JPMorgan Chase

Life ain’t fair

Just because the market is so stupid it completely ignores what the news of the day is: namely that JPM engaged in what Jacob Zemansky on TV just called criminal behavior when it consistently mismarked its CDS book, as it itself admitted 10 minutes before releasing its earnings today, an act that in itself is nothing short of what Barclays is in the 10th circle of hell for due to blowing up Lieborgate sky high, here is a stark reminder of what happened the last time a trader was caught fudging his CDS book...

Back on May 30 we wrote "The Second Act Of The JPM CIO Fiasco Has Arrived - Mismarking Hundreds Of Billions In Credit Default Swaps" in which we made it abundantly clear that due to the Over The Counter nature of CDS one can easily make up whatever marks one wants in order to boost the P&L impact of a given position, this is precisely  what JPM was doing in order to boost its P&L? As of moments ago this too has been proven to be the case. From a just filed very shocking 8K which takes the "Whale" saga to a whole new level. To wit: 'the recently discovered information raises questions about the integrity of the trader marks, and suggests that certain individuals may have been seeking to avoid showing the full amount of the losses being incurred in the portfolio during the first quarter. As a result, the Firm is no longer confident that the trader marks used to prepare the Firm's reported first quarter results (although within the established thresholds) reflect good faith estimates of fair value at quarter end."

• If Hilsenrath leaks a Fed party line and nobody cares, does Hilsenrath exist? Fed Weighs More Stimulus (WSJ)
• Clock Is Ticking on Crisis Charges (WSJ)
• South Korea in first rate cut since 2009 (FT)
• Shake-Up at New York Fed Is Said to Cloud View of Risk at JPMorgan (NYT)
• Italy stats office threatens to stop issuing data (Reuters)... because Italy is "out of money"
• China New Yuan Loans Top Forecasts; Forex Reserves Decline (Bloomberg).. and here are Chinese gold imports
• Italy Faces 'War' in Economic Revamp, Monti Warns (WSJ)... says Mario Monti from Sun Valley, cause Italy is "out of money"
• NY Fed to release Libor documents Friday (Reuters)
• U.S. House Again Votes to Repeal Obama’s Health Care Law (Bloomberg)
• Germany May Turn to Labor Programs as Crisis Worsens, Union Says (Bloomberg)
• Ireland to unveil stimulus package (FT)

A lack of transparency, a lack of enforcement of law and a compliant media which failed to ask the hard questions and do basic investigative journalism led to the price fixing continuing and the manipulation continuing unchecked on such a wide scale for so long - until it was exposed recently. Similarly, the gold market has the appearance of a market that is a victim of “financial repression”. Given the degree of risk in the world – it is arguable that gold prices should have surged in recent months and should be at much higher levels today. The gold market has all the hallmarks of Libor manipulation but as usual all evidence is ignored until official sources acknowlege the truth. However, like LIBOR the gold manipulation 'conspiracy theory' is likely to soon become conspiracy fact.  It will then – belatedly - become accepted wisdom among 'experts.'  Experts who had never acknowledged it, failed to research and comment on it or had simply dismissed it as a “goldbug accusation.”  Financial repression means that most markets are manipulated today - especially bond and foreign exchange markets.

• San Bernadino: Another Calif. city goes bankrupt (247)... It appears Hell's Angels don't pay municipal taxes after all
• Rajoy announces 65 Billion Euros Of Cuts To Fight Crisis (Bloomberg)... And Spaniards prepare to not pay taxes
• Spain pressed to inflict losses on savers (FT)... And Spaniards prepare to sue
• Spain to Cede Bank Control (WSJ)... And Spaniards prepare to protest
• Rate Scandal Stirs Scramble for Damages (NYT)... but who do you sue: the Fed?
• Paulson Ex-Lieutenant Caught in Fund's Slide (WSJ)
• ILO warns 4.5m jobs at risk in eurozone (FT)
• Global economic crunch confirmed every day: Airbus Scraps Target of 30 A380 Sales as Demand Dwindles (BBG)
• Same old: Finland says requires collateral from Spain for bank aid (Reuters)
• Cameron and Hollande clash on tax (FT)
• Wen Says Boosting Investment Now Key to Stabilizing China Growth (Bloomberg)

Update: BlackRock to restrict subscriptions into 2 Euro money funds

We were the first to bring news that overnight JPMorgan has halted investment in its European money market funds following the ECB's decision to cut the deposit rate to 0%. Now, it is Goldman's turn:

• GOLDMAN HALTS INVESTMENTS IN EURO GOV MONEY FUND AFTER ECB CUT
• GOLDMAN SAYS MARKET CONDITIONS WILL DETERMINE WHEN FUND REOPENS
• GOLDMAN DECISION AFFECTS EURO GOVERNMENT LIQUID RESERVES FUND

And finally the conclusion, which is rather obvious:

• GOLDMAN FUND MEMO: EUROPEAN MARKET IN `UNCHARTERED TERRITORY'

But please don’t tell me that you are surprised that Barclays was “manipulating” LIBOR.

The FDIC decided to wait with its dose of pre-holiday humor until after the Barclays fixing for today's market close turned out to be spot on. And by that we mean that official release of the US banks' "living will" statements, which as far as we know is about the most worthless exercise ever conducted, and about the dumbest thing to be conceived by that very undynamic duo of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. Because last we checked, the treatment of living wills in bankruptcy court, where all these firms will end up eventually anyway, is... non-existent. But the real fun is when one actually reads this indicative statement from Citigroup: "Citi is today a fundamentally different institution than it was before the crisis." And that's where we stopped. Because it is banks wasting their time (and taxpayer bailout money) on gibberish like this instead of analyzing the risk inherent in their prop positions that guarantees the next CIO-like blow up will not be just $5 billion but far, far more, and will certainly prove that living wills when one has to equitize tens of billions in unsecured debt are worth exactly didely squat.

Local Governments Which Entered Into Interest Rate Swaps Got Scalped

"Unlike other financial instruments, gold doesn't produce interest. But given its symbolic presence and usefulness as a safe haven in times of crisis, the BOK needs to buy more. We may do so this year," he said.

• German court may delay ESM bailout fund ratification (Reuters)
• New dangers lurk for rudderless Spain (Reuters)
• SEC Said to Depose SAC’s Cohen in Insider-Trading Probe (Bloomberg)
• With Europe broke, Asia is Wall Street's new dumb money: Riskier Bets Pitched To Asia's Rising Rich (WSJ)
• Spain expected to request bank aid after debt test (Reuters)
• Lawmakers Push for Overhaul of IPO Process (WSJ)
• Israel: "all options" open after Iran talks fail (Reuters)
• Canadian housing boom to grind to a halt (Financial Post)
• Italians Dodge Property Tax in Test for Monti’s Austerity (Bloomberg)
• ORCL earnings must have been good: Oracle CEO Ellison to Buy Most of Hawaiian Island Lanai (Bloomberg)

• Prepare for Lehmans (sic) re-run, Bank official warns (Telegraph)
• Fed Seen Extending Operation Twist While Avoiding Bond Buying (Bloomberg)
• US Watchdog Hits at ‘Risky’ London (FT)
• G20 Bid to Cut Cost of Euro Borrowing (FT)
• Romney Says Rubio Being Examined as Possible Running Mate (Bloomberg)
• Hollande Says Worth Exploring ESM Bond Buys (Reuters)
• US Upbeat After Eurozone Debt Crisis Talks (FT)
• BOJ Members Say Japan Could Be ‘Adversely Affected’ by Europe (Bloomberg)
• China Steps Said to Grow Bond Market, Add Issuer Scrutiny (Bloomberg)
• How Asia Will Fare if Europe Cracks (WSJ)

• With big conditions, China Offers $43 Billion for IMF Crisis War Chest (Reuters)... US offers $0.00
• Mexico is not Spain: Mexican Yields Drop to Record as Spain’s Borrowing Costs Soar (Bloomberg)
• And live from Las Ventanas al Paraiso: G-20 Leaders Focus on Banks as Spain's Woes Challenge Merkel (Bloomberg)
• German Constitutional Court Gives Victory to Opposition in ESM Suit (WSJ)
• EU Europe’s Leaders Urged to Resolve Crisis (FT)
• Backing Grows for One EU Bank Supervisor (FT)
• Greek Leaders Close to Coalition, Aim to Ease Bailout (Reuters)
• China Economy Improves in June, Commerce Minister Chen Says (Bloomberg)
• China Looks for Loan Boost (WSJ)