Very old news. There has already been a substantial amount of postings and threads on this subject concerning the 15 day freeze on Refco Capital Markets Group accounts. Please do a search next time.
Its old news but its still quite amazing ..... refco has been around for years and this is an extraordinary story that is still unfolding .... dont expect people to not be interested in it or discussing it .....
"In its statement, Standard & Poor's noted that the money Bennett repaid the company might not immediately be available. Bennett's lawyer said Wednesday the former CEO obtained the money through a bank loan secured by his Refco stock. " ... hm..could be a problem
People have indeed been discussing it for the better part of the day, sir. Do a search on ET today and you will find half a dozen threads, and one in particular that goes on for OVER 35 PAGES regarding this specific story.
I read that other lengthy thread regarding Refco, and I noted Apex Capital's extensive efforts to defend Refco in that thread. I am really impressed by how hard he worked to defend Refco's reputation. All you have to do, to see this, is just read that whole other entire thread. If this trading thing doesn't work out for him, I think he can, as a fall back position, launch a new career in public relations. If the criminals who looted Refco aren't already allowing Apex to wet his beak, or giving him a taste, or cutting him in on a piece of the action, then they really should show some respect, reach out to him, and find a way to get him an envelope generously stuffed with cash. And they should make sure the bills are unmarked and are not consecutively numbered. I mean, what's right is right.
It is weird, I am absolutely absorbed by this story. It is sad in a way, and it is yet another black mark on the finance industry. It really is too bad ... I guess this is similar to how my fiancee is mesmerized by the pending Jessica Simpson break-up. She and I were just talking about this over dinner, the parallel is quite amazing. I have been around Refco, either as somebody who knows a couple of people there, a competitor, and now soon to be an ex-client. She have been watching Newlyweds (obsessively by my count). We both feel emotionally attached to the firm / the couple.
As a registered CTA with the CFTC that has no other relationship with Refco other than clearing some commodity trades with them . . . and in the interests of "killing two byrds with one stone" I will simply respond by saying that as is usual here at ET, there is a severe lack of understanding of how a clearing firm works, what a segregated futures account is, and what role the Exchange Clearing Corporation has with regards to an FCM. Not once have I defended ex REFCO CEO Bennett nor have I told people to not withdraw their monies from Refco Holdings or Refco LLC. What I have done is corrected people that have made some highly inaccurate and downright false statements regarding Refco LLC. In fact, it took people here about 10 pages of threads before they finally realized that the 15 day moratorium on customer withdrawals of funds was in regards to Refco Capital Markets and not the segregated futures accounts of Refco LLC. Several ET members went on and on about a liquidity crisis at Refco yet they were unable to actually speak to how this would specifically effect Refco LLC. They made lots of vague generalizations, yet they could not speak specifically with facts that substantiated their claims. Only ET member Brandon displayed a true understanding of how the mechanics of the situation at Refco reverberated through the futures industry. As is quite typical here at ET, there were a lot of people talking out of their asses without any idea as to how an FCM works and what role the CME and ECC has in this situation. The Jim Rockfords's of ET obviously have no clue. Their agenda is simply to bash, bash, bash without any substantiation. ET is their playground of stupidity to which their fragile egos are allowed to dance without anyone holding them accountable.