On Dec 12, 3:06*pm, F. George McDuffee gmcduf...@mcduffee-
associates.us wrote:
On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:01:18 -0500, Cliff
wrote:

*http://www.reuters.com/article/funds...44645020081212
*"The arrest of investment manager Bernard Madoff on charges of running a $50
billion "Ponzi scheme" may be only the beginning ...."

*Deregulation worked wonders.

-------------------
Cliff this goes far deeper than just "deregulation" and spans
both Republican and Democratic administrations. *It is unknown at
what point Madoff's operation became a Ponzi scheme, but he
started in 1960.

==THE FIX HAD TO BE IN, AND IN FOR 30-40 YEARS.== For one
thing, where was the IRS, and later the Treasury department
anti-money laundering units? *It is impossible to move even 50
billion, and to generate that kinds of losses, considerably more
money than that had to be moved from pocket to pocket, without
leaving a huge "paper trail." *Elliot Spitzer was brought down by
money transfers far below the susposed 10k$ limit, and waitstaff
are hasseled ever day about not reporting every cent of tips they
receive, so it is just not possible this occurred without the law
enforcement agencies noticing, exclusive of the SEC and other
financial agencies. *

While 50 Billion $US is a *HUGE* loss, the major danger is that
this is only the first in a series of similar utter frauds to be
forced to the surface by the current credit contraction and
market break.

As is frequently the case, the US papers are *NOT* following up
on this lead. *The following is from the UK Telegraph
===========
Bernie Madoff's alleged $50bn fraud may be just a foretaste of
what's to come

By Rob Cox, breakingviews.com
Last Updated: 5:47PM GMT 12 Dec 2008

First come the losses and the stupidities committed by bankers
working for their own self-interest.

Then come the rogue traders*, who are unable to 'fess up on
market bets gone wrong. The last to arrive is the "bezzle".

That was economist JK Galbraith's word for the outright frauds
built up when markets are good. These can be kept hidden for as
long as the lies hold up. But the truth will out.

snip
------------
for entire article click onhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/breakingviewscom/3725841/Bernie-Ma...

*for example, the Financial Services division of AIG just "fessed
up" to *ANOTHER* 9.8 billion $US loss in their "multi-sector
credit default swap portfolio," run by their AIG Financial
Products section, with a total *notional exposure of $71.6
billion at the end of September *This is not included in the
losses already reported, and is seperate from the existing
taxpayer bailout.http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2077249/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_3130....http://www.marke****ch.com/news/story/AIG-says-has-98-bln/story.aspx?...{5C815D7E-F5AC-4DD5-AA08-5AFC78CD8E9A}
" The problem is that $9.8 billion of this swap portfolio
guarantees synthetic securities. These securities aren't actually
physical debt investments with underlying assets like mortgages.
Instead, they are made up of other derivative contracts
protecting against defaults on other bundles of mortgages and
other debt.
That means there are no actual securities to buy under the Fed
plan to relieve AIG of some of its swap obligations."

Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).


Unka' George:

I stand corrected; round them all up an shoot them after a fair
trial.

Wouldn't want to subject those innocent trees to such abuse as mass
hangings.

Wolfgang