If there ever was any doubt that our financial and political systems are as crooked as they ever have been, today's news that London-based HSBC agreed to pay a $1.9 billion fine in a deal with the US Justice Department to settle money laundering charges AND NOBODY WAS CHARGED WITH A CRIME, should dispel any remaining doubt.
Wall Street's reaction to the news was a giddy rally, celebrating the idea that banks and corporations can commit any crimes they like and suffer no criminal consequences.
And people think their investments are safe. And the government is working really hard to come to an agreement to avoid sending the economy over the fiscal cliff and raising everybody's taxes.
Think about it.
Dow 13,248.44, +78.56(0.60%)
NASDAQ 3,022.30, +35.34(1.18%)
S&P 500 1,427.84, +9.29(0.65%)
NYSE Composite 8,366.47, +43.79(0.53%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,933,253,500
NYSE Volume 3,650,410.250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3847-1695
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 215-48
WTI crude oil: 85.79, +0.23
Gold: 1,709.60, -4.80
Silver: 33.02, -0.36
Showing posts with label HSBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HSBC. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Our Dysfunctional Economy Won't Be Repaired Until Bankers Go to Jail
The popular phrase, "it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness," was once spoken in public by Peter Benenson, the English lawyer and founder of Amnesty International, at a Human Rights Day ceremony on 10th December 1961. There are disputes over the origin of this nugget of wisdom, some attributing it as an "ancient Chinese proverb."
Whatever the case, Mr. Benenson, and the American Christopher Society, which adopted the phrase as its motto, certainly had meritorious intentions in keeping to the spirit of the words.
When it comes to our current economic climate and the out-of-control, corrupt worldwide banking and political liaison, the cabal of bankers and politicians are the darkness, and, as much as one tries to be at all times civil, they need to be cursed.
Market manipulations aside, this week could well have been the utter, disgusting end of years of rigging, price, fixing, fraud and associated crimes, none of which having been prosecuted.
It's been mentioned in this space before that the end of manipulation is eventual failure or stagnation and this week was a prime example. Sure, it's summer and the height of vacation season, but the entire range of trade over the past five days on the Dow Jones Industrials was 115 points. On the NASDAQ, 45 points, while the S&P 500 vacillated between a low of 1391 and a high of 1406, which, incidentally, was close to where it closed on Friday. The S&P finished higher every day this week, though the biggest gain was a whopping seven points.
By the way, all of todays gains were made in the final 40 minutes of trading and the day's volume was embarrassing. Free and fair markets - that's what we used to have in the United States. What we have now is a dangerous, insider-controlled contrivance.
Were there a way to "light a candle" amidst the fraud that has enveloped our financial, political and media systems, it would probably be blown out in an instant. We the people are seemingly bred to watch, listen, obey and not ask questions. The banking elite, however, can do no wrong, as evidenced by a number of stories which emerged from the flotsam of the week that wasn't.
On Tuesday, the CFTC shut down a four-year-long investigation into silver market manipulation, focusing on JP Morgan and HSBC, saying there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges.
Thursday, the US Department of Justice decided not to pursue criminal charges against Goldman Sachs or any of its employees on mortgage securities fraud, concluding "that the burden of proof to bring a criminal case could not be met based on the law and facts as they exist at this time.” The investigation, which took over a year, was prompted by Goldman Sach's CEO Lloyd Blankfein testifying to a congressional panel that the firm actually took the opposite sides of trades that they sold to their clients. But, that's not sufficient for the bought-and-paid-for invisible man, Eric Holder, to bring a case forward. (Here's an idea: to help balance the budget, why not just shut down the DoJ? They apparently aren't interested in prosecuting anybody connected with the financial industry for anything. Big savings there.)
Thursday night, CBS ran, as the second story on their nightly national "news" broadcast, that the housing market was finally recovering (this probably was the sixth or seventh time over the past two years the shills at CBS had run such a story). Why then does Gary Shilling suggest that existing home prices could fall another 20%?
Flood of Foreclosures Could Cause Home Prices to Drop 20%: Gary Shilling
So, make up your own mind. Is the banking system, government oversight and the media working for you and your fellow citizens? Or are there two levels of justice in the USA (and probably everywhere else): one for rich bankers and one for the rest of us? Can we really trust our leaders to do the right things for the people? Or are we caught up in a fascist corporotocracy that feeds upon individuals for the benefit of the rich and powerful?
Go ahead and curse the darkness, because it needs to be cursed. Then light a candle. Take care of your family and friends and do something for yourself, like buying some raw land, growing some of your own vegetables, or investing in physical gold or silver.
To close out the week, or, if you're in need of additional reinforced rancor over the weekend, check out the latest Keiser Report, with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, below:
Dow 13,207.95, +42.76 (0.32%)
NASDAQ 3,020.86, +2.22 (0.07%)
S&P 500 1,405.86, +3.06 (0.22%)
NYSE Composite 8,042.59, +17.58 (0.22%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,568,909,750
NYSE Volume 2,586,105,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2753-2759
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 153-43
WTI crude oil: 92.87, -0.49
Gold: 1,622.80, +2.60
Silver: 28.06, -0.04
Whatever the case, Mr. Benenson, and the American Christopher Society, which adopted the phrase as its motto, certainly had meritorious intentions in keeping to the spirit of the words.
When it comes to our current economic climate and the out-of-control, corrupt worldwide banking and political liaison, the cabal of bankers and politicians are the darkness, and, as much as one tries to be at all times civil, they need to be cursed.
Market manipulations aside, this week could well have been the utter, disgusting end of years of rigging, price, fixing, fraud and associated crimes, none of which having been prosecuted.
It's been mentioned in this space before that the end of manipulation is eventual failure or stagnation and this week was a prime example. Sure, it's summer and the height of vacation season, but the entire range of trade over the past five days on the Dow Jones Industrials was 115 points. On the NASDAQ, 45 points, while the S&P 500 vacillated between a low of 1391 and a high of 1406, which, incidentally, was close to where it closed on Friday. The S&P finished higher every day this week, though the biggest gain was a whopping seven points.
By the way, all of todays gains were made in the final 40 minutes of trading and the day's volume was embarrassing. Free and fair markets - that's what we used to have in the United States. What we have now is a dangerous, insider-controlled contrivance.
Were there a way to "light a candle" amidst the fraud that has enveloped our financial, political and media systems, it would probably be blown out in an instant. We the people are seemingly bred to watch, listen, obey and not ask questions. The banking elite, however, can do no wrong, as evidenced by a number of stories which emerged from the flotsam of the week that wasn't.
On Tuesday, the CFTC shut down a four-year-long investigation into silver market manipulation, focusing on JP Morgan and HSBC, saying there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges.
Thursday, the US Department of Justice decided not to pursue criminal charges against Goldman Sachs or any of its employees on mortgage securities fraud, concluding "that the burden of proof to bring a criminal case could not be met based on the law and facts as they exist at this time.” The investigation, which took over a year, was prompted by Goldman Sach's CEO Lloyd Blankfein testifying to a congressional panel that the firm actually took the opposite sides of trades that they sold to their clients. But, that's not sufficient for the bought-and-paid-for invisible man, Eric Holder, to bring a case forward. (Here's an idea: to help balance the budget, why not just shut down the DoJ? They apparently aren't interested in prosecuting anybody connected with the financial industry for anything. Big savings there.)
Thursday night, CBS ran, as the second story on their nightly national "news" broadcast, that the housing market was finally recovering (this probably was the sixth or seventh time over the past two years the shills at CBS had run such a story). Why then does Gary Shilling suggest that existing home prices could fall another 20%?
Flood of Foreclosures Could Cause Home Prices to Drop 20%: Gary Shilling
So, make up your own mind. Is the banking system, government oversight and the media working for you and your fellow citizens? Or are there two levels of justice in the USA (and probably everywhere else): one for rich bankers and one for the rest of us? Can we really trust our leaders to do the right things for the people? Or are we caught up in a fascist corporotocracy that feeds upon individuals for the benefit of the rich and powerful?
Go ahead and curse the darkness, because it needs to be cursed. Then light a candle. Take care of your family and friends and do something for yourself, like buying some raw land, growing some of your own vegetables, or investing in physical gold or silver.
To close out the week, or, if you're in need of additional reinforced rancor over the weekend, check out the latest Keiser Report, with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, below:
Dow 13,207.95, +42.76 (0.32%)
NASDAQ 3,020.86, +2.22 (0.07%)
S&P 500 1,405.86, +3.06 (0.22%)
NYSE Composite 8,042.59, +17.58 (0.22%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,568,909,750
NYSE Volume 2,586,105,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2753-2759
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 153-43
WTI crude oil: 92.87, -0.49
Gold: 1,622.80, +2.60
Silver: 28.06, -0.04
Friday, September 23, 2011
Precious Metals Mayhem; Gold Down $100; Silver Slammed
There are plenty of theories on what took place in precious metals markets over the past few days, but the best possible explanations really don't hold up to closer scrutiny.
Some say that there were margin calls in stocks and that traders trundled out of gold and silver, though that would not explain why the biggest hits were today, unless there were some overnight desperation calls.
Others suggest that this is all a coup by central banks in anticipation of a major monetary event, such as a Greek default or a major Euro-zone banking collapse, or possibly even the shutdown of the US government, which, if our nitwit congress-people have it in their power (and they do) may just occur as early as October 1 (nice that it falls on a weekend, too).
That maybe makes more sense, as anyone with half an interest in current geopolitics knows the central banks are working in a coordinated fashion these days, knowing that the time left for successful fiat money may be measured in days or months, no longer in years. With the Fed turning 100 in 2013, that would seem a fitting date to implode the entire global ponzi fractional reserve scheme, smack dab in the first year of a new president's term.
Of course, there is still the famous short silver position of the fabled Blythe Masters of JP Morgan, which could explain quite a bit, especially in terms of the solvency of that fine financial institution, in particular.
Whatever the case, haters of real money are having a field day, supposedly impressed that gold has fallen back to levels last seen at... hmm, the beginning of August (yes, less than two months ago) and silver is currently where it was at the start of 2011. These short-sighted individuals should bear in mind that all of the major indices of US stocks are BELOW where they began the year.
The public lovers and hoarders of silver and gold have been making "back up the truck" references all day long, seeing this latest price movement as either a liquidity or solvency event and are prepared to scale in buying at these levels while hoping the price foes even lower. With them, there is overall agreement that whatever is causing the price of the precious metals to shudder over the past 48 hours has more to do with the sustainability of current political and monetary factions rather then the intrinsic values of two metals which have stood the test of time as currencies for the past 5000 years.
Whatever the cause, it should be seen as a buying opportunity, with caution to purchase only physical metal, not ETFs or mining stocks, and to scale in according to your risk perspective. With the weekend on hand, prices should firm up in a few short hours, and the metals are currently well off the lows of the day, when gold was down my more than $100 briefly and silver had printed - for a short time - at a $29-and-change handle.
That was where all the action was today. Stocks were essentially flat, which is something of a surprise, following a day-and-a-half of vicious selling pressure.
A good idea would be to head to your local precious metal outpost and make the best deal you can on gold or silver, bars or coins, take your pick, because there is going to be a break between the paper prices of the EFTs and the physical market, which is splintered amongst thousands of coin and bullion dealers scattered around the globe. The CFTC has done nothing to protect PM investors from raids like these, allowing big outfits (like HSBC, JPM and central banks) to run naked shorts in violation of position limits without so much as a quiet "no, no." And, when the fiat currency regime ends, as have all paper currencies backed by nothing but "trust" which has now been broken a thousand times over, gold and silver will re-emerge as "real" money.
Precious metals prices may go even lower in a deflationary environment, but, as the central banks engage in more easing, money printing and currency debasement, gold and silver will take on their own lives as legitimate currencies and soar in value. Any way you look at it, this is a godsend for anyone underinvested in precious metals, because, unlike stocks, currencies or bonds, they are not debt-based instruments and there is no counter-party risk.
God Bless Ron Paul!
Happy Friday!
Dow 10,771.48, +37.65 (0.35%)
NASDAQ 2,483.23, +27.56 (1.12%)
S&P 500 1,136.43, +6.87 (0.61%)
NYSE Composite 6,770.73, +44.11 (0.66%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,987,216,125.00
NYSE Volume 5,639,933,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4195-2340
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 11-477
WTI crude oil: 79.85, -0.66
Gold: 1655.00, -81.50
Silver: 31.15, -4.69
Some say that there were margin calls in stocks and that traders trundled out of gold and silver, though that would not explain why the biggest hits were today, unless there were some overnight desperation calls.
Others suggest that this is all a coup by central banks in anticipation of a major monetary event, such as a Greek default or a major Euro-zone banking collapse, or possibly even the shutdown of the US government, which, if our nitwit congress-people have it in their power (and they do) may just occur as early as October 1 (nice that it falls on a weekend, too).
That maybe makes more sense, as anyone with half an interest in current geopolitics knows the central banks are working in a coordinated fashion these days, knowing that the time left for successful fiat money may be measured in days or months, no longer in years. With the Fed turning 100 in 2013, that would seem a fitting date to implode the entire global ponzi fractional reserve scheme, smack dab in the first year of a new president's term.
Of course, there is still the famous short silver position of the fabled Blythe Masters of JP Morgan, which could explain quite a bit, especially in terms of the solvency of that fine financial institution, in particular.
Whatever the case, haters of real money are having a field day, supposedly impressed that gold has fallen back to levels last seen at... hmm, the beginning of August (yes, less than two months ago) and silver is currently where it was at the start of 2011. These short-sighted individuals should bear in mind that all of the major indices of US stocks are BELOW where they began the year.
The public lovers and hoarders of silver and gold have been making "back up the truck" references all day long, seeing this latest price movement as either a liquidity or solvency event and are prepared to scale in buying at these levels while hoping the price foes even lower. With them, there is overall agreement that whatever is causing the price of the precious metals to shudder over the past 48 hours has more to do with the sustainability of current political and monetary factions rather then the intrinsic values of two metals which have stood the test of time as currencies for the past 5000 years.
Whatever the cause, it should be seen as a buying opportunity, with caution to purchase only physical metal, not ETFs or mining stocks, and to scale in according to your risk perspective. With the weekend on hand, prices should firm up in a few short hours, and the metals are currently well off the lows of the day, when gold was down my more than $100 briefly and silver had printed - for a short time - at a $29-and-change handle.
That was where all the action was today. Stocks were essentially flat, which is something of a surprise, following a day-and-a-half of vicious selling pressure.
A good idea would be to head to your local precious metal outpost and make the best deal you can on gold or silver, bars or coins, take your pick, because there is going to be a break between the paper prices of the EFTs and the physical market, which is splintered amongst thousands of coin and bullion dealers scattered around the globe. The CFTC has done nothing to protect PM investors from raids like these, allowing big outfits (like HSBC, JPM and central banks) to run naked shorts in violation of position limits without so much as a quiet "no, no." And, when the fiat currency regime ends, as have all paper currencies backed by nothing but "trust" which has now been broken a thousand times over, gold and silver will re-emerge as "real" money.
Precious metals prices may go even lower in a deflationary environment, but, as the central banks engage in more easing, money printing and currency debasement, gold and silver will take on their own lives as legitimate currencies and soar in value. Any way you look at it, this is a godsend for anyone underinvested in precious metals, because, unlike stocks, currencies or bonds, they are not debt-based instruments and there is no counter-party risk.
God Bless Ron Paul!
Happy Friday!
Dow 10,771.48, +37.65 (0.35%)
NASDAQ 2,483.23, +27.56 (1.12%)
S&P 500 1,136.43, +6.87 (0.61%)
NYSE Composite 6,770.73, +44.11 (0.66%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,987,216,125.00
NYSE Volume 5,639,933,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4195-2340
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 11-477
WTI crude oil: 79.85, -0.66
Gold: 1655.00, -81.50
Silver: 31.15, -4.69
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