Feds Probing JPMorgan Silver Trades
May 10th, 2010Via: New York Post:
Federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals market, The Post has learned.
The probes are centering on whether or not JPMorgan, a top derivatives holder in precious metals, acted improperly to depress the price of silver, sources said.
The Commodities Futures Trade Commission is looking into civil charges, and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is handling the criminal probe, according to sources, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.
The probes are far-ranging, with federal officials looking into JPMorgan’s precious metals trades on the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) exchange, which is a physical delivery market, and the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) for future paper derivative trades.
JPMorgan increased its silver derivative holdings by $6.76 billion, or about 220 million ounces, during the last three months of 2009, according to the Office of Comptroller of the Currency.
Regulators are pulling trading tickets on JPMorgan’s precious metals moves on all the exchanges as part of the probe, sources tell The Post.
JPMorgan has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The DOJ and CFTC each declined to comment, as did JPMorgan.
The investigations stem from a story in The Post, which reported on a whistleblower questioning JPMorgan’s involvement in suppressing the price of silver by “shorting” the precious metal around the release of news announcements that should have sent the price upwards.
It is alleged that in shorting silver, JPMorgan sells large blocks of silver option contracts or physical metal — actions that would bring down the price of the metal — closely following news that would otherwise move the metals higher.
Research Credit: dagobaz
Disclaimer: I hold silver in hold position
1. “Someone” shorted United Airline stocks just prior to 9/11
2. Turns out Goldman Sachs by default was a major player in the crash of financial markets in 2008- whether within competing divisions or not, this company bet against the loser to profit;
3. Tourre of Goldman Sachs, an unfortunate called before Congress, and had his emails sopeanued (sp). But one day before the rig blew in the Gulf, he wrote to his girlie friend – after betting short on BP, “that if one rig blows in the gulf- bye bye birdies.”
Regulators should be pulling trade tickets from not only JP Morgan but also Goldman Sachs – INMHO and timing them to all these “shock and awe” incidents that have occurred in our world.
Cripe. Can’t help it. It’s part and parcel of my profession to connect the dots.
Cripe, the signs aren’t dots anymore, there are freaking roadmaps out there to the perp’s of massive financial fraud and world destruction. On top of that, Cripes: all the omen’s point to a French guillotine revolution.
Yah, if the ordinary world citizen gets their face out of the TV long enough to find a
“cone of silence” to meditate on world events – methinks we, the collective, might finally figure out that we have been born into this space in time to experience something. I do not like very much so that my only reaction to the Gulf Oil spill is to send towels to clean birds that have fouled by the oil spill. I’ve had it(with the BS) and I can’t take it anymore. (Broadcast News).
I don’t know what to do. I felt like a moron cutting the grass with the riding lawn mower– using oil to cut the grass “so it looked nice.” Indeed I am thinking about getting a goat or a few sheep, or buying a battery charged lawnmower. Or put all of my money into PM’s. I dunno. Somethings going to go down in a real bad way this summer – I want to be part of it, but in a positive way. Boycott the system of the PTB. Been trying to do that for all long timne,
feels like now is the time to do, or die.
I still think that the best way to bring about the changes necessary for social justice is to refuse to participate in the Ponzi finance sector. Run your life on a cash basis, to the extent that it is possible. If you have to have banking services, find a small local bank, and boycott the big six.
Eileen, I’d be curious/grateful if you could provide a link to the Fabrice Tourre email information. Somehow I missed that in my news gathering.
Cheers, all. Thank you, Kevin.
@rototillerman
I feel like a real idiot – my source for Tourre’s short info re the Gulf shorts was the Andy Berkowitz report.
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=169374.0
I couldn’t read the whole article until I signed up for Berkowitz report,(which I did) and then I felt like a fool because it appears that Mr. Berkowitz is a comedian of the Jon Stewart type. So I think this story was a parody of what “might have caused the Gulf spill.”
Despite spending hours now to find you a tru source for this story re shorting re Gulf I cannot find one credible source.
I will be sending Mr. Berkowitz an email anon.
I hope his eyebrows survive the flaming encounter. I was taken for a fool by a fool – I guess. But was I?
Comedy has its basis in reality. Read the Onion once in a while. Reading on Truthout.org today I don’t feel like such a fool about posting that the oil spill in the Gulf wasn’t a perfectly planned event, just like 9/11.
http://www.truthout.org/was-gulf-oil-spill-act-war-you-betcha59224 AND
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/12/as_gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill
I guess I’ll be going to Gulf in the next few weeks to visit.
Our world will never be the same again. Lots of sorrow coming our way.
But real pain is usually what transforms the individual, and that then, leads to a transformation of the collective small c consciousness. And that leads to the BIG transfommation of our world in the big C.
Blessings friends, feel the pain of this disaster. Its the only way this oil machinery will be transformed into something other than wars for oil, or that oil is the only gig only the planet that can power our lives. That belief system is finally meeing its day: in court, in real time. It’s uh, over.