Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill/WA who wrote (50441)	1/20/2006 2:00:09 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

apparently this guy scammed one too many (or the wrong person) Buffet once bought some banks because they had made some bad loans to some guy in south america and he robbed them - something to do with tankers and shipping goods - but it was a small amount like only 10 million - nothing crazy - but the market took that news as that there were all these bad loans everywhere and pounded the banks - this was in the 70's I believe when buffet did that. Of course the banks quickly rebounded and buffet made many millions. They will let you steal a little - but you steal too much and you get whacked: bankdersysrisk.blogspot.com Why is this fact so important to answering your question about loading the balance sheets, using derivatives to hide losses, and white collar crime in general? The banks make the rules. The largest banks are here for one reason alone, to stay in business and power. If you make the currency, set the rules, then as a large bank you have no real need to steal the money outright because you can just adjust the rules in their own favor. This defeats the need to steal. You already have the buying power the dollar provides. At this point in the game you are trying to manage it. The largest banks jealously guard their buying power. It is very hard to steal from these banks as they will go after you if you do. Most of the time they will never do business with you again and they can and will go after you. The largest banks either control the smaller banks or have a huge amount of influence in them so the system polices itself. Why bother stealing when you can just adjust the rules. Selfish greed keeps the banks in line. Thus when viewed under this light it is easy to see why Thomas Jefferson made his past comments that I posted earlier. This is not to say that stealing doesn’t happen on a grand scale in the US. It does and is very well documented. During the S&L scandal for example the stealing was biblical, and then most of it was covered up by the bailout. William K. Black wrote a book called “The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One”. Does stealing happen in smaller banks, investment firms, and business? Yes, Often.

To: Bill/WA who wrote (50441)	1/20/2006 7:40:01 PM
From: kris b	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

kris, you are spot on. I have seen a lot of good scams that banks, suppliers fell for. A lot of my competitors (I learnt about it latter when police were looking for them) would buy truck loads of wire from wholesaler sand sell it to other contractors for half price. Then they would bankrupt their company and move to the other provinces. Good luck in nailing them. And so on, and on. It was an epidemic. I have seen it all. The only reason that I survived was that my restaurant (my other business) was throwing off $ 15.000/month (at the bottom of the severe recession in 1986). This gave me cash to buy my bankrupt competitor's (electrical contracting) equipment and materials at 5 cents on the dollars. I used it latter on my jobs at 80% of the market cost, so nobody could compete with me. CASH WAS THE KING. As I was getting stronger, they were going bankrupt. That is why I like depression/deflation scenario. Shitheads/overleveraged borrowers deserve to get killed financially. NO MERCY.