Manipulation Suit Filed in NYC Against Goldman – HSBC – BASF – Standard Bank
Four firms have been named in a lawsuit that was filed in the most corrupt court in the nation – the Southern District of New York where judges are free to change the very words spoken in court. I have constantly warned not to file suits there – they seem to go nowhere and are routinely dismissed protecting the banks. Goldman Sachs and HSBC are among four platinum and palladium dealers to be sued in New York for allegedly fixing the price of the metals. The four companies are said to have rigged prices for eight years. BASF and Standard bank were also named in the lawsuit.
A Florida-based maker of jewelry and police badges filed the complaint in Manhattan federal court.The defendants stand accused of having conspired since 2007 to rig the twice-daily platinum and palladium fixings. It is alleged that the companies illegally shared customer data and then used that information to engage in front running. This is really standard in all markets and has been part of the business overall since the 1970s. Proving that in court is an entirely different story.
Of course, front running is a form of market manipulation in which traders profit by using information about their clients’ trading intentions. This does not create systemic manipulation as to setting in motion a given trend. It will tend to accelerate a trend, but not change the direction of the market as a whole.
For years, floor traders knew where the stops were above and below the current market price. They would then often gun for the stops and at times even track how a particular client places their orders and what their positions would be.
Last month , the London Metal Exchange said it will take charge of platinum and palladium price-fixing, and use a new electronic platform from the December 1st. The fixings were alleged to be deliberately set to kick-off stops. The lawsuit is relying of these findings and has argued their manipulations are fact and that these changes “have come too late”.
International regulators have tightened scrutiny of pricing benchmarks in recent years. However, the regulators are typically in bed with the banks in the USA. Hope of winning this suit in NYC is not very high. They should have filed in London. One has to wonder why US lawyers run to NYC when they should know they never win. It seems more like just ripping off clients for big fees for a job they know is impossible.
The RSS Feed May Have Been Hacked – Visit the Site For Now
It is amazing that the RSS feed to this site has suddenly been changed and it now removes the name Armstrong Economics replacing it with Word Press. This is a clever trick that appears to have started on Sunday the 23rd one day after the Premier. We suggest that people check the site directly for now. At the Premier there was an incident where someone yelled into the theater to get out trying to start a panic.
Clearly, these incidents are very curious and are in a long list of attempts to stop this film. The producers had their offices broken into and their camera stolen. They did not get the film since back-ups existed. The film site was hacked and shut down when it first appeared and someone when on Youtube posting comments nobody should bother to see this film that they removed from the trailers as spam
The efforts to stop this film seem to be endless. This is why I agreed to go with a European producer for I feared the film would be killed if it was American. This is the same reason Snowden had to go to the Guardian in London. The film is out in Europe. I suspect there will be some effort to stop it from appearing in America.
The truth is coming out and the more these people try to stop this film the more it proves that it is on point. We face a very serious road ahead. It has been my hope to explain the problems we face in an effort to inform people of the truth who will then put political pressure when it is most needed.
These people ONLY see their own self-interest. They are TOO involved to maintain the status quo at the cost of all our lives and those of our posterity. Banking and Investment Banks MUST be separated as it was after the Great Depression. Trading is instant money – lending long-term has risks. The repeal of Glass-Steagall was opening the gates to HELL. It has fundamentally changed the global financial system and has contributed to the economic decline by reducing lending to small business that has contributed to the rising unemployment.
The last G20 meeting shifted the burden of banks to the people away from Government without explaining to the public what those risks truly are. This was uncalled for. There is zero concern for society and the assumption merely remains that the power and status quo can be sustained by sheer force. Historically – that has NEVER worked even once.
The EU Commissioner
The EU President Jean-Claude Juncker has announced a €315 bn investment scheme is yet another attempt to try to kick-start the economy claiming this will create 1.3 million jobs. These schemes are hopeless because they keep hunting capital and raising taxes. Without confidence in the future, people will not invest or expand their business to offset the unemployment. This is not theory that is going to work – we need practical solutions that are proven to have worked in the past. The problem has been we keep using the same theories that are employed every time and have just never worked.
Juncker also faces a no-confidence vote as he plays down his role in overseeing Luxembourg’s highly controversial tax system. The tax administration does not have to report to the finance minister after several big international companies paid no tax. This has been a sore spot to say the least.
There is a rising third-party trend in politics that our computer has been warning comes in 2016. There is a new crop of politicians rising who will have the right ideas of changing the old and in with the new. There is hope we can see political change, but that will not come without economic pain.
Constancio Says ECB Will Buy Sovereign Debt Next Quarter
Here begins the Bond Bubble. The ECB will buy sovereign debt itself. This really makes little sense insofar as economics. Just print the money and stop pretending they are running anything from a conservative perspective. This is like moving $20 from your left pocket to your right and then claiming you have $20 in assets in your right pocket (bond from the left) and the left has the $20. Hence you now doubled your money.
Protests Spread in Large US cities against Arbitrary Police
In the US city of Ferguson many buildings and cars were destroyed in the face of violence. Currently there is the National Guard in the city. In seven US cities run demonstrations against the militarization of the police and arbitrary justice. Police simply always shoot to kill regardless of the crime. They fire whatever is in their clip. This is seriously unconstitutional and is inhuman to say the least.