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Entry: Icelandic Meldown (Part Deux)
posted by johnhhaskell
Oct 14, 2008 1:48PM
#5, if the Zimbabwe dollar can be exchanged vs the USD and the ZAR why can't there be a market for Icelandic kronor? Your statement makes no sense.
If it is in fact true that no one wants ISK at any price I will fly there with $1 and buy the whole country.
Entry: Awk
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 12, 2008 12:12PM
they also got a complaint that Allied Capital was a Ponzi scheme, so they quickly swung into action to investigate...the person who brought the complaint.
Now that ALD is off 90% from where Einhorn gave his speech I wonder if anyone at the SEC will offer an apology.
Entry: Bernie Madoff Runs Free!
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 17, 2008 12:02PM
@ 15- you are a moron
@8- Madoff was making regular distributions. The supposed "scheme" was all short term trading therefore ordinary income. Carl Shapiro will have a lot of luck trying to amend his 1971 tax return (reported first year of his investing with Made Off) to reflect the fact that he paid income tax on fictitious profits.
Not to pick on Carl Shapiro, but he will also have to defend himself (as will many others) against claims made against his fictitious profits by others. So he gets slammed both ways- taxes paid and already gone, claims against whatever he has left.
Next question: pre 1982 there was a 70% income tax. Who in his right mind would have been interested in "earning" 10% with Madoff, minus 70% tax = 3% at a time when Treasuries yielded 14%?
Even with the top rate cut to 35% it barely made sense. Even less after you gave a rakeoff to these various bozos in Nyon, London or Greenwich who were doing "due diligence" in exchange for a quarter billion a year in fees.
Entry: UBP's Primer On Madoff
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 19, 2008 10:50AM
if there "are 12 people dedicated to the split strike conversion strategy": name the other 11, so the FBI can fit cuffs to them. Obviously you did background checks on them as part of your due diligence, so you should have names and home addresses for all of them. (Nicola Horlick - this goes for you too).
Entry: Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 19, 2008 4:58PM
He was a crook from the start, please at least check Bloomberg before posting.
Entry: Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 19, 2008 5:03PM
http://clusterstock.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/madoff-scam-dates-back-to-70s-4000-clients
Clusterstock had the story before lunch, and were still embarrassingly late.
You don't custody stuff in your own B/D, swear investors to secrecy, charge no fee and hope to "make it up on volume" etc if you are running a legitimate operation.
All of the above characterize Madoff Securities from the get-go.
QED
Entry: Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?
posted by johnhhaskell
Dec 19, 2008 5:50PM
@6- you're exactly right. So why even discuss the possibility that Made Off was on the straight and level?
Entry: Icelandic Meldown (Part Deux)
posted by johnhhaskell
Oct 14, 2008 1:26PM
similar thing happened in Russia Sept '98. Head of the Central Bank decided that he didn't like the USD/RUR rate that was being quoted and decided to just shut the market until the price was "right."
Someone reminded him that 75% of Moscow's food supply was (at the time) imported and he changed his mind. Probably the Icelanders will do the same.