Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

If the Tea Party hates Wall Street, why isn't it protesting GOP efforts to dismantle Dodd-Frank?
TheWeek | Jeff Spross | 01/13/15

For a movement supposedly founded on opposition to the Wall Street bailout, the Tea Party's people in Congress seem awfully keen to take the reins off the financial sector.

On Wednesday, House Republicans amended the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill to delay for two years a requirement that big banks sell off risky debt bundles that entangle them with hedge funds and private equity firms. At the end of last year, they rolled back a provision that would've forced banks to trade credit default swaps using subsidiaries that aren't federally insured. The GOP is also taking a run at lessening federal oversight over certain private equity activities and derivatives trading. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) -- a Tea Party ally -- has spearheaded many of the efforts. ... Read more

Exclusive: ISIS Gaining Ground in Syria, Despite U.S. Strikes
DailyBeast | author | 01/15/15

American jets are pounding Syria. But ISIS is taking key terrain -- and putting more and more people under its black banners. ISIS continues to gain substantial ground in Syria, despite nearly 800 airstrikes in the American-led campaign to break its grip there.

At least one-third of the country's territory is now under ISIS influence, with recent gains in rural areas that can serve as a conduit to major cities that the so-called Islamic State hopes to eventually claim as part of its caliphate. Meanwhile, the Islamic extremist group does not appear to have suffered any major ground losses since the strikes began. The result is a net ground gain for ISIS, according to information compiled by two groups with on-the-ground sources. ... Read more

Numerous FX Brokers Shutter After Suffering "Significant Losses" Following SNB Stunner
ZeroHedge | author | 01/16/15 6:22am
Read more

Largest Retail FX Broker Stock Crashes 90% As Swiss Contagion Spreads
ZeroHedge | author | 01/16/15 8:26am

As we first reported last night, FXCM was among the first of many retail FX brokers (and the largest) to see its clients suffer massive losses from yesterday's Swiss Franc surge following the SNB decision to unleash market forces. There are now at least 4 retail FX brokers (FXCM, Excel Markets, OANDA, and Alpari) who have announced "issues" but FXCM, being among the largest and publicly traded is the most transparent example of wjust what can go wrong when average joes are allowed 100:1 leverage. FXCM is now stuck chasing clients for money they do not (and will never) have.. and its stock is down 90%, trading a $2 this morning (down from $17 on Wednesday). ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Thank the SNB for the Truth
ZeroHedge | author | 01/15/15 21:21 (9:21pm)

Remember, years ago, when the markets were a mechanism for honest price discovery and a gathering place for buyers and sellers to participate in open, unvarnished capitalism? Yes, I know it was years ago, but I'm sure you can think back to those days.

And do you sometimes ask yourself, "What would it be like if markets were normal again? What if the world's central bankers all decided to go f*ck themselves and leave the markets to act naturally on their own? And how much would I pay to see Janet Yellen commit suicide on pay-per-view?" OK, maybe not that last one, but I bet you've asked the first two.

Well, my friends, the Swiss National Bank has, by their own actions, provided a sort of answer. Look no further than the Euro/Swiss Franc exchange rate graph: (see below)

There are, contained herein, three distinct section. The cyan (that's "blue" to the color illiterates out there) area is Markets As God Intended. The green section is the rigidly-controlled, ruled-by-doctrine, price-by-decree market, which went on for nearly three years. And the magenta area, which is just a single price bar, neatly represents what happens when the markets are allowed, pushing and shoving, back into reality. And that single price bar, my friends, is really all you need to see in order to understand what's ahead. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

The Next Round of the Great Crisis as Begun
ZeroHedge | author | 01/15/15 17:10 (5:10pm)

The entire rally in stocks post-2009 has been due to Central Bank intervention of one kind or another. Whether it be by cutting interest rates, printing money, buying bonds, or promising to do more/ verbal intervention, the Fed and others have done everything they can to push stocks higher.

As a result, today, more than 90% of market price action is based on investors' perceptions of what the Central Banks will do… NOT fundamentals. For instance, if bad economic data hits the tape, the market tends to rally because investors believe this will result in the Fed having to print more money. Again, the primary driver of stocks is no longer fundamentals, but Central Bank intervention. ... Read more

What did the SNB do to EURCHF options markets?
ft.com | Matthew C Klein | 01/15/15 17:50 (5:50pm)

The Swiss National Bank made G10 FX a lot more fun to watch today. One interesting thing is how the options markets responded.

Via Jared Woodard of BGC, here's a chart comparing the move in one-week implied volatility in the exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the euro -- basically, the cost of hedging the risk that the franc appreciates plus the cost of hedging the risk that it depreciates -- against the actual move in the EURCHF exchange rate: ... Read more