WSJ - Eco-Altruism, More Due Process Karma

The Wall Street Journal ran two stories today following up on earlier posts.

In Personal Journal, the headline reads "Going Green To Save Some Green." In essence, big mortgage marketers are offering cash rebates to environmentally conscious home buyers -- Citigroup will offer $1,000 off closing costs if certain energy efficient improvements are made. Let's be clear -- this is not eco-altruism. Citigroup figures that savings in monthly fuel bills can be applied to a higher mortgage payment thereby allowing the home purchaser to afford a higher mortgage than he/she would under ordinary underwriting requirements. And of course, the higher the mortgage, the more up front fees and interest earned by Citigroup over the life of the mortgage.

And in the Investing section, it appears that Joseph Jett of Kidder Peabody fame has been ordered to turn over $8.4 million sought by the SEC. Jett was sued by the SEC in 1996 having concluded that he booked millions in bogus trading profits on bonds to conceal losses. It looks like it takes the government 10 years to collect. The SEC argued in 2006 that Jett failed to file a timely appeal, thereby voiding his due process rights. Over the last decade, Jett chose to spend his money building his money management firm, Jett Capital Management, rather than spending it in legal fees associated with appeal. It looks like it is time to pay the piper.