SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has closed 465 banks. Prior to 2008, only 10 banks had failed. Regulators shuttered another 23 failed banks in 2013 alone. On Wednesday, TFC National Bank said it will close 37 branches inside Jewel stores by March, A day later, still plagued by the fallout from the ruptured housing bubble, Bank of America agreed to pay the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) nearly $132 million in penalties to settle an investigation connected to the sale of two intricately convoluted mortgage securities sold to investors through its Merrill Lynch division. The news has been neither surprising nor welcoming. But the announcement that regulators seized the assets of the famed Bailey Savings and Loan in Bedford Falls -- a privately owned and cherished institution that never received bailouts -- rocked the nation's confidence. This time, however, a corporate banker named Potter, whom the town previously considered a ruthless and malevolent cad, has emerged as a potential savior.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's foremost conservative business lobby, announced on Thursday its annual ranking of the eight worst companies in America -- those organizations that consistently fail to embrace the true spirit of bottom-line capitalism. Why eight? Chamber leaders explained that rating ten employers is more expensive, wasteful, and inefficient. To make the prestigious list, a company must demonstrate its failure to seize opportunities for maximizing profit potential by refusing to cut corners, reduce overhead, eliminate employer-sponsored benefits and perks, replace full-time workers with temps or automation, and outsource jobs to foreign nations with cheap labor pools and abysmal records of human rights. "These are big name companies with big chips on their shoulders," said Len Waybill, head economist for the conservative Peter Pinguid Society. "The role of business is to keep growing, to keep making money, by any legal means necessary. Frankly, every company on the list is an embarrassment -- a monument to shame and anti-American values. I always find it strange that these same businesses end up on Fortune's 'Best Companies to Work For' list."

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Amid the economic showdown between congressional Republicans and the White House, in which President Obama has taken a more hardline stance against negotiating than in times past, most Americans are preparing to tighten their belts should the government fail to prevent a dive off the fiscal cliff. Businesses too are taking precautions. Citigroup, which never fully recovered from the financial crisis, announced Wednesday that it would cut 11,000 jobs -- about four percent of the 262,000 employees in its global workforce. Former CEO Vikram Pandit had hired thousands of workers and invested billions to boost the company's revenues when the economy soured in 2008. New CEO Michael Corbat, who succeeded Pandit after his October 16 ouster, seems to have a much different plan. Corbat expects the deep cuts to save Citigroup $900 million next year, and more in subsequent years. "Because of Pandit's prodigal spending and misguided decision making, Citigroup now faces the prospect of having to withhold over $100 million in executive bonuses," said Len Waybill, head economist for the conservative Peter Pinguid Society. "In order to keep the company running, it can't afford to lose its leadership. So sacking thousands of low-level peons makes sound business sense. I don't see Corbat having any other choice."

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Two of the world's most well-known violators of privacy and security are now being questioned by investors about their long-term sustainability after recent revelations of destabilized leadership and lackluster performance. Facebook disappointed shareholders last week when it reported a decline of over 13 percent. As a result, shares slumped to $21.71 at the close in New York on July 31. After three consecutive days of decline, the world's largest social network reported a drop to 6.2 percent -- an historic low. All in all, Facebook's value has waned 43 percent since its IPO. Like Facebook, international terror group al Qaeda has also delivered equally disappointing second-quarter figures. In a report issued last Tuesday, U.S. intelligence agencies declared terrorist attacks by al Qaeda to have reached their lowest levels since 2005. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein noted that both enterprises have created a difficult predicament for investors seeking to gain from long-term solvency and returns. "Still, if I were looking at the business model with the most staying power, something not easily displaced by the next new fad, I'd put my money on al Qaeda," said one economist.

TEHRAN, Iran (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) --An Iranian court has found four individuals guilty for their parts in a banking scandal that caused serious complications for the government and led to the ouster of several executives. Officials have sentenced those responsible to death. Directors at an Iranian investment company used forged documents to embezzle $2.6 billion in secured loans to purchase state-owned enterprises in the fraudulent scheme. The incident was discovered in 2011, and over 39 people were identified as being involved. "According to the sentence that was issued, four of the accused in this case were sentenced to death," a judiciary spokesman told state media. News of the executions, however localized, managed to draw the attention of politicians in the United States, sparking a polarizing debate between Democrats and Republicans after a surprising number of struggling, middle class taxpayers said the bold move had given them "newfound respect" for Iran.

"We have laws against suicide, but that doesn't stop people from killing themselves" -- Speaker John Boehner

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Addressing the disastrous decision making at JPMorgan Chase that led to a $2 billion trading loss, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he didn't believe there was "anything in Dodd-Frank that would've prevented this activity at JPMorgan. We have laws against suicide, but that doesn't stop people from killing themselves." The losses suffered by JPMorgan resulted from derivatives trading and could renew calls to expand regulations for banks, even though lawmakers continue to bicker about the Dodd-Frank rules enacted two years ago. Boehner seized the opportunity to emphasize the value of repealing Dodd-Frank. He also stated that most federal regulations should be abolished along the way: "As Americans, we don't need to be told how fast we can drive, where we can smoke, what we can do with campaign contributions, or who we can and can't hire. Heck, I'm not even allowed to accept gifts from associates or business friends. That's just government-sponsored insolence. Federal law requires me to be rude. And your taxes are footing the bill. Where does it end? I'll tell you -- with you in the poor house. You think your checking account fees are high now, imagine what they'll be like when the government takes over."

ATHENS, Greece (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- International pharmaceutical companies are working closely with European officials on emergency plans to keep drugs flowing into Greece if the country crashes out of the euro. Officials continue to assure the world that such an eventuality would be unthinkable, but it appears they are giving serious thought to the possibility. Not only has the Greek financial disaster blighted the European economy, it has caused worldwide shares of S.C. Johnson -- the owners of Windex -- to plummet. Drugmakers are reaching back to examine the 2002 situation in Argentina, when manufacturers continued to supply drugs temporarily without payment. Executives at major drug companies -- especially those headquartered in Europe -- admitted to being pressured by EU leaders to prevent a "health catastrophe," which could explode should Greek imports falter as result of massive devaluation of newly issued drachma. "There's a moral obligation to comply," representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers told reporters Friday. "The fact is, we need to keep the Greeks doped up if we're going to get through this with any reasonable measure of sanity."

Sources inside Goldman Sachs worry about Blankfein making his rent this month

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein revealed Wednesday that he too is feeling the pinch of the weak economy as his company announced a 47-percent plummet in earnings, the most severe drop since 2008. As a result, the financial group decreased Blankfein's annual bonus, seemingly in tandem, by nearly 44 percent. Blankfein, who was raised in a Bronx housing project, said the dramatic reduction in pay evoked memories of his humble origins. After being awarded a paltry $7 million -- down from $12.6 million the previous year -- Blankfein put on a brave face and told reporters: "Sure, it's hard. I'm like so many Americans who've had their compensation shredded to a questionable living wage. And, you know, it's easy to complain -- to say, 'why they'd even bother,' or to think of the stipend as a hollow gesture in the face of horrendous morale. But then I take a look around and consider myself lucky that I'm even employed. The bank already fired 2,400 people. Unlike Mitt Romney, they didn't seem to enjoy it. I'm grateful, actually."