The Grand Ruse

Gaming the Market rocks. I learn so much about the market and how it's manipulated from these guys. They and Zero Hedge really understand the abstractions and obfuscations purposefully inserted into financial "deals" in order for the guilty to cover tracks and bamboozle the uninitiated (i.e. Greece) while making billions at public expense. The graph, courtesy of Information is Beautiful, depicts monies spent on an almost endless stream of "items" ranging from serious baubles like Iraq war costs/3 trillion to the really important Gift Cards market totaling 29 billion. The video below shows how unregulated Hedgies make money.



To add fuel to the fire, consider this little gem from Investopedia

"Portfolio Pumping : The illegal act of bidding up the value of a fund's holdings right before the end of a quarter, when the fund's performance is measured. This is done by placing a large number of orders on existing holdings, which drives up the value of the fund.

Also known as "Marking the Close."

After reading Gaming's Fed Hunter Killer piece, I realized just how insightful Danial Roth is regarding finance and regulatory. Click on Transparency to see why.

"For fools rush in where angels fear to tread" - Alexander Pope

Addendum: Read Wall Street's Bailout Hustle by Matt Tiabbi to see how ignorance covers the Goldnman's of the world. Simply unbelievable but hey, we Americans accept the worst healthcare system in the world so why not be the mark for the con artists in Wall Street to swindle as well. Works for me.