International Law

More on Rogue Trader

Quote of the day, from the New York Times on the Rogue Trader:

"Bouton said Kerviel had been betting throughout 2007 that markets would fall -- a winning position. But the trader had overstepped his authority and was wagering much more money than he should have, Bouton said.

So at the beginning of January, Bouton said, the trader voluntarily created losing positions, to neutralize his earlier gains and cover his tracks.

But this month's quickly dropping markets turned ''this sad affair ... into a Greek tragedy: His virtual losing position became huge,'' Bouton was quoted by Le Figaro as saying."

Uh, does this explanation make sense at all: Kerviel has a winning record for 2007 and is about to hit it really big in 2008, but "voluntarily creates losing positions"?

I just bet that there was a losing position!

And what did Soc Gen know and when?

Well according to Business Week, the Rogue Trader had been blown:

"The Paris prosecutor cited evidence that SocGen had received multiple warnings about unauthorized transactions by rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel that ultimately cost the bank $7.1 billion"

Can you say burying bad news?

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on January 29, 2008 (boomark / email).