One of the sad facts of the banking crisis, is that the derivatives markets remain quite opaque and too complicated for most to understand.  Enter the Federal Court of Australia.  Judge J. Jagot has taken the time to understand in this 1,376 page ruling and not just understand but to explain.  There is another lesson here when attempts are made to hide behind newly created terms.  This reminds be of Groupon and their attempts to bypass accounting profit and loss realities using new terms thatexcluded marketing from their expenses. The result is a damning ruling against Standard & Poors, as … Continue reading Beware Rolled Down Benefit (RDB) and other obtuse terms; S&P ruled incompetent by Aussie Court

This is a complete chronology of the communications between the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Facebook in the months leading up to their IPO. Facebook Fought SEC to Keep Mobile Risks Hidden Before IPO | Bloomberg The incident was part of a two-and-a-half-month volley of messages among SEC officials, Ebersman and Facebook’s law firm Fenwick & West LLP. A dozen letters, published a month after the May 17 IPO on the SEC’s website, depict a management team hesitant to disclose information and still guessing at even rudimentary aspects of its business just weeks before the company held the largest-ever technology … Continue reading Chronology of SEC – Facebook correspondence leading up to IPO

The Government of Canada is being quite proactive in consideration of payment regulation.  The code of conduct released in 2010 has been overtaken by introduction of apps that incorporate payments into smart phones, and the government have issued this addendum in that light.  However the approach risks being to product centric versus focussing on their mandate which is consumer protection. CONSULTATION PAPER: ADDENDUM TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD INDUSTRY IN CANADA TO ADDRESS MOBILE PAYMENTS | Department of Finance Canada The Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the … Continue reading Government of Canada introduces payments code of conduct addendum that anticipates smart phone apps, but potentially at the cost of less product innovation

Indian banks have had  to turn off an ATM cash retraction facility.  This facility meant that cash not picked up by the customer after 10-15 seconds was sucked back into the ATM and the customers account was credited again. Bank ATMs stop sucking in cash after RBI direction | Financial Express India New Delhi : Next time you go to an ATM to withdraw cash, don’t worry about the banknotes getting sucked back by the machine if not collected immediately, as RBI has asked all banks to immobilise the ‘cash retraction facility’. … The typical modus operandi has been to … Continue reading Cash retraction at ATM produced a new fraud type for Indian Banks

Is this a harbinger of things to come in the US.  ZeroHedge is always watching the trends and seeing the next big thing, but this is one staring us in the face but not recognised.  We have seen California issuing vouchers in place of cash.  We have seen some strange  things including firing police and teachers. PIIGS In America: Is Illinois Preparing To Request A Federal Bailout? | ZeroHedge ILLINOIS TEACHERS’ PENSION FUND CUTS RATE OF RETURN TO 8% FROM 8.5% It’s amusing because these are the same teachers who were demanding, and received, higher pay – 17% higher over … Continue reading Just how bad is the US financial situation?