik

Round Two

CNBC’s Jim Cramer believes that the economic recession might have reached the bottom and that we already are beginning to see signs of improvement. Indeed, the slightly-lower-than-expected quarterly decline reported by Best Buy infused financial analysts with much optimism. But even superficial analysis of Best Buy’s performance during the past quarter reveals the true reason [...]

Posted on March 21, 2009 - by Venik

The Jerks

The AIG bonus scandal is gaining momentum. According to the latest information, the total payout was $218 million and not $165 million, as was previously believed. Bonuses of at least $1 million each were paid to some 73 AIG executives, while four of them received bonuses in excess of $4 million. Of course, this is [...]

Posted on March 15, 2009 - by Venik

Russian Military Reform

Putin and his cabinet have embarked on the most dangerous journey of their political careers: the 2009-2012 military reform. And by “dangerous”  I don’t mean just unpopular but life-threatening. The decision to cut nearly 200,000 senior officers, special forces, and intelligence operatives will have serious consequences for Russia’s internal stability. Essentially, over a relatively short [...]

Posted on March 12, 2009 - by Venik

Madoff’s Confession

Since 1960s, Bernard Madoff’s investment scheme attracted thousands of wealthy clients primarily of Jewish descent. Madoff admitted defrauding his 4800 clients of $64.8 billion, which translates into a $13-million average investment for each account. Madoff’s victims were millionaires who often spent a great deal of time and money to get close to Bernard Madoff just [...]