Ponzi: SEC Charges Stanford with $8 billion securities fraud
Submitted by
CalculatedRisk on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 9:04am (179 comments)
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Time for the Daily Ponz.
Nice to see the SEC getting ahead of the curve.
People committed fraud....
Sacre Bleu!
Nostrovia,
Finding Nemo Again! The sequel.
Still waiting for the indictment of the biggest Ponzi: USG
Shorter SEC: if you want to run a multi-billion dollar fraud, the United States is probably a good place to do it.
pONZI
More swimming naked.
The whols system is a giant ponzi scheme...from the Fed to the banks to the IB's...when will they open the books at the Fed??
This sort of news wouldn't motivate anyone to ask for their money back from their current hedge fund, would it?
So is this the episode where Ponzi jumps the shark?
Was this the one that the guy who smoked out Madoff was talking about? I seem to remember someone saying that he had another one he was about to expose......
What if the employees didnt start talking here? The SEC is a failure...I would bet there are hundreds more like this out there...
When will Ponzi jump the shark?
Damn you, Nemo.
Maybe this will put an end to the "Texas is different" mentality I see every day. In some ways Texas is in worse shape even in real estate. Home Equity loans were illegal in Texas until recently. As a result, we drank more of the cool aid in a shorter period of time.
When are things going to reach capitulation?
As this develops and folks take it in, they're going to really and truly sour on the market and it's presumed "freedom".
The average person is going to wind up looking at the stock market like our forebears in the 1930s and 1940s.
Is this part of what's driving things down today?
OT - have been speaking with my boomer peers (early/mid 40s) and the unanimous response is that no one ever expects to retire.
Everybody wants to be Madoff.
SEC: "See? We are doing our jobs!"
What makes the U.S. great are its well-regulated capital markets.
Well regulated and transparent /snark
Nemo writes:
What makes the U.S. great are its well-regulated capital markets.
Nemo | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:19 pm | #
BAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA
I guess that forex thing last night was a false alarm?
crispy&cole | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:15 pm | #
Yep, and it's going down.
jo6pac
SEC: "It was big and complex. We didn't have the authority to audit. We audited what we could. We need more people, more power, more money. We are opening an internal investigation to see what we did wrong."
"Rose Romero, Regional Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office, added, "We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.""
Asked how something this big could happen under his nose, Romero replied, "That's the shocking part."
Nostrovia,
The CD holders in this scam are being told they will get their money in 2 months...good luck suckers...I cant wait to find out who was selling these.
I was offered some offshore CD's by Smith Barney a few months back, I wonder if there were part of this scam
Just a repost snip from earlier thread:
Underwriters charge higher fees to sell riskier debt and longer maturities, indicating the banks see FDIC-backed notes and Mexicos bonds as bearing similar risk. Government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac typically pay fees of less than 10 basis points on notes due in two or three years.
Egan-Jones Expands Into Mortgage Security Research (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
On the Kermit side of life, viz GDX and SLW...
rich you out there?
Just in time for the Daily Hate.
Stanford has always been the enemy...
"What makes the U.S. great are its well-regulated capital markets."
Don't you mean
"Well-regulated and transparent capital markets?"
LMFAO
I guess that forex thing last night was a false alarm?
Basel Too | 02.17.09 - 12:20 pm | #
Looks like it but still the market tanked and gold is way up....
Stanford and Sons
we deal junk
(red foxx would be proud)
Here's a story that Tanta would have turned into a 3000 word blog post. An 84 year old WWII vet was the victim of predatory lending, fraud and forgery. He filed bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure. The court ruled the foreclosing party didn't produce evidence showing it had title to the note and deed:
In bankruptcy court documents, the party attempting to foreclose is identified as Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., or MERS, a small Vienna, Va.-based company employed by lenders to streamline the resale of mortgage loans and servicing rights. In that role, MERS claims an interest in tens of millions of U.S. home loans and the legal right to foreclose on those in default.
While such documentation has allowed many foreclosures to proceed around the nation, the judge in Vargas' case threw MERS for a loop, ruling that the company had no right to attempt to seize his home on behalf of unnamed plaintiffs.
âNo such unidentified parties are permitted in a motion before the court," wrote Judge Samuel L. Bufford.
Love, death and foreclosure
The story is long, but it's a textbook case of what went wrong in residential lending and what is now going wrong in bankruptcy court where parties who don't own the note, but claim the right to foreclose, are often getting away with it. Props to Judge Bufford for not allowing the scam to prevail.
$8 billion, isn't that like nothing these days?
Sir Allen Stanford
Obama to be sequestered to a secret bunker before he has a chance to sign the stimulus bill.
You herd it here first.
OT - have been speaking with my boomer peers (early/mid 40s) and the unanimous response is that no one ever expects to retire.
homedad43 | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:18 pm
Speaking with a few folks in their 50s and 60s, the number one thing putting the fear of god in them regarding retirement: health care costs.
One in particular has put their kids through college and own their own home. Very, very upset about losses in IRA account and loss of interest income on cash. Even this person is absolutely terrified of unexpected health care costs.
Anyone know price out a nursing home or home health aide lately? Not cheap.
A Passion for the Caribbean & Cricket
Sir Allen Stanfords passion for the Caribbean is second to none.
"Anyone know price out a nursing home or home health aide lately? Not cheap."
I think the price of live-in help is about to get much cheaper. It will be interesting to see how the tatooed post-MTV generation adapts to being a new servant class.
That guys mustache must be an alien life form...I find myself inherently trusting it.
Nostrovia,
Michael writes:
Obama to be sequestered to a secret bunker before he has a chance to sign the stimulus bill.
You herd it here first.
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:22 pm | #
Care to elaborate, or are you just making yourself unpopular?
Your parents are coming back home to die.
Sorry.
And...most likely those kids you just through college are coming back home too.
You think we have too much housing inventory now?
HA!!
A Passion for Sailing
The annual international regatta - now named the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week after Stanford
Stimulus helps states fill budget gaps
Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Monday February 16, 2009, 11:08 am EST
At least 46 states face shortfalls totaling $144.6 billion in their budgets for this fiscal year or next, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This is forcing them to make draconian cuts in state spending, with at least 40 pulling back on services such as public health and education.
The stimulus funds should plug about 40% of the deficit in most states, said Elizabeth McNichol, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Yahoo! 404 - Page Not Found
with all the abuse
that Misean and i took about PMs 8 months ago
whos flying high now baby!
A Passion for Polo
Stanford's footprint in sponsoring polo includes a venue sponsorship with the historic Houston Polo Club beginning in 1998; as well as title venue sponsorship of the Stanford Field at the International Polo Club in Palm Beach.
"That guys mustache must be an alien life form...I find myself inherently trusting it."
He's nothing less than the second coming of David Niven.
mock,
On days like this, I just put on my eye patch and dig my hands in coinz and say ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Nostrovia,
Care to elaborate, or are you just making yourself unpopular?
Matt | 02.17.09 - 12:25 pm |
Popularity has never been a concern of mine. Those who do not know me, their opinion is invalid and does not matter.
Two-Year U.S. Swap Spread Surges as Stocks Fall on Bank Concern
Two-Year U.S. Swap Spread Surges as Stocks Fall on Bank Concern - Bloomberg.com
snip/
There is a loss of confidence in the governments ability to fix the problems in the economy and credit markets, said Arthur Bass, a managing director of derivatives in New York at the brokerage Newedge USA LLC. The continued breakdown in stock prices are also causing swap spreads to widen.
Popularity has never been a concern of mine. Those who do not know me, their opinion is invalid and does not matter.
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:28 pm | #
Well, you still didn't elaborate.
Paging Mr. Confidence, Mr. Confidence please pick up the white courtesy phone.
--bh
Our societys sensitive systems and information, the underpinnings of the transactions and information flow facilitating our quasi-orderly daily lives, are absolutely ripe for a zero day attack - an electronic information debacle that will shut us down.
McAfee Report: Our Unsecured Economies : Information Security Resources
So is today when we get a "retest of the November lows" and a "confirmation of the double-bottom" which will cause all the dumb money to come flying back in?
mock-
firmly in that camp as well.
Ciao
MS
I think the price of live-in help is about to get much cheaper. It will be interesting to see how the tatooed post-MTV generation adapts to being a new servant class.
comrade dope albrt | 02.17.09 - 12:24 pm
They'll laugh about it first. Because, you know, its funny.
Then they'll blog and tweet it. Because it is funny to lose your job and hang out with the 'rents.
Then they'll watch reality shows about others like them vying for low-paying jobs.
Then they'll attempt to plant their own organic herb garden in Mom & Dad's backyard.
Eventually, they'll grow up. Yeah right.
Mr. Beach:
The potential wipeout from long-term care is a primary reason that we went with a LT Care policy some years ago.
NOT with GE, thank you.
There are certainly caveats, but for us, it's actually an instrument that makes sense.
As to catastrophic illness, the ripple effect of this through the system are going to be a major driver in Universal Coverage. And I think that as hospitals see what's going to happen to their charity costs and reimburseables, they're going to hop on the bandwagon.
MHO.
You just know the CNBC talking heads want to cover the Stanford Group interest story, but they are bound to follow the daily script.
Anyone know price out a nursing home or home health aide lately? Not cheap.
I paid $300 per day for a 24 hour shift to take care of my father as he was dying of cancer. We were able to avoid using a nursing home by doing this. As things got worse the care agency insisted that we double up so we were paying $600 per day for a couple of weeks at he end. This was just for caretaking -- moving him around in the bed and, well, you know. Not medical care. The care was just ok. We had to send one person home who refused to give my father pain meds on religious grounds for example. Still, that was money well spent, let me tell you. Had we not done it things would have been much more unpleasant.
"Those who do not know me, their opinion is invalid and does not matter."
That's a wonderful attitude to have on a chat board....
making more friends I see.
Ciao
MS
New opportunities for business....
Smash-Me Bernie: ModelWorks toy company makes mini-Bernie Madoff that you can smash with a hammer
Won't be long before they have a whole line of toys.
Floyd Norris: The Donald Feces (I mean Flees). He blames bondholders and lawyers. Assclown extraordinaire !
Wonder if this is the one Markopolos hinted about.
Here's a knee slapper:
trade like the pros
Seriously. The last time I looked, the "pros" weren't doing so well.
In fact, many have traded themselves into bankruptcy, lol.
You just know the CNBC talking heads want to cover the Stanford Group interest story, but they are bound to follow the daily script.
CNBC Script:
Hello, boys and girls. This is your old pal, Stinky Wizzleteats. This is a song about a whale. No! This is a song about being happy! That's right! It's the Happy Happy Joy Joy song!
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
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Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy!
I don't think you're happy enough! That's right! I'll teach you to be happy! I'll teach your grandmother to suck eggs! Now, boys and girls, let's try it again!
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy!
If'n you aint the grandaddy of all liars! The little critters of nature... They don't know that they're ugly! That's very funny, a fly marrying a bumblebee! I told you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me! Why didn't you believe me?!
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Happy Happy
Happy Happy Happy Happy
Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy!
Anyone remember when being down 4%+ on the day was a big deal?
Now it is Tuesday.
Cricket and Polo, sure signs of crooked activity!
long crane's paper writes:
Wonder if this is the one Markopolos hinted about.
long crane's paper | 02.17.09 - 12:31 pm | #
No, an ex-employee starting talking a few weeks ago...
"That's a wonderful attitude to have on a chat board...."
Somebody needs a sock-puppet.
You know, if you can't make friends, "make" friends...
bfatz-
I actually have a Stimpy Tat. on my right arm.
Ciao
MS
No, an ex-employee starting talking a few weeks ago...
crispy&cole | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:33 pm | #
And we would have gotten away with it, too - if it wasn't for you meddling kids!
[go crispy!]
On days like this, I just put on my eye patch and dig my hands in coinz and say ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Comrade Misean is Dope | 02.17.09 - 12:27 pm | #
ROTFLOL! ! ! !
ok...ponzi comes first
then monetization as the government makes whole the loser's.
thats is done thru corruption, cause it is'nt right.
and it is still called capitalism
are we all on the same page?
homedad43: The potential wipeout from long-term care is a primary reason that we went with a LT Care policy some years ago.
Insurance policies are a deep concern to me. What happens if the larger insurance companies do not survive this financial crisis?
Given the level of litigation as well as unexpected events, our economy cannot survive for long without insurance.
Do you trust your insurance company to be present and be able to payout when you need it?
One of these days Frazier is going to go down, and he's not going to get up.
The sad thing is, most of the crooks will keep the loot and the people making between $20K-$200K will pay for it.
That's not a Ponzi Scheme, it's a Madoff Scheme!
(Ponzi = Fraud in the Millions; Madoff = Billions!)
401 Authorization Required
"That's a wonderful attitude to have on a chat board....
making more friends I see.
Ciao
MS
MS | 02.17.09 - 12:31 pm |"
Steering the universe does not leave much time for friends.
I sense another electronic run on banks coming.
Madoff and Stanford just the tip of the iceberg. Where is the Titanic?
Pre-privatization is speeding down the tracks.
re-posted from last thread (ignore at will, as always)
This an important bit of information (assuming it is true):
Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich writes:
A friend who's worked for BofA for some time has been pulled off his usual job wheeling and dealing and has been press ganged into digging through the books of Merrill Lynch trying to do a post mortem. They've got a ton of folks helping and called from the four winds, going full tilt OT Monday thru Thursday at the WTC complex.
Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich | 02.17.09 - 12:00 pm | #
May I hazard the guess that it means Bank of America is shitting in its pants about the stress test?
B of A has been asked to produce information it does not have at its fingertips, and maybe, just maybe, it is information that it is incapable of producing.
If so, that proves the inability of the banks to manage their own business and is yet another indicator of likely insolvency. Grounds for the Mother of All Bank Failure Fridays.
Obama has prepared the political terrain for pre-privatization. The market has already toasted the shareholders more than 90% of the way. And now some big banks have perhaps been made to drink some hemlock.
This could play out faster than I have thought - in weeks rather than a few months.
Madoff and Stanford just the tip of the iceberg. Where is the Titanic?
reptillian | 02.17.09 - 12:37 pm | #
Its that POS that Ken has been driving around for a few years. You know the one that has ATMs everywhere.....
with such a high opinion of yourself I see why.....
If I had CR bot installed you would be next..but please tell us how it doesn't matter....
Ciao
MS
Still, that was money well spent, let me tell you. Had we not done it things would have been much more unpleasant.
Comrade Sock Puppet | 02.17.09 - 12:30 pm
Thanks for your story. It is sad that we don't have a more sensible and compassionate health care system. Many folks without your resources would have suffered in pain or bankrupted their families.
I suppose after we fix banks this week, we can get back to health care next week.
Do you trust your insurance company to be present and be able to payout when you need it?
Why of course I do Mr. Beach.... it was very highly regarded by the ratings agenci-
oops.
just to set the record straight about when the us nosed up out of the great depression...before or during WW2..
and i agree there are good arguments on both sides of our current stimulus plan argument, but
just a fact...during the execution of roosevelts stimulus plan (the national recovery act...NRA) gdp grew every year but one (1937 Q3, Q4; 1938 Q1 Q2 before the onset of world war 2
GDP During The Great Depression
OT - From Denninger -
Update: Russia Exchanges Closed
Some good comments on current admin policy, no apologies or comments on last night's sky-is-falling call, though.
Mr. Beach:
Insurance companies are regulated at the state level and all things being equal, some states are better at it than others.
My recollection is that states do have instruments to make whole the policyholders. But with the condition of most state finances, if there was a true collapse of a major carrier (think Met Life for example), then I could conceive of the Fed opening yet another window to keep them on life support.
At some point, too many windows makes the building structurally unsafe...
Some good comments on current admin policy, no apologies or comments on last night's sky-is-falling call, though.
bobn | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:39 pm | #
he needs to address it.... maybe he just had a few to many 'tinis.....
"Because it is funny to lose your job and hang out with the 'rents."
why so bitter? we aren't the ones who destroyed the country. the boomers are.
What do bank examiners do when they're not Stress-Testing? Are they put in cold-sleep chambers and only brought out after calamitous financial collapses? I guess a lot of them get hired away, but where have these stress-testers been for these last few years?
"just a fact...during the execution of roosevelts stimulus plan (the national recovery act...NRA) gdp grew every year"
and this is your daily reminder that the dollar was devalued by 70% in January 1934, making that figure very different
Interesting video on the next way forward.
Paul Kedrosky: Juan Enriquez on Credit Crisis and "Homo Evolutis"
toasted bank shareholders, visualized in graphs:
Bank Market Caps, Then & Now | The Big Picture
not much left to wipe out at some of the big banks......
"At least 46 states face shortfalls totaling $144.6 billion in their budgets for this fiscal year or next"
Since California is half of that 45 states have $70b of that?
mock turtle,
This a fair point. It's the other side I argue for however regarding a depression--employment.
Unemployment hit 19% in 1938. There are worse things then just a bad investment environment.
The unemployment is what can modify, sometimes destroy the system.
--bh
I am not sure about exact number, however i ve seen somewhere a report that there are close to 200 financial institutions that reported abnormal none volatile returns in the past ten years.
Let's say a dozen down, 20 to 40 more to go.
SICK.
toasted bank shareholders, visualized in graphs:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/200...-caps-then-now/
joe shmoe | 02.17.09 - 12:43 pm | #
Fun graphs.... Does anyone know why ING is never on this list?
RE: those graphs. Citi is the biggest POS.... The loss of value is simply mind blowing...
"with such a high opinion of yourself I see why.....
If I had CR bot installed you would be next..but please tell us how it doesn't matter....
Ciao
MS
MS | 02.17.09 - 12:38 pm |"
I've been to God's House, Have you?
That place is spectacular, no other place like it on earth. Once you've been there, everywhere else just doesn't measure up.
ille_vir writes:
What do bank examiners do when they're not Stress-Testing? Are they put in cold-sleep chambers and only brought out after calamitous financial collapses? I guess a lot of them get hired away, but where have these stress-testers been for these last few years?
ille_vir | 02.17.09 - 12:42 pm | #
what did examiners look at during the Bush years?
do you really want to know?????
they weren't look inside pizza boxes stuffed with cash in Iraq, I'm certain.
maybe they were at the sex parties at the Dept of the Interior, or shopping at Nordstrom with FEMA's Michael Brown.
Stay away from nursing homes, do background check, use state nursing facilitators office to research..
many citations just vaporize...
mother just retired from CA office..
ohh the stories!
Lucky for the wealthy and the institutional investors that they are losing all their money. Who can they trust to invest with anymore?
I've been to God's House, Have you?
That place is spectacular, no other place like it on earth. Once you've been there, everywhere else just doesn't measure up.
Michael
Go back
I've been to God's House, Have you?
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:47 pm | #
Can you go back and stay there?
Lorax writes
Since California is half of that 45 states have $70b of that?
No, Cali is less. $40 something billion over more than a year, so less than 1/3 of the $140B you cite, not 1/2.
give the god stuff a rest already.
bfatz: better said to CNBC yoooooooouuuuuuuu eeediiots.
joe shmoe | \t \t \t \t02.17.09 - 12:47 pm | #
We haven't heard about banks being examined for like the last ten years, and all of a sudden, we've got "hundreds" of them, pouring out of the hills, descending on banks. I'm gonna hold to the cold-sleep chamber theory. Maybe they're actually robots.
Nothing worse that a god squad troll.
Ciao
MS
"bobn writes:
I've been to God's House, Have you?
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:47 pm | #
Can you go back and stay there?
bobn | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:49 pm |"
Unfortunately, my work here is not yet done and I'm not scheduled to be recalled any time soon.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Social Collapse Best Practices
ClubOrlov
...."Some legal impediments are really small and trivial, but they can be quite annoying nevertheless. A homeowners' association might, say, want give you a ticket or seek a court order against you for not mowing your lawn, or for keeping livestock in your garage, or for that nice windmill you erected on a hill that you don't own, without first getting a building permit, or some municipal busy-body might try to get you arrested for demolishing a certain derelict bridge because it was interfering with boat traffic â you know, little things like that. Well, if the association is aware that you have a large number of well armed, mentally unstable friends, some of whom still wear military and police uniforms, for old time's sake, then they probably won't give you that ticket or seek that court order...."
Good one from Mr. Dimitry.
Michael,
"Steering the universe does not leave much time for friends."
Look, I like Dr. Who as well as most...but you don't have a mock up of a police box in your padded...erm...office, do you?
Nostrovia,
Joe Weisenthal|Feb. 17, 2009, 10:17 AM|12
Tags: Investing, Real Estate
We were really excited about flying down to West Palm Beach and picking up a condo for $37,000. That's so cheap that even if you just like to go down to Florida a couple times a year for the warm weather, it could easily pay for itself over several years. But now we're thinking twice after a reader posted a link to this article in the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Diela Narrabe may be forced to leave her Deerfield Beach condo next month, even though she's done everything right.
Narrabe is one of 28 unit owners out of 168 in the Deerfield Palms condo association who still pay their monthly maintenance fees, which are used to pay the community's water bill.
Residents owe the city $90,000. If they don't pay $12,929 by the first week of March, the city is threatening to turn off the water. Because the community has master meters rather than individual unit gauges, the city can't separate owners who are current on their bills from delinquent customers.
Yikes. So no matter how cheap a condo is, if your neighbors aren't paying the bills, you could be really screwed. And unless there were some way to rig up your own well or plumbing -- extremely doubtful in a condo -- a place without water is worth somewhere around $0.
Now if we had a little more cash, we might think about buying up an entire building of delinquents and turning the water back on. That just might work
That is SIR Allen Stanford to you!
@joe shmoe
The quote is for this year and next, so I assumed cali would be more than just the $44 we know about.
CNBC babe reads SEC reporting Stanford fraud one of "shocking magnitude".
I say, come on , babe, show us shocking magnitude.
barkingtribe,
ROFL.
YouTube - Ren and Stimpy - Better Than No One
Nostrovia,
418 to get DOW to 8000. Giddy up boys
Unfortunately, my work here is not yet done and I'm not scheduled to be recalled any time soon.
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:51 pm | #
Michael, are you a manic depressive? There are treatments available, you know...
" So no matter how cheap a condo is, if your neighbors aren't paying the bills, you could be really screwed."
Moral Hazard, meet Tragedy of the Commons.
Tragedy of the Commons, meet Moral Hazard.
DFTT
Unfortunately, my work here is not yet done and I'm not scheduled to be recalled any time soon.
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:51 pm | #
Damn. Missed the satire tags again. Apprently, I will never learn.
hmmm, I never thought of the crucifixion as a recall. makes one think, no? ah, michael michael.....
How can I invest in Ponzi schemes as an asset allocation ?
What would a favorable asset allocation model be ?
Re: old age care:
As long as there's no dementia, in-home care is the big bargain. Start by outsourcing the house-keeping, continue by bringing in a home health aid several hours a day as time goes on.
A thousand a month can keep a whole lot of couples in their homes past the point where they're physically competent, up until near the end. What I've found, of course, is that it's damned hard to convince elders of that. They're so used to doing it themselves, they think it's an impossible extravangance. While at the same time considering assisted living. Gimme a break.
CNBC babe reads SEC reporting Stanford fraud one of "shocking magnitude".
Just once I would like to see this magical line that separates the actions of alleged crooks like Stanford from the acceptable business practices of upright folk like Fuld and Thain.
It ain't the magnitude that is shocking, it is the hypocrisy.
repost from the thread where i was all alone
The money is gone at Stanford, at least it reads that way. Also, yet more non-profits get screwed.
Source:http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/2009/02/ 09.html#a4205
In fact, while Dalmady found a transaction between SIB and a company called EMAG that was delayed in December and which may represent a warning sign, I found a second one last week which has already played out: A company named Elandia had an agreement to receive a loan of US$ 28 million but terminated it it last Friday. Because of this, Elandia has canceled 16.5 million of its own shares previously owned by SIB. As a result, SIB has lost control of Elandia. While there may be a reasonable explanation for this, it seems surprising that a bank with US$ 8 billion in deposits would lose control of an investment because it could not deliver US$ 28 million.
"How can I invest in Ponzi schemes as an asset allocation ?"
Buy international postage certificates.
Nostrovia,
I want to drive the universe! I drove a guided missle cruiser...and a fleet tug..the unviverse would be ever so much more fu
Re: Stanford.
Buffet's famous quote: when the tide goes out, you find out who's been swimming naked.
In the case of these Ponzis: when the tide goes you, you find out who's just a beach ball with a wig and a smiley face drawn on it.
Fed Calls Gain in Family Wealth a Mirage
Fed Calls Gain in Family Wealth a Mirage - NY Times
File under Duh!....Can Paulson, and Bush answer this call out?...oh that's right, they left the country.
I share the curiosity about the other Markopolous suspect. It's possibile that he developed suspicions about Stanford independently of the SEC's source of information. Also possible he had in mind somebody completely different.
"ChangeYourDogCanRollIn writes:
CNBC babe reads SEC reporting Stanford fraud one of "shocking magnitude".
I say, come on , babe, show us shocking magnitude.
ChangeYourDogCanRollIn | 02.17.09 - 12:54 pm |"
8.5 billion dollar Stanford Ponzi scheme, thats Madoff territory.
"How can I invest in Ponzi schemes as an asset allocation ?"
Treasuries?
Good day for my namesake...GOLD COINZ!
Dow 5,000
S & P 500
\t
Добрый день,
Kilgore Trout
Comrade Kilgore Trout writes:
Dow 5,000
S & P 500
Gold 5,000
Then, it will be time to invest in stocks again.
" Comrade Coinz! writes:
Good day for my namesake...GOLD COINZ!
Comrade Coinz! | 02.17.09 - 1:02 pm | # "
As they're saying in the financial columns: enjoy the ride. And remember the difficulty of getting off at the very top of a roller coasters.
Bob Dobbs,
"when the tide goes you, you find out who's just a beach ball with a wig and a smiley face drawn on it."
+1
Nostrovia,
Schadenfreud, schadenfreud, who are the investors? A list please.
bgates
in 1999 dollars as well as nominal dollars gdp grew and recovered all lost ground from before roosevelt took office, during the years of the roosevelt administration, before the onset of ww2
year..nominal $...1999$
1929\t$103.6\t$865.2
1930\t$91.2\t$790.7
1931\t$76.5\t$739.9
1932\t$58.7\t$643.7
1933\t$56.4\t$635.5
1934\t$66.0\t$704.2
1935\t$73.3\t$766.9
1936\t$83.8\t$866.6
1937\t$91.9\t$911.1
1938\t$86.1\t$879.7
1939\t$92.2\t$950.7
Measuring Worth - U.S. GDP
"I've been to God's House, Have you?
That place is spectacular, no other place like it on earth. Once you've been there, everywhere else just doesn't measure up."
So you liked the 8000 count bed sheets in the guest room too?
ps roosevelt took office in march of 33
I can't believe CNBC strayed from their daily script overlords and reported on Stanford. Details however will be spars.
A lot of banks are still sputtering along on drug money. This Stanford, who wears his caribbean knighthood proudly, seems to have a very large presence in Latin America:
The page cannot be found
Drugs, oil, Texas. Drugs, oil, Texas.
in 1999 dollars as well as nominal dollars gdp grew and recovered all lost ground from before roosevelt took office, during the years of the roosevelt administration, before the onset of ww2
Don't confuse correlation and causation.
From NYT on Fed assessment of consumer finances:
Fed Calls Gain in Family Wealth a Mirage - NY Times
Fed analysts estimated that 35.8 percent of the average familys assets in 2007 were in unrecognized capital gains, such as gains in the market value of houses that people had yet to sell. Slightly more than half of those unrecognized gains came from real estate, and the second biggest source was increases in the value of business assets.
Type: "unrecognized" capital gains should've been written "unrecognizable" capital gains!
The paper wealth is GONE.
Perhaps in the future the Fed will survey Producer Finances. The idea that citizens are "consumers" without first and foremost being "producers" has to die sometime.
New Thread: NAHB Housing Market Index Near Record Low ( 4 comments )
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Feds Bullard - 2009 outlook - disinflation may become full on deflatio
Self-regulation. Buhahaaa. He said self-regulation.
Stanford Financial Receivership | Customer Accounts
It's those "consistent returns" that should awaken your suspicion. Madoff's returns were very "consistent" too, right? Ponzi schemes usually do produce "consistent returns" as long as the "returns" last.
Charities/churches are taking big hits in these revealed Ponzi schemes. Social programs are getting the axe at the state and federal level.
Where is the safety net? What is going to catch the people rolling off of the unemployed list to the homeless/hopeless list. Not everyone can win the lottery at the Presidents town hall meetings.
One of these, the people in this country are going to wake up and realize that this past economic expansion was really NAKED. Case of the vanishing dollars.
Don't confuse correlation and causation.
Grand Moff Tarkin | 02.17.09 - 1:08 pm | #
thats a fair argument
and i think bgates point, regarding devaluation is important too
i dont know how to prove causation in the realm of economics
but i think its fair to say that when demand destruction occurs in the private sector, either government steps up or Aggregate Demand falls!!!
no other choice
so in a depression we are left with two strategies...supply push or demand pull, to stimulate the economy
obviously i not a big fan of...dont subscribe to... says law
but again i dont claim to be able to prove roosevelts WPA etc "caused it all either"
but the association of gov spending... whether it is war spending or it is domestic infrastructure spending... seems to have a consistent positive correlation with growth in GDP, (for a while!
Enjoyed the Orlov link, thanks (although very long...)
I guess the question is, which U.S. state most resembles Soviet Russia?
FROM ARTICLE: "Rose Romero, Regional Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office, added, 'We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.'"
I am shocked--shocked--to find that gambling is going on in here.
Hoocoodanode?
Hey, they article said they had yearly audits by Antiguan auditors. Whats the problem?
Stanford sucks. Go Harvard!
Nemo writes:
So is this the episode where Ponzi jumps the shark?
Also, Nemo, you are a genius.
Billionaire, Houston firms accused of 'shocking' fraud | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle (this is the Houston I recall from the 1980s - it hasn't changed much and still a magnet for white collar crime/frauds think Enron...)
SEC charges Stanford, others with fraud
That's why the Bush family calls it home...
Well, thank goodness we've identified and eliminated the last of those cockroaches.
did anyone else tune into B'Berg yesterday and saw the two "commercials" on real estate. I speak of the "interviews" with Mort Zuckerman and Larry "pull it" Silverstein.
The most shameless piece of "reporting" I've ever seen. The best of it was when Zuckerman was asked about Madoff and he certainly agreed that more "regulation" was needed.....this is after he's lost millions. Of course he didn't care one damn bit when he "thought" he was making 10%.
Silverstein was an utter POS from the start. "We expect higher rents on prime properties" were amongst many gems.
Ciao
MS
In the case of these Ponzis: when the tide goes you, you find out who's just a beach ball with a wig and a smiley face drawn on it.
Bob Dobbs | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 1:01 pm | #
the image made me laugh!
/
Linda Thomsen, cited in CR's post, was the hapless interviewee, and the recipient of Congressman Ackerman's ire in the SEC hearing before Congress a few weeks ago. She subsequently tendered her resignation.
Standford Financial was founded in the small Texas town of Mexia south of Dallas. Mexia is also the childhood home of Anna Nicole Smith.
Kind of says a lot about small town Texas...
Mexia, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Finally it looks like there will be meaningful movement in the US markets by day's end. Too Nikkei-like so far
I've been to God's House, Have you?
Michael | 02.17.09 - 12:47 pm | #
Hey don't make fun of Mikey just cuz he has Dyslexia, I'm sure there was a good reason his wife sent him to the dog's house
New Thread: Empire State Manufacturing: "conditions deteriorated significantly" ( 248 comments )
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Just the other night watched some cop show where a lady was carted off for shoplifting a $10 cake. Surreal in light of what's coming to light these days.
The SEC is exceptional institution and can quickly and efficiently detect fraudulent behavior in the following situations:
In all other situations the fraud will be clearly far too complex to discovered.
Crispy,
Thank you.
He'll get the kid glove Madoff treatment and be able to stay in his lux abode while his victims are reduced to eating cat food.
PPT on the ropes!
Deregulate. Cut funding to regulators. Get out of business way. No wonder business can't operate here. Bring back laissez faire. Come on Milton Freidman, Ayn Rand, Reagan, Democrats and Republicans ate up the get out of business way philosphy.
I live in Houston and the Feds were outside the Stanford Group building today. To quote Jim Cramer, the level of fiction present in financial institutions is as insane as it is prevalent.
Time to execute these guys for treason and then they might get scared enough to resist temptation and fraud.
My recollection is that states do have instruments to make whole the policyholders.
homedad43 | Homepage | 02.17.09 - 12:39 pm | #
HD: They make the policyholders of the defunct insurer "whole" by assessing the remaining insurance companies for the cost. It takes time for the policyholders to be paid. Google: Executive Life, California, and Insurance for stories about the liquidation of a defunct insurance company.