GoldmanSachs666 Message Board

Fraud*
According to the Collins English Dictionary 10th Edition fraud can be defined as: "deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage".[1] In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain
*As defined in Wikipedia

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Goldman Sachs Guys in International Regulatory Positions

It is not fair to tar everyone in Goldman Sachs with the same brush, but it would be prudent to limit the effects that Goldman Sachs has on regulatory bodies because Goldman Sachs is not a lover of regulation, especially bank regulation. So when we see GS men taking leading roles in regulatory bodies, we have every right to be incredulous; for example, we now have Mark Carney as head of the FSB.

Below we have excerpted parts of an article by Marshall Auerback in New Economic Perspectives discussing Mario Draghi's role as the head of the European Central Bank.

The Road to Serfdom
By Marshall Auerback - New Economic Perspectives

. . . .

Here's another interesting thing: in the 1990s, a number of countries, including Italy, engaged deliberately in transactions which had no economic justification, other than to mask their public debt levels in order to secure entry into the euro (see an excellent paper on this by Professor Gustavo Piga, “Derivatives and Public Debt Management”, which documents this practice). Italy actively exploited ambiguity in accounting rules for swap transactions in order to mislead EU institutions, other EU national governments, and its own public as to the true size of its budget deficit.

And Eurostat signed off on these transactions. And who worked at the Italian Treasury at that time? That’s right: “Super Mario” Draghi, who was director general of the Italian Treasury from 1991-2001 when all this was going on, and then joined Goldman Sachs (2002-2005), when the privatisations came up. Interesting that he is now the guy who has to deal with the ultimate fall-out. Karmic justice.

Virtually everybody has lied about their figures (Spain is a notable offender today), so listening to Europe’s high priests of monetary chastity is akin to listening to someone coming out of a brothel proclaiming his continued virginity.

Is there a solution? Of course there is. But the eurozone’s chief policy makers continue to avoid utilizing the one institution – the European Central Bank – which has the capacity to create unlimited euros, and therefore provides the only credible backstop to markets which continue to query the solvency of individual nation states within the euro zone. They are, as Professor Paul de Grauwe suggests, like generals who refuse to go into combat fully armed (European Summits in Ivory Towers”):
“The generals… announce that they actually hate the whole thing and that they will limit the shooting as much as possible. Some of the generals are so upset by the prospect of going to war that they resign from the army. The remaining generals then tell the enemy that the shooting will only be temporary, and that the army will go home as soon as possible. What is the likely outcome of this war? You guessed it. Utter defeat by the enemy.
The ECB has been behaving like the generals. When it announced its programme of government bond buying it made it known to the financial markets (the enemy) that it thoroughly dislikes it and that it will discontinue it as soon as possible. Some members of the Governing Council of the ECB resigned in disgust at the prospect of having to buy bad bonds. Like the army, the ECB has overwhelming (in fact unlimited) firepower but it made it clear that it is not prepared to use the full strength of its money-creating capacity. What is the likely outcome of such a programme? You guessed it. Defeat by the financial markets.”
The ECB should, as De Grauwe suggests, be using the economic equivalent of the Powell Doctrine: when a nation is engaging in war, every resource and tool should be used to achieve decisive force against the enemy, minimizing casualties and ending the conflict quickly by forcing the weaker force to capitulate.

The ECB is the monopoly supplier of currency. They can set the price on the rates, (obviously not the supply) so if they set a level (say, Italy at 5%) why should there be a default? Capitulating to the markets, or entering the battle half-heartedly not only ensures more economic collateral damage, but effectively emboldens the speculators by granting them a free put option on every nation in the euro zone. They’ll line them up, one by one, starting with Greece and ending with Germany.

. . . .
Read the whole article here

1 COMMENTS:

No shame said...

Is There No Shame?

Wall Street bankers exhibit the epitome of psychopathic behavior,
showing lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity,
and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior
and abusive treatment of others. Though lacking empathy and emotional
depth, they often manage to pass themselves off as average individuals
by feigning emotions. These Wall Street bankers will never willingly
accept responsibility for their actions. They continue to use their
wealth and power to control the politicians in Washington DC and
the misinformation propagated by the corporate media they control. They
own and control the Federal Reserve and will print money until the
whole system collapses in a spectacular implosion that destroys our
financial system. They only care about their own wealth, influence and
status. They have no shame.

When I consider all that is wrong in our society, I become
despondent, angry and despairing for the future of our country. It seems
that everyone in positions of power across the spectrum of education,
religion, finance, and politics are psychopaths, bent upon
self-destruction no matter the cost to society or unborn generations.
Our nation has degenerated into an egocentric, self-loathing, vain,
shallow excuse for a civilization. There is anger flaring up, but it is
just as likely to be misdirected and misinformed. The lack of critical
thinking skills and the overwhelming effects of media propaganda has so
degraded the intelligence of the populace that when the system breaks
down in the next few years, the masses will clamor for a savior rather
than seeking truthful answers and willingly making the sacrifices
required to get our nation back on track. This country will get what it
deserves – a despotic ruler and a brutish civilization governed on the
basest of principles. This is what happens when a society rewards lying
and greed over honesty and compassion. There are consequences to
actions and inactions alike. We’ve made our choice.


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-there-no-shame?

Post a Comment