Blog Posts by Aaron Task

The new marketing campaign hasn't even launched yet, but just about every American knows Ellen DeGeneres is JC Penney's new spokesperson.

A group called One Million Moms organized a Facebook campaign protest this week in response to JC Penney's decision to hire DeGeneres, who is openly gay.

JC Penney is "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon," the One Million Moms organization declared, suggesting "the majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there."

After Bill O'Reilly defended her and JC Penney on Fox News, DeGeneres spoke about the protest at length on her show "Ellen" this week.

Despite potential controversy, "there wasn't ever any doubt" JC Penney was going to stick with DeGeneres, Ron Johnson, CEO of JC Penney, tells me in the accompanying video. "We believe in Ellen. She shares our values and America believes in Ellen."

So enamored is Johnson with DeGeneres that he says the comedian and talk-show host was "the only spokesperson" JC Penney even

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After months of wrangling, the long-awaited foreclosure settlement between the government and the banks appears to be at hand.

A $26 billion settlement was announced Thursday morning between the federal government, state attorneys general and the five biggest banks in the mortgage market: Ally Financial (the old GMAC), Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and Citigroup. (Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly identified Ally Financial as being the old GE Capital.)

The settlement is being hailed as the biggest multi-state settlement since the 1998 tobacco agreement. But as Henry and I note in the accompanying video, the settlement is too small to really help the housing market, or even do much for individual victims of fraud and abuse. The deal may, in fact, hurt housing by sending a message to people who've stayed current on their mortgages that irresponsible behavior is what gets rewarded in America. That, presumably, is

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With the notable exception of Oakland, CA, the Occupy Wall Street movement has mainly gone underground — or least indoors — for the winter. But the movement is gearing up for a major three day series of demonstrations in Washington D.C. in April, dubbed Occupy Spring.

Famed consumer advocate and populist leader Ralph Nader says the movement is on the right track by focusing on Congress. "They should say to Congress, 'you're not delivering, except to big business and you better start delivering'," Nader says.

Contrary to popular opinion, Nader says the movement does have a clear, unifying message: "We have to overcome corporatism," he says. "They basically want a responsive government, accountable corporations and an opportunity for them to have a say. They know if they don't have a say, they're going to pay."

By "corporatism," Nader refers to corporate power over government, consumers and workers, which Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama outlined "a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates."

Despite stern opposition from Congressional Republicans, the President is still pushing for the plan, which calls for the Federal Housing Administration to take on the risks of the new mortgages created by the mass refinancing.

The President says the plan will be paid for by "a small fee on the largest financial institutions [and] give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust."

But former White House budget director David Stockman said that's just a smokescreen for the real agenda.

"This is ultimately at the end of the day a bailout for JP Morgan and Wells Fargo," and other big underwriters of second mortgages and home equity lines, Stockman says. "Those [second liens] are in

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It's looking increasingly like Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee to take on President Obama in November. Ralph Nader says the Democratic Party's playbook should be the same, no matter who is the GOP standard bearer.

According to the famed consumer advocate, progressive politician and three-time third-party Presidential candidate, Democrats should seize on the following issues to secure Obama's reelection and, perhaps, retake the House of Representatives this fall:

Save the Post Office: Particularly in rural areas, the U.S. Post Office plays a vital role as "gathering place" and a Federal presence, Nader declares. Democrats should "block those ridiculous closures."

Raise the Minimum Wage: On an inflation-adjusted basis, the minimum wage is lower today than it was in 1968, according to Nader, who says raising the minimum wage will "put money back into consumer demand and create jobs."

End Bush Tax Cuts: "So clueless are the

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There's a lot of hype about the Super Bowl and almost as many myths and superstitions. In the accompanying video, Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner tackles three of the most common misconceptions about the Super Bowl, including one that could determine the outcome of the game.

Myth #1) If the Giants Win, the Market Will Cheer: According to the so-called Super Bowl indicator, a win by any team from the original NFL (like the Giants) is good for the stock market while a win by a team from the AFL (like the New England Patriots) is bad. To date, 36 out of 45 Super Bowl championships have given support for this indicator or an 80% success fate, according to Investopedia.

"I love to hear people chatter about it but I ignore that stuff," Dubner says. " We know that predicting the future based on an independent variable that has nothing to do with anything is a bad idea. I might as well take hen's teeth and a cast them in the dirt."

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Testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke sought to encourage, chide and gently prod Congress into putting the U.S. on a "sustainable path" to bring down -- or at least stabilize -- debt-to-GDP levels.

"Achieving this goal should be a top priority," Bernanke said.

But Bernanke giving politicians advice about fiscal stability is "about as useful as an arsonist's lecture on fire prevention," according to David Stockman, who was Ronald Reagan's budget director. "His radical zero interest rate policy has destroyed the bond market, crushed the yield curve and eviscerated any resolve to address the deficit on Capital Hill."

Stockman, also a former U.S. Congressman, say politicians "will make tough choices and walk the plank if they're fearful but [Bernanke's] made financing the deficit almost pain free, cost free."

Speaking of pain and the deficit, the CBO this week estimates the 2012 federal budget deficit will be $1.1

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By winning handily in Florida, Mitt Romney put himself in back in the driver's seat to win the GOP nomination. Whether or not Romney wins the nomination - much less the general election - private equity seems to be the big losers of the 2012 campaign so far.

"In the fight that's going on for the nomination, private equity is caught in the middle," says Joel Kurtzman, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute and former editor of Harvard Business Review. "I don't see people standing up to defend the industry [but], overall, its impact on the economy is quite positive."

'Quite positive' might be an overstatement, but academic research suggests all the talk about private equity (PE) being "vulture capitalism" is just election-year hyperbole.

While there are examples of private equity deals that resulted in lost jobs and debt-laden companies, there are plenty of companies that have benefited from private equity investment, including Mitt