Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
Company name	HSBC Holdings plc
Company logo
Type	Public limited company
traded as
Foundation	1991(HSBC Holdings plc)1865(The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited)
Founder	Sir Thomas Sutherland
Location	8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom
Locations	7,500 offices in 87 countries & territories
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Douglas Flint (Group Chairman) Stuart Gulliver (Group Chief Executive)
Industry	BankingFinancial servicesInvestment services
Products	Finance and insuranceConsumer BankingCorporate BankingInvestment BankingInvestment ManagementGlobal Wealth ManagementPrivate EquityMortgagesCredit Cards
Revenue	US$ 98.918 billion (2010)
Operating income	US$ 19.037 billion (2010)
Net income	US$ 13.159 billion (2010)
Assets	US$ 2.454 trillion (2010)
Equity	US$ 147.667 billion (2010)
Num employees	276,300 (2011)
Subsid	HSBC Bank plcThe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking CorporationHSBC GLT IndiaHSBC Bank USAHSBC Bank Middle EastHSBC MexicoHSBC Bank BrazilHSBC Finance
Slogan	"The Worlds Local Bank"
Homepage	HSBC.com
Intl	yes }}

HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by ''Forbes'' magazine. It has around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and around 100 million customers. As of 30 June 2010, it had total assets of $2.418 trillion, of which roughly half were in Europe, a quarter in the Americas and a quarter in Asia.

HSBC Holdings plc was founded in London in 1991 by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company and to enable the acquisition of UK-based Midland Bank. The origins of the bank lie in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where branches were first opened in 1865. Today, HSBC remains the largest bank in Hong Kong, and recent expansion in mainland China, where it is now the largest international bank, has returned it to that part of its roots.

HSBC is a universal bank and is organised within four business groups: Commercial Banking; Global Banking and Markets (investment banking); Personal Financial Services (retail banking); and Private Banking.

HSBC's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (where it is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index), the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris and the Bermuda Stock Exchange. As of August 2010, it was the largest company listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a market capitalisation of £115.8 billion.

History

Development of the bank

HSBC (abbreviation origin: the "Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation") was founded in the former British colony of Hong Kong (in March 1865) and Shanghai (one month later) by Scotsman Sir Thomas Sutherland (1834–1922). HSBC Holdings plc established in 1990 became the parent company to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in preparation for its purchase of Midland Bank in the United Kingdom and restructuring of ownership domicile for the impending transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China. HSBC Holdings acquisition of Midland Bank gave HSBC Group a substantial market presence in the United Kingdom which was completed in 1992. As part of the takeover conditions for the purchase of Midland Bank, HSBC Holdings plc was required to relocate its world headquarters from Hong Kong to London in 1993.

Major acquisitions in South America started with the purchase of the Banco Bamerindus of Brazil for $1bn in March 1997 and the acquisition of Roberts SA de Inversiones of Argentina for $600m in May 1997. In 1980, HSBC acquired a 51% shareholding in Marine Midland Bank, which it extended to full ownership in 1987. In May 1999, HSBC continued its US acquisitions with the purchase of Republic National Bank of New York for $10.3bn.

Expansion into Continental Europe took place in April 2000 with the acquisition of Crédit Commercial de France, a large French bank for £6.6bn.

In July 2001 HSBC bought Demirbank, an insolvent Turkish bank. Then in August 2002 HSBC acquired Grupo Financiero Bital, SA de CV, Mexico's third largest retail bank for $1.1bn.

The new headquarters of HSBC Holdings at 8 Canada Square, London officially opened in April 2003.

Then in September 2003 HSBC bought Polski Kredyt Bank SA of Poland for $7.8m.

In June 2004 HSBC expanded into China buying 19.9% of the Bank of Communications of Shanghai.

In the United Kingdom HSBC acquired Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings Ltd for £763m in December 2004.

Acquisitions in 2005 included Metris Inc, a US credit card issuer for $1.6bn in August and 70.1% of Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank of Iraq in October.

In April 2006 HSBC bought the 90 branches in Argentina of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro for $155m.

In December 2007 HSBC acquired The Chinese Bank in Taiwan.

In May 2008 HSBC acquired IL&FS; Investment, an Indian retail broking firm.

Subprime crisis

In November 2002 HSBC expanded further in the United States. Under the chairmanship of Sir John Bond, it spent £9bn (US$15.5bn) to acquire Household Finance Corporation (HFC), a US credit card issuer and subprime lender. In a 2003 cover story, ''The Banker'' noted "when banking historians look back, they may conclude that [it] was the deal of the first decade of the 21st century". Under the new name of HSBC Finance, the division was the second largest subprime lender in the US.

In March 2009, HSBC announced that it would shut down the branch network of its HSBC Finance arm in the U.S., leading to nearly 6,000 job losses and leaving only the credit card business to continue operating.

Chairman Stephen Green stated, "HSBC has a reputation for telling it as it is. With the benefit of hindsight, this is an acquisition we wish we had not undertaken."; analyst Colin Morton said, "the takeover was an absolute disaster".

Although it was at the centre of the subprime storm, the wider group has weathered the financial crisis of 2007–2010 better than other global banks. According to Bloomberg, "HSBC is one of world’s strongest banks by some measures." When HM Treasury required all UK banks to increase their capital in October 2007, the group transferred £750 million to London within hours, and announced that it had just lent £4 billion to other UK banks. In March 2009, it announced that it had made US$9.3bn of profit in 2008 and announced a £12.5bn (US$17.7bn; HK$138bn) rights issue to enable it to buy other banks that were struggling to survive. However, uncertainty over the rights' issue's implications for institutional investors caused volatility in the Hong Kong stock market: on 9 March 2009 HSBC's share price fell 24.14%, with 12 million shares sold in the last few seconds of trading.

Recovery

On 11th May 2011 the new chief executive Stewart Gulliver announced that HSBCs would refocus its business strategy and that a large-scale retrenchment of operations, particularly in respect of the retail sector, was planned. HSBC would no longer seek to be 'the world's local bank', as costs associated with this were spiralling and US$3.5bn needed to be saved by 2013, with the aim of bringing overheads down from 55% of revenues to 48%. Gulliver stated that HSBC would focus on the business of wealth management in dynamic and developing markets, principally in the UK and far east. Immediate judgement was passed on this plan, with the share price shrinking 1.5%. Gulliver also added that a decision on whether or not to relocate its head office out of the UK tax domain would be made at the end of the year.

2010 Management Shakeup

In 2010, then-chairman Stephen Green planned to depart HSBC to accept a government appointment in the Trade Ministry. Current chief executive Geoghegan was expected to become the next chairman. However, while many current and former senior employees supported the tradition of promoting the chief executive to chairman, many shareholders instead pushed for an external candidate. Geoghegan's detractors noted that while he was effective at getting things done, they argued that his blunt style was unsuited to leading the board and representing HSBC with heads of government, and his appointment as chairman would also flout UK governance guidance that barred chief executives becoming chairman. Geoghegan had reportedly threatened to quit if he was passed over in favour of former Goldman Sachs President John Thornton. HSBC's board of directors had reportedly been split over the succession planning, and investors were alarmed that this row would damage the company.

On 23 September 2010, Geoghegan announced he would step down as chief executive of HSBC. He was succeeded as chief executive of HSBC by Stuart Gulliver, while Green was succeeded as Chairman by Douglas Flint; Flint was serving as HSBC's finance director (chief financial officer).

Curtailments

August 2011: Inline with the profit growth of just 3 percent and a plan to save money as $3.5 billion over the next 2 years, HSBC will cut 25,000 jobs and exit from 20 countries by 2013 as addition of 5,000 jobs cut already announced by the bank earlier in the year. The consumer banking division HSBC will focus on the UK, Hong Kong, high-growth markets such as Mexico, Singapore, Turkey and Brazil, and smaller countries where it has leading market share.

Divestments

August 1, 2011 "to align our U.S. business with our global network and meet the local and international needs of domestic and overseas clients", HSBC Holding Plc, agreed to sell 195 branches in New York and Connecticut for around $1 billion to First Niagara Financial Group Inc. HSBC will also close 13 branches in Connecticut and New Jersey in 2012. The rest of HSBC's U.S. network will only be about half from a total 470 branches before divestments.

Operations

Corporate profile

In February 2008, HSBC was named the world's most valuable banking brand by ''The Banker'' magazine. Not known for marked fluctuations in securities exchanges around the world relative to its rivals, HSBC is more well known in banking circles for its conservative and risk-averse approach in its business operations – a company tradition going back to the 19th century. In its technical management, however, HSBC has recently suffered a series of headline-making incidents in which some customer data were allegedly leaked or simply went missing. Although the consequences turned out to be small, the embarrassing effect on the group's image did not go unnoticed.

As of 2 April 2008, according to ''Forbes'' magazine, HSBC was the fourth largest bank in the world in terms of assets ($2,348.98 billion), the second largest in terms of sales ($146.50 billion) and the largest in terms of market value ($180.81 billion). It was also the most profitable bank in the world with $19.13 billion in net income in 2007 (compared to Citigroup's $3.62 billion and Bank of America's $14.98 billion in the same period).

HSBC is the largest bank both in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong and prints most of Hong Kong's local currency in its own name. Since the end of 2005, HSBC has been rated the largest banking group in the world by Tier 1 capital. The HSBC Group has a significant presence in each of the world's major financial markets, with the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe each representing around one third of the business. With around 8,000 offices in 87 countries & territories, 210,000 shareholders, 300,000 staff and 128 million customers worldwide, HSBC arguably has the most international presence among the world's multinational banking giants.

The HSBC Group operates as a number of local banks around the world, which explains its advertising tagline "The World's Local Bank." In response to ongoing discussions about the survival strategies for banks, and the suggestion of "Living Wills" HSBC explains its structure as "separately incorporated and capitalised" the structure is based on a lead bank in each region, which has responsibility for the group's operations in that area, as listed below. For details of other group companies see :Category:HSBC.

Latin America

HSBC Mexico SA ''HSBC Bank Brazil SA, Banco Multiplo'' ''HSBC Bank Argentina SA''

Asia Pacific

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd ''Hang Seng Bank Ltd'' ''HSBC Bank (China) Company Ltd'' ''HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad''

Middle East

HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd ''HSBC Bank Egypt SAE'' ''The Saudi British Bank''

North America

HSBC Bank USA Inc ''HSBC Finance Corporation'' ''HSBC Bank Canada''

Europe

HSBC Bank plc ''HSBC France'' ''HSBC Trinkaus und Burkhardt AG'' ''HSBC Private Bank (UK) Ltd''

Global product lines and programmes

Group Service Centres

As a cost saving measure HSBC is offshoring processing work to lower cost economies in order to reduce the cost of providing services in developed countries. These locations take on work such as data processing and customer service, but also internal software engineering at Pune (India), Hyderabad (India), Vishakhapatnam (India), Kolkata (India), Guangzhou (China), Curitiba (Brazil) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Chief Operating Officer Alan Jebson said in March 2005 that he would be very surprised if fewer than 25,000 people were working in the centres over the next three years: “I don’t have a precise target but I would be surprised if we had less than 15 (global service centres) in three years’ time.” He went on to say that each centre cost the bank from $20m to $30m to set up, but that for every job moved the bank saves about $20,000 (£10,400).

Trade unions, particularly in the US and UK, blame these centres for job losses in developed countries, and also for the effective imposition of wage caps on their members. Currently, HSBC operates centres out of eight countries, including Brazil (Curitiba), The Czech Republic (Ostrava), India (Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Pune), China (Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Poland (Krakow), Sri Lanka (Rajagiriya) and Philippines (Manila). The Malta trial for a UK high value call centre has resulted in a growing operation that country. An option under consideration is reported to be a processing centre in Vietnam to access the French skills of the population and therefore cut costs in the bank’s French operations.

On 27 June 2006, HSBC reported that a "small number" of customers had suffered from fraud totalling £233,000 after an employee at the Bangalore call centre supplied confidential customer information to fraudsters.

HSBC Private Bank

HSBC Private Bank is the group's private banking operation, providing private banking and trustee services to wealthy individuals and their families worldwide. The Private Bank has in excess of 60 offices worldwide, with the major centres being Miami, New York, London, Geneva and Hong Kong.

HSBC Premier

HSBC Premier is the group's premium financial services product. The exact benefits and qualification criteria vary depending on country, but typically require deposits and investments of at least $100,000, £50,000, or €100,000. Alternatively those who have an individual annual income of at least £100,000 paid into their HSBC Premier Bank Account and are a customer of the bank's Independent Financial Advisory Service. Customers have a dedicated Premier Relationship Manager, global 24 hour access to call centres, free banking services and preferential rates. A HSBC Premier customer receives the HSBC Premier services in all countries that offer HSBC Premier, without having to meet that country's qualifying criteria.

HSBC Advance

HSBC Advance is the group's product aimed at working professionals. The exact benefits and qualifications vary depending on country, but typically require a transfer of Salary of USD 1,500 or more every month or Maintain USD 25,000 of deposits in a Savings/Current Account or investments. Advantages include and may vary depending on country this include day-to-day banking services included but not limited to Platinum Credit Card, Advance ATM Card, Current Account and Savings Account. Protection plans and Financial Planning Services. A HSBC Advance customer enables the customer to open accounts in another country and transfer their credit history.

HSBC Bank International

HSBC Bank International is the offshore banking arm of the HSBC Group, focusing on providing offshore solutions and cross border services to expatriates and migrants. It provides a full range of multi-currency personal banking services to a range of customer segments, including a full internet banking and telephone banking service. Sometimes referred to as "HSBC Offshore", the business also offers independent financial planning, and has representative offices all over the world, often working alongside local HSBC operations in those regions.

HSBC Bank International originated from the business started by Midland Bank and is based in the Channel Islands with further operations on the Isle of Man. Its operations in the Channel Islands are centred around its registered headquarters on the seafront in St Helier, Jersey. Named 'HSBC House', the building comprises departments such as Premier, Global Funds & Investments, e-Business and a 24 hour 'Direct Banking Centre'.

HSBCnet

HSBCnet is a global service that caters to local business needs by offering specialised functionality for different regions worldwide.

The system provides access to transaction banking functionality – ranging from payments and cash management to trade services features – as well as to research and analytical content from HSBC. It also includes foreign exchange and money markets trading functionality.

The system is used widely by HSBC's high-end corporate and institutional clients served variously by the bank's global banking and markets, commercial banking and global transaction banking divisions.

HSBCnet is also the brand under which HSBC markets its global e-commerce proposition to its corporate and institutional clients.

HFC Bank (UK Operation) is a wholly owned subsidiary, with 135 High Street branches in the UK selling loans to the "sub-prime" market. During 2007 and 2008, it has been trying to fend off a union recognition campaign by the Trade Union Unite.

HSBC Direct

HSBC Direct is a telephone/online direct banking operation which attracts customers through mortgages, accounts and savings. It was first launched in the USA in November 2005 and is now available in Britain, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and France. Poland is launching business direct in September 2009. In the US, HSBC Direct is now part of HSBC Advance

Brand and advertising

The group announced in November 1999 that the HSBC brand and the hexagon symbol would be adopted as the unified brand in all the markets where HSBC operates, with the aim of enhancing recognition of the group and its values by customers, shareholders and staff throughout the world.

Logo

The hexagon symbol was originally adopted by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation as its logo in 1983. It was developed from the bank’s house flag, a white rectangle divided diagonally to produce a red hourglass shape. Like many other Hong Kong company flags that originated in the 19th century, and because of its founder's nationality, the design was based on the cross of Saint Andrew. The logo was designed by graphic artist Henry Steiner.

Sponsorship

Having sponsored the Jaguar Racing Formula One team since the days of Stewart Grand Prix, HSBC ended its relationship with the sport when Red Bull purchased Jaguar Racing from Ford. HSBC has now switched its focus to golf, taking title sponsorship of events such as the HSBC World Match Play Championship, HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship (now defunct), HSBC Champions and HSBC Women's Champions.

In football HSBC sponsors French club AS Monaco and Mexican club C.F. Pachuca, and in rugby league, HSBC sponsors Telford Raiders in the Rugby League Conference. In Australia, HSBC sponsors the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team in the Super 15 rugby union competition, as well as the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.

HSBC’s other sponsorships are mainly in the area of education, health and the environment. In November 2006, HSBC announced a $5 million partnership with SOS Children as part of Future First.

HSBC sponsors the Great Canadian Geography Challenge, which has had around 2 million participants in the past 12 years. Since 2001, HSBC has sponsored the Celebration of Light, an annual musical fireworks competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 2007 HSBC announced it would be a sponsor of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. HSBC has also sponsored a professional gaming team that was disbanded late 2007.

HSBC sponsored the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

HSBC is the official banking partner of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, providing banking facilities on site and renaming the Road to Wimbledon junior event, as The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge.

HSBC was named the 'Official Banking Partner' of The Open Championship, in a five year deal announced in 2010.

Customer groups

HSBC splits its business into four distinct groups:

Retail Banking and Wealth Management

HSBC provides more than 100 million customers worldwide with a full range of personal financial services, including current and savings accounts, mortgage loans, car financing, insurance, credit cards, loans, pensions and investments.

Retail Banking and Wealth Management was previously referred to as Personal Financial Services. This rename was announced during HSBC's 2011 Investor Day.

Commercial banking

HSBC provides financial services to small, medium-sized and middle-market enterprises. The group has more than 3 million of such customers, including sole proprietors, partnerships, clubs and associations, incorporated businesses and publicly quoted companies.

Global banking and markets

Global Banking and Markets is the investment banking arm of HSBC. It provides investment banking and financing solutions for corporate and institutional clients, including corporate banking, investment banking, trade services, payments and cash management, and leveraged acquisition finance. It provides services in credit and rates, foreign exchange, money markets and securities services, in addition to asset management services.

Global Banking and Markets has offices in more than 60 countries and territories worldwide, and describes itself as "emerging markets-led and financing-focused".

Global Banking and Markets is currently being led by former fixed-income trader Samir Assaf, who was promoted from global head of markets on 10 December 2010.

Private banking

HSBC Private Bank is the marketing name for the private banking business conducted by the principal private banking subsidiaries of the HSBC Group worldwide. HSBC Private Bank, together with the private banking activities of HSBC Trinkaus, known collectively as Group Private Banking, provides services to high net worth individuals and their families through 93 locations in some 42 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. As of December 2007, profits before tax were US$1,511 million and combined client assets under management were US$494 billion.

In September 2008, HSBC announced that it would combine its two Swiss private banks under one brand name in 2009, with HSBC Guyerzeller and HSBC Private Bank to be merged into one legal entity, under the newly appointed CEO of HSBC Private Bank, Alexandre Zeller.

See also

HSBC Buildings

List of banks in the United Kingdom

List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong

Primary dealers

Notes

External links

HSBC Group site

HSBC Private Bank

HSBC To Cut 30,000 Jobs Worldwide

Category:Banks established in 1865 Category:Callable Bull/Bear Contracts issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Companies of Hong Kong Category:Credit cards Category:Financial services companies based in London Category:Hang Seng Index Constituent Stocks Category:Investment banks Category:Primary dealers Category:Registered Banks of New Zealand Category:Warrants issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange

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Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
{{infobox person| name	Jerome Corsi
birth name	Jerome Robert Corsi
birth date	August 31, 1946
birth place	East Cleveland, Ohio
residence	New Jersey
known for	Co-author of ''Unfit for Command'', author of ''The Obama Nation''
education	BA Case Western Reserve, magna cum laudePhD Harvard
occupation	Writer
party	Constitution Party
religion	Roman Catholic
spouse	Monica CorsiJoy Dugan
children	Alexis Corsi, daughter
parents	Louis E. CorsiAlice Hanlon Corsi
footnotes	}}

Jerome Robert Corsi (born August 31, 1946) is an American author, political commentator and conspiracy theorist best-known for his two ''New York Times'' bestselling books: ''The Obama Nation'' and ''Unfit for Command'' (with co-author John O'Neill). Both books, the former written in 2008 and the latter in 2004, attacked Democratic presidential candidates and were criticized for including numerous inaccuracies.

In other books and columns for conservative websites such as WorldNetDaily and Human Events, Corsi has discussed topics that are considered conspiracy theories in some circles, such as the alleged plans for a North American Government, the theory that President Barack Obama is not an American citizen; criticism of the United States government for allegedly covering up information about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, promoting the Abiogenic hypothesis of the origin of oil (arguing that oil is produced from chemical reactions in the Earth, in contrast to the general consensus of the scientific community that oil is produced from organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae), and alleged United States support of Iran in its attempts to develop nuclear weapons.

Early life

Jerome Corsi was born in East Cleveland, Ohio, to Louis E. Corsi, a union public relations director, and Alice Corsi, née Hanlon. He married Joy Dugan on May 8, 1970. The marriage ended in divorce. He married Monica Corsi in 1991.

He graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1964. He earned a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 1968, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1972.

Career

In 1972 Corsi researched the political protests around the 1972 Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Miami Beach, and the involvement of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. His research was then published by the Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence (Brandeis University, 1974).

Corsi went into banking and finance in 1981. In 1995 Corsi helped launch a mutual fund to invest in formerly Communist Poland after the fall of the Soviet Union, which eventually lost $1.2 million, much of it from a group of about 20 Minnesota investors. Some of the investors blamed the organizers, including Corsi, for their investment in the former Communist country. Two investors sued Corsi and his partners on the basis that the organizers had given their personal guarantee backing up the investment, and won judgments against them. They did not collect from Corsi because, as one investor claimed, the money "had been moved into his wife's name ... There was nothing to get out of him." The FBI found no basis for bringing criminal charges. Until his 2004 book, Corsi was a financial services marketing specialist.

In January 2005, Corsi told the ''Boston Herald'' that he planned to bid for John Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2008 as a Republican or Independent candidate. He later said his wife had "vetoed" this plan. Then Corsi stated "Howard Phillips of the Constitution Party asked me to consider seriously running for president in 2008 and I am doing so." He then agreed to be nominated at the Constitution Party National Convention, but he dropped out in July 2007.

Writings and conspiracy theories

Corsi has written about a variety of subjects, including Democratic politicians and conspiracy theories. According to ''The Guardian'', Corsi — who is Catholic — has been accused by the American press "of being anti-Islamic, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic and homophobic, and of exploiting racial prejudices in an attempt to 'scare white America'." In 2004, Corsi wrote a critical biography of then Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry called ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry''. In 2005 he published ''Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians'', which claimed Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the Ulemas, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran. That same year he co-authored ''Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil'' (2005) with Craig R. Smith.

In 2006, he co-authored ''Showdown with Nuclear Iran: Radical Islam's Messianic Mission to Destroy Israel and Cripple the United States'' with Michael D. Evans. In August 2006 he published ''Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders'' with Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist. This book criticized President George W. Bush's border protection policies, accusing him of furthering plans to create a North American Union. In May 2006, Corsi co-wrote the book ''Rebuilding America'' with Kenneth Blackwell, then Ohio secretary of state and a Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio.

In March 2008 Corsi reported in WorldNetDaily that a "Muslim terrorist group with ties to criminal drug networks and al-Qaida" has given "strong support" to John McCain.

In 2007 Corsi wrote that he himself is not a Republican and complained that "the Republican Party is controlled by what used to be called the 'Rockefeller Wing'." In addition, Corsi called for the impeachment of George W. Bush." On August 15th, 2008, Corsi endorsed Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, who had campaigned to reopen the investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks in support of the 9/11 Truth Movement.

Corsi has also referred to Martin Luther King, Jr. as a "shakedown artist".

Factcheck.org called Corsi's ''The Obama Nation'' "a mishmash of unsupported conjecture, half-truths, logical fallacies and outright falsehoods." Obama's campaign has criticized Corsi as a "bigoted fringe author" for these claims, as well as "the bizarre, conspiratorial views that Jerome Corsi has advocated in his broader work." Corsi has also appeared on ''INN World Report'', a news program on Free Speech TV, to advance his claims.

''Unfit for Command''

In August 2004, Corsi's ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry'', with attributed coauthor John O'Neill, was published by Regnery Publishing. The book sold more than 1.2 million copies.

The main theme of Corsi's portion of the book was to criticize Kerry's antiwar activities after returning from Vietnam, and to dispute many of his and other antiwar activists' assertions that U.S. soldiers had committed war crimes and atrocities, burned down villages, and murdered innocent civilians in Vietnam. Kerry gained notoriety, the book argues, by bringing to light such horrific events as the My Lai Massacre, thus damaging the image of the U.S. Military in the Winter Soldier hearings.

The other theme of the book was that Kerry's four month tour in Vietnam had been marked by cowardice under fire and fraudulently obtaining medals. In that regard, the book contained statements by some veterans of the Vietnam War who served with John Kerry on Swift Boats, several of whom executed affidavits in support of their claims; these claims were repudiated by other veterans who served with Kerry and often were disproven by outside sources, including the Navy's official records.

After controversial comments Corsi had made at the ''Free Republic'' website were publicized by the Media Matters for America website, John O'Neill claimed that Corsi was not actually a co-author of the book ''Unfit for Command'', but rather was "simply an editor." Nevertheless, O'Neill described Corsi as the book's "coauthor" in a 2007 letter to the ''New York Times''. Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler describe Corsi's efforts in writing the book, referring to him as one of its "authors," in their book ''To Set the Record Straight''.

In 2007 Corsi, along with Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter, sued Regnery's parent company, Eagle Publishing, claiming the company "orchestrate[d] and participate[d] in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets and to wholly owned subsidiary organizations within the Eagle conglomerate." The suit was dismissed on June 30, 2008

''The Obama Nation''

Corsi's book ''The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality'' was released on August 1, 2008, and is critical of Barack Obama and his candidacy for President. In response, the Obama campaign issued a 40 page rebuttal called "''Unfit for Publication''" on his website FightTheSmears.com, alleging factual errors. Corsi proclaimed the Obama report a confession that the most serious charges against Obama were true, because (he said) the campaign report cited minor issues, responded to charges different from those that Corsi had made, and implicitly confirmed many of Corsi's allegations.

According to various American news sources, many of the accusations made in the book are unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate.

According to ''The New York Times'', "Significant parts of the book, whose subtitle is 'Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality,' have been challenged in the days since its debut on Aug. 1." The book made its first appearance on ''The Times''' best-sellers list for nonfiction hardcovers at No. 1. Corsi conducted over 100 interviews promoting the book, including a scheduled appearance on ''The Political Cesspool'', a white supremacist radio talk show. He previously appeared on the show on July 20, but he canceled his August 17 appearance because of a change in "travel plans". In August 2008, Corsi appeared on Alex Jones' radio show and promoted ''The Obama Nation''.

Paul Waldman criticized ''The Obama Nation'' as "filled with falsehoods." In a debate with Corsi on ''Larry King Live'', Waldman accused him of using baseless innuendo as a tactic to 'smear' Obama.

On October 7, 2008, Corsi and his media consultant Tim Bueler were detained by immigration authorities in Kenya while doing further research related to the book, allegedly for failure to have a work permit. Corsi had scheduled a press conference to announce new research proving that Obama had raised a million dollars for the election campaign of Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, and had helped run Odinga's campaign as a strategist, including setting the stage for the campaign of violence and bloodshed that had brought Odinga to power after a disputed election. The meeting was interrupted by Kenyan immigration officials when they detained Corsi. Corsi was eventually deported.

''Black Gold Stranglehold''

Corsi has also promoted the concept of abiotic oil production (as opposed to the theory for formation of petroleum from biological matter); the idea that oil is naturally produced underground through chemical processes under extreme heat and pressure, rather than by the conversion of biological material. In his book ''Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil'', Corsi questions the "truism that oil is fossil fuel." As oil wells have drilled ever deeper, and discovered oil at 30,000 feet beneath the surface (5½ miles) it becomes clear, Corsi argues, that no dinosaur remains were buried 30,000 feet under ground. Corsi argues that oil men have long noticed that oil wells pumped dry sometimes "refill" with oil, suggesting a much deeper source for the oil, rising up under pressure to refill oil wells. Meanwhile, scientists have detected the presence of "fossil fuels" or hydrocarbons on Saturn's moon Titan. Furthermore, Corsi, argues, science has never put forward a satisfactory explanation for how a dinosaur can turn into oil.

Corsi suggests that the world buys into scientific views of petroleum formation because it would be "disastrous — both to oil companies and to politicians in office" in terms of pricing to admit that oil is not a scarce commodity. The abiotic oil theory is in conflict with scientific consensus.

On the inside flap of the book:

Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent science that has been sold to the American people in order to enslave them — the belief that oil is a fossil fuel and a finite resource. On the contrary, this book presents authoritative research, currently known mostly in the scientific community, that oil is not a product of decaying dinosaurs and prehistoric forests. Rather, it is a natural product of the Earth. The scientific evidence cited by Corsi and Smith suggests that oil is constantly being produced by the Earth, far below the planet's surface, and that it is brought to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the Earth's rotation.

''Atomic Iran''

In 2005 Corsi's ''Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians'' was published by WND Books with an introduction by Craig R. Smith. In the book he claims Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the mullahs, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran. Corsi accused an aide for John Kerry of helping the mullahs, who strongly rejected the claim. To promote the book, Corsi appeared in conservative venues such as on ''Hannity & Colmes'' on April 8, 2005, at the Heritage Foundation, and on WEJEW Radio.

On the topic in April 2005, Corsi wrote "An atomic Iran is imminent ... mullahs may have bomb by June." One year after the publication, Corsi wrote in his WorldNetDaily column, "I told you so", and claimed his book was right about failed talks. The book was taken as highly controversial, generating opposing views.

''Where's the Birth Certificate?''

Corsi wrote ''Where's the Birth Certificate?'', a book that questions Obama's American citizenship. Prior to its May 2011 release, the book enjoyed a buzz-building teaser article in the heavily-trafficked Drudge Report website, but Obama released his long-form birth certificate three weeks before the book was published. Shortly after the book's publication, ''Esquire'' issued a satirical report that the book had been recalled, which prompted Corsi to sue ''Esquire'' for damages of over $285 million.

North American Union conspiracy theories

Corsi claims that "President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union" a theoretical continental union of Canada, Mexico and the United States, that will supplant the United States. In 2007 he predicted an amero currency to replace dollar for this union will happen within 10 years. The "Union" is a theme in two of his books ''The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada'' (2007) and ''Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders'' (2006) as he explained on The Conservative Caucus's TV show. On December 15, 2006 Corsi reported for the first time he "had found a major intellectual leader behind the push to integrate North America suggesting that a crisis of 9-11 proportions might be just what was needed to advance the process toward establishing a North American Union and the amero."

In 2007 he claimed a North American Union driver's license was created and that the U.S. State Department was in talks to "move toward a transatlantic union." That same year he claimed, "Virgil Goode, R-Va., has introduced a House of Representatives resolution expressing congressional opposition to construction of a NAFTA Super Highway System or entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada." The validity of those claims was criticized in ''Newsweek'' and the author noted: "Corsi offered a warning: President Bush's supposed determination to force North American integration, he told the audience, could cost the GOP the 2008 presidential election. Corsi may have a conspiratorial bent. But he sure knows how to spin stories that shake up an election — and at least one candidate seems happy to help him."

John Hawkins, a fellow writer for ''Human Events'', responded: "Yesterday, Jerome Corsi was prattling on about the North American Union again after Michael Medved deservedly spanked him for spreading conspiracy theories. While I don't think Corsi is any more worthy of being taken seriously than those who think Jews rule the world or the 'Truthers' who think President Bush is responsible for 9/11, I thought I would respond to him one last time." Michael Medved, a conservative writer, listed Corsi as number three on his list of "The Most Annoying People on the Right", and wrote: "Nobody has worked harder to convince people that the completely moronic North American conspiracy theory is real than the right's version of Dylan Avery, kooky Jerome Corsi." Additionally, conservative Hugh Hewitt said Corsi is "from the fringe."

In October 2009, his book ''America for Sale: Fighting the New World Order, Surviving a Global Depression, and Preserving USA Sovereignty'' was published, which alleges "the globalists' plan to put America on the sale block, from financial services firms to public infrastructure such as highways and airports." To promote the book, he appeared on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News and then discussed the issue on ''Coast to Coast'' with George Noory.

9/11 conspiracy theory

According to Corsi, "A video clip widely circulated on the Internet shows a test that pulverized an F-4 fighter on impact with a hardened target, providing evidence to answer 9/11 skeptics who question why so little identifiable airplane debris remained after the hijacked American Airlines Boeing 757 hit the Pentagon." Audio]and a Youtube video has been circulated, especially among those questioning Corsi's credibility, of Corsi's January 29, 2008 interview on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' radio show. In the interview Corsi discusses "the findings of Steven Jones, physicist and hero of the '9/11 Truth' movement who claims to have evidence that the World Trade Center towers collapsed due to explosives inside the building, not just the planes hitting them, during the attacks." Corsi cites Jones' findings of microscopic forensic evidence which seemingly negates the U.S. government hypothesis that the aircraft's jet fuel fired heat, alone, was sufficiently hot enough to collapse the steel superstructure of the buildings.

Accusation of plagiarism

Conservative author and pundit Debbie Schlussel has accused Corsi of plagiarizing elements from columns that she has published, and subsequently posting them under his byline in his ''WorldNetDaily'' column.

Selected works

Lewis, Ralph G. and Jerome R. Corsi. ''To Make the World Safe for Picnics: The 1972 Political Conventions in Miami Beach''. 1974

O'Neill, John E. and Jerome R. Corsi. ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry''. Regnery Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-89526-017-4.

Blackwell, Kenneth and Jerome R. Corsi. ''Rebuilding America: A Prescription for Creating Strong Families, Building the Wealth of Working People, and Ending Welfare''. WND Books, 2006. ISBN 1581825013

Corsi, Jerome R. ''The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada''. WND Books, 2007, ISBN 0979045142.

See also

Swiftboating

William Estabrook Chancellor

Francis Alphonse Capell

References

Further reading

Swett, Scott and Tim Ziegler, ''To Set The Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry'', New American Media Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9799841-5-0

External links

Column archive at ''WorldNetDaily''

Column archive at ''Human Events''

Jerome Corsi on The Dangers of the "North American Union" from The Conservative Caucus

Unfit For Publication: An Investigative Report On The Lies In Jerome Corsi's "Obama Nation" – Obama for America official response

*Unfit for Publication from Obama for America

Video discussion/debate with Jane Hamsher on Bloggingheads.tv

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Human Events people Category:Constitution Party (United States) politicians

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Stuart Gulliver
birth date	July 20, 2009
birth place	Scotland
death date
other names	歐智華 (Chinese name)
occupation	Group Chief Executive of HSBC }}

Stuart Gulliver (Chinese name: 歐智華, born July 20, 2009) is a British banking business executive. He is the Group Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings.

Biography

Executive career

He joined HSBC in 1980. He was appointed a Group General Manager in 2000, and a Group Managing Director in 2004. He has been an executive Director since May 2008. He was Chairman of HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) SA since 25 February 2010, of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited since 15 February 2010, and of HSBC France since 1 January 2009.

Career

He is a director of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and HSBC Bank plc.; he was deputy chairman and member of the Supervisory Board of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG. He was a director of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. until 7 May 2009; of HSBC Latin America Holdings (UK) Limited until 4 December 2009. He was Co-Head of Global Banking and Markets from 2003 to 2006, was Head of Global Markets from 2002 to 2003; was Head of Treasury and Capital Markets in Asia-Pacific from 1996 to 2002.

Pay controversy

In 2010, he received a bonus of £9 million in stock, with base pay of £826,000.

References

External links

"Stuart T Gulliver, Chairman, Europe, Middle East and Global Businesses, HSBC Holdings plc"

Category:Living people Category:English bankers Category:English chief executives Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:HSBC people Category:British expatriates in Hong Kong

zh:歐智華

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
background	#FFA07A
name	Radhanath Swami
religion	Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Hinduism
alias	Richard Slavin.
initiation	Diksa–1973, Sannyasa–1982
post	GBC–1994, Initiating guru–1994
birth date	December 07, 1950
birth place	Chicago, Illinois, United States
website	http://www.radhanathswami.com }}

Radhanath Swami (born December 7, 1950) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava guru and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He works largely from Mumbai in India and also travels extensively throughout Europe and America. He has been instrumental in the founding of the Mumbai Bhaktivedanta hospital. He is an ISKCON guru and a member of the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON. Steven J. Rosen described Radhanath Swami as a "saintly person respected by the mass of ISKCON devotees today".

Biography

Born as Richard Slavin, he studied a number of religious paths such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At the age of 19 he began traveling through Europe and the Middle-East, eventually settling for over a year in the Himalayas. Much of this time he spent devoted to the tradition of Shaivism and was living as a renunciate Shaivite in India when he first met with Krishna devotees near Delhi. Through contact with the devotees in Vrindavan, and after receiving name Ratim Krishna from Swami Bon Radhanath began to focus exclusively on his spiritual path in Krishna Consciousness. In 1971 Radhanath Swami observed A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada during the ISKCON Cross Maidan festival in Mumbai. After leaving India, Radhanath Swami returned to the United States where he joined the New Vrindaban ISKCON farm community in West Virginia during July 1972. There he accepted initiation from A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in February 1973.

Radha Gopinath temple

In later years Radhanath has been essential for many highly successful Mumbai projects associated with Radha Gopinath Temple in Chowpatty, which was founded in 1986 and joined ISKCON in 1994. Radhanath Swami also has been instrumental in the founding of the Mumbai Bhaktivedanta hospital.

The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

Radhanath Swami wrote his autobiography on the request of his friend and god-brother Bhakti Tirtha Swami who from his deathbed asked him to share his story. The book "The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami" is the story of how Radhanath Swami grew up in a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois and through his journey of prayer was led through the 60's counter-culture movement in America into Europe, walking and hitch-hiking all the way through Europe to the Middle East and into India. Along the way he met many people who would share their wisdom with him, encouraging him on his search for the truth. He stayed with Yogis in Himalayan caves, in Buddhist Monasteries, Jewish Synagogues, and Christian Churches. He met many teachers and practitioners of spirituality and learned from them. The book details his adventures along the journey.

Francis Xavier Clooney in his review of the book notes "Like many a spiritual autobiography, the external events and details turn out to be the setting for the author’s inner quest. His journey is a humbling, learning to be poor, a series of tests that push the author toward living by faith alone. Like any pilgrim, he does not see all of this along the way, but in retrospect sees how he was being quietly, insistently drawn toward God all the time".

Radhanath Swami and Russell Brand

Radhanath Swami has been providing spiritual guidance to the British stand-up comedian and actor Russell Brand. According to The Times report, after meeting with Radhanath Swami Russell Brand stated “He's a beautiful fellow. He's got the answer. I'm a spiritual gent and increasingly that's the level I want to vibrate on, were it not for my crazed lust for sex and glamour.” On another occasion The Times reports him saying “I met this swami, and I said, ‘I’m a bit ridden with egotism and ambition, I’m riddled with it, I’m alive with it, I’m crawling with the stuff.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s a gift from God. Use it in the service of God.’ Except he said Krishna, but I’m anglicising it to make it sound less oooooeeee. . .”

See also

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Bhakti Yoga

Vaishnavism

List of ISKCON members and patrons

Footnotes

References

External links

Radhanath Swami Official Website

Official Website for The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swami

Talks by Radhanath Swami

Reviews of Radhanath Swami's Book The Journey Home

Category:Converts to Hinduism Category:International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures Category:Living people Category:American Hare Krishnas Category:1950 births

gu:રાધાનાથ સ્વામી ru:Радханатх Свами