"Hedge funds bet big on the falling euro" - Where are Super Obama reforms?

[WhiskeyGirl]

Hedge funds, including Hayman Advisers and Matrix Group, have told investors that they expect the sovereign debt crisis to worsen despite the €110bn (£79bn) bail-out by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank.

...

Traders and brokers told The Sunday Telegraph that hedge funds are using a range of financial instruments to bet that the value of the euro will fall. One trader said: “Shorting the euro is the biggest bet in town.

“We’re seeing big volumes in credit default swaps and short selling in equities that are exposed to the euro.”

Nick Swenson, manager of US-based Groveland, who made millions of pounds during the credit crisis, said he started buying credit-default swaps on Spanish, Italian and Irish government bonds in March.

more here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7753874/Hedge-funds-bet-big-on-the-falling-euro.html

For some reason, Obama financial reform was LESS important than healthcare.

The financial crisis was less important than a healthcare program Americans cannot afford, and have no way to pay for.

Maybe if financial reform and the economy had been JOB 1 for Obama, the speculators would have been stopped before the Euro crisis?

Did they wait for Obama's financial reform until the Euro was in crisis?  Was that the goal?  Start the dominoes falling?

Is Obama's financial reform a gift to the global financial casino?

[WhiskeyGirl]

"A look at the speculators who made billions betting against the currency"

Since the near collapse of international banking, some of the most predatory market activity has inspired references to sharks, vultures and jackals. The people of Greece have come to learn just how avidly markets scent blood. Some of Europe’s leading politicians have blamed financial speculators for preying on the country’s debt problems, using pretty harsh language and bail-out guarantees to try and fend off those with a vested interest in picking apart the bones of the country’s finances.

Maybe government should have let the beast die?  The world population would have been better off allowing green shoots, instead of propping up decay?

Probably best not stretch the marauding carnivore metaphor too much further. The stark truth is this: there is money to be made in pouncing upon failure.

The real expert in the field is John Paulson. Many economists claim to have seen some aspect of the credit crisis coming, but the New York investor was one of the few who doesn’t have to boast. Paulson has a personal fortune of $12bn to show for his hunch. In 2005, while still a relatively obscure hedge fund manager, he felt the over-inflated US property bubble was not far from bursting.

He told his employee Paolo Pellegrini to find a way of betting against all the dodgy sub-prime mortgage debt swilling around the system. They invested heavily in credit default swaps (CDS), essentially an insurance product, the value of which increases the more likely default on debt becomes.

Barney didn't see it coming? 

Obama's financial reform doesn't fix anything?  Just helps prop open the doors of the global banking casino?

more here - http://www.bigissuescotland.com/features/view/282

1.  Comprehensive, robust audit of the Federal Reserve for say the last 75 years.

2.  Reinstate Glass-Steagall.

3.  No more taxpayer bailouts, reinsurance, backing for institutions that engage in derivatives, CDO, etc.  Just say no to gambling.

Likely to see any REAL reform?  How much does Wall Street pay to keep Washington and the White House on retainer?

just my humble opinions