90 seconds at 9 am: Global stock markets fall; poor EU data; France at risk; Libor 'made up'; China tackles housing, credit growth; NZ$1 = US$0.836, TWI = 76.3

" it was often "completely made up". Only an American regulator would be able to identify stuff :"completely made up"....!

Soiled Energy set for a fat taxpayer bailout...and the bosses for another round of fat salary and bonus increases....doh

Great link David to the LIBOR comments. 'Mark to make-believe'. I still can't quite work out why all those people borrowing trillions using LIBOR as their base rate haven't sued those banks out of existence yet.

cheers

Bernard

It has gone totally unremarked and unrecorded by the media but last month's average barrel price for Brent crude (now the de facto global oil benchmark) was $112.96. That was some $2 higher than the any previous average January price for Brent ($110.69 a previous record from 2012).

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=rbrte&f=m

That came in a month in which the Eurozone, the UK and Japan, which make up close to 40% of global GDP were either in or effectively in recession.

 

Think about that.

You are correct, but priced in currency $US,  that is quickly streching to the moon. Maybe look at it in gold or units of food (somehow)

Re LIBOR - the 'I' being 'interbank' should immediately put one on guard.  The words Cartel, Secretive, Undisclosed, and Fixing, all spring to mind.  But as something like 10% of the UK's net income emerges from the City, this 'ancient stew' is not gonna go away soon.

MoM has some useful comments and FOMC minutes extracts. Plus a prediction on when the QE Acrow prop gets kicked out from under the US stock markets....

ASIC nails kiwi ponzi schemer:

The man described as the ‘mastermind’ behind more than a dozen unregistered offshore managed investment funds, including a $30 million Ponzi scheme, was today ordered to pay a record penalty of $500,000, and was permanently banned from managing companies and providing financial services.



The penalty order of $500,000 is the largest awarded in ASIC’s history.



David Hobbs of Nelson, New Zealand, was one of 13 people, including his wife, Jacqueline Hobbs, who operated the unlicensed funds, which targeted Australian investors and self-managed superannuation funds.



More than $55 million was invested in 14 individual investment funds in countries including New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong, Vanuatu, the Bahamas, Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.



In a decision in November 2012, the Supreme Court of NSW found that together the funds were one large scheme and that Mr Hobbs either ‘personally chose’ or ‘implicitly approved’ the other individuals who operated the scheme with him (refer: 12-266MR).



At the Supreme Court of NSW, Justice Julie Ward today imposed the following penalties:

 

On 11 February 2013 Brian Wood, of Davistown, Jimmy Truong of St John’s Park, and Con Koutsoukos of Wiley Park, were sentenced to jail for the role they played in operating one of the funds called the Integrity Plus Fund (refer: 13-025MR). The Court found the three knew the fund they were operating was a scam with no prospect of legitimate return, and that the ‘salary’ they were drawing for themselves came from investors’ money.



In handing down her decision today, Justice Ward said the Hobbs scheme could be characterised as ‘one presented to unsophisticated investors as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme with no risk of loss of capital and a huge upside on the profits by reason of their investment’.



She found Mr Hobbs’ conduct, in directing the payment of moneys out of investment schemes for his own personal benefit, as well as the giving by him of directions as to the payment of returns at a fixed percentage irrespective of the existence of profits (as in a Ponzi scheme), was serious and reflected a disregard for the interests of investors. Justice Ward said this, along with other factors such as the fact superannuation money was targeted, justified the imposition of significant penalties.



Justice Ward also found Mr Hobbs ‘deliberately sought to put in place and have implemented a structure that was intended to avoid regulatory supervision (and hence would deprive investors of that safeguard)’.



ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer condemned Mr Hobbs’ illegal behaviour.



‘The whole scheme was designed to avoid compliance with Australian financial services laws,’ Mr Tanzer said.



‘Mr Hobbs’ conduct involved a gross breach of investors’ trust. His actions were very serious and have left his victims in difficult financial positions.



‘Today’s outcome should send a strong message that ASIC will act to ensure those who deliberately deceive investors or misuse investors’ money for their own personal benefit are brought to account.



‘The experience of the investors in this matter should serve as a timely reminder to investors to beware of returns that sound too good to be true. Before you invest in any scheme, you should do independent checks to see if it has an Australian financial services licence and how the returns are really going to be made. Don’t just trust the word of the person selling you the scheme,’ Mr Tanzer added.



More information about ponzi schemes and investment funds can be found on ASIC’s MoneySmart website.



The Court also ordered the winding up of the scheme and appointed Mr Barry Taylor and Mr Andrew Needham of HLB Mann Judd as liquidators. Mr Taylor and Mr Needham will determine the return of funds to investors and the Court has ordered they hold a meeting of investors on or before 13 June 2013. They can be contacted on (02) 9020 4000.

China has told local authorities to "decisively" curb real estate speculation and take steps to rein in the property market after prices rose the most in two years last month.

Maybe China should extend their advice to their countrymen investing in the Auckland housing market as well.  After all we are constantly being told we are living in a global village.