Comments by cold turkei

Excuse me folks, I think you are missing a pretty fundamental point here. Weapons exporting countries have a responsibility to see peace and justice wherever they sell. If you tip that into the equation, all of a sudden some interesting players / weightings stick out. Consider that in light of Syria, Mr Putin. Or India, Mr Sarkozy. Or Saudi Arabia, Mr Cameron. Or Switzerland, Mr Reinfeldt; likewise Turkey, our very own Bundesrat...

Secondly countries with offshore investments and operations should be the ones paying for their security. Like China in Kabul, Kenya and Korea...

According to this calculus, Europe owes the world a greater active committment. But who is the biggest trader of them all?
All the best

As a lifelong point-and-clicker, first Instamatic 110 then IXUS APS now "Walkman" 8MP, I like to think there are three levels of photo - information only, entertainment for family and friends, art. Took my first digital photos in 1996. Only 2% of my snaps come out as what I, and not necessary others, term "art". Not necessarily the best pictures get wallpapered or postered but those you are happy to see again and again

I would also fork out 2.4k for a 1400 by 1000 shot of a glacial river under the Materhorn backed on alu with a wall to itself, just loved the colours really. Always was a Fujichrome type, myself

All of this will present interesting issues for my red-green colourblind son...

Good article. Interesting to see that the vultures are gaining traction on corporate-raiders' slipped-up investors; the secondaries guys chart the true market value of PE and it still ain't pretty.

There are some truly illiquidified portfolios out there which, if the € scene gets worse, are going to come running again pretty soon... watch this space...
All the best

My son gets a better history & geography lesson playing Civilisation in our LAN with me than he gets in the school. I just flew an F-18 Hornet simulator in BF3 and got a fair idea (for a layman) of what to expect in combat. Its a whole world out there, people, and - given the tactics and experiences of much recent combat - I dare say many Vets can avoid the social ostracization, unemployment and despair that their "old lives" offer them on their return home by meeting up with their buddies online for a few hours of adrenalin and laughter. Think hard before you shoot people
All the best

Dear Sir
total rubbish, sorry to say it. Wot 'ave we 'ere? More Cook Islanders speaking Russian? And Prnce William will have to pluck them out of the roaring forties, too? Here's your costs; please PAY, in sterling, by the due date, PAL. Next patient please -
All the best

Interesting points GHwxzteuwE however - 1 the euro had dropped back to 1.32 according to my ticker, bouncing back to 1.35 with this latest round of QE 2 That's not all Saddam was up to, even if he didn't have WMD 3 the Economist has often warned about wasting blood and treasure on "adventures" 4 the Rating boys can take a fair swipe at anyone who is on the move and Europe is certainly on the move, south - 5 sure the Fed prints money more readily than the ECB, and that could well preempt inflation; however, as the markets have shown, the $$$ is certainly not valueless and not a bad thing to stuff your books with when your own currency is in paralysis! 6 met some boys from Ramstein's cyberwar team on an auditing course recently, pretty straight up guys, actually 7 carry trade sources will naturally rise when everyone has to buy them (end of rant)
all the best

Good point CCH08, but surely therefore the SEC should aid the true victims to a - for example - class action using all resources at their disposal rather than play cut and run? Worst case is that there is no incentive to clean up (plaintiff and defendant behaviour) and no quality check down the line to prevent persistent frauds becoming endemic.

The wonderful thing about Courts is that they have time, time to dig out the details. I'm with mymind, courageous judge; furthermore, when it is in a firms' interests to defend itself, it too could be seen to be encouraged to "assist", if only to limit the damages and answer the plaintiffs' case meaningfully.
All the best

Good article. Excuse me, but how do the potential plaintiffs (Citi purportedly ripped off) benefit from the settlement the SEC screws out of Citi? Or does the sheriff beat up Dick Turpin and ride away with the stagecoach?
All the best...

Looks like the boring money... made money... this year. How boring!

All the best
- Chairman of the Bored

I love it! First the Fed "quantitatively eases" for Amercian banks, now it's "quantitatively easing" for the intransigent European govts' unlucky banks too! If in doubt, print money!

That proves the Euro is history! Hold $$$s when your currency is tanking!
All the best

Good luck boys. Sorry to say it, don't overestimate your worth. Avoid pouring scorn, your ex-controllers are humiliated enough and they and their superiors will be angry and could be looking for revenge. Avoid discussing your escape methods least others trying them suffer setbacks and your families, reprisals. Avoid Sushi bars, try to get further away from your controllers' sphere of influence. Study computer science as well and join a security firm if you can. Your story was heartening, now there's lots to prepare for... like an Arab spring back home thru, hmmm, social networking...........
All the best

After all, I can make myself believe anything I want to

Solution is simple: Are you sure?

OK Cancel

Dear Sir, just seen the film "Margin Call" where a fictional Wall Street firm's traders liquidate an entire business unit in a day. Fire sale! There is lip service paid to the reputation-damage and peer-destruction that would have resulted, the fact that your business ceases to exist when you shaft your marketplace is speculative and not part of the drama. Shame. Short-termism seen to win again.

The best Sales type is a listener. Such as how to sell again to a complaining customer - Describe the problem? Do you know what you are doing? Really? Need help? $!

Sure, Sales have to know their product; but they have to get a feel for where their customer is at to sell them air (great, fill up the tanks, check the BCD too!) - oh, sorry, luftgeschäft. Another interesting selling technique is buying - it's the Amway way, "to set a room on fire" - create scarcity or the impression of it.

Guess that's also called the Boiler-room technique, as it's also used by religion and also in scams. And so false leadership and financial scam are two forms of sales deception we all face, the same as when Arthur Miller wrote, so nobody need be surprised that when Sales shows up the filters go up, too...
All the best

Sir - brings to mind a 206 year old bank still owned by the founding family and still held with UNLIMITED LIABILITY. A bank that has NO presence in the US

Good - they advertise in your magazine

Just because the law enables something, doesn't mean one should take advantage of it. Sad that sticking to your principles should be considered contrarian behaviour. The dedicated followers of fashion are leaving the banking industry again; that is the way of the future, and I welcome it
All the best

Dear Sir - damn, two fabulous opportunities missed; after all, a friend in need is a friend indeed:

one - the best military tactic in sorting out a Kurdish insurrection is to send every soldier available into the earthquake zone to rescue and clean up. Treat all people as you would wish to be treated yourself. A conscious and visible effort to lend support and help could "win the war in the hearts and minds" too

two - accept globalised support - for all the same positive reasons, show that Turkey is mature enough to say "yes please" and "thank you" - as New Zealand so gratefully did to Japan and so gratefully returned the favour. Send in the ANZACS (all ~20 of them)! These are the specialists and every experience helps

Any country who says "no" to help are kidding themselves or hiding something. Grow up Turkey! C'mon, God bless - allah akbar!

All the best

Sir I for one thoroughly understand your panda analogy - being bearish on anything Chinese depends on whether you trust Chinese statisticians and regional governments, follow Chinese commodity & supply markets, watch Chinese export growth potential, feel confident in Chinese real estate speculation or China's ability to keep peace amongst her peoples and not put the wind up her neighbours.

Actually, anything with 8 in it (nevertheless isn't the Hang Seng more of a HK real estate proxy?). But a bear squeeze or two could well be on the cards simply because noone is shorting exactly what they want to be shorting. Inexacting science, this "piracy" business...

The greatest folly here is those who would compare China with the US. Folks, that's Pride before the Fall. Actually, there is a vacancy coming up soon near a large copper mine in Kabul for an empire with about a zillion islam-sceptical forces, any offers?

Speaking of rare and endangered vegetarians, these blokes are nearly as cute as the Koala...

sgok > one word: Commonwealth. Bravo Canada for the new RCAF!

ozatmk > do please join the EU! A thousand apologies for any underestimations! You've got bags of treasure, haven't you? Good, now go bail out... Greece

Turkey? A Crimean ally to Europe in 1854, an enemy to it's people in 1915 and a significant force within NATO today. In 1915 the Ottoman empire stretched from Yugoslavia to Yemen and from Africa to Armenia. Look where Turkey exerts influence today - Cyprus, Iraq, Gaza. Köln. Why merely a diplomat in Libya or a haven for Syrians? God bless and do good!

attaturk > may your words bring your country friends forever

Good points. Not that we are QUITE back to square one:

Again and again I get enraged when people who know nothing about commodities prattle on about the success stories "emerging markets" and "strong currencies". They are doomed to pull back one after the other when "risk is off" and cop it in the process. Equities, commodities and currencies are thoroughly intertwined.

Surely a slump was predestined with such high oil prices? If anyone were looking for twin peaks to compare with 2008 & 2011 they wouldn't need to look past the seventies?

China sounds to me more like Florida '07 every day. Ghost towns of POTENTIAL (perhaps go analyse THAT word's misuse, alongside "recession"). Dr. Copper can't be wrong, and so the currency war - just like the ratings war, where everyone goes down a notch - is just a symptom of the crisis. What follows, eg. in currency pegging, printing or penalty - is trade war.

Sir
What is this "undeclared" beneficial owner? Who made that up? As I understand it UBO refers to the ultimate beneficial owner and is a term long used in banking secrecy, for example when ascribing assets to numbered accounts.

There is a lot more to "fiendishly complex corporate structure" ownership than declarations of it! :) I have seen BVIs owned by companies from other offshore jurisdictions that were themselves owned by BVIs. Don't set yourselves limits too soon: many a serious fraud office floundered this way in the past.

All the best,
Dodgy Alias
- oh yes, bought the book; many thanks!