“Justice delayed is justice denied.” –Mishnah (Jewish religious text) So, coming up on two years after commodities trader MF Global imploded, taking over $1 billion of its customers’ supposedly segregated cash with it, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is set to bring civil charges against MF Global’s former head, Jon Corzine. Note that that’s civil charges, not...Read More
Safety in Numbers? If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem. –John Paul Getty If a small investor gets ripped off by Wall Street, they’re SOL. But if a whole lot of investors get ripped off by Wall Street, there’s at least the...Read More
Juxtaposing U.S., Chinese Justice Systems According to a Chinese government report released today, “primary leadership responsibility for the bullet-train collision rests with top Railway Ministry officials.” The report noted that 54 government, ministry and industry officials face disciplinary action, including possible criminal charges. —China Blasts High-Speed Rail System; The Wall Street Journal (12/29/2011). Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine says...Read More
Wall Street Journal: ‘Blame the Regulators’ Chutz-pah′: killing your parents, then throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you’re an orphan. So, according to The Wall Street Journal, who’s to blame for the still-missing $1 billion of client funds at now-bankrupt MF Global? Not the company’s senior management, led by CEO Jon Corzine,...Read More
Getting Busted for the Cover-Up — Not the Crime I have no idea — based on the handful of stories I’ve read — if MF Global broke any laws, and if so, whether it will face prosecution. But if so, here’s my guess what the company and/or its principals will ultimately be charged with: not engaging in the ruinous, numbingly...Read More
Wall Street’s Machiavellian Sharks Perhaps it’s uncharitable to complain about the piddling $12 million severance Jon Corzine was poised to gain if he had managed to sell his current firm, MF Global Holdings, over the weekend. But I’m going to complain anyway. The idea that Corzine, who single-handedly destroyed MF Global Holdings, was in a position to...Read More