01 February 2012
SilverDoctors: ISDA on Greek Default Definition
SilverDoctors: ISDA on Greek Default Definition: You ask the ISDA what their definition of a Greek default is (if a 70% haircut is not a default!)? Well, that depends on what your definit...
After a Delay, MF Global’s Missing Money Is Traced
By BEN PROTESS and AZAM AHMED
Louis Freeh, a former F.B.I. director, and James Giddens, below, a partner at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, are MF Global trustees.Alex Wong/Getty ImagesLouis Freeh, a former F.B.I. director, and James Giddens, below, a partner at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, are MF Global trustees.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Investigators have determined what happened to nearly all of the customer money that disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy last Oct. 31, but have not publicly disclosed their progress, fearing that doing so might cripple efforts to recover the cash and pursue potential wrongdoing, people briefed on the investigation said.
While authorities have traced hundreds of millions of dollars to banks, MF Global’s trading partners and even the firm’s securities customers, investigators remain uncertain about whether they can retrieve the money.
Some recipients were entitled to payouts from MF Global, which could make clawing back the money difficult. For instance, securities customers withdrawing their money as MF Global began to collapse were paid from accounts that belonged to futures clients, according to other people briefed on the matter.
But the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulator leading the investigation, will examine whether anyone accepted customer cash without verifying the source of the money, one of the people briefed on the matter said.
This person and others who discussed the case did so on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is not public.
The findings shift the pressing question surrounding the collapse of MF Global from what happened to the money to how to recover it and who is at fault.
Answers will not come easy. A significant impediment has been clashes among the parties trying to resolve the MF Global mess: three federal agencies and two bankruptcy trustees.
At the center of the squabbling are e-mails sent by top executives at MF Global — communications that have been withheld from federal authorities, according to the people briefed on the matter. Investigators suspect the e-mails, sent just before the firm collapsed, contain clues about who transferred the money from protected customer accounts.
Louis Freeh, a former F.B.I. director, and James Giddens, below, a partner at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, are MF Global trustees.Alex Wong/Getty ImagesLouis Freeh, a former F.B.I. director, and James Giddens, below, a partner at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, are MF Global trustees.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Investigators have determined what happened to nearly all of the customer money that disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy last Oct. 31, but have not publicly disclosed their progress, fearing that doing so might cripple efforts to recover the cash and pursue potential wrongdoing, people briefed on the investigation said.
While authorities have traced hundreds of millions of dollars to banks, MF Global’s trading partners and even the firm’s securities customers, investigators remain uncertain about whether they can retrieve the money.
Some recipients were entitled to payouts from MF Global, which could make clawing back the money difficult. For instance, securities customers withdrawing their money as MF Global began to collapse were paid from accounts that belonged to futures clients, according to other people briefed on the matter.
But the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulator leading the investigation, will examine whether anyone accepted customer cash without verifying the source of the money, one of the people briefed on the matter said.
This person and others who discussed the case did so on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is not public.
The findings shift the pressing question surrounding the collapse of MF Global from what happened to the money to how to recover it and who is at fault.
Answers will not come easy. A significant impediment has been clashes among the parties trying to resolve the MF Global mess: three federal agencies and two bankruptcy trustees.
At the center of the squabbling are e-mails sent by top executives at MF Global — communications that have been withheld from federal authorities, according to the people briefed on the matter. Investigators suspect the e-mails, sent just before the firm collapsed, contain clues about who transferred the money from protected customer accounts.
Asia Gold Prices Up
By Esther Tanquintic-Misa: Subscribe to Esther's RSS feed
February 1, 2012 12:44 AM EST
If for anything, the recently concluded weeklong Lunar New Year holiday helped propel prices of gold in the Asian trading floor to rise on Tuesday, prompted by China's holiday bingeing of the precious yellow metal.
"People (in China) are still very interested in buying gold," a Beijing-based analyst said in The Wall Street Journal, noting Asian appetite into gold facilitated its prices to soar 10.9 per cent higher since the start of the year.
This, as China's 2011 gold production jumped to 5.89 per cent to 360.96 tonnes over a year ago, the China Gold Association said on Tuesday. The latest data marked a record high and ranked as the highest in the world for the fifth consecutive year, the association added.
The continuing fiscal crisis affecting the world today will support China's appetite for gold, long considered a safe haven to protect one's fiscal image, to further widen, the analyst said.
On Tuesday, spot gold traded at $1,734.92 a troy ounce at 0525 GMT, a $4.62 growth from its previous settlement.
However, analysts said investors may move to cash over safe-haven assets in the next few days, still due to the unending Greek debt restructuring talks. Once the U.S. dollar regains strength this week, dollar-denominated commodities become all the more expensive to investors holding other currencies.
February 1, 2012 12:44 AM EST
If for anything, the recently concluded weeklong Lunar New Year holiday helped propel prices of gold in the Asian trading floor to rise on Tuesday, prompted by China's holiday bingeing of the precious yellow metal.
"People (in China) are still very interested in buying gold," a Beijing-based analyst said in The Wall Street Journal, noting Asian appetite into gold facilitated its prices to soar 10.9 per cent higher since the start of the year.
This, as China's 2011 gold production jumped to 5.89 per cent to 360.96 tonnes over a year ago, the China Gold Association said on Tuesday. The latest data marked a record high and ranked as the highest in the world for the fifth consecutive year, the association added.
The continuing fiscal crisis affecting the world today will support China's appetite for gold, long considered a safe haven to protect one's fiscal image, to further widen, the analyst said.
On Tuesday, spot gold traded at $1,734.92 a troy ounce at 0525 GMT, a $4.62 growth from its previous settlement.
However, analysts said investors may move to cash over safe-haven assets in the next few days, still due to the unending Greek debt restructuring talks. Once the U.S. dollar regains strength this week, dollar-denominated commodities become all the more expensive to investors holding other currencies.
'Gold and silver will shine over the next few months'
Last Updated : 01 February 2012 at 11:30 IST
By Patrick A. Heller
Through the COMEX close on Monday, January 30, the prices of Gold and Silver had increased more than 10% and 20% over the course of the month. Had these results been realized by any of the major stock indices, you can be sure they would garner headline coverage. But strong markets in gold and silver continue to receive comparatively minimal reporting by the mainstream financial media.
Actually, the value of gold and silver haven’t changed at all. Ounces of physical gold and silver are still worth the same today as they were a month ago. What has changed is that the values of paper currencies, stocks, and bonds have mostly fallen in January.
In mid-January, the US Dollar Index reached its highest level since September 2010. This temporary strength resulted from the weakness in the Euro. The falling value of the Euro was related to the financial problems in many European nations, where sovereign credit ratings were dropped for at least ten countries in that continent within the past month. Governments such as France, Italy, Spain, and Austria were among those hit by credit downgrades.From its peak two weeks ago, the US Dollar Index has dropped 2%.
Greece Prime Minister Calls "Crisis Meeting" Attacks EU, IMF; Does Germany Want a Deal?
MISH'S
Global Economic
Trend Analysis
Things are going so well in Greece (just one step away from a deal for weeks on end), that Greek officials attack EU and IMF as debt talks stall
Greek officials launched a vociferous behind the scenes attack on European Union and International Monetary Fund negotiators as talks in Athens over the country's mounting debts appeared to stall.
Prime minister Lucas Papademos told aides that a crisis meeting of party leaders would be called as early as Thursday to thrash out a response to an increasingly intransigent negotiating team sent by Brussels, which is demanding severe austerity measures before sanctioning a further €130bn (£109bn) of bailout funds.
Papademos and his team of aides returned in sombre mood on Tuesday from a round of talks in Brussels and Frankfurt at the offices of the European Central Bank (ECB), despite relief that a German proposal to install an EU commissioner in Athens, with special oversight of Greek finances, had been quashed.
On the negotiations over the bailout funds, Greek MPs have objected to demands by the troika for further wage cuts and reductions in the minimum wage.
Global Economic
Trend Analysis
Things are going so well in Greece (just one step away from a deal for weeks on end), that Greek officials attack EU and IMF as debt talks stall
Greek officials launched a vociferous behind the scenes attack on European Union and International Monetary Fund negotiators as talks in Athens over the country's mounting debts appeared to stall.
Prime minister Lucas Papademos told aides that a crisis meeting of party leaders would be called as early as Thursday to thrash out a response to an increasingly intransigent negotiating team sent by Brussels, which is demanding severe austerity measures before sanctioning a further €130bn (£109bn) of bailout funds.
Papademos and his team of aides returned in sombre mood on Tuesday from a round of talks in Brussels and Frankfurt at the offices of the European Central Bank (ECB), despite relief that a German proposal to install an EU commissioner in Athens, with special oversight of Greek finances, had been quashed.
On the negotiations over the bailout funds, Greek MPs have objected to demands by the troika for further wage cuts and reductions in the minimum wage.
SilverDoctors: Blythe Replaces Faissola who is Vice Chairman of I...
SilverDoctors: Blythe Replaces Faissola who is Vice Chairman of I...: Things are getting hairier than hairy. Two days ago we reported that B lythe is taking over for Deutsche Bank's Michele Faissola as hea...
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