Greg Hunter
USA Watchdog
Monday, we started out the week with a front page story on USA Today that was more like a public relations stunt than real journalism. The headline read “Dimon sees good times in 2011.” The story was mostly an interview with JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon by CNBC news reader Maria Bartiromo. I could not find any objectivity or tough questions put to the Chairman and CEO of one of the nation’s top financial institutions. Please keep in mind J P Morgan was bailed out by taxpayers to the tune of $260 billion during the financial crisis. When asked, “How do you characterize the economy right now? Dimon replied, “The economy is getting stronger every day, and I would say it’s rather broad-based, and hopefully this will continue. That’s true globally. It’s good for America when the rest of the world grows, because you can sell more to the rest of the world. Large corporations are in very good shape, have plenty of capital and are starting to expand. . . .” (Click here to read the complete story from USA Today.)
If Mr. Dimon thinks the economy is really getting that much “stronger” and there is “plenty of capital,” why not go back to “mark to market” accounting? I would have loved it if Ms. Bartiromo could have found the guts to ask that question. The rules were changed nearly 2 years ago to let banks hold mortgage-backed securities, real estate and other assets at whatever bankers think they will be worth in the future. Some call this “mark to fantasy” accounting. I call it government sanctioned accounting fraud. No matter what it’s called, it simply makes the banks look like they’re in better financial shape than honest accounting would reveal. Some big banks would be insolvent, or at the very least much less profitable, were it not for the accounting rule change. Why does the MSM feel compelled to routinely paint a rosy economic picture?
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