Saturday, July 26, 2008

NAKED SHORT SELLING NYTimes: "Commodity regulators in Washington on Thursday accused a Dutch trading company of manipulating the prices of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline over an 11-day period last year. The scheme, which the defendants referred to in conversations caught on tape as a plan to 'bully the market', produced illegal profits of more than $1 million, according to regulators. On at least five occasions, global benchmark prices of those products settled at artificial levels, they said. Though the price movements were small and the scheme was detected within days, the case is still likely to resonate in Washington. The Senate has been debating proposals to tackle high oil prices by curbing market speculation - and lawmakers, at more than 40 hearings this year, have repeatedly demanded tougher enforcement by market regulators." NRC: "Beurskoersen schommelen heftiger dan ooit. Een van de verklaringen is de opkomst van 'naakt short selling', een vorm van marktmisbruik die nog stamt van de VOC." Stock exchange quotations fluctuate more than ever. One of the explanations is the emergence of 'naked short selling', a form of market abuse that dates from the time of the Dutch East India Company. Sinking stock exchange quotations are good news for some investors. Those earning their money in this way are called short sellers. They were instrumental in the fall of the Bear Stearns bank in March this year, the large fluctuations at Fortis and the bankruptcy of IndyMac this month. Disaster capitalism at work again. There are signs that the banking system, the backbone of our economy, is on the brink of collapse. Even the commander-in-mischief, Dubya, admits it, be it before 'turned off cameras'. The man should have gone into the comedy business. But his jokes cannot hide the hard reality that he was one of the leaders of a criminal administration, known for its crimes and misdemeanors. The Bush administration and the neocon governments everywhere are short changing their citizens. 12:18:40 PM

© Copyright 2008 Hetty Litjens.