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Don't Ever Say THIS to Me!

Freaking Heck's picture




 

By: Chris Tell

“Oh, but he's ex-Goldman Sachs.”

This post is dedicated to our friend Greg Miller of Myanmar Capital Partners who, though he's an "ex-hot shot investment banker", remains an exceptional individual and a talented professional.

In our world of private equity, the statement above tends to crop up often. It is brandished like the trident of King Triton. A badge of honor, a statement that is meant to end all concerns, to eliminate any doubts.

Since when does JPM, Goldman, RBS or any of the large investment banks provide a benchmark for anything but an insatiable greed, avarice and a propensity for double-dealing?

I believe the days of my hearing this statement are numbered and here's why:

Goldman Sach's prop desk earns unreal returns. We know this and are envious. Who wouldn't be? I too want a Bentley. I've always thought that such an exceptionally ugly car ought to either be used as a hearse, or be rallied across back country roads at speed, and I have quite a few lonely country roads where I am right now.

I've not had the "pleasure" of working on a Goldman prop desk, but I have spent time at similar institutions and can tell you that the traders are absolutely NOT genetically superior to the guy in the next cubicle. Nope, they're mostly late 20s, sometimes early 20s guys. Some are great, others are arrogant morons. Nothing unusual either way.

The reason the prop desks are so profitable is that unlike other market participants they have an edge. They can and do trade against their client books by front running them.

As Nomi Prins, a former Goldman trading strategist states:

"Any information that you get, particularly if it's going to move the markets a lot, is - is - is going to filter into the trading positions you take."

If you had the power to move a market with your client's money, and you further knew that you could take the other side of that trade and buy yourself a Lamborghini at the end of the year...what do you do?

Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone's exceptionally brash and talented journalist (we need more of these guys) exposed money laundering at HSBC here and Wachovia was exposed here. After being caught red-handed laundering hundreds of billions of dollars for drug cartels, not a single person has been arrested or even lost so much as a job.

Meanwhile these same "crack" government watchdogs are busy apprehending uber criminals like Charlie Shrem, the CEO and founder of BitInstant. Shrem was arrested at the end of January on charges of money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a suspicious activity report.

REALLY? How do you spell Hypocrisy?

Where this gets interesting is not in what I care to think about Goldman or any such institution. What I think is largely irrelevant. What is important is what the herd thinks, and their exists a rising global sentiment against these bankers...Jewish bankers in particular. Rightly or wrongly, banking is considered to be a Jewish profession.

Martin Armstrong believes that the bankers have just a few short months left before they become targeted. You can read Martin's thoughts on this in a post entitled, “Gangster bankers too big to jail”, and another great piece, “Anti-Semitic and Pro-Nazi Activities Rising”, where he states:

"Of course the protection of the NY bankers has nothing to do with the fact that they are Jewish in general. Nevertheless, this is always how the anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities movements emerge by connecting the dots and blaming someone for the economic decline.

The worse the economy gets, the higher the probability we will see a major outbreak in anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities."

If you were of Japanese origin, living in the US during WWII you were targeted simply for being Japanese. We're heading for similar times. In times of economic distress people act irrationally and look for someone to blame...anyone. Since Wall Street is heavily weighted towards Jewish gentlemen, they make an easy target.

In a similar vein, the backlash against "foreigners" is coming in Europe. I just read news that Switzerland has just dealt the first decisive blow to the European Union, and ultimately the Euro itself, by effectively shutting their borders.

Economic woes typically precede civil and sometimes cross-border strife. It is extremely important to understand these risks as they have serious implications for Gold, The Dow and European Markets.

There are reasons to consider investing outside of "traditional markets". We will be in Sri Lanka in a few weeks meeting with our exclusive syndicate. Sri Lanka is a country which has enjoyed a healthy dose of aggression, economic strife and missed opportunities. Right now betting on a country such as Sri Lanka, rather than many European countries may sound absurd to those reading the dishwater that masquerades as financial news, but it may actually make sense.

We frankly don't know, which is one reason we are going to take an initial look at the place to learn more. This report provides a good overview on the country for anyone interested in digging a bit deeper.

What I do know is that the problems that are now coming to the surface in Europe are not unique, new or startling in any way. They are the natural result of the intense fraud and corruption that has been foisted on the citizenry.

When bankers, together with politicians blow up the economy and then turn around and bail each other out, and create regulations to impede business growth and capital flows, even an intelligent 5th grader will be able to tell you that things are likely to turn ugly.

It makes me wonder how long the likes of Goldman Sachs, and other such institutions will be used as credentials of value, rather than hidden from view?

Will "Oh he's from Goldman" become a statement of ridicule, something to be ashamed of, something that even puts one in danger...like being accused of being a Ku Klux clan member whilst walking through Harlem?

To be clear, I have nothing against bankers, Jewish folks, Arabs or even those who don't speak English as a first language...the Australians and Kiwis for example. I've been known to live amongst them quite peacefully.

- Chris

"I'm doing Gods work." - Lloyd Blankfein - CEO, Goldman Sachs

 

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Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:49 | 4463040 Lore
Lore's picture

Darker reading:  Political Ponerology

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 12:20 | 4462076 waterhorse
waterhorse's picture

I had some bankster boot-licking apologist in a commenting forum tell me that I should "respect my betters," the banksters.

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:47 | 4463006 Lore
Lore's picture

When the SHTF, the Top starts dumping mid-level organizational ballast. That would be people like your 'apologist' and other mid-level banksters, intel analysts and other unsuspecting patsies who don't keep paper trails and protect themselves. Every street pancake imagines himself 'special' and 'indispensable.'

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 12:17 | 4462063 dontgoforit
dontgoforit's picture

Hear hear!  And once they get in your pockets there's nothing left but holes for your money to fall through.

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 21:29 | 4460184 TheRideNeverEnds
TheRideNeverEnds's picture

Maybe I should read it again too.   My take away was; with Jews, you lose. 

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 20:35 | 4459993 NuYawkFrankie
NuYawkFrankie's picture

Goldman Sachs - "A Name That Will Live In Infamy"

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 20:48 | 4460033 johnQpublic
johnQpublic's picture
Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/winstonchu163144.html#JEG8y9PVprlOWhmx.99

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning

 

churchill

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 20:48 | 4460037 johnQpublic
johnQpublic's picture

wtf happened there

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 14:15 | 4462521 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

The number of negatives on this list exhibited by a particular group, and the degree that they are negative, indicates how badly the group will eventually be whacked.

If said group controls the authority and is adept at lying and deception (psychopaths), they can have a pretty long stint at parasitizing a population. At some point their superficial charm and lying will become disadvantages and their luck will run out.

The Six Foundations

Care/harm for others, protecting them from harm.

Fairness/cheating, Justice, treating others in proportion to their actions (He has also referred to this dimension as Proportionality.)

Liberty/oppression, characterizes judgments in terms of whether subjects are tyrannized.

Loyalty/betrayal to your group, family, nation. (He has also referred to this dimension as Ingroup.)

Authority/subversion for tradition and legitimate authority. (He has also connected this foundation to a notion of Respect.)

Sanctity/degradation, avoiding disgusting things, foods, actions. (He has also referred to this as Purity.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Foundations_Theory

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 20:35 | 4459987 MeelionDollerBogus
Fri, 02/21/2014 - 15:14 | 4462729 steelhead23
steelhead23's picture

Before we start removing heads, we ought to clearly identify the crime.  What exactly, is the crime?  Frontrunning?  Fraud?  Or is it hubris?  Players in this game aren't going to like my answer, but here it is - capitalism.  Why capitalism?  Because it rewards immoral behavior.  OK, "that's not capitalism", you scream - its crony capitalism - its the revolving door - its socialism (a very confused perspective of goverment bailouts).  You're wrong.  What we are seeing is precisely, not just close but precisely the endgame of capitalism Karl Marx described in detail about 140 years ago.  Financialization of the economy followed by a credit crunch.  It isn't "the Jews" either - its the system itself. 

Sat, 02/22/2014 - 03:14 | 4464524 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Karl Marx was a fraud and a liar: he was unable to face the truth that real capitalism had none of the flaws he wanted it to have so he invented his own definition that was never capitalism of any sort, starting with flaws he wanted, reversing backwards to a system-description but it never matched any reality, not in history, nor attempted by anyone.

A CORE detail of true capitalism requires consent at all times & private ownership, yet all the damage you see here is fron NON-consent, from fraud, from theft, from war.

All of these things are 100% anti-capitalism, are never a part of capitalism, and so the end-game here is not the evolution of capitalism but the removal of it & the evolution of a system which blocks capitalism from the start.

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 17:00 | 4463071 Lore
Lore's picture

It's important that you see through the acculturated left-right spectrum. The type of structure matters less than the quality of the men who run it.  What we see is better described as Pathocracy. 

Marx was a loser -- a piece of human trash -- not worth your time.

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