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Monthly Archives: April 2011

U.S. Prosecutors Probe High-Frequency, Algorithmic Trades

“U.S. prosecutors have joined regulators’ investigation into whether some high-speed traders are manipulating markets by posting and immediately canceling waves of rapid-fire orders, two officials said.

Justice Department investigators are “working closely” with the Securities and Exchange Commission to review practices “that are potentially manipulative, like quote-stuffing,” Marc Berger, chief of the Securities and Commodities Task Force at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, said today at an event in New York.”

Read the rest here.

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RICO ACT 2.0; How Wall St May Have Violated The Law Again

Realistically we must be past 2.0, but were just talking about the past few years…

“……“Did Wall Street Violate the Racketeering Act …Again??” in regard to the pricing and potential manipulation of the credit derivatives market? Why has Wall Street fought the legislative and regulatory proposals to bring greater transparency into this corner of the casino? Why does Wall Street want to maintain its hegemony over the cash cow known as ‘credit derivatives’? Let’s navigate across the pond and review a probe of Wall Street’s CDS business by the EU. The European Union put out this official press release this morning,”

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Derivatives and Foreign Exchange Swaps Get to Hide in The Shade Like Criminal Activity

A major loss for transparency and the monitoring of risky derivatives….

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a big win for business, the Treasury proposed on Friday to exempt commonly used foreign exchange swaps and forwards from new rules that have tightened oversight of other derivatives.

The Treasury Department said that forcing these derivatives through clearinghouses and onto exchanges was not necessary because existing procedures in the foreign exchange market mitigate risk and ensure stability.

Any disruptions to this market “could have serious negative economic consequences,” the department said.”

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Syrian Security Forces kill more than 40

BEIRUT – Security forces opened fire Friday on demonstrators trying to break an army blockade on the southern city of Daraa, while thousands of others across Syria defied a protest ban and denounced President Bashar Assad’s harsh crackdown on a six-week uprising. At least 42 people were killed, including 15 in the march on Daraa, according to witnesses and a human rights group.

The protesters in cities across Syria — including the capital of Damascus — called for Assad’s ouster, with some chanting “We are not afraid!”

Human rights activist Mustafa Osso said 42 people were killed, but the death toll could rise. His human rights group, based in Syria, compiles casualty tolls from the crackdown.

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Total SA To Buy Sun Power for $1.38 Billion

Total SA (FP)Europe’s third-biggest oil producer, agreed to buy as much as 60 percent of SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) for $1.38 billion, taking advantage of increased global interest in renewable energy.

SunPower, the second-largest U.S. solar panel maker, described the acquisition price of $23.25 a share as a “friendly tender offer” in a statement yesterday after the close of regular trading. SunPower surged $6.08, or 38 percent, to $22.20 at 9:32 a.m. on the Nasdaq Stock Market.”

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Frost and Hail May Send Coffee Up 40% According to Analysts

Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee grower, is facing the risk of frost after hail this month, raising the prospect of a 40 percent jump in bean costs after Kraft Foods Inc. and J.M. Smucker Co. already increased prices.

The chance of frost in Brazil increased with the weakening of La Nina, a cooling of waters in the Pacific Ocean, Brazil’s Somar Meteorologia said this week. Frost in 1994 damaged 35 percent of the crop by 1997, sending prices up 39 percent that year, according to Somar. Should cold weather damage trees this year, coffee may rise to a record $4.20 a pound, the median in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts, traders and investors.”

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Bernanke Pursues The Carry Trade

The bailouts were probably needed and expected for that matter, but the free money spigot has produced a carry trade that only benefits a few. Also despite the bailouts one would expect the to big to fail should have been wound down and carved up for others to take their place.

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Rising Prices Did Not Hurt Consumer Sentiment

“U.S. consumer sentiment rose in April as the sharp increase in gasoline prices was viewed as being temporary, a survey released Friday showed.

Even so, consumers still anticipated some additional price increases in the coming months, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed. Complaints about high prices were the most frequent since 2008 and half of all households said their finances had worsened.

Small expected wage gains tempered higher fuel and food prices, leaving real income expectations unchanged in April.

The final reading on the overall index came in at 69.8, up from 67.5 in March and up a hair from the preliminary reading of 69.6.

It was roughly inline with the median forecast of 69.9 among economists polled by Reuters.

The survey’s barometer of current economic conditions held steady with March’s reading of 82.5, while the survey’s gauge of consumer expectations rose to 61.6 from 57.9.”

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