WHO IS WHO? THE PEOPLE
–BEN BERNANKE: Supporter of the rescue plan of PAULSON And Bush. President of the FED (US FEDERAL RESERVE).
He cut interest rates to 2%.
“Interestingly,” he made loans to financial institutions in response to the shortage of circulating money. Especially to institutions he worked with or that belonged to circles of power.
–BERNARD MADOFF: Stockbroker in WALL STREET, former president of NASDAQ (technology firm market) and one of the most reputable investors on the planet.
Responsible for the biggest known scam in history, thanks to a PONZI SYSTEM pyramid scheme, which, according to sources, could range between 50 billion dollars and 650 billion euros.
“Interestingly”: their practices were denounced by HARRY MARKOPOLOS before the SEC And it took, “curiously,” years for them to be taken into account. Meanwhile, all the intermediaries continued working with him and his system. And of course, earning multimillion-dollar commissions for brokering toxic products.
–HENRY PAULSON Secretary of TREASURE, with more than 30 years of experience in WALL STREET, advisor in the PENTAGON AND THE WHITE HOUSE and member of GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTMENT BANK.
Responsible for BUSH’S RESCUE PLAN.
“Interestingly”: he authorized the purchase of $700 billion in bank mortgage assets… including from banks (like GOLDMAN SACHS) to which he belonged, and one of the great victims (or beneficiaries, depending on how you look at it) of the crisis.
–RAGHURAN RAJAN: Indian economist, advisor to GOVERNMENT from his country, and visiting professor at the WORLD BANK and the FEDERAL RESERVE, in addition to being president of the AMERICAN FINANCE ASSOCIATION and chief economist of INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
In 2005 he predicted financial bankruptcies, bank nationalizations, central bank bailouts, stock market crashes and a deteriorating global economy, with a historic recession… without anyone apparently paying attention to him.
“Interestingly”: two years later, his predictions became the basis of the crisis.
–JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET: president of EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK.
He led a policy contrary to Bernanke, opposing the lowering of interest rates in the Eurozone.
“Interestingly”: he argued that if he lowers the price of money, inflation will skyrocket (isn’t the opposite what economic theory explains?) and that the ECB’s main task is to ensure price stability.
WHO IS WHO?: THE INSTITUTIONS
–AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP The third largest insurance company in the world. Founded in 1919.US GOVERNMENT It nationalized it in 2008 with a loan from the FEDERAL RESERVE for a total of $85 billion to deal with the SWAPS.
“Interestingly”: upon nationalization, it became part of the American debt, assumed by all its citizens.
–BEAR STEARNS The fifth largest investment bank and securities broker in the US, and the first to acknowledge its lack of liquidity, which led the Government to come to its aid, providing it with a loan of FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.
“Interestingly”: the loan was made available through JP MORGAN ,Its rival. Upon hearing the announcement of the measure, customers withdrew their deposits, and within three days BS was bought back by JP at a 93% discount to its value. A steal.
“Interestingly”: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson applauded the agreement and stated that the operation ensured the financial stability of the markets (Really?).
–FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC American companies that bought mortgages from banks and finance companies to keep rates low, and thus help those looking to buy a home.
“Interestingly”: with an injection of 100 billion dollars (each of the companies) they were nationalized.
“Interestingly”: in the first case, it is an association created in the 1930s by the government itself to grant mortgages to millions of people, which was privatized in the late 1960s only to have to be nationalized again in 2008 when its management revealed the disaster. In the second case, a federal housing loan bank, nationalized so that all Americans would pay off the debt.
–GOLDMAN SACHS Created in 1869. Facing potential bankruptcy in 2008 due to the financial crisis, it received authorization from the FEDERAL RESERVE to go from being an investment bank to a commercial bank, injecting 10 billion dollars into it.
“Interestingly”: in 2010, The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Goldman Sachs of subprime fraud and the main architect of the concealment of the Greek debt deficit of 2010-11. Without having paid anything for it… so far.
“Curiously”: MARIO DRAGHI, president of EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, had been vice president for Europe of GOLDMAN SACHS, during that period… and future president of Greece (yes, the country whose debt was hidden).
–HYPO REAL ESTATE BANK: Second largest mortgage bank in Germany.
“Interestingly”: with the help of other banks and private insurers, the GERMAN GOVERNMENT has contributed 50 billion euros.
“Interestingly”: currently, and given the impossibility of obtaining liquidity in the interbank market, its profit has been reduced by 87%.
–JP MORGAN CHASE: American bank accused of dubious business practices for manipulation schemes to increase profits in certain markets, inaccuracies in its customer credit card accounts, and being the creators of credit default swaps (CDS (for its acronym in English), through which investors can insure themselves against bad loans, whose failure contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
“Interestingly”: the liquidator of Madoff’s company accused JP Morgan of complicity for knowing about the fraudster’s practices for years without reporting it to the official authorities or restricting his accounts.
“Interestingly”: it is the entity that produced the most layoffs between 2013 and 2014 (6.5% of its staff: 17,000 employees), despite having closed the first quarter of the year with a net profit of about 6.529 billion dollars, 33% more than a year earlier, or having increased deposits by 10% and investments of its clients by 15%.
–LEHMAN BROTHERS A global financial services company, founded in 1850, with a special focus on the banking business, becoming the fourth largest investment bank in the US until 2008, when it was declared bankrupt due to a debt of $613 billion as a result of the JUNK MORTGAGES.
“Interestingly”: despite the interest of BANK OF AMERICA AND BARCLAYS Buying back its assets proved impossible, and today, after recovering $65 billion in assets, it will begin paying its creditors with less than one-seventh of its initial claims ($450 billion). In other words, it will either not pay its debts at all or will pay them very cheaply. It will surely recover everything in the coming years, but the repayment period will have already ended, and it will undoubtedly record the loss as profit.
WHO IS WHO? THE BIG NAMES
The ECB is the bank of the single European currency and works with the member states of the European Union that have adopted the euro from 1999 until the date of writing this post: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal.
The following EU member states do not participate: Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Romania.
Its essential mission is to maintain the purchasing power of the euro and the stability of the euro in the eurozone, setting the main lines of the economic and monetary policy of the EUROPEAN UNION and its application, establishing stable prices (inflation under control) and maintaining the financial system.
The ECB sets the fundamental interest rates and controls the money supply, as well as managing the eurozone’s foreign exchange reserves, maintaining exchange rates, supervising payment systems, markets and financial institutions, authorizing the issuance of banknotes by central banks and monitoring price developments.
Following the same line as the Federal Reserve or the IMF, its president, Mario Draghi, (well known in other companies and institutions “curiously” related to the crisis) announced his intention to buy sovereign bonds in exchange for reforms and policies of social restriction, against the citizens, and a reduction of interest rates… as has been done.
“Interestingly”: no one seems to connect one topic with another.
The IMF was created in 1945 and has representation from 188 countries.
The highest international organization on economic matters, with the role of promoting monetary cooperation between nations, ensuring financial stability, facilitating international trade, contributing to a high level of employment, economic stability, and reducing poverty.
Under these premises, it must manage financial crises, providing credit to countries with unbalanced balances that endanger global equilibrium and trade.
His work has been heavily criticized for stabilizing economies at the expense of social spending, covering external debt with fiscal surpluses, increasing tax pressure, eliminating exchange barriers, establishing free market structures, and promoting labor flexibility.
Emerging economies (represented by 11 countries within the organization) demand an immediate reform of available capital (they request that it be doubled), its distribution methods, and the system of representation, which gives more places to Europe and the US than to any other economy.
One of the most notorious scandals, which calls into question the credibility and legitimacy of the IMF, has to do with the VULTURE FUNDS IN ARGENTINA Following the judge’s ruling THOMAS GRIESA, condemning the Argentine State to pay more than 1.3 billion dollars for speculation, the Argentine State has declared itself against the judicial resolution since it may threaten the restructuring of the national debt (an argument above the law itself).
The president herself CRISTINA KIRCHNER He stated at the time that he would not comply with the sentence, should it be ratified, because, just as happened in 2011 (the FINANCIAL FREEZE), if there is a lack of support from those money owners, it could lead to a default in the country… since they wouldn’t be able to invest. The same argument over and over again.
“Interestingly”: The aim is to nullify the punishment of the speculator in exchange for a supposed general good.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE (FED-FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM)It is a private institution (yes, contrary to the popular belief so effectively promoted by the media) responsible for safeguarding and protecting all the funds of the banks in the American banking system, with the ability to create or generate money (even though it is a private institution, yes).
It has a special governance system whereby the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System identifies itself as an “independent government agency”… whose decisions do not need to be approved by the president or the executive or legislative branches of government!!!
It was created on December 23, 1913.
After numerous lawsuits, in 2011,BLOOMBERG He was able to conduct an audit based on the law passed by BARACK OBAMA and the UNITED STATES CONGRESS that reformed the operating mechanisms of Wall Street (the so-called DODD-FRANK ACT AND CONSUMER PROTECTION).
It was discovered that between 2007 and 2010, before and during the crisis, it granted loans at interest rates well below market levels (in some cases minimal) worth $16.1 trillion without authorization from Congress or the US president.
Thanks to emergency programs, the Federal Reserve expanded its traditional role and transformed into the most important lending central bank on the planet.
The conflict of interest arising from the involvement of many of its partners in the bailed-out banks has further called its actions into question, as reflected in a comprehensive report by the GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office) published on October 19, 2011.
“Interestingly”: the GAO report has had no impact on the media, despite being one of the keys to deciphering the enigma of the crisis.
“Interestingly”: over time, the banks have recovered and the six largest US banks have earned an average of 39% more profit than in recent years.
“Interestingly”: citizens (individuals and companies) have become impoverished as a result of adjustment policies, tax increases and the tough conditions for accessing credit… blaming the respective president of government for this impoverishment… whatever their political affiliation.
This has made it clear that the Fed, besides not being under the control of the State, has not fulfilled its mission of protecting taxpayers.
3.1 trillion of the 16.1 trillion went to Europe, although mainly to banks in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany and France, leaving out the biggest debtors in Europe, those known by the scandalous English acronym: PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain).
Despite the DIFFERENCES OF OPINION Within its Federal Committee, at the meeting held in May 2013, it was decided to keep the monthly volume of its asset purchase program unchanged at $85 billion (€65.922 billion) in order to support a “stronger” recovery of the economy and ensure that the inflation rate remains in line with the institution’s mandate.
“Interestingly”: since 1971 the dollar has been a currency not backed by the gold standard, so the FED can issue virtual money in the amounts that this private company (!!!) deems appropriate, distorting the market at will.
Not bad for a private company, right?
Can the financial “crisis” be considered a realignment of financial markets in favor of the speculators themselves? That might be science fiction… OR IT MIGHT NOT.
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