Ok....they don't print physical money. They enter it into accounts via computer, basically expanding the money supply is a simple as typing in digit into a computer. So, while Ben Bernake wasn't lying about actually running currency material through a press and printing it, he wasn't really answering the meaning of the question. How does money get wired from your trading account to your bank account? It's a simple entry of digits into a computer system. How long have you guys been in thecomputer age? almost 30 years probably? And you are completely fooled by this incompetent questioning? I would be amazed if any of you that miss things like this make any money trading. I am not surprised but come on, think a little. Nobody is just going to hand you answers that are straightforward and simple, you really have to questions everything if you want to seek the facts. See, the powerful can answer the letter of a question truthfully, so technically they are not lying. You also have to observe the questioner, they should have asked a more pertinent, meaningful question that was direct. See...the hearings, elections et al are all a game. The game is to fool the public into thinking there is really a 1. discord between democrats and republicans 2. that some members of congress actually give a shit about the average working people 3. and that inquiries like senate hearings actually force the answers that would actually inform the populace. Greenspan once said it makes no difference what the politicians think (paraphrase) the FEd will do what it wants to as it has always done. There is really no point in trying to see if any of these FEd officials with do things honestly and in theinterests of the people at large: They have NEVER demonstrated that consistently. So why does anyone sort of wait and hope that maybe THIS fed chairman will be different, guess what, They will not be. If the cabal that decides who the next FED chairman will be has any inkling that their man will do anything other that what fits their financial interests, they would never put him in that position in the first place. In sort of a related thought, why do you think any trader who makes it HUGE gets targeted by the SEC, FBI, treasury? Do you think that the old boys' club of the New York FED (the only decision maker in the fed group of regional banks) wants to see some guy like Stephen Cohen take more and more of the money? I think not. I have some inside info. My boyhood best friend is still one of SAC's top guys, he might be second or third in command. Now I don't know what the truth is, and it's true good men can be corrupted. But I question the fact of SAC's matter of insider trading, only because I know one of their guys so well. Sure we went different directions, but if ANYONE had the ability to be a top trader, who worked physically and mentally harder than ANYONE ive ever known, seen, heard about, read about and hung out with, it's my friend who killed it at everywhere he went including SAC. The shitty thing is, because I trade, its now very difficult to even communicate with my friend. It has sucked for about 2 years. This guy is a genius that develop genius from working harder and believing harder than anyone I have ever met, including myself. I know what the media says, but the mass media has proven itself to be a lying and spin machine from the days of Edward Bernays (google or youtube him if you don't know who that is). I am developing the theorem that basically the government, tied by the balls by the cabals like the fed owners, absolutely HATE if any other entity starts developing a way to take a larger piece of pie. That is to say if they take anything larger than what the cabal feels is "enough" for the outsiders.
For me, except for a portfolio margin account that is somewhat insured against firm (aka "other traders" losses) I am finding it difficult to find a place to put about 10% of my capital for some higher leveraged ideas. I see the influx of ridiculous legislation, leveraged firms requiring 50 to 100K to a licensed guy like me for a deposit, I mean at some point...whats the point? There is no way I will put up that kind of cash in an arcade firm ( I say arcade to really differentiate it from a true proprietary model). Capital lockup? are you kidding me? For what reason? The reason is to freeze trader funds and make give these firms a clear advantage by eliminating trader flexibility. If you subject your capital to these rules, and in month 2 your firm overcharges you for commission, doesn't properly rebate your shares in the beginning of the next month, or restricts you from trading your legit method, or restricts your leverage because their risk management is composed of less than smart guys who don't truly understand risk, and you decide you don't want to trade there anymore....guess what...the firm keeps your capital at risk even if you are not trading. The firm will say "sorry that's the exchange rule," while they smile and snicker behind your back. Once you sign up for this crap, the firm has risk free options on your capital for at least 1 year. This is another example of doubletalk. The securities industry says their rule in this case is designed to "protect traders from themselves" by some really bad logic that if they set the day-trading account size to 25K (retail)and in shutting firms down give the message to the leveraged arcade firms that you need 25 or 50 k to trade, all the while locking up capital for at least a year, that you would in fact protect traders from trading on their last dime. This, of course, is complete nonsense. The trading industry wants you to trade on your last dime, because it always needs a steady stream of new money losers in order to survive. The capital lockup insures that most of you will keep trading even though your firm is F****** u, because if that 25 or 50Gs was all you had, they control it now, so you may as well keep trading. See, now these firms understand what this means, and they act like it as well. What someone needs to create is a trading cooperative with only initial Class A members contributing capital. The group is closed to all new traders. Streamline the process so any group of traders wishing to create their own firm can see the blueprint. Do not take any class b or c members so you don't have to lock up your capital Find ways around these bogus regulations. I have never been more disappointed then what I went out to meet the owners or managers of these leveraged arcades. Empty offices, nobody answering real questions. Its quite obvious they don't like intelligence, they want to sell a dream. Ask them a real question and they just dismiss you. I see these guys as dinosaurs waiting to die. Figuratively and is some cases literally. All they really want is a large capital deposit, because they will use it and get 6x the leverage on it, and you can't quit and walk away with your money. I'd rate the current value of arcade firms today less safe than walking into a casino and depositing your whole bankroll in a slot machine. You may have terrible long term odds, but you can cash out when you want to. Imagine taking your 10k or 20k into a casino, and at the time you want to leave, the casino says "you remember we need to keep your current stake in our casino for at least a year" Would you do that? Really? What a friggin joke. Goodnight leveraged arcade, your days are numbered. My interim solution was to learn c++, and test my method and parameters, even a steamroller approach testing all possible parameters, for commodities. There you get reasonable leverage, with no capital lockup, better tax advantages, and you are dealing with a real supply and demand factor. So right now the computers are running these tests day and night. I pretty much think things will work for the capital I am allocating to it, but I'd like to have some more insight testing on historical data. C++ was kinda a bitch to learn, but its so fast and powerful perfect for back-testing many parameters. I hate ranting but I am probably just hugely disappointed in the current choices we as traders now have. I guess I was spoiled in the late 90s, with firms like Lieber and Weissman, ETG, and the boutique firm I traded for in Los Angeles...where if you demonstrated an ability to control your downside, you could do, to quote Teddy KGB from "Rounders" ...."whatevah da fuck you want." That is the real bastion of capitalism. What we have now is the USSR on steriods in America. What a joke! ok another rant over. I hope this offends some people enough to think.
oh and by theway.....even at an arcade you can still only trade in increments of a penny.. all the big wall street hft firms can sub penny your A** all friggin day long. There used to be distinct advantages to getting your Series 7 (now i think it's the 56) and becoming a class b or c member of an arcade LLC. Now you can't really trade for liquidity because the hft guys who have access to subpenny pricing can murder you, either you get ripped off or never filled. Putting a market order out there is also kinda like suicide. I know...I know...widen your timeframe...yes ok. But these arcades are just sitting on their collective asses not providing any material value anymore. I did read on paper in the archives that Bright tradings guys wrote pushing for legislation against sub-pennying, so at least one of these firms isn't just hanging out, but most of them are sitting on their hands waiting for you to join up with no real advantages. anyway, just thought I'd add another huge disadvantage of arcades. Plus, get used to a huge markup on quotes and fees. The firms pay a fixed rate for multi licensing in some cases, but charge you as individuals. What they should do is split profits with you, charge you their cost for all fees, and jointly develop you as a profitable asset to their firm. But wouldn't that take too much effort? Too much time? apparently so
Well, as I said, if you're a conspiracy theorist there is hardly any point in going to the Fed's website to discover who really owns the Fed and how they actually operate. You'll most definitely be happier using YouTube as your source of information.
There is conspiracy to commit murder. There is conspiracy to commit fraud. Unfortunately there is a conspiracy to lie to the public too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0scdJq1f44Y for those of you who don't like to do your own research (20something30something) and need video to explain life to you. this was awesome and poetically and factually perfect. The book "The Creature from Jekyll Island" ( yes it's more than 10 pages (nearly 1000) and doesn't have pop-ups, is a perfect research for you to understand the facts behind the world monetary system and inparticular how the Federal Reserve runs it. Watch the video, yes it is news however a rare example on news transmitting facts, its a multi-part video, yes it's on youtube....but thats for those who need it. have a nice day
you are an amazing disinformation artist piezoe. where did you get that bullshit about ownership.. Here is what the FED said on its website... I have quoted it with links to the feds website many times in the past... 1. "Federal Reserve Board: As the nationâs central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the U.S. Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms. However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Also, the Federal Reserve must work within the framework of the overall objectives of economic and financial policy established by the government. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as "independent within the government." The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by Congress as the operating arms of the nationâs central banking system, are organized much like private corporationsâpossibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year." See that the twelve regional Fed Res Banks are private corporations. Just not typical ones. No kidding... they get to print trillions of digital dollars. 2. Here is what the courts have to say on the matter... Lewis v. United States, 680 F.2d 1239 (1982) ... "H.R. Report No. 69 Cong. 1st Sess. 18-19 (1913). The fact that the Federal Reserve Board regulates the Reserve Banks does not make them federal agencies under the Act. In United States v. Orleans, 425 U.S. 807, 96 S.Ct. 1971, 48 L.Ed.2d 390 (1976), the Supreme Court held that a community action agency was not a federal agency or instrumentality for purposes of the Act, even though the agency was organized under federal regulations and heavily funded by the federal government. Because the agency's day to day operation was not supervised by the federal government, but by local officials, the Court refused to extend federal tort liability for the negligence of the agency's employees. Similarly, the Federal Reserve Banks, though heavily regulated, are locally controlled by their member banks. Unlike typical federal agencies, each bank is empowered to hire and fire employees at will. Bank employees do not participate in the Civil Service Retirement System. They are covered by worker's compensation insurance, purchased by the Bank, rather than the Federal Employees Compensation Act. Employees travelling on Bank business are not subject to federal travel regulations and do not receive government employee discounts on lodging and services. The Banks are listed neither as "wholly owned" government corporations under 31 U.S.C. Sect. 846 nor as "mixed ownership" corporations under 31 U.S.C. Sect. 856, a factor considered is Pearl v. United States, 230 F.2d 243 (10th Cir. 1956), which held that the Civil Air Patrol is not a federal agency under the Act. Closely resembling the status of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Civil Air Patrol is a non-profit, federally chartered corporation organized to serve the public welfare. But because Congress' control over the Civil Air Patrol is limited and the corporation is not designated as a wholly owned or mixed ownership government corporation under 31 U.S.C. Sub-Sect. 846 and 856, the court concluded that the corporation is a non-governmental, independent entity, not covered under the Act. Additionally, Reserve Banks, as privately owned entities, receive no appropriated funds from Congress. . . . Finally, the Banks are empowered to sue and be sued in their own name. 12 U.S.C. Sect. 341. " ... 3. Even a bunch of libs like factcheck.org can get this right. http://www.factcheck.org/2008/03/federal-reserve-bank-ownership/ FULL ANSWER The stockholders in the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks are the privately owned banks that fall under the Federal Reserve System. These include all national banks (chartered by the federal government) and those state-chartered banks that wish to join and meet certain requirements. About 38 percent of the nationâs more than 8,000 banks are members of the system, and thus own the Fed banks. The concept of "ownership" needs some explaining here, however. The member banks must by law invest 3 percent of their capital as stock in the Reserve Banks, and they cannot sell or trade their stock or even use that stock as collateral to borrow money. They do receive dividends of 6 percent per year from the Reserve Banks and get to elect each Reserve Bankâs board of directors. The private banks also have a voice in regulating the nationâs money supply and setting targets for short-term interest rates, but itâs a minority voice. Those decisions are made by the Federal Open Market Committee, which has a dozen voting members, only five of whom come from the banks. The remaining seven, a voting majority, are the Fedâs Board of Governors who, as mentioned, are appointed by the president. (Jem states this is misleading... for the FOMC to control what the private regional banks do... there must be a unanimous vote. Since the banks appt 5 of their own.. they will never be over ruled.) The Fed is a little defensive about the question of ownership. In its Frequently Asked Questions section, the Federal Reserve Board says: "The Federal Reserve System is not âownedâ by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects." It continues: Federal Reserve Board: As the nationâs central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the U.S. Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms. However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Also, the Federal Reserve must work within the framework of the overall objectives of economic and financial policy established by the government. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as "independent within the government." The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by Congress as the operating arms of the nationâs central banking system, are organized much like private corporationsâpossibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year.