Vatican bank shut down: Obama's State Department accuses "financial crimes"

The Blaze: JPMorgan Chase Closes Vatican Bank Account:

Perhaps JPMorgan chose to close the account after the U.S. State Department decided to include the Vatican on its “financial crimes” list.

“For the first time, the Vatican has found itself on the U.S. State Department’s list of potential money-launderers,” The Blaze’s Billy Hallowell reported last week.

“According to the State Department, the Vatican made the list because it is considered vulnerable to laundering and because it had recently put a program into place to prevent financial abuses,” he added.

But much like JPMorgan’s decision to close the Milan account, some found the timing of the State Department’s inclusion of the Vatican on its “financial crimes” list a little odd: “Clearly, there are issues of concern, but the Catholic Church is taking measures to address these elements.”

Were either of these decisions aimed at the Holy See’s finances really necessary?

Considering the fact that the Catholic Church is currently engaged in a culture war with the Obama administration (and the world at large), a few critics believe we are witnessing much more than a mere pursuit of “financial transparency.”

HAT TIP: GatewayPundit

Instead of bringing real change, Obama’s plans seem more likely to do the opposite of what he says he wants...

Obama said that large financial institutions almost ruined the U.S. economy because they took “huge, reckless risks in pursuit of quick profits and massive bonuses.” Unfortunately his latest solution, long on political rhetoric and short on substance, is likely to make the financial system more fragile and more susceptible to government bailouts.

You do not have to be a financial genius to figure this out.

Read the whole thing

FDIC going broke!

See chart

Forbes CEO: Obama repeats some Bush mistakes

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is repeating George W. Bush's worst market mistakes, Forbes Inc Chief Executive Steve Forbes wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

"The most disastrous Bush policy that Mr. Obama is perpetuating is mark-to-market or 'fair value' accounting for banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions," Forbes wrote in an opinion column.

IMPORTANT: READ THE WHOLE THING