Did hedge funds orchestrate Wall Street's collapse to make billions?

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
These videos are a very good watch. The premise behind the videos is that several of the largest hedge fund managers in the country,Jim Chanos,Dan Loeb and Steven Cohen, illegally manipulated the stock market to cause the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. If this video is correct, not only did these hedge funds make billions of dollars destroying these companies,but they also seem to have gotten away with it. Congressman from both sides of the aisle are screaming about AIG bonuses,but this story isn't being covered at all. IMO, as long as superrich investors like this are allowed to attack companies and destroy them into order to make billions in profits,while the SEC does nothing, we are totally screwed economically. It will be really interesting to see if Obama is able to summon enough help from Congress to investigate,prosecute and convict these crooks.

sparks wrote:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
These videos are a very good watch. The premise behind the videos is that several of the largest hedge fund managers in the country,Jim Chanos,Dan Loeb and Steven Cohen, illegally manipulated the stock market to cause the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. If this video is correct, not only did these hedge funds make billions of dollars destroying these companies,but they also seem to have gotten away with it. Congressman from both sides of the aisle are screaming about AIG bonuses,but this story isn't being covered at all. IMO, as long as superrich investors like this are allowed to attack companies and destroy them into order to make billions in profits,while the SEC does nothing, we are totally screwed economically. It will be really interesting to see if Obama is able to summon enough help from Congress to investigate,prosecute and convict these crooks.

If this video is correct, they'd be answering to congress.

Seems like if you take both Sparky's videos along side Maxx's video we have the makings of some grand conspiracy at work. And maybe adding to that my Antichrist thread OTOB for consideration perhaps we have the explanation as to why it is happening, greed aside, no matter who the Antichrist will actually be.

My point being is that with or without an intentional plan towards some nefarious goal there seems to be a hard to deny convergence towards a one world governing authority and monetary system.

What bothers me most about the current Dem Congress and the Obama administration is that for me the ends simply don't justify these means. Not that we really know for sure what the true intended result may be.

Example in point the House 90% special income tax, not to be outdone by plans in the Senate to extend that tax to non-bailout companies, which even if passed would be illegal under the Constitution. So with so many problems in need of immediate redress the Congress instead is playing a game of smoke & mirrors on things that will not, and should not, hold up in court on principle?

With all due respect,Mirage, I do not view this hedge fund short-selling fraud to be part of any "global" conspiracy. Rather, I think it is a cae of a few greedy Wall Street tycoons who have amassed so much wealth that they believe that their political connections will allow them them to get away with a fraud that makes Bernie Madoff's scam seem like chum change.

Since you brought it up I wonder if we will ever know where Bernie's money actually went. This is quite curious since as I understand it he didn't make any deals when turning himself in and pleading guilty. It is reported that he was very cooperative about how he did it, though nobody believes him to be the sole gunman to borrow a phrase.

But where could $50+ bil possibly have gone? No person could possibly spend that much on themselves with no assets of some value to show for it and we know it didn't go into the stock market and evaporate.

We may never know if the money never surfaces but obviously that money went somewhere.

So while what you only see as the greed of a select few (I never understood the real logic behind short selling anyway) to borrow an overused phrase or two wealth is power and wealth is a means to an end. You shouldn't entirely discount the possibility that gaining great wealth by hook or by crook is not always done just to retire lavishly. So then the real question is why isn't enough, enough?

Here is a link for DeepCapture, the website that provides more detailed information about how hedge funds have been allowed to destroy major companies, costing average investors literally hundreds of billions of dollars. One thing I found very interesting was there is a click-through to Overstock.com, which provides revenue to help fund DeepCapture's investigative reporting.

The real culprit of the Wall St meltdown.....Fox Business Channel

Oh lordy now it's Fox's fault? Never a chance to blame others...

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

Isn't it money set aside in the cookie jar for some bushes in front of the house?

I thought it was money set aside to compensate national Democratic speech writers.

(WordWeb: Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

Translation, you can't grasp exactly what these guys did so you question my knowledge of the subject. Didn't you learn your lesson with the beating you took on hydrogen cars?

sparks wrote:

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

Translation, you can't grasp exactly what these guys did so you question my knowledge of the subject. Didn't you learn your lesson with the beating you took on hydrogen cars?

Sparks' translation- no. Once again diverting the conversation because of unability to debate.

Ohhmama wrote:

sparks wrote:

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

Translation, you can't grasp exactly what these guys did so you question my knowledge of the subject. Didn't you learn your lesson with the beating you took on hydrogen cars?

Sparks' translation- no. Once again diverting the conversation because of unability to debate.

Maybe he is just hedging!


(WordWeb: Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)

The portfolios and paychecks of the guys who helped create Wall Street's collapse sure are different than the performance of the average investor's mutual fund. Not much chance of losing money if you have rigged the game.

wrote:

http://www.iimagazine.com/Alpha/Article.aspx?ArticleID=2165638
Times may be tough for most folks, but not for the top moneymakers on Alpha magazine’s eighth annual ranking of the world’s highest-earning hedge fund managers. They took home, on average, an anything but average $464 million apiece in 2008. Four hedge fund managers took home more than $1 billion each. Altogether the 25 highest-earning hedge fund managers made $11.6 billion, making 2008 the third-best year on record since Alpha began compiling its exclusive ranking.

And thus you prove your ignorance.

sparks wrote:

The portfolios and paychecks of the guys who helped create Wall Street's collapse sure are different than the performance of the average investor's mutual fund. Not much chance of losing money if you have rigged the game.

Sort of like the way Obama bought the election!

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

I noticed you have never enlightened us with your knowledge of this subject. I believe it is disingenuous
for you to make a claim that I don't know what I am talking about when you seem to be unable to make any comments that show you are conversant on the topic. From what I have read, the allegations made on the Deepcapture website seem credible. Feel free to dispute my opinion with whatever knowledge you might have on the subject.

I didn't make a claim, I asked a question that you haven't bothered to answer.

Robin Banks wrote:

I didn't make a claim, I asked a question that you haven't bothered to answer.

Because the question wasn't sincere and is an insult rather than a question. What in this topic has lead you to believe I don't understand what a hedge fund is?

sparks wrote:

Robin Banks wrote:

I didn't make a claim, I asked a question that you haven't bothered to answer.

Because the question wasn't sincere and is an insult rather than a question. What in this topic has lead you to believe I don't understand what a hedge fund is?

How can you claim that Robin was insulting you?

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

That seems like a fair question, at least to me. I don't get how asking this question is an insult at all.

That seems like a fair question, at least to me. I don't get how asking this question is an insult at all.

I wonder why he doesn't want to answer? He seems to have avoided a direct answer on it enough times.

The portfolios and paychecks of the guys who helped create Wall Street's collapse sure are different than the performance of the average investor's mutual fund. Not much chance of losing money if you have rigged the game.

Wow. I could say plenty on that. Like make mention of a certain well known Obama administration person who made a fortune after 9/11 by shorting stock when everybody was being encouraged to hold their stocks and ride out the crisis for the good of the country. While not illegal certainly not being very patriotic.

OR we could make mention of how many corporations and their employees had no qualms about "sharing the love" with Obama & the Dems and now in turn have received some favorable treatment in legislation at taxpayer expense, AKA bailouts. (can you say AIG, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd?)

But what of the actual hedge fund managers? Seems like I heard many of them too contributed nicely to the President & the Dems. So if you're really expecting much "reform" maybe you better look at who owes them a few favors before you expect any meaningful changes to what is?

Scorpion wrote:

sparks wrote:

Robin Banks wrote:

I didn't make a claim, I asked a question that you haven't bothered to answer.

Because the question wasn't sincere and is an insult rather than a question. What in this topic has lead you to believe I don't understand what a hedge fund is?

How can you claim that Robin was insulting you?

Robin Banks wrote:

Sparks, are you sure you know what a hedge fund is and what it is for?

That seems like a fair question, at least to me. I don't get how asking this question is an insult at all.

When a topic is started, it is usually because the poster has some knowledge of the topic at hand and want to discuss it further with other posters. I watched all three of the videos and read much of the information on the Deepcapture site. I think I have a pretty good grasp of what is being alleged here. However,it seems no one else on this forum wants to discuss the issue of hedge funds destroying financial corporations to make billions for themselves. Robin offered absolutely no input about the topic I started and chose to ask a question that by it's very nature says I don't understand the topic at all. I took at as being rude. I haven't noticed any other topics where posters are treated in a similar manner. Perhaps I am looking at this wrong.
Maybe Robin should step up and explain what his intent was when he asked the question.

Financial Sector Political Money and 3000 Lobbyists Dictated Washington Policy

During the period 1998-2008:

* Commercial banks spent more than $154 million on campaign contributions, while investing $363 million in officially registered lobbying:
* Accounting firms spent $68 million on campaign contributions and $115 million on lobbying;
* Insurance companies donated more than $218 million and spent more than $1.1 billion on lobbying;
* Securities firms invested more than $504 million in campaign contributions, and an additional $576 million in lobbying. Included in this total: private equity firms contributed $56 million to federal candidates and spent $33 million on lobbying; and hedge funds spent $32 million on campaign contributions (about half in the 2008 election cycle).

The betrayal was bipartisan: about 55 percent of the political donations went to Republicans and 45 percent to Democrats, primarily reflecting the balance of power over the decade. Democrats took just more than half of the financial sector's 2008 election cycle contributions.
http://www.wallstreetwatch.org/soldoutreport.htm