A couple of days ago I posted a rather a long comment by “Anonymous”, not because I agreed with him or her, but more specifically because somebody had taken a lot of time to pen it and therefore deserved some sort of accolade!
However, with the news of the malicious run on the Halifax (HBOS) shares, perhaps Mr Anonymous is not that far of the mark. Whilst current financial jitters are centred on the credit squeeze and lack of “hard” money in the lending market, Halifax’s problems come from rumours spread by stock market manipulators after a quick, but handsome, profit. The attack wasn’t the result of problems in the USA or the Banks own liquidity issues – it came from within the UK market. If unscrupulous traders, motivated by greed and profit, can wipe nearly 20% of a Banks share value via a couple of false emails, then the financial markets are in worse turmoil than currently acknowledged. The worlds banking system currently resembles a game of “Jenga”, and the last wooden block is about to topple!
The question nobody seems to be asking is where were the FSA (Financial Service Authority) the Bank of England and The Chancellor in this fiasco. Once again, they were to slow to react and powerless to stop the Halifax’s shares from plummeting. All three resemble the lion tamer who is mauled by his animal in a fit of aggression.
So who really runs the circus – the ring master or the clowns?
However, with the news of the malicious run on the Halifax (HBOS) shares, perhaps Mr Anonymous is not that far of the mark. Whilst current financial jitters are centred on the credit squeeze and lack of “hard” money in the lending market, Halifax’s problems come from rumours spread by stock market manipulators after a quick, but handsome, profit. The attack wasn’t the result of problems in the USA or the Banks own liquidity issues – it came from within the UK market. If unscrupulous traders, motivated by greed and profit, can wipe nearly 20% of a Banks share value via a couple of false emails, then the financial markets are in worse turmoil than currently acknowledged. The worlds banking system currently resembles a game of “Jenga”, and the last wooden block is about to topple!
The question nobody seems to be asking is where were the FSA (Financial Service Authority) the Bank of England and The Chancellor in this fiasco. Once again, they were to slow to react and powerless to stop the Halifax’s shares from plummeting. All three resemble the lion tamer who is mauled by his animal in a fit of aggression.
So who really runs the circus – the ring master or the clowns?
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