Wall Street Banks Propping Up Putin
Robert Reich points out that Wall Street banks are helping to prop up Vladimir Putin and asks the question: “Is there anything Wall Street banks won’t do to make more money?”
[su_center_ad]Hidden behind economic sanctions against Russia is the role of Wall Street banks in propping up Putin. Morgan Stanley, for example, earned an estimated $360 million in investment banking fees in Russia from 2002 through 2013. The bank lead the $10 billion initial public offering for Rosneft, Russia’s giant state-controlled oil company, and has helped transform it into the world’s largest publicly-traded oil producer. Putin even put Morgan’s CEO on Rosneft’s board, according to Bloomberg News. As Rosneft has expanded (partly by buying assets Putin forced an imprisoned political opponent’s company to sell), it has become one of Putin’s favorite tools for extending Russian influence abroad. And the relationship between Morgan Stanley and Rosneft continues. Rosneft has agreed to buy Morgan Stanley’s oil trading, storage and transportation businesses for an undisclosed sum. The sale is still pending. Is there anything Wall Street banks won’t do to make more money?
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Roctuna August 19th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
The answer to Mr. Reich’s question is “No”. Profit always trumps patriotism or even what’s right. That’s what unregulated capitalism gets us.
Abby Normal August 19th, 2014 at 3:37 pm
They crashed the world economy in 2008 and got away with it. They’ll do it again if there’s a way for them to profit from it.
granpa.usthai August 19th, 2014 at 4:11 pm
That last question is paramount to REPUBLICAN BLASPHEMY! (kinda like asking a ‘war president’ if they’ve ever considered an exit strategy for a lawless invasion of a sovereign nation while under an alternating red/orange/red terrorist alert weeks).
MIAtheistGal August 19th, 2014 at 4:16 pm
Profits above everything else. Everything.
crc3 August 19th, 2014 at 6:36 pm
Makes perfect sense because the Repulsives have been sucking up to Putin also…
SteveD August 19th, 2014 at 6:40 pm
No surprise. These are the same corporate swine that sold out the manufacturing base through programs like NAFTA in the 90′s and have continually gutted the middle class up to the present day. Wall Street has done more harm to America than the Axis powers , the Soviet “Communists” or Al qaeda combined.
peacedreamer August 19th, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Well, well. If the truth ever comes out about the way the world financial system really works, and I believe it will, perhaps some of these creepy peeps will enjoy their transportation to an alternate planet where they can rip each other off & leave us alone.
fancypants August 20th, 2014 at 5:33 am
the gop loves a man that says money is no object, vlad is an Aztec god to them I tell ya