Ex-French trader must pay $6.7 billion for fraud Ex-Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel Tuesday October 5, 2010 PARIS (AP) -- Former Societe Generale SA trader Jerome Kerviel was convicted on all counts Tuesday in one of history's biggest trading frauds, sentenced to three years in jail and ordered to pay the bank a mind-numbing euro4.9 billion ($6.7 billion) in damages. The ruling marked a huge victory for Societe Generale, one of France's most blue-blooded banks, which has worked to clean up its image and put in place tougher risk controls since the scandal broke in 2008. The 33-year-old former futures index trader stood expressionless as the court convicted him of all charges and pronounced a five-year sentence with two years suspended. Kerviel was found guilty on charges of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use for covering up bets worth nearly euro50 billion between late 2007 and early 2008. In a stunning blow, the court also ordered Kerviel to pay the bank back the euro4.9 billion that it lost unwinding his complex positions in January 2008 -- a punishment he would almost certainly be unable to pay. That sum marked the largest-ever alleged fraud by a single trader. There were audible gasps and surprised looks when presiding judge Dominique Pauthe read out the damages to a packed courtroom of 150 reporters, court officials and members of the public. Outside the courtroom, defense lawyer Olivier Metzner called the financial penalty "unbelievable." "I have the feeling Jerome Kerviel is paying for an entire system," said Metzner, noting that his client hadn't benefited financially from the fraud. Metzner said Kerviel would appeal and will remain free pending that appeal. The damages are also suspended pending any appeal, so Kerviel wouldn't be ordered to pay right away. French media calculated that based on his current salary of euro2,300 ($3,150) a month as a computer consultant, it would take Kerviel 177,536 years to pay off the damages. While trading for the bank, Kerviel took home a salary and bonus of less than euro100,000, or about $155,700 -- a relatively modest sum in the financial world. Societe Generale spokeswoman Caroline Guillaumin called the verdict "an important ruling that acknowledges the moral and financial harm done to the bank and its staff." "The bank can now turn the page, pursue its strategy and continue to rebound," Guillaumin said in an emailed statement. Kerviel sat with his arms folded and his legs crossed during the first 45 minutes of the hour-long hearing, sitting alone in the front row of the courtroom with seven empty wooden chairs to his left. He barely blinked as each guilty verdict was read out. He stood for sentencing in a dark suit and tie, frowning and silent. "He is disgusted," Metzner said of Kerviel's feeling about the ruling, adding that the court had judged the bank "was responsible for nothing, not responsible for the creature that it had created." "I hope you all will donate a euro to Jerome Kerviel," the lawyer told TV cameras and reporters. Kerviel, a soft-spoken and debonair man from western Brittany, has garnered considerable public appeal in France for his image of being a scapegoat for powerful corporate interests. Kerviel maintained that the bank and his bosses tolerated his massive risk-taking as long as it made money, which he did at first, racking up euro1.4 billion in profits for Societe Generale in 2007, the judge noted. During the proceedings, both sides admitted to mistakes but Kerviel insisted his bank superiors knew what he was doing. Societe Generale's former chairman acknowledged there were problems in monitoring the trader's work. The bank says Kerviel made bets of up to euro50 billion -- more than the bank's total market value -- on futures contracts on three European equity indices, though his net position appeared unremarkable because he balanced his real trades with fictitious transactions. In the ruling, the court said Kerviel acted without the bank's knowledge and said it was "obvious" none of his bosses would have allowed him to bet sums exceeding the bank's capital. "Through his deliberate actions, he endangered the solvency of a bank that employed 140,000 people including himself, and whose future was seriously put at risk," the ruling said. The court also praised the bank's handling of the crisis, saying Kerviel's "actions without a doubt threatened the public order of the world economy" though their "impact was contained in the end by the bank's reactivity." Still, an internal report by the bank found managers failed to follow up on 74 different alarms about Kerviel's activities. The bank's CEO Daniel Bouton and its head of investment banking Jean-Pierre Mustier stepped down in the wake of the scandal, with Bouton saying attacks on him risked hurting the bank. The bank's earnings crumpled in 2007 after taking into account the losses on Kerviel's trades. Its profit rebounded in 2008 but were cut by more than half last year when the bank was hit by billions in new losses stemming from bad bets prior to the financial crisis. So far this year the bank's earnings have bounced back thanks to strong retail banking in its home market. Employed by Societe Generale since 2000, Kerviel worked his way up from a supporting role in an office that monitors trades to a job on the futures desk where he invested the bank's money by hedging on European equity market indices. He was arrested in January 2008 and held for six weeks in Paris' notorious La Sante prison. Societe Generale's shares rose slightly after the announcement of the verdict, trading up 1 percent at euro41.20 ($56.46). Kerviel's fraud eclipsed that of previous lone "rogue traders." In one infamous case, Nick Leeson, a British trader working in Singapore for Barings Bank, made unauthorized futures trades that lost more than $1 billion and led to the venerable bank's collapse in 1995. That case prompted banks worldwide to tighten internal checks. Leeson was released from a Singapore jail in 1998 for good behavior after serving 3 1/2 years of a 6 1/2-year sentence. He claimed he did not make a cent from his disastrous trades. Leeson's agent said Tuesday he was willing to do one exclusive interview on the Kerviel verdict --in exchange for a fee. Source

Australia warns China, Europe on trade Australia's trade minister Craig Emerson Sun Oct 3, SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's trade minister joined US calls for China to adjust its currency Sunday and warned Europe that Canberra will not allow a revival of protectionism masquerading as environmentalism. The newly-appointed Craig Emerson said he is confident about growth prospects in China, Australia's key trading partner, but echoed warnings from the United States about undervaluing the yuan to gain a trade advantage. "The Americans are basically fed up and I can understand why," Emerson said. "I think that it would be an appropriate response, if the Chinese did adjust the exchange rate." "If they want to present themselves frankly as having market economy status, well let's have a few market forces applied to the exchange rate," he said. Public pressure on Beijing "tend(s) to be counterproductive", added Emerson, saying he would prefer to see it "happen over time as a natural sort of adjustment." "I think there's a real issue here and I know it's not as easy as just clicking your fingers in China to adjust the exchange rate because that will affect the competitiveness of their exports," he said. Strong demand from rapidly-industrialising China for Australia's raw materials helped it become the only advanced economy to avoid recession during the global downturn, and Emerson said the Asian giant would continue to be key. "Just about every time we feel that we've got a fix on what's going on in China, it's bigger than that," he said. "It's enormous what's going on in China and I don't think that there is grounds for pessimism about China's expansion, there are grounds for ongoing optimism about China's expansion." Emerson also warned that Canberra would not tolerate the resurrection of European trade barriers under the "green cloak" of punishing nations not prepared to tax carbon. "Of course we are committed to putting a price on carbon but let's not believe that this is all about climate change," Emerson told Sky News Australia. "There is a very clear European protectionist instinct, old protectionist instinct, under this green cloak of respectability and we won't cop it." Australia would use "whatever rules, trading rules there are through the WTO (World Trade Organisation) to fight against the use of these devices to protect industries in Europe, or anywhere else, against competition," Emerson said. The minister said he opposed the inclusion of labour and environmental standards in trade agreements and he did not see why they should become Australian policy. "I don't think that we have sought to insert those into trade agreements in the past and I don't see that being a problem," he said. Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched a new push to charge for carbon pollution last month after inaction on the issue nearly cost her ruling Labor party government at the August election. Gillard said Australia could not cut pollution to the extent that was necessary without putting a price on carbon, and has flagged an emissions trading scheme, carbon tax or hybrid of both. Source

FINDINGS REGARDING THE MARKET EVENTS OF MAY 6, 2010

Congratulations Juxa, now when and where is the Party ,,,,

Originally posted by Kool_Kat: marka horeba waa inuu qofka caraftiisa kusoo jiidataa wah... Haa, ee marka Carfaaye lee maa iska dhahdid. Mashiire maxaa meesha keenay :confused: Mise wax baad noo qarinaysaa...? (Like Cali Uraaye,,,, ) KK, walaasheey kaftan lee iga tahay yaa...

It's all about fair play!!! Recently China is winning too much and the house (USA) is not happy at all. Labo tuug iyagaa is og,,,,,

Nice party, they need to dim the lights wax yar,,,,

Juxa, JB wax aan hilib ahayn ma cunno, birtii(Iron) baa ku yar.

BEIJING, China - Beijing warned Washington on Thursday that economic ties might be damaged after American lawmakers escalated the conflict over China's currency controls, inching the two economic giants closer to a trade war. The Commerce Ministry said a measure approved Wednesday by Congress to allow Washington to penalize governments that manipulate exchange rates violated free-trade rules. It gave no indication whether Beijing might retaliate, though it has imposed anti-dumping duties in recent months on imports of U.S. chicken, steel and nylon. After years of friction, the bill is the first vote by American lawmakers for measures to respond to complaints Beijing keeps its yuan — also known as the renminbi — undervalued, giving its exporters an unfair price advantage and costing U.S. jobs. Passage by a 348-79 margin in the House of Representatives came ahead of November elections in which the economy and 9.6 per cent unemployment are key voter concerns. "This is a step toward a trade war," said economist Dariusz Kowalczyk at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. "It's just one step, but it increases the odds." Pressures over trade are mounting as the global recovery falters. Washington, Beijing and other governments have pledged to avoid protectionism that might hamper a revival of growth. But U.S. and Chinese authorities have imposed antidumping and other duties on a range of each other's goods including poultry, steel pipes and tires. "Exercising protectionism against China under the excuse of the renminbi exchange rate will only severely damage Chinese-U.S. trade and economic ties," said Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, at a news briefing. In a separate statement, Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said, "You cannot say the renminbi exchange rate is undervalued because of the U.S. trade deficit with China and impose such protectionist measures based on this." There was no immediate reaction from financial markets, where traders were focused on fading U.S. growth and European street protests over austerity measures. The U.S. bill would not impose automatic penalties but would expand the definition of improper subsidies to include currency manipulation to gain a trade advantage. The U.S. Commerce Department would decide whether to sanction China or another government. The measure requires Senate approval. Action there is not expected until after November elections, when analysts say pressure to pass the measure is likely to diminish. Years of U.S. impatience with China's currency policies flared anew in recent weeks after China promised in June to allow more exchange-rate flexibility but then allowed the yuan to rise only about 2 per cent since then. The central bank said this week it will increase the role of market forces in setting the exchange rate but announced no major changes that might defuse American anger. Premier Wen Jiabao, China's top economic official, promised to allow a stronger yuan in talks this month with U.S. President Barack Obama. But in a speech in New York ahead of that meeting, Wen rejected a rapid rise, saying that would drive many Chinese companies out of business and destroy jobs. "If this measure passes, it will have a big impact on global trade," said Ding Zhijie, director of the finance school at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics. "The United States can label you according to its own standards and impose anti-subsidy remedies." Beijing might face more pressure at a Nov. 11 meeting with the United States and other Group of 20 major economies in Seoul. The friction is likely to get rougher if many major economies remain anemic, as projected. Brazil's finance minister said this week some countries are trying to boost growth by weakening exchange rates and controlling capital flows. He warned that might lead to a "global currency war." "As the global recovery slows, countries with large current account surpluses will likely come under pressure from countries with large fiscal deficits and high unemployment rates," Goldman Sachs economists said Thursday in a report. The China currency debate has split the U.S. business community. Exporters say they are hurt by underpriced Chinese goods but companies that operate in or export from China worry they might suffer from U.S. sanctions or Chinese retaliation. The American Chamber of Commerce in China, which represents 1,200 companies, appealed to the Senate on Thursday to kill the currency bill. The group said it was unlikely to produce significant U.S. job growth and might harm American exporters. "Blaming China won't help the U.S. economy but this legislation may cost American jobs," said the chamber chairman, John D. Watkins, Jr., in a statement. "We call on the U.S. Senate to thoroughly review the proposed legislation and we hope it does not move forward in the legislative process." Beijing is likely to allow the yuan to rise faster against the dollar before the November elections to defuse pressure for the Senate to approve sanctions, said Kowalczyk. "They do not want a trade war because they are beneficiaries of the trade surplus," he said. "For China it's crucial to placate the U.S. critics. But they cannot placate them the way those critics want to be placated, meaning, by allowing a strong appreciation, because this would be too harmful for their exports and growth." Source

Hoodi hoodi, war maxaa la sheegay? Norf, you have to serve it with acid...

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: Godane refused to say whether anyone was killed or injured in the attack, which was first reported by the New York Times. Car waa kaas ee bal runta ha sheego. Markii la yara xanuujiyey waa kaa diiday in uu dadka runta u sheego. waxaas ayaa wadaad isku sheegaya.

Originally posted by Polanyi: Humans beings are known to thrive on praise and rewards. KK, markaad na amaanayso Cali Carfaaye noogu yeedh,, Mashiire,,,, :mad: I stole this video from Ibtisam (Sorry Ibti) Heestana waxaa inoo soo xuly mr. D.J. Amaantaada

Xaaji, Waaryee Cigaal Shidaad faraha ka qaad hadii kale Xuux, geed baa lagaaga soo bixi caawa,,,

Jacpher, Al Shabaab Madaxyarey dooro ( Maangab ) wax walba wey ka suuroobaan ninyohow,,, :mad:

Ma Cigaal Shidaad baad wax isu tihiin???

Libaahe, waaban ka helayba his sense of humor,,, . Xinne Xiiray waa Abwaan weyn. Illaahay cimrigiisa ha daayo. Xigmad badan baa maskaxdiisa ka buuxda walaahi. Ha la dhaqaaleeyo Odeyga, oo Cajalado badan halaga duubo baan odhan lahaa anigu.

I like him,,,,,,,,,,his mind is sharp. Mansha-Allah

Odaygu waa af-tahan,,,,,,,,horta waa imisa jir?

The interview is very short (2 min. 11"). I honstly expected that the Sheikh should explain more about: how did they get there? what steps did they take to solve the problem? and how would they avoid something like that would ever happen again. But instead all he said is we are back and it's a challenge. We will see!!!

Congrats JB. Mansha-Allah xaflad weyn baa la idiin dhigay, marba hadii uu madaxweynihii ka soo qaybgalay. I am sure you enjoyed, sida ay munaasibadu u dhacday. Thanks for the beautiful pictures.

Nuune, Thank you sxb. Sawirkan aniga aad iyo aad ayuu iiga yaabiyey!!!

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: Indian Nuclear Missile missed its target Cajaa'ib. Horta waxaa iswaydiin leh: Ninku siduu u neefsanayaa? Siduu u ogaanayaa in la daawanayo iyo in kale? Lacagta meesha u taala yaa u ilaalinaya?

Anigana bal aan saddex eray ku darsado: Baarqab Qurbac Hadhuub

Ferguson, Qaadwalle = Dealer

JB, niyow soowdigan Jaadkii sharaftii ka qaaday ma'aha! waa maxay cawskan ingagay ee aad Jaadka dusha ka saartay :mad: Qaadwalle fiican ma tihid,,, Waa kan go'ii Shaalka ahaa ee Jaadka la huwin jiray,,,,