The insider trading agreement with SAC (Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund) shows how common insider trading is on Wall Street. These guys are not so smart; they are crooks. The stock market is not a level playing field, and the SEC has fallen far behind in trying to make it level. To some extent the Republicans under Bush and Cheney tried to tie the SEC's hands, but the bankers and hedge fund managers have been successful in lobbying everybody, Republicans and Democrats, to let them run amok, except maybe Elizabeth Warren. She is an honest woman who scares them to death.
Of course that means it's hard for small investors to trade in this market, because the insiders can make it turn on a dime, leaving main street behind holding the bag. The policemen are asleep. There have been several successful insider trading prosecutions, but that only shows how widespread the problem is. For every successful prosecution there are probably 10 or 100 traders who have not been caught.
Insider trading is only one aspect of the corruption on Wall Street. The 2008 debacle caused by worthless securities based on morgages showed there is lots of dishonesty in the securities business. Salesmen and traders for the biggest banks, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc. were dishonest about what they were selling. In most cases they new they were selling junk, and they sold it anyway.
Insider trading is only one aspect of the corruption on Wall Street. The 2008 debacle caused by worthless securities based on morgages showed there is lots of dishonesty in the securities business. Salesmen and traders for the biggest banks, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc. were dishonest about what they were selling. In most cases they new they were selling junk, and they sold it anyway.
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