Derivatives: the Heart of Financial Darkness

The heart of our financial crisis is reckless speculation with "too big to fail" funds by a relatively small group of US based money center banks.

There is sufficient circumstantial evidence from their concerted lobbying efforts to undo and resist regulation to show planning and forethought in what is an almost amazingly straightforward case of fiduciary and financial fraud. Many a blind eye was turned to the decline of the nation as it occurred, as the media and politicians and financial regulators were caught up in a seductive web of corruption.

The perpetrators are still in place, relatively unrestrained, and certainly not facing anything that might be called 'justice.'

Before there is any recovery, the banks must be once again restrained and balance restored to the economy and the financial system. The efforts of the Obama Administration are hopelessly ineffective, conflicted, and supportive of continuing losses.


The Prime Suspects



The Killing Field



The Wagers on Failure



The Wages of Speculation

How the Financial Industry Holds America Captive

You heard this here first.

"The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time."

The Quiet Coup - Simon Johnson - The Atlantic Monthly

Here Come the Coupon Purchases by the Fed

The Fed made this announcement and the ETF we use to short the Treasury bond, TBT, took a nose dive.

FAQs on Fed Monetization of US Debt





Fed to start buying Treasurys on Wednesday
By Deborah Levine
2:58 p.m. EDT March 24, 2009

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will begin making purchases Of U.S. Treasury securities on Wednesday, starting with debt maturing between 2016 and 2019.

It will continue purchases on Friday and next week, with some days dedicated to purchases of maturities as short as 2-year notes with others for debt maturing in 17 to 30 years, it said in a schedule posted on its website Tuesday.

It did not indicate how much it would buy. The Fed announced last Wednesday it would purchase up to $3000 billion in Treasurys over the next six months. Treasurys rallied, with yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y UST10Y) paring an earlier increase to traded up 1 basis point to 2.66%.

Guest Blog: The Cheapest Call Option of All

No doubt Ben and Timmy have it all planned out, how they will use the trickle down machine to reinflate the financial system, and thereby float out loans again, at interest, to the hoi polloi.

From the Irish gnome in Zurich:

The cheapest call option on the planet is being provided by the world's largest HF//Prime broker: the US govt. Its also the best camouflage for a continuing rescue of Citi, GS et al that the Congress and the public cannot penetrate.

TALF Bait and Switch - Zero Hedge

And if it all goes wrong, Geithner is now looking for power to bail out the hedge funds, not to mention Pimco et al.

This sounds like a pretty cheap option to me.

But what has also gone unrecognised is the fact they will all make up this money on their CDS and S&P calls anyway.

If they pay banks their fictional book value, they will be able to pretend that the financial problems were overstated, just a 'liquidity' issue after all.

The banks can claim they HAVE been doing things right and we'll have a huge rally again. Anyone who participates will no doubt reckon on a reduced Prime Brokerage fee and extra leverage from the grateful seller - -which means asset inflation has another leg up.

Remember, ALL banking 'capital' is notional, so it is easy to conjure up the illusion of wealth creation once more.