"House prices are crumbling on both sides of the Atlantic, growing numbers of homeowners face repossession, financial markets are yo-yoing and the UK saw its first run on a bank in living memory. But for three audacious New York traders it all added up to a $4bn (£2bn) profit opportunity and the biggest jackpot in the history of Wall Street. ... Dan Sparks and two underlings, Josh Birnbaum and Michael "Swenny" Swenson, placed what were in effect giant bets against the US mortgage market at the start of the year and watched their winnings tick higher and higher as the rising numbers of mortgage defaults spiralled into a worldwide financial crisis. ...The trio themselves are in line for bonuses of about $10m apiece from a record bonus pool at Goldman of about $19bn. ... Their profit eclipses the $1.1bn made by George Soros when his bets against the currency pushed sterling out of the exchange rate mechanism in 1992 and the estimated $1.5bn made by the hedge fund manager John Arnold last year from the collapse of a rival fund, Amaranth." (Independent, 15 December)
That is capitalism for you, millions face homelessness while a small group of parasites rake it in! RD
The Glasgow & Edinburgh Branches Blog. Towards a better understanding of the world, in order to change it.
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The war between traditional and online casino isn’t over as I think. There are some big companies like Neteller (as billing system) or PartyPoker (as the largest casino) who will continue to lobby in order to return their positions. I think that decrease in 'casino for sale’ business on the US market will be substituted by increase on the European and Asian market.
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