10 Lies Wall St. Told Us in '09

It's been a bumper year for BS from the big banks, writes Nomi Prins
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 29, 2009 9:13 AM CST
10 Lies Wall St. Told Us in '09
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange minutes before the Fed announcement on interest rates earlier this month.   (Getty Images)

As Wall Street happily trots off into 2009's sunset, same old bad habits in tow, things aren't looking so hot on Main Street—no matter the crocks the bankers sold us, writes Nomi Prins at AlterNet. Here's some of Wall Street's finest whoppers of the year.

  • The economy has improved. "Sure—if you work at Goldman Sachs or had an affair with Tiger Woods," writes Prins. For the rest of us, unemployment is in double digits and next year is looking bleak.

  • If you give banks capital, they will lend it out. Credit's flowing freely between banks again but they haven't been sharing the good fortune, as plenty of bankrupt businesses can attest.
  • Homeowners are being helped. Banks given federal funds didn't turn around and help homeowners. Mortgage problems are worse this year than last by nearly every measure.
  • History will not repeat itself. Promises that banks wouldn't return to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess were undercut by the banks' return to reckless behavior—racking up record profits along the way.
(More Wall Street stories.)

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