Banking, Finance & Services

Finance sector invests heavily in candidates When former Texas Senator Phil Gramm came out of the Tavern on the Green one recent August morning, his disposition turned edgy. Now a vice chairman of the Swiss financial corporation UBS, he had just left his colleagues at the Financial Services Roundtable breakfast. He wasn't keen on talking to waiting journalists, certainly not to the CorpWatch team. Read More

Exam privatization threatens public schools "They make kids in my class feel dumb," says Vanessa Verdín about the corporate-designed standardized tests that millions of U.S. students are required to take under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Vanessa, an energetic eleven year old whose hobbies include soccer, knitting and research, feels that the tests "ask the wrong questions" and "waste time when we could be learning." Read More

Electronic Voting Machines Add Uncertainty to Close Election Race Across the U.S., dozens of election commissions, county clerks and voting registrars are scrambling to maintain public confidence in an election system shaken by the Florida 2000 debacle and challenged by security flaws in hi-tech electronic solutions. In the swing states, where the presidential election is expected to be close, 14 of 20 states will be experimenting with untested technology. Read More

The extravagant spectacle is expected to dwarf the record $95 million spent by Democrats this year. In fact, the Republicans will spend more than the $130 million raised by Al Gore for his entire 2000 campaign. Read More

Media corporations give millions, receive billions. The cost for two weeks of ad-driven debate on Kerry's military record cost almost $1 million. Political advertising will bring over $1.5 billion to media corporations this election season. In turn they will invest millions in campaign contributions and lobbying. Meanwhile, substantive political coverage continues to decline. Read More

Ten years after the first democratic elections in South Africa brought the African National Congress to power, critics claim that privatization and neoliberal economic policies have usurped the promise of democracy. Soweto Resists Privatization Moves Trevor Ngwane/Walter TurnerANC Privatizations Fail to Deliver in South Africa, Patrick Bond Read More

Rendon Group Wins Hearts and Minds in Business, Politics and War The Rendon Group is a consulting firm whose services range from creating "a favorable environment before privatization begins" to helping justify war. Rick Rendon, a founding partner talks to CorpWatch about his latest project, "Empowering Peace." Read More

Tobacco Industry Saves on Soft Money, Spends On Advertising and Lobbyists The quadrennial special-interest cash race is on. Although the McCain-Feingold Act has blocked some of the flow, the political system is still awash with tobacco dollars. Read More

Two years after Congress enacted the sweeping corporate-accountability act known as "SOX," corporate officials are hoping their complaints will take the teeth out of the legislation's power to regulate. Read More

In the face of criticism over its controversial construction projects, Bechtel has taken media manipulation to the next level, employing a three-pronged approach to weaving a rosy story for the public and investors. Read More