InvestorsHub Logo

BareBaxBo

07/17/12 3:14 PM

#42853 RE: BareBaxBo #42852

MMs taking out "stops" today! Good news shouldn't be too much longer.

http://www.profitspi.com/stock-quote/wsgi.aspx

Looks like it's same ole, same ole games being played no matter which branch of the gov you deal with? No wonder we can't get a contract signed, check these out!


Tim Geithner “Aided and Abetted” LIBOR Crimes: Jim Rickards

By Aaron Task | Daily Ticker – 2 hours 1 minute ago

The economy is the main event but the LIBOR scandal will be on the under-card when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress today and tomorrow. (See: Bernanke Ready to "Throw in the Towel on Inflation": Jim Rickards)

At issue is what the Fed, and other bank regulators, knew about manipulation of the key lending rate and whether they condoned banks giving low-ball estimates of LIBOR in order to make themselves look healthier during the crisis of 2008.

Bernanke is likely to face some inquires about this issue, but the U.S. regulator most questions are being asked about is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who is set to testify about the matter before the House Financial Services committee next week.

In 2008, while President of the NY Fed, Geithner sent a memo to British regulators to raise concerns about potential manipulation of LIBOR, as has been widely reported and confirmed Friday by the NY Fed.

The question now is why Geithner didn't do more to follow up on that memo, considering the central role LIBOR plays in the financial markets. Literally hundreds of trillions of dollars of financial instruments -- including complex derivatives but also basic consumer loans are tied to LIBOR, technically the London Interbank Offered Rate.

The LIBOR scandal is "so big I don't think people have got their minds around it," says Jim Rickards, a partner at JAC Capital Advisors and author of Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global. "This is the largest financial scandal I've seen in my career."

If $500 trillion of swaps are based on LIBOR and the rate was manipulated by 10 basis points over five years, that's $2.5 trillion of fraudulent transactions -- more than the combined capital of the nation's five largest banks, Rickards explains. "Congress may have to step in to limit the damages because it would threaten the banking system."

Led by the City of Baltimore, several U.S. municipalities have already filed lawsuits, seeking damages for interest rate swaps that were pegged to LIBOR, The NY Times reports. Analysts at Nomura Equity Research warn banks could be liable for "tens of billions" in related claims, while Morgan Stanley estimates the tab could be $22 billion.

Meanwhile, Rickards boldly claims Geithner could face "criminal liability" for failing to refer LIBOR manipulation to the Justice Department or FBI. "A fraud is a crime," he continues. "You can't witness a crime and not call the cops. Geithner might be guilty of aiding and abetting a crime."

Pressed on this, Rickards concedes it's highly unlikely Geithner will be charged with anything -- "the Justice Department will finesse it," he says. But that won't stop members of Congress from trying to score political points and put Geithner (and Bernanke) in the hot seat in the days and weeks ahead.

Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/tim-geithner-aided-abetted-libor-crimes-jim-rickards-131709068.html


More Government Officials Behaving Badly: Ethics Scandal at Treasury

By Stacy Curtin | Daily Ticker – 18 minutes ago

It's the summer of scandals and the latest to surface is at the U.S. Treasury Department after recently published documents show that some employees have been abusing their government responsibilities.

A handful of officials who worked for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (formerly the Office of Thrift Supervision) were caught "soliciting prostitutes, breaking conflict-of-interest rules and accepting gifts from corporate executives, according to the findings of official government investigations," reported The Hill's Managing Editor Bob Cusack on Monday.

It is very rare for these types of personnel issues to be released publicly. But documents highlighting the unethical behavior were released under the Freedom of Information Act request and published on governmentattic.org. All names involved in the misconduct were redacted.

The records show a member of OTS "misused" government resources to troll the web for sex and solicited prostitutes using Craigslist.

"Clearly, I think a lot of people would expect more from their government than surfing the web for prostitutes, especially on the government's dime," says Cusack in the accompanying video.

Perhaps more galling is another employee who accepted golf fees and meals from the same bank executives he or she was supposed to be regulating. This person did receive ethics training but was under the impression that playing golf with bank employees was acceptable, according to Cusack.

These instances of unethical behavior are "serious breaches of Treasury policy" says Cusack. But he does not believe it is a systemic problem at the government agency.

This misconduct follows the scandals involving the Government Service Administration spending lavishly at a Las Vegas convention and members of the Secret Service paying for prostitutes overseas.

While the Treasury scandal may not be as sordid as the other scandals, it will still be embarrassing for President Obama and his administration -- especially as the president focuses on his reelection campaign, adds Cusack.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/more-government-offiicals-behaving-badly-ethics-scandal-treasury-150251008.html

nilremerlin

07/26/12 9:20 PM

#42888 RE: BareBaxBo #42852

BBB: Odd to not be hearing from you for a while...are you OK? On vacation? Hope you're not ill.
I'm noticing MMs are keeping our WSGI price at ~1/10 of the price of GSAT. I wonder if that's just coincidence or if there's an underlying reason?
Hope to hear from you soon.

nilremerlin