Feds: All Commodity Traders To Be Audited

November 11, 2011 02:00 PM

By Susie Madrak           Crooks & Liars

Get out the popcorn! You know how they got Al Capone on tax evasion? Maybe we're finally going to see a some Wall Street bankers go to jail for something, even if it's not for crashing the economy. But if we're going to audit futures trading, it could break the backs of food and oil speculators who are driving up the cost of food worldwide:

Federal regulators have ordered an audit of every American futures trading firm to verify that customer money is protected, a move that comes after roughly $600 million in client funds were discovered to be missing from MF Global, the bankrupt brokerage firm once run by Jon S. Corzine.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator searching for the missing money at MF Global, will audit many of the nation’s largest futures commission merchants, according to a person briefed on the decision. Exchanges like the CME Group will examine smaller firms to ensure they are keeping customer money separate from company money, a fundamental rule on Wall Street.

The futures commission also announced on Thursday that it had formally opened an investigation into MF Global, a largely symbolic move that indicated the seriousness of the case. The agency has already issued subpoenas to MF Global and its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, but the commission had to vote before announcing a full-scale investigation.

“The commission has determined it is in the public interest to confirm the existence of this particular investigation,” the agency said in a statement.

Now, I happen to think they'd be investigating MF Global anyway, but the fact that they're going to audit all the futures traders has to be sending a tremor down Wall Street and I'm going to give some credit to the Occupy movement. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: Wall Street,Commodity Traders,Commodities,The Commodity Futures Trading Commission,Current Events,An American Gothic

Perry Challenges Pelosi To A Debate….

…. which would have been a major Pay Per View event if something like this were to take place. Perry lucked out, as Pelosi had some mercy and declined the invitation to embarrass Perry as he has done to himself over the past few weeks.  

Hahahahahahahahahahaha:

Dear Leader Pelosi [...]

I am in Washington Monday and would love to engage you in a public debate about my Overhaul Washington plan versus the congressional status quo. I think it would be a tremendous service to the American public to see a public airing of these differences. Let the people decide. If Monday doesn't work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America's heartland.

Should you choose not to respond or engage in such a healthy discussion, I will take it to mean you will continue your obstructionist ways in the face of much needed Washington reform.

Sincerely,

Rick Perry
Governor of Texas

Oh Rick. Oh, you poor dumb bastard. After all of your astounding debate FAIL against the brain trust that is the Republican presidential field, after considering skipping future debates because you suck so much at them, you think challenging former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to a debate is going to save you?

Seriously, Rick? Seriously?

Aside from the fact that (a) Nancy Pelosi is not running for the Republican nomination for president, (b) you're not running for the 8th Congressional District in California, and (c) uh ... um ... EPA ... Do you really think that you can take on Nancy freakin' Pelosi when you can't even stand on a stage with Michele "Vaccines makes you retarded" Bachmann without looking like a drooling idiot?

And Rick? That closing paragraph—that if Nancy doesn't agree to meet you behind the gym after school waste her time debating you, it means she's a big ol' meanie obstructionist—is just painfully embarrassing. For you. Because—and this is probably news to you—Rep. Pelosi is actually a member of the party that is trying to work with the president to bring about that "much needed Washington reform" you mentioned. It's the Republican Party, your party, the party of No To Everything, that is obstructing said reform. And it's pretty hard to see how spending time debating a guy who can't even count to three is supposed to reform Washington.

So, no, Nancy Pelosi won't be meeting you for a debate on Monday:

"He did ask if I could debate here in Washington on Monday. It is my understanding that such a letter has come in," Pelosi said in the Capitol Thursday. "Monday I'm going to be in Portland in the morning, I'm going to be visiting some of our labs. I'm in California in the afternoon, that's two. I can't remember what the third is."

Sorry, Rick, guess you'll just have to settle for embarrassing yourself with your fellow Republicans.

9:46 AM PT: Hahahahahahahahahahaha, take two:

Perry's campaign fired back at the Dem leader, writing on their official twitter account Thursday: "@NancyPelosi Perhaps the third activity that you have forgotten is the ongoing insider trading?"

Oh, Rick. So funny. So funny, I forgot to laugh. Also, your mom.

Originally posted to Kaili Joy Gray on Thu Nov 17, 2011

Also republished by Daily Kos.

Technorati Tags: Rick Perry,Nancy Pelosi,Debates,Politics,Current Events,An American Gothic