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US And European Regulators Probing FX Market Rigging
10 weeks ago we warned that the persistent "banging the close" action in FX markets warranted an investigation into market rigging and manipulation. It seems the US, Swiss, UK, and EU regulators have finally woken up:
- *U.S. SAID TO OPEN CRIMINAL PROBE OF CURRENCY MARKET RIGGING
- *SWISS, UK REGULATORS REVIEWING ALLEGED CURRENCY MARKET RIGGING
- *EU ANTITRUST REGULATORS SAID THEY ARE PROBING CURRENCY MARKET
Of course, gold and silver remain highly efficient and "clean" markets...
"Banging the close," is hardly a new 'event' but the ubiquity with which it is occurring around 4pm GMT (when major FX market benchmarks known as 'WM/Reuters rates' are set) is prompting authorities to investigate potential abuse of these benchmarks by the major banks. From Libor to ISDAFix and from base-and-precious metals to energy markets, adding the largest markets in the world - foreign exchange - to the banks' pernicious manipulations does not seem like a stretch. Critically, benchmark providers base daily valuations of indexes spanning different currencies on the 4 p.m. WM/Reuters rates (which in turn drives derivative settlements and triggers).
Stunningly, the same pattern - a sudden surge minutes before 4pm in London on the last trading day of the month, followed by a quick reversal - occurred 31% of the time across 14 FX pairs over 2 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For the most frequently traded pairs, such as EURUSD, it happened about half the time! U.S. regulators have sanctioned firms for banging the close in other markets; we await the results of the current probe...
Via Bloomberg,
The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of possible manipulation of the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market, a person familiar with the matter said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is also looking into alleged rigging of interest rates associated with the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, is in the early stages of its currency market probe, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the inquiry is confidential.
...
The U.S. investigation comes as the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said in June it was reviewing potential manipulation of exchange rates. That month, allegations that dealers at banks pooled information through instant messages and used client orders to move benchmark currency rates were reported by Bloomberg News. Regulators are probing the alleged abuse of financial benchmarks used in markets from oil to interest rate swaps by the firms that play a central role in setting them.
...
European Union antitrust regulators are examining the possible manipulation of currency rates, following a Swiss probe into whether banks colluded to manipulate the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market. Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s competition commissioner, said he learned in the last few days of activities that “could mean violation of competition rules around the possible manipulation of types of exchange rates,” according to a live chat on the EU’s website Oct. 7. ?
— Aoife White and Gaspard Sebag?
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"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME
Hey , probe THIS !
If you could rig a market for billions, get caught, and only pay a few million in fines with a slap on the wrist, would you do it? Hell yeah I would.
Time for more fines.. no criminality at high levels involved, of course… too big to jail
Systemic risk you know.. pensions would have to pull funds if the criminality was laid out in the open.
It must be nice to have systemic immunity from ongoing crime…
Unless you are a mid-level executive or trader following SOP.
Yeah so they jailed Detroit's Mayor to 'send a message' to others. Maybe we could send some messages to these banker CEOs now?
it is difficult to "regulate" your masters
Well thats JPM and GS's business model in a nutshell. This might cost em a few pennies in comparison to the dollars they made. Just the cost of doing god's work i guess
You didn't rig that.
right on tsx, the only thing ANY agency, or for that matter, ANYONE in our bloated, overpaid, dysfunctional clusterfuck of a "government" can do is PROBE ANYTHING WITH THEIR HEADS UP THEIR ASSES! FUCKING MORONS, ALL OF 'EM!
Damn...you beat me to it.
"We all try...you succeed."
Bankers are mad that others are on the other side of their official rigging. If they need the law, they must be expending more firepower than they can afford.
But if the FED is doing it, it can't be illegal!
What happens when the regulators realize that it is their own govenrments that are behind the rigging?
Chain of command; low to high
Government/politicians > central banks/big bankers/ big business > mystery people with long lineage and trillions scattered about
Yawn. This "investigation" will take 6 months and no results will be reported.
Unless someone's political agenda requires that some poor bastard needs to get thrown under the bus.
Next.
We need a Blue Ribbon panel to get to the bottom of this!
Manipulators manipulating each others currency...surely this can't be serious!
/
As serious as a circle-jerk, my friend.
Don't ever call me Shirley...wait, that's your line...
...and after a long and thorough investigation they will find... absolutely nothing. No one will be prosecuted, no one will go to jail.
At least the gold market is not manipulated. Stocks, FX, options, they're all fucked! But I sleep well knowing that only natural price discovery in an efficient market happens in gold.
>> I sleep well knowing that only natural price discovery in an efficient market happens in gold.
That, my friend, is what brought me to gold, and what keeps me with gold. The beauty of gold is it's such a small market, if one of the big boys attempted to manipulate it the attempt would be obvious to all willing to see. The gold market needs no regulators as it naturally regulates itself.
Round up the usual suspects....bailiff, slap their peepees !
Someone remember few years ago Russian stealing important Goldman code of national interest to US(deeply involved)
Your kidding me right? After two years of this someone decides to get up off their ass and 'investigate'.
I'll save you 50M right here, and right now. Call Ben at home and ask him if he's been manipulating FX rates. 10:1 the guy is going to laugh and then say 'sure as shit we have'. Case fucking closed.
Now tell me your going to throw Ben and every central banker in jail for manipulation of currency rates which is exactly what they are paid to do after they manipulate bond rates, MBSs, PMs and whatever else is on the slate for 'man-ip-ulation'.
I didn't think it was possible to waste even more taxpayer money on the stupidest of things.
'investigate' - we did and we found out the manipulation was 'within the law'.
Go do something real and investigate the pre-market leaks of sensitive financial data, front running FED news. How about this 'investigate' the fuckers in government that constantly break the law collecting data without warrant because 'they can'. Here's another one, investigate all the chemicals appearing in wells around fracking zones, or earthquakes as a result of fracking. The list fucking goes on. Investigate the inside track government insiders have to corporate America and vice versa.
'investigate' - code word for thumbs up our asses stinking up the place while we collect our 6 digit paychecks.
Time to gather more low level firing squad fodder to blame it on.
What is their fucking problem, can't they find the revolving doors?
as if this is going to lead to anything....
About freaking time. And are they also going to investigate the alleged insider trading ahead of the official fixing releases?
My wrists are very delicate said one banker, so the regulator offered to slap himself in the face to resolve the issue but decided against it and instead started to massage the bankers balls.
When was the last time a "regulator" was the first to find anything/anywhere? Is this the most worthless (as measured by contribution to society) position/job of our time? Pimps have more credibility.
As an aside, I wonder if there is a country/society somewhere - in 2013 - where the "regulator" actually improve the lives of their neighbors...
oh sure...Fx is rigged, but paper AG and AU? NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH, nothin' to see here folks...move along or into the FEMA camp you go!!!
"Investigation"...LOL.. How is that "investigation into libor, commodities, and derivatives going again? The only thing being probed is the midget tranny porn on the internet.
WHAT a fuckin joke. A little probette into FX rigging because it should be possible for the administration/fed/jpm/snb etc to come up rose tinted. Hildebrand's little misdemeanoras obviously now forgotten.
How about a little investigation where evidence has already been presented? Silver, gold, Silver?
Investigating sure. Doing anything substantive about it? I won't hold my breath. Wrist slaps may be issued. Pee-ons may be sent to the lions for sacrifice. But that's as much as one will see. Washington is a pigs' trough, and Wallstreet keeps the gruel flowing. It will take a lot more than this to change the natural order of things.
Oh I'd bet those regulators have their "top men" on it, who will sniff out the perpetrators of this legerdemain and skullduggery; right after they find the Ark of the Covenant.
The UK, that "financial hub" that has the WORST and MOST CORRUPT regulators that couldn't find their asses because they were sitting on them with their thumbs inserted.
The UK, that stopped manufacturing anything except financial scandals.
NO ONE WILL either go to jail, be banned from the industry or executed (these guys do more damage then any serial murderer and should be).
this "rigging" seperate from the LIBOR Rigging, swept under the rug, though the largst ever, effected $300TT ineverything, anyone remember the LIBOR Scam? We're not supposed to
LIBOR Scandal More Than Fraud - Whole Game is Rigged
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUGLykhMur4
The Libor Scandal.The Biggest Financial Scam In World History.. so far
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxqGLIDO2Fg
Invistigate what? Bankers are big crooks. Fx rates were certainly manipulated. Proof: The eurusd rate should be below parity. What fucking other proof should they look for. Idiots
banging the close - real
investigation - fake
ZH exaggerates again. You say 10 weeks ago it "warranted" an investigation, implying that you discovered this irregularity. In fact, Bloomberg reported an investigation was already underway and all you did was report Bloomberg's story. Don't bullshit us.
Maybe our new masters (not this current crowd of sycophant cocksucking courtiers) can take some inspiration from old King Henry - he knew a thing or two about deterrence and retribution
"1125 A.D. In this year before Christmas King Henry sent from Normandy to England and gave instructions that all moneyers ... be deprived of their members ... Bishop Roger of Salisbury commanded them all to assemble at Winchester by Christmas. When they came hither they were then taken one by one, and each deprived of the right hand and the testicles below. All this was done in twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, and was entirely justified because they had ruined the whole country by the magnitude of their fraud which they paid for in full."
-The Laud Chronicle (E)
BIS Traders, Bullion Bank Traders, Bart, Gary, does reading the above just make you reflexively put your hands over your nuts? Might want to keep that right hand hidden, though...