Full story here from Pam Martens.
Thanks to an ever growing influx of Ph.D.s from the Ivies and an insatiable demand for an algorithmic trading edge by secretive hedge funds and proprietary trading desks at the largest firms, Wall Street has become part physics lab, part casino, part black hole. (more…)
Full story here from Jim Willie a/k/a The Golden Jackass. Jim usually writes about once every couple of weeks. Now, as a result of financial foment, I’m seeing him once or twice a week. Non-financial interlude here.
The article of July 22nd on “Smoking Guns of USTreasury Monetization” hit more desks, raised more dust, and brought more attention than expected to the grand fraud in progress using USGovt debt securities. The glaring actions continue without any hint of legal prosecution but deep foreign resentment among creditors as publicity mounts. Nobody appreciates counterfeit of the instruments held in great volume as supposed savings. The only counterfeit of honorable origin is of Microsoft products, since mostly stolen and surely not the output of in-house innovation. (more…)
Full story here from the New York Post.
Federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals market, The Post has learned.
The probes are centering on whether or not JPMorgan, a top derivatives holder in precious metals, acted improperly to depress the price of silver, sources said.
The Commodities Futures Trade Commission is looking into civil charges, and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is handling the criminal probe, according to sources, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information. (more…)
Full story here from Janet Tavakoli. Magnetar was also very, um, generous to Rahm Emmanuel to the tune of $1 million.
ProPublica, Planet Money, and radio show This American Life recently carried stories about Magnetar, a hedge fund that profited from the housing crisis. Unfortunately, many thought it was a fresh revelation. Magnetar wasn’t a previously unknown hedge fund. Magnetar did not create the synthetic CDO structure, and the magnitude of Magnetar’s role in the subprime crisis has been overblown. (more…)
Full story here from Jim Willie a/k/a The Golden Jackass.
While the multitudes debate over whether an economic recovery is coming to the United States, signals sound loudly in harsh tones. While they point to the recent rise in the USDollar, signals sound loudly in harsh tones. Admittedly the signals are confusing, but they are important. The long-term bond yield for USTreasurys threatens the 4.0% mark. The crude oil price is close to threatening the $100 mark. Sleepy financial market anchors and mavens offer comment, but might miss altogether the significance of the signals. The signals clearly mean great strain on the credit markets still, and gradual decay of the major currencies led by the USDollar. (more…)
Full story here from CounterPunch.
Housing is still on the rocks and prices are headed lower. Master illusionist Ben Bernanke has managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust is set to wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS). When the program ends, long-term interest rates will creep higher and sales will begin to flag. The objective of Bernanke’s $1.25 trillion quantitative easing program was to transfer the banks’ toxic assets onto the Fed’s balance sheet. Having achieved that goal, Bernanke will now have to find a way to unload those same assets onto the public. Freddie and Fannie, which have already been used as a government-backed off-balance-sheet dumping ground, appear to be the most likely candidates. (more…)
Full story here from Reggie Middleton via ZeroHedge.
I have warned my readers about following myths and legends versus reality and facts several times in the past, particularly as it applies to Goldman Sachs and what I have coined “Name Brand Investing”. Very recent developments from Senator Kaufman of Delaware will be putting the spit-shined patina of Wall Street’s most powerful bank to the test. Here is a link to the speech that the esteemed Senator from Delaware (yes, the most corporate friendly state in this country). A few excerpts to liven up your morning… (more…)
Full story here from Matt Taibi via Market Oracle.
“Matt Taibbi writes: Goldman Sachs and other big banks aren’t just pocketing the trillions we gave them to rescue the economy – they’re re-creating the conditions for another crash.
On January 21st, Lloyd Blankfein left a peculiar voicemail message on the work phones of his employees at Goldman Sachs. Fast becoming America’s pre-eminent Marvel Comics supervillain, the CEO used the call to deploy his secret weapon: a pair of giant, nuclear-powered testicles. In his message, Blankfein addressed his plan to pay out gigantic year-end bonuses amid widespread controversy over Goldman’s role in precipitating the global financial crisis. (more…)
RICO suit filed against JPMorgan and HSBC on silver manipulation
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010Full story here from ZeroHedge. Will the double fisted alien dong of justice finally punish serial evildoers? The Shadow knows…
If JPM and HSBC hoped that the lawsuits filed a week ago by Brian Beatty and Peter Laskari, which we discussed previously, were going to be the end of their public exposure with regard to possible silver market manipulation, they are about to be disappointed. Today, in a separate lawsuit filed by Carl Loeb in the Southern District of New York, a new light on precious manipulation by the duo was shone, this time involving allegations of breach of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. And with the CFTC itself admitting of ongoing manipulation in the silver market, it appears this issue is not going to go away quietly any time soon. (more…)
Tags: CFTC, HSBC, JP Morgan, market manipulation, silver
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