• UK Uncut starts legal action against tax office over Goldman Sachs deal

• MF Global Client Attorney Explains In 1 Sentence Why JP Morgan’s Involvement In MF Global Is Suspicious

“[JP Morgan] wear way too many hats in this situation. Their fingers are all over this. They were a custodian of customer segregated funds, they were a primary lender to MF Global…, they were head of the creditors’ committee in bankruptcy court, they’re buying customer claims for pennies on the dollar—vulture claims, and it appears that they just may have gotten favorable treatment by purchasing LME stock from MF Global… as well as buying these sovereign debt positions that have turned out to be profitable trades.”

• Do you understand what is happening now? This is outright confiscation of personal property.

I have received a few emails asking if I was still content with my decision to shut down my brokerage. Not only am I content, but after seeing the news that broke over the weekend, I am of the considered opinion that the entire financial blogging community should formally call for a general financial market strike. And I’m not kidding. A couple of things have happened regarding the MF Global mess that I don’t think got the attention they should have because they broke over the weekend. So let me fill you all in.

First, all notions of personal property rights were essentially destroyed when the MF Global “trustee” began seizing customers’ gold and silver bullion held in storage if that bullion was purchased through contracts brokered by MF Global. In case you’re not following, let me restate. MF Global customers who traded in precious metals and actually took delivery and OWNED bullion, as in outright, free and clear OWNERSHIP, complete with a warehouse receipt (aka title) with SERIAL NUMBERS designating exactly which physical bars they OWNED, and were PAYING RENT to STORE their own property in a “secure” VAULT, complete with statements indicating that these storage fees were paid in full, are having THEIR PROPERTY THAT THEY OWN AND ARE PAYING RENT TO STORE CONFISCATED by the MF Global trustee in order to feed the gaping maw that is the MF Global “estate”.

• JP Morgan Managed to Get Its MF Global Money Before Bankruptcy

• Jonathan Turley talked about his recent Washington Post piece looking at the issues of surveillance and privacy and U.S. citizens’ loss of privacy protections.

• Obama and Geithner: Government, Enron-Style

• I hope this note finds you well.

I am writing to profess my utter disbelief at how little you seem to understand the current mood of the nation. In a story at Bloomberg today, you and a handful of fellow banker and billionaire “job creators” were quoted as believing that the horrific sentiment directed toward you from virtually all corners of America had something to do with how much money you had. I’d like to take a moment to disabuse you of this foolishness.

• 62 Banking Looters Arrested In Largest-Ever Operation Withern Raids

Dear Max and Stacy,

Watching CNBC Europe this morning, and to my astonishment, Steve Sedgewick got a senior banker from Credite Suisse to explain the latest ‘solution’ to the financial crisis. I took time time transcribe it, so I hope you will read it. Love your show and what you are doing.

Transcript taken from CNBC Europe at 07:44 UK time on 21 December 2011

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Steve Sedgewick (Host) – … one of our viewers just asked a very basic question [via email]. ‘Where does this LTRO money come from?’

Bob Parker (Credite Suisse) – Think about the balance sheets of central banks, er, they can have, logically, an infinite balance sheet. It’s called printing money, er, and as whereas a commercial banks, er, you know, we have restrictions on our capital ratios, restrictions
on total balance-sheet size, that does not apply to a central bank.

Continue reading →

• Bernanke Prods Savers to Become Consumers

• ECB Lends Banks EU489B for Three Years, Exceeding Forecast