Post by Sapphire Capital on Mar 19, 2010 5:02:15 GMT 4
Many in Europe see currency speculation as 'economic terrorism'
Germany's finance minister says his government is considering sending spies to London and New York to monitor the activities of currency speculators.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the German Parliament on Tuesday March 16, 2010 that he may have to send spies to the world's two most important financial centers "to set up surveillance of who is getting together with whom for which kinds of speculative processes, and where,” according to a sources in Berlin.
In the wake of the Greece crisis many European politicians and analysts blamed the crisis on currency speculation and credit default swaps, which they say caused the cost of servicing Greece's debt to jump this year, forcing the country into severe spending cuts that have led to a wave of protests and riots across the country. Greece's debt crisis, in turn, has caused the euro to plummet in value.
Last month Spain ordered its intelligence service to investigate “whether attacks by investors and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are being driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign,”so Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero.
There is a growing sense in European politics that many financial activities being pursued by large international banks and investors are harmful to national economies, and perhaps should be outlawed.
European finance ministers have called for restricting currency speculation, credit default swaps as well as hedge funds, which often bet against currencies. But the US not surprisingly has been resisting calls for such dramatic moves.
Yet even in the US, the bets placed against the euro have raised some alarm and the Justice Department’s antitrust division is said to be examining whether at least four hedge funds colluded on a bet against the euro last month."
The German idea seems to be that the intelligence agency could use the same tools used in fighting terrorist funding and money laundering to go after currency speculators.
Earlier this month, Luxembourg's finance minister, said financial markets were "blackmailing" the euro zone with their bets, and metaphorically threatened currency traders with torture.
“We have the instruments of torture in the basement,” he said, “and we’ll show them when it’s necessary."
Its probably just talk, but dependent on the results of such speculation, regulation may hit forex traders hard.
Germany's finance minister says his government is considering sending spies to London and New York to monitor the activities of currency speculators.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the German Parliament on Tuesday March 16, 2010 that he may have to send spies to the world's two most important financial centers "to set up surveillance of who is getting together with whom for which kinds of speculative processes, and where,” according to a sources in Berlin.
In the wake of the Greece crisis many European politicians and analysts blamed the crisis on currency speculation and credit default swaps, which they say caused the cost of servicing Greece's debt to jump this year, forcing the country into severe spending cuts that have led to a wave of protests and riots across the country. Greece's debt crisis, in turn, has caused the euro to plummet in value.
Last month Spain ordered its intelligence service to investigate “whether attacks by investors and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are being driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign,”so Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero.
There is a growing sense in European politics that many financial activities being pursued by large international banks and investors are harmful to national economies, and perhaps should be outlawed.
European finance ministers have called for restricting currency speculation, credit default swaps as well as hedge funds, which often bet against currencies. But the US not surprisingly has been resisting calls for such dramatic moves.
Yet even in the US, the bets placed against the euro have raised some alarm and the Justice Department’s antitrust division is said to be examining whether at least four hedge funds colluded on a bet against the euro last month."
The German idea seems to be that the intelligence agency could use the same tools used in fighting terrorist funding and money laundering to go after currency speculators.
Earlier this month, Luxembourg's finance minister, said financial markets were "blackmailing" the euro zone with their bets, and metaphorically threatened currency traders with torture.
“We have the instruments of torture in the basement,” he said, “and we’ll show them when it’s necessary."
Its probably just talk, but dependent on the results of such speculation, regulation may hit forex traders hard.