Six biggest banks control US economy
Fifteen years ago, the combined assets of the six biggest banks in the United States totaled 17 percent of the GDP. By 2006, that number was 55 percent. Right now, it stands at 63 percent. This degree of market power brings with it not just antitrust concerns and a huge amount of economic risk -- but great political influence as well. The financial Godfathers' message is quite clear: If you cross us, we will bury you at the polls. Nothing in former Fed chairman Paul Volcker's new rules would change this relationship between Wall Street and Washington.
Swiss pride
Switzerland's leading bank UBS could collapse if talks with the United States over a high-profile tax fraud investigation fall through, said Swiss justice minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Speaking in an interview with Le Matin Dimanche, Ms Widmer-Schlumpf said the Swiss economy and job market would suffer on a major scale if UBS fails as a result of its licence being revoked in the United States.
Switzerland and the US have negotiated an agreement under which UBS would hand over information on some 4,500 account holders to US tax police. Many in Switzerland have, however, accused the government of failing to protect the country's banking sector. "We have nothing to blame ourselves for. I don't think anyone could prove that we acted badly," Ms Widmer-Schlumpf said. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.44ec3a3581bd2b87b081a9614648ee11.c61
