The International Writers Magazine:Finance

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Indulging in Derived Hell • Michael Levy You would think after the Enron scandal and the dot com bust that human financial infamy and shamefulness would cease...well think again. All that happened is things got a whole lot more complex, while decomposing in the slag heap of intellectual hellish cleverness.

Years ago, bond rating agencies had strict rules and regulated bond issues with greater scrutiny. They only drew income from people who paid for the information on the quality of the bonds. However, with the lust for more profit, bond rating agencies were not content with only acquiring money from selling their "expert opinions" to investors.

A few years ago, they decided to sell what amounts to ‘‘licenses' to borrowers by handing them triple "A" ratings on new financial paper they did not examine as closely as required. In doing so they tripled their profits. The banks and other financial organizations devised mortgage backed securities that were derived from low quality mortgages. In turn, collateralized debt obligations (CDO's) notes were derived from the low quality mortgage backed notes, once a rating agency gave them a triple A rating.
 
Then a third grade of derivatives were formed from the second tier of unsound bonds. A mountain of worthless paper was sold all around the world to financial institutions thirsting for more profit. Billions of dollars are lost forever and there may be far worse to come.

To cut a long episode of insane greed short... A few very clever people made a lot of money at the expense of everyone else. Other CDO's derived from credit debt, car loans, commercial real estate are waiting in the wings to detonate their debts on a susceptible world society.

At the same time derivatives such as ETF's have been formulated to trade commodities such as oil on the stock market. This is bringing about a false sense of panic because of high prices that depict a shortage in crude oil where there is none...It is just more leveraged ways of trading on top of the already enormous trades on the mercantile exchanges.
 
This piles on the greed of the speculators who trade the commodities in greater numbers due to derivatives that anyone can trade on the stock markets. The mercantile commodity markets were never devised to handle so many trades from dealers who are only trading for money and have no intent to take delivery of the commodities.

All this frenzied trading is fed by a smorgasbord of the media's unsound reports that adds sensationalistic news items, from expert opinions that hold half truths at best ... Also, rumors from avaricious profit seekers and propaganda from Middle Eastern leaders in Iran are reported with avid intrigue from reporters who are trained to make stories interesting. Which gives new life to the ancient Chinese curse; "Have an Interesting Life."
 
On top of all this negative reporting, terrorists are Hell bent on destroying human order as we know it.

Devising erroneous schemes is not a new concept to people in powerful places. Modern day monetary madness and lack of compassion for humanity could be likened to the sale of Indulgences (January 27, 1343) by the Vatican some 664 years ago. It was on this date, that Pope Clement VI issued an official proclamation reaffirming that the Catholic Church can grant remission of sin by buying pieces of paper called indulgences.

The chief abuser, after indulgences were instituted was the anti-pope John XXIII (1400-1415), described by the Council of Constance as a seller of benefices, bulls, sacraments, ordinations, consecrations and anything else that would bring in money. He was a notorious nepotist, who showered his relatives with gold from sold indulgences. Martin Luther created a new religion to stop the rot and in the past 600 years religious wars followed with Christians killing Christians in there millions all in the name of their Lord.

To sum up the total human avarice and greed, 600 years ago we had the Pope deriving money from poor people by formulating a note that pardoned folks from a religiously invented Hell and Damnation. Today, we have expertly educated experts who derive money from common people by contriving notes that dispatches the economy into financial Hell and Dam-nation.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, reverse images of how to orchestrate a fall ... How much more financial impoverish indulgence can we sustain, before it all collapses in a heap of empty paper down the brain's drain.
 
Oh! what a tangled web we weave, once we intellectually learn how to devise and deceive.

© Michael Levy April 29th 2008
International talk show host and freelance writer Michael Levy, is the author of eight books including "Invest With A Genius"... He is also a mystical poet, inspirational philosopher and wellness/healthy living speaker.  Website http://www.pointoflife.com

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