MF Global All Over Again? - UPDATE
Apparently, Peregrine's CEO left a suicide note. (He's not dead, but tried to commit suicide.) The note said he had committed fraud. The Wall Street Journal article that reported this (Click HERE to read it) says he had been defrauding his customers "over nearly 20 years."
Is the report in the WSJ accurate? Don't assume it is. But it may be.
If the report is accurate, I think this will deflect everyone's attention from the real issue: clients' money was stolen and is not being returned.
If the report is inaccurate, it will still deflect attention from the real issue: clients' money was stolen and is not being returned.
I'm repeating this - clients' money was stolen and is not being returned - because you hardly see this issue addressed in the media's coverage of all this.
Why aren't they addressing this?
Perhaps the media realizes that if too much attention is given to this issue, people will wonder whether the money they have in their brokerage accounts is safe.
Why might they think this?
As I noted previously, some of the clients who lost their money when MF Global collapsed had their accounts transferred to Peregrine. Now it seems they lost money yet again.
What sort of a financial system allows something like this to happen?
What sort of financial system allows Madoff to defraud his clients, and Peregrine to defraud its clients, and MF Global to defraud its clients, in the case of Madoff (and perhaps Peregrine) over decades?
I wish I had clear answers, but I don't.
Is the report in the WSJ accurate? Don't assume it is. But it may be.
If the report is accurate, I think this will deflect everyone's attention from the real issue: clients' money was stolen and is not being returned.
If the report is inaccurate, it will still deflect attention from the real issue: clients' money was stolen and is not being returned.
I'm repeating this - clients' money was stolen and is not being returned - because you hardly see this issue addressed in the media's coverage of all this.
Why aren't they addressing this?
Perhaps the media realizes that if too much attention is given to this issue, people will wonder whether the money they have in their brokerage accounts is safe.
Why might they think this?
As I noted previously, some of the clients who lost their money when MF Global collapsed had their accounts transferred to Peregrine. Now it seems they lost money yet again.
What sort of a financial system allows something like this to happen?
What sort of financial system allows Madoff to defraud his clients, and Peregrine to defraud its clients, and MF Global to defraud its clients, in the case of Madoff (and perhaps Peregrine) over decades?
Is our financial system broken?
If so, is it broken beyond repair?
Is the money in your own brokerage accounts safe?
Isn't it time to ask these questions?
I wish I had clear answers, but I don't.
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