14 Jul 2012

Jim Grant on Safe-Haven Bubbles and a Bull Market in Black Walnut Trees! Capital Account

In 2008, a Barclays employee told the NY Federal Reserve that the bank, as well as other firms, were underreporting LIBOR. Timothy Geithner, the 2008 head of the NY Fed, is now under scrutiny and lawmakers are urging a probe of LIBOR regulators. But why is there so much outrage over LIBOR manipulation when central banks manipulate interest rates every day? We will hear from Jim Grant, editor and founder of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, in our sit-down interview.

Also, JP Morgan's London Whale trading loss reached $5.8 billion, and in a conference call JP Morgan said they will clawback two years of compensation. This clawback includes millions of dollars in bonuses for CIO traders and their former boss Ina Drew. Do these clawbacks reinstate accountability at too big to fail banks? We will hear about Jim Grant's clawback plan.

Peregrine Financial's CEO was arrested today. In the note he left before attempting suicide he said his forgeries of bank statements, which allowed him to steal millions from customers, went undetected for 20 years. Is fear of money being stolen by a PFG or MFG contributing to what Jim Grant calls the "bubble in perceived safe havens?"

In a special Friday the 13th Loose Change, Demetri Kofinas and Lauren go to a church and graveyard near Wall Street to talk atonement and invoke the "spirit of the law" when it comes to financial crimes.


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