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

I wanted to know if you are sure know what a hedge fund is and what it is for.

Artie60438 wrote:

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

That's a pretty good link,Artie. My question is,do you think that the hedge fund operators who destroyed both Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns through naked short selling have so much pull in Washington that they can get away with what they did?

sparks wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

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

That's a pretty good link,Artie. My question is,do you think that the hedge fund operators who destroyed both Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns through naked short selling have so much pull in Washington that they can get away with what they did?

There are FBI investigations underway,but I don't know exactly which firms they include or what specifically they are looking into. Only time will tell.

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, for your edification I will explain in the simplest terms.....

hedge fund
NOUN:
An investment company that uses high-risk techniques, such as borrowing money and selling short, in an effort to make extraordinary capital gains.

And, also for your edification, there is nothing illegal about it.

LoisLane 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, for your edification I will explain in the simplest terms.....

hedge fund
NOUN:
An investment company that uses high-risk techniques, such as borrowing money and selling short, in an effort to make extraordinary capital gains.

And, also for your edification, there is nothing illegal about it.

I never made the claim that it was. I did state that naked short selling is illegal. Since you had to look up those definitions, I'm sure the difference in between legal short selling and illegal short selling was lost on you.

sparks wrote:

LoisLane 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, for your edification I will explain in the simplest terms.....

hedge fund
NOUN:
An investment company that uses high-risk techniques, such as borrowing money and selling short, in an effort to make extraordinary capital gains.

And, also for your edification, there is nothing illegal about it.

I never made the claim that it was. I did state that naked short selling is illegal. Since you had to look up those definitions, I'm sure the difference in between legal short selling and illegal short selling was lost on you.

and just what is illegal short selling? do you even know that?
and I didn't have to look anything up. finance is my profession.

Read slowly Lois.
He said naked short selling is illegal.
from wiki:

Quote :

Naked short selling can be used to manipulate the price of securities by driving their price down, and its use in this way is illegal.

In the United States, naked short selling is covered by various SEC regulations which prohibit the practice

Maybe you do have to "look it up."

Artie60438 wrote:

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

I have had a chance to read over some of the information in your post. I thought this statement from the introduction by Harvey Rosenfield is very revealing.

wrote:

But then 9/11 occurred. And for most of the last decade, the American people have been told that our greatest enemy lived in a cave. The subsequent focus on external threats, real and imagined, distracted attention from deepening problems at home. As Franklin Roosevelt observed seventy years ago, “our enemies of today are the forces of privilege and greed within our own borders.” Today, the enemies of American consumers, taxpayers and small investors live in multimillion-dollar palaces and pull down seven-, eight- or even nine-figure annual paychecks.

edge540 wrote:

Read slowly Lois.
He said naked short selling is illegal.
from wiki:

Quote :

Naked short selling can be used to manipulate the price of securities by driving their price down, and its use in this way is illegal.

In the United States, naked short selling is covered by various SEC regulations which prohibit the practice

Maybe you do have to "look it up."

In the United States, NOT the International markets. Who in their right mind would run a hedge fund in the United States markets? What would be the point? Use your head.

sparks wrote:

I have had a chance to read over some of the information in your post. I thought this statement from the introduction by Harvey Rosenfield is very revealing.

wrote:

But then 9/11 occurred. And for most of the last decade, the American people have been told that our greatest enemy lived in a cave. The subsequent focus on external threats, real and imagined, distracted attention from deepening problems at home. As Franklin Roosevelt observed seventy years ago, “our enemies of today are the forces of privilege and greed within our own borders.” Today, the enemies of American consumers, taxpayers and small investors live in multimillion-dollar palaces and pull down seven-, eight- or even nine-figure annual paychecks.

All with the help of deregulation championed by Republicans.

Artie60438 wrote:

sparks wrote:

I have had a chance to read over some of the information in your post. I thought this statement from the introduction by Harvey Rosenfield is very revealing.

wrote:

But then 9/11 occurred. And for most of the last decade, the American people have been told that our greatest enemy lived in a cave. The subsequent focus on external threats, real and imagined, distracted attention from deepening problems at home. As Franklin Roosevelt observed seventy years ago, “our enemies of today are the forces of privilege and greed within our own borders.” Today, the enemies of American consumers, taxpayers and small investors live in multimillion-dollar palaces and pull down seven-, eight- or even nine-figure annual paychecks.

All with the help of deregulation championed by Republicans.

Blame, blame, blame. And no fix. Blah blah blah

LoisLane wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

sparks wrote:

I have had a chance to read over some of the information in your post. I thought this statement from the introduction by Harvey Rosenfield is very revealing.

wrote:

But then 9/11 occurred. And for most of the last decade, the American people have been told that our greatest enemy lived in a cave. The subsequent focus on external threats, real and imagined, distracted attention from deepening problems at home. As Franklin Roosevelt observed seventy years ago, “our enemies of today are the forces of privilege and greed within our own borders.” Today, the enemies of American consumers, taxpayers and small investors live in multimillion-dollar palaces and pull down seven-, eight- or even nine-figure annual paychecks.

All with the help of deregulation championed by Republicans.

Blame, blame, blame. And no fix. Blah blah blah

Did you miss the stimulus bill that was passed recently? Maybe you'd like to share the GOP's "plan"? It's the one they introduced last week with a pamphlet.....the one with no specifics and no numbers

LoisLane wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Did you miss the stimulus bill that was passed recently? Maybe you'd like to share the GOP's "plan"? It's the one they introduced last week with a pamphlet.....the one with no specifics and no numbers

News Fash: Economy is still in the toilet!

This bulletin just in..........

Asked who was responsible for the economic meltdown, 80 percent in the poll blamed banks, financial institutions and corporations. Some 70 percent also blamed consumers for taking on too much debt and the former Bush administration for lax regulation. Only 26 percent said the Obama administration was not doing enough to turn the situation around.

Two-thirds of respondents approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency, and 60 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy.

Sixty-four percent said were confident Obama's policies will improve the economy, down from 72 percent just before he took office in January.

Forty two percent said the country was now heading in the right direction, a five-year high. Late last year, when then-President George W. Bush was in its final months, as many as nine in 10 American said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52U12D20090331

Artie60438 wrote:

LoisLane wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Did you miss the stimulus bill that was passed recently? Maybe you'd like to share the GOP's "plan"? It's the one they introduced last week with a pamphlet.....the one with no specifics and no numbers

News Fash: Economy is still in the toilet!

This bulletin just in..........

Asked who was responsible for the economic meltdown, 80 percent in the poll blamed banks, financial institutions and corporations. Some 70 percent also blamed consumers for taking on too much debt and the former Bush administration for lax regulation. Only 26 percent said the Obama administration was not doing enough to turn the situation around.

Two-thirds of respondents approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency, and 60 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy.

Sixty-four percent said were confident Obama's policies will improve the economy, down from 72 percent just before he took office in January.

Forty two percent said the country was now heading in the right direction, a five-year high. Late last year, when then-President George W. Bush was in its final months, as many as nine in 10 American said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52U12D20090331

Really? And just how's that budget vote coming along?
News Flash: Economy is still in the toilet.

LoisLane wrote:

News Flash: Economy is still in the toilet.

You do realize that a solution, assuming there even is one, won't take effect overnight? I can't tell...

[quote="LoisLane"]

Artie60438 wrote:

This bulletin just in..........

Asked who was responsible for the economic meltdown, 80 percent in the poll blamed banks, financial institutions and corporations. Some 70 percent also blamed consumers for taking on too much debt and the former Bush administration for lax regulation. Only 26 percent said the Obama administration was not doing enough to turn the situation around.

Two-thirds of respondents approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency, and 60 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy.

Sixty-four percent said were confident Obama's policies will improve the economy, down from 72 percent just before he took office in January.

Forty two percent said the country was now heading in the right direction, a five-year high. Late last year, when then-President George W. Bush was in its final months, as many as nine in 10 American said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52U12D20090331

Quote :

Really? And just how's that budget vote coming along?

Patience my dear. The stimulus was supposed to be DOA too,wasn't it?

Quote :

News Flash: Economy is still in the toilet.

This just in.....Right wingers upset that economy that took Bush 8 years to destroy is not fixed in 70 days.

Curious to see just how the Europeans will take to Obama now, in the next week or so.

Back to the topic:

Chuck Shumer supported tax breaks for hedge funds:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/washington/30schumer.html?pagewanted=all

Robin Banks wrote:

Back to the topic:

Chuck Shumer supported tax breaks for hedge funds:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/washington/30schumer.html?pagewanted=all

But in the end,Republicans filibustered the bill that would have ended them and killed it.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00414

Meanwhile,Obama's proposed budget would kill them once and for all.

sparks wrote:

The first arrest of a hedge fund operator. You can bet this never would have happened if McCain had been elected.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Billionaire-Hedge-Fund-Founder-Arrested-for-Insider-Trading-645

New link to story http://tinyurl.com/yg76cyt