From the Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department ‘Hustle’ Case Against Bank of America Dies
The government’s Hustle case against Bank of America Corp. is finally dead.
The case, in which the government accused the bank’s Countrywide Financial Corp. unit of churning out shoddy mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, already was thrown out by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which had first brought the case in 2012, then asked the appeals court to reconsider its decision, a request the appeals court denied.
The U.S. attorney’s office could have asked the Supreme Court to take up the matter, but Monday was the government’s deadline to do so. The appellate court also threw out a fraud verdict against former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone, who now goes by Rebecca Steele and was one of the few individuals prosecuted for the financial crisis.
“We won. It’s over. Justice is done,” said Marc Mukasey, Ms. Steele’s lawyer.
A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office also declined to comment.
The Hustle case had been a landmark in the Obama administration’s efforts to hold banks accountable for the financial crisis. The Second Circuit ruled the government hadn’t proven that the bank’s actions amounted to fraud.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a lot of respect for you. So would like to discuss this further to figure out why I see hope and you see none.
First, like 3b, you are older; you lived through one of the high periods in nj history(70’s to early 90’s). Does this impact your thought process, to always look back at nj with some romanticized view of what it was like during that time. Comparing current and future outlook of nj to a time when nj’s suburbs were shiny and new(like the southern it spots today). So now you look at nj as old and washed up, as that cycle/era has lived and is dying/dead.
What you don’t get, because your romanticism blinds you, is that nj has been through this before and will go through it again and again due to its location. Good times come, good times go, only to return again in some other form that adjust to the times and needs of the U.S. economy.
Do you know how many people wrote off jersey after the prosperity of the roaring twenties? It came back again. Roaring during the post WWII era. Then it was dying in the 60’s, people writing it off again, only to see the economy grow stronger than ever before based on the transition to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. That boom lasted a long time, hence, it has taken longer to transition this time due to the amount of negative baggage created (the higher the boom, the bigger the problems after the crash).
As soon as we make it through eliminating this baggage, and we will (we already solved huge transportation problem staring us in the face, and that’s the first step towards moving to a new transition in our economy). This transportation focus will pump huge amounts of money into our economy in the form of investment. This investment will then improve transportation to the point where it attract new players that want to take advantage of the lucrative location of nj directly in the middle of the east coast, and directly in the middle of the biggest economic hub in our country(Boston to dc). And on top of that, directly next to our most powerful economic center NYC and most powerful port on the east coast.
You guys can romanticize about the past, or open your eyes and see the potential for what it is. Nj has the most valuable location in America, even during our bad times, the land has maintained its enormous value. Has not grown as much due to the bad times, but it has more than held its own in the face of the pain.
I would write off nj if real estate was crashing and there were no signs of hope. But the signs of hope are all around us. The entire Hudson cost has been slowly transitioning during this bad period, leading the way towards the next transition in the nj economy. You don’t think this will spread to places like Newark? I would put a bet that Newark in 10-15 years becomes one of the most valuable economic locations in our country. Based on the location of Newark and all that it offers to a business, combined with its cheap land (based on comparison of cost vs opportunity), there is no doubt Newark will become the leader of some new industry. I’ll take that bet any day of the week. Hell, I wish I had the capital to buy strategic pieces of Newark real estate.
Happy thanksgiving and look forward to your reply (if you do).
Raymond Reddington says:
November 23, 2016 at 9:01 pm
3b I agree with you….
Spend some time in commercial and industrial small business New Jersey, you’ll change your mind about being in decline. There are lots of companies doing incredible business in NJ, right now. We’re in the middle of an industrial resurgence, and the industrial vacancy rates show it clearly. It’s not just warehouse demand. The level of success of many of these entrepreneurs is staggering. Unfortunately, it’s not a place for the kind of paper pushing middle mangers that were employed en mass during the telco and pharma booms. This is clear. NJ is becoming a place where you make your fortune by making it, not by getting hired into it.
NJ is among the top in the nation for millionaires per capita, and that’s no small feat considering our population size.
In the past 10 years, New Jersey has added more than 30,000 millionaire households. Thirty … thousand … millionaire … households … 30,000 … THIRTY THOUSAND … THE WHOLE OF WARREN COUNTY IS ONLY 40,000 HOUSEHOLDS, THE WHOLE OF HUNTERDON COUNTY IS 45,000 HOUSEHOLDS. DO YOU SEE HOW HUGE THIS IS? IT’S LIKE BUILDING 5 NEW RIDGEWOODS, ALL FULL OF MILLIONAIRES.
This is ON TOP OF the out-flow of millionaires.
Think about those numbers, it means close to 40-45,000 millionaires have been made in New Jersey in the past 10 years.
During the greatest recession in recent history.
DURING THE GREATEST RECESSION IN RECENT HISTORY.
I’ll take those odds.
Like I said, look at small commercial and industrial business to inform your decision, don’t look at Main Street. Business is good, and it’s booming. If Trump can pull, out of his ass, what’s been coming out of his mouth, NJ’s going to be a recipient of the new-industrial boom like never before.
Just like nobody buys the median house, nobody is the median household. The aggregate is misleading.
Kissinger presents a good view here. Everyone deserves a chance, post judgement after the chance has been given. Trump, please do right by America with this unique opportunity.
I don’t mean to get overly positive, but this economic boom coming might even overshoot my already optimistic predictions.
“This president-elect is the most unique that I have experienced in one respect,” Mr. Kissinger, 93, said Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”
“He has absolutely no baggage,” he said. “He has no obligation to any particular group because he has become a president on the basis of his own strategy and a program he put before the American public that his competitors did not present. So that is a unique situation.”
Mr. Kissinger, who met Thursday with Mr. Trump to discuss foreign policy, said the president-elect’s supporters shouldn’t expect him to fulfill every campaign promise once he’s in the Oval Office.
“In my view in the present situation, one has to — one should not insist on nailing him into positions that he had taken in the campaign on which he doesn’t insist,” Mr. Kissinger said. “If he insists on them, then of course disagreements will become expressed, but if he develops another program and leaves the question open of what he said in the campaign, one should not make that the desired development.
“I think we should give him an opportunity to develop the positive objectives that he may have, and to discuss those,” he added. “And we’ve gone through too many decades of tearing incumbent administrations apart, and it may happen again, but we shouldn’t begin that way. And we shouldn’t end up that way, either, but — so that would be my basic view.”
Grim,
I have tear of joy coming down my eye right now. Finally, someone sees the light. Remember, we are in the minority with this belief right now. What does that mean? Opportunities galore!! Get on it, take advantage of it, and make lots of money before the general public realizes it and it’s too late.
Truly amazing. Why would you want to go to the south and throw away opportunities like this for “low cost of living?” It makes no sense, yet, how many people out there are doing this? Crying about costs while they throw their opportunities away….pu$$ies!
“In the past 10 years, New Jersey has added more than 30,000 millionaire households. Thirty … thousand … millionaire … households … 30,000 … THIRTY THOUSAND … THE WHOLE OF WARREN COUNTY IS ONLY 40,000 HOUSEHOLDS, THE WHOLE OF HUNTERDON COUNTY IS 45,000 HOUSEHOLDS. DO YOU SEE HOW HUGE THIS IS? IT’S LIKE BUILDING 5 NEW RIDGEWOODS, ALL FULL OF MILLIONAIRES.
This is ON TOP OF the out-flow of millionaires.
Think about those numbers, it means close to 40-45,000 millionaires have been made in New Jersey in the past 10 years.
During the greatest recession in recent history.
DURING THE GREATEST RECESSION IN RECENT HISTORY.”
I didn’t see the light this is the same position I’ve maintained for years.
From an economic mobility perspective, in Northern NJ you have a better chance of moving from the bottom income quartile to the top income quartile than most anywhere else in the world. Silicon Valley mints millionaires too, albeit it is not at all as equality and as broadly as here. There are very few places in the US where the American a dream still exists, NJ is one of them.
People think I’m some kind of corporatist because I advocate for the elimination of business regulations.
What those idiots can’t understand is that the road out of poverty is small business, and we help this by eliminating barriers to entry for new entrepreneurs that do not have unlimited capital to start a business, or can start a business without risking the livelihood of their family. It’s no surprise that as the corner store, Main Street, and the mom and pop have disappeared, so has the middle class.
Perhaps the bleeding may slow a bit …
http://nj1015.com/estate-tax-cut-already-changing-cpas-advice-to-flee-nj/?trackback=twitter_top
Just by owning a house makes you a millionaire in New Jersey ….but of course the state sucks that away in taxes every year as well …
Grim I don’t dispute any of what you say as I am not familiar with the subject of small businesses growth in nj. You as a small business owner would be. That being said whether that turns this state around or not remains to be seen. Pension issues infrastructure and all the rest. As far as millionaires well we are also getting a lot of lower income folks as well. So I remain skeptical.
Grim , one in business must advocate for elimination of business regulations when the competition has no regulations. No way to compete.
How much was spent today on security for a Thanksgiving Parade in one city?
Grim,
Shopping malls eliminated main street (one business ate the other up)
Online retailers are eliminating shopping malls (one business ate the other up)
Businesses devour each other.
They have only one goal, to win, to grow, to take over.
oooops…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mortgage-lenders-struggle-to-adapt-to-rapidly-rising-interest-rates-1479992403
10:25 What’s the best way to become a millionaire in NJ real estate??
Start with 2 million.
Garden state Plaza is packed.
Is that a euphemism for something?
You would be out of your mind to act on the estate tax repeal and retirement income exemptions until they are fully enacted but I do think those will be bullish for residential RE in NJ. It was a no brainer to exit upon retirement for anyone with assets prior to the repeal. I think there will be a much harder decision for a lot of boomers if they still have family in the area before they head south.
Happy Black Friday to anyone still here. I’ll be chilling at home and playing with my Boston Terrier
NWNJ
That’s a given. The tail doesn’t wag the dog. I’m just saying what CPAs are allegedly saying. It is NJRE relevant.
Oh look…she’s just like us!
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/m/71b378eb-2450-3808-bba8-ea1d9eabc015/ss_hillary-and-bill-clinton-were.html
Well….not exactly like us…
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/802082005433405440
@JackPosobiec
Funny how the woman Hillary “bumped” into today has met Hillary numerous times and works for a PR firm in New York
Nom;
Buon Compleanno
Err, ehhh… Muchos gracias, amigo. (We’ve found it expedient — not to mention remotely and plausible — to check the hispanic (emphasis on the “panic”) box on the census form around here – O_< .)
Here is the problem as I see it. Its not that you can’t build a business. Its hard to find a business model that works out of the gate. Most business owners I know, either inherited or took over the family business or made money in another career and can afford to lose money for a few years for long term rewards.
Take for instance your distillery. I would assume that you and your friends are into it for a very large chunk of change and you have yet to see a nickel of revenue. It has to be a side line business, but in say 3 or 4 years, you might get to the point were it could break even and provide a full time income. Until then, you’ll keep the pen pushing day job and it will be a sideline career.
I look at businesses for sale and franchises. Its usually a lot of cash up front and cash flow is not necessarily going to provide a comfortable living. Most businesses for sale are either retirees selling the dying niche store or the business is going to fold anyway.
Any sort of retail will be pushing against Amazon or Walmart. Service industries are lots of upfront and no income until you build a customer base.
Bars, restaurants and food trucks are a constant turnover of owners. Dunkin or Mc’Ds are 1mil+.
So what’s left?
Rolled ice cream. For about 18 months.
LOST you might be right, the whales are coming back to New Jersey too.
Described by some biologists as literally “The Most Important Fish in the Sea,”
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/11/the_real_reason_there_are_whales_everywhere_in_njn.html?ath=e48193b1505a73e67f7874531301093d#cmpid=nsltr_strybutton
So what’s left
Yours is a problem of exposure to industry and businesses. Strip malls and franchises and nail salons isn’t what I’m talking about.
Grim this is new potential industrial renaissance that you envision what type of jobs do you see it generating ? And what type of salaries?
Does not matter if you create a billion jobs if all they pay is minimum wage. If they don’t pay enough to support someone they are worthless. 1978 Pathmark I had medical benefits pushing shopping carts- cheap prescriptions right at the counter. Good luck with that today…
Grim comment from yesterday still see moderation