Wall Street's Shadow Market

And they dont blame the government, convenient... Blame the well for being poisoned, not those who poisoned the well. Typical mainstream bull

Oh my god they were selling credit default swaps too -- fake ass insurance plans? Citi, Bear Sterns, AIG??? See, I have always known about the chopped-up mortgages but I only now have learned about the credit default swaps. I'm only 19 anyways so I've got a lot to learn.

Guys, one of these risky arcane investment tools still around today is Direxion - the most popular tickers are FAS and FAZ. These are nothing else but tools of day traders, stay away from them!

the government is looking to cut executive compensation for the leadership MORONS at AIG, Bear stewart, etc. and people are afraid they'll leave? God help the companies these genuises arrive at. Here's an idea put a chain on their ankles and pass food through their doors until these assholes (executives) earn back what they cost us as Americans. And while were at it let's storm the business colleges that produced these piece's of shit.

There are only a small number of people responsible for the damage to our economy. There are 100's of divisions in these Corp's that have always been profitable. If you cut their pay they will leave. Andy Hall from Citi is a great example. Last year he made Citi 700 million trading energy futures.This year he is estimated to bring in over a billion. Last year he was paid 100 million, this year they cut his salary, to what I dont know, he and his team quit and are now working for deutsche bank

So not only will Citi (and therefore the government) lose out on making 1 billion next year, but these very talented individuals will be making this money for a foreign bank, so there goes the tax money on the Corporate and the personal side as well.

Was this a smart move to run off Mr Hall and his team that made the company billions of dollars?

MAybe you shouldn't be so shortsighted and ignorant about issues before you comment on them

I guess you are one of the Morons that caused this mess. Don't let the door hit your Ivory league ass on the way out.

No I'm not a congressman

excellent synopsis especially the idea that swaps are basically fake insurance sold to support the swaps. the thing is, many people knew about this stuff for many years and noone did anything. Accountants stop being professionals more than 20 years ago, for example. When I was taking accounting in the late 70's everyone thought of auditing as a way to get a job with the client... nothing having to do with audits....

It's called the "Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000", passed with unanimous (i.e., bipartisan) support thanks to the vigorous advocacy of Greenspan, Rubin, Summers, etc. And now Summers and his protege Geithner are making policy again. Meanwhile, Brooksley Born, the former CFTC chair who WANTED to regulate this market, gets the consolation prize of sitting on the panel that analyzes how this cluster f**k happened. Beautiful.

Funny it was passed with bi-partisan support but republicons let it flourish for 8 straght years until these elite financiers started calling in their markers during republicon control. Ponzi scheme from the white collar criminal.