Comments on: Jon Corzine, rogue trader

By: matthewslyman

matthewslyman — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:47:16 +0000

MacTM19 shared this video on another Reuters story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm3VMrKqJ SA
Watch Joe Biden praising Jon Corzine as his mentor on economic stimulus! And just watch Jon Corzine’s body language while Biden feeds his ego! This says all the things Felix Salmon has been describing in his article…

By: Danny_Black

Danny_Black — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:41:08 +0000

ErnieD, of course the real issue is proving he did something that is actually illegal as opposed to either stupid or reckless.

By: ErnieD

ErnieD — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:43:36 +0000

The attention to detail in trading will be an interesting legal issue that Corzine will need to deal with, especially with things like the lawsuit by his ex-employees.

I am sure that his typical defence will be that he was not down in the weeds in the company business, didn’t know all of the details of the company finances, can’t recall if anybody ever informed him of how his own trades were being financed, etc.

Showing a Type AAA personality focusing on many details including the details required to have successful major trading positions could be devestating to his defence, certainly opening up a gross negligence issue if he was shirking his actual required CEO duties in order to play trader.

By: cyenwong

cyenwong — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:50:34 +0000

mlknows,
are you related to JSC?

By: w.burton

w.burton — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:37:09 +0000

How do you get rich? It’s simple: you STEAL using every tool available.

Is there any hope at all that this guy will go to jail? Nah… “it was all legal” says Obama.

By: Christofurio

Christofurio — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:58:25 +0000

mlknows,

You’re joking, right?

By: moneyboy22

moneyboy22 — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:48:28 +0000

This Ex Gov. is as Dirty as Gorden Gecko….stop buying his Story..cause he was the CEO…save your story for your jail friend Bernie Madoff… Bernie knows your tricks….you play us all as stupid…

By: mlknows

mlknows — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:21:13 +0000

Hi
You should all just leave Jon alone. I am sure he was trying to do his best and the market chose to turn against him.
How unfortunate for Mr Corzine.
Have some empathy and compassion.

By: RMoS

RMoS — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:52:40 +0000

How in the world did FINRA, CFTC, and the SEC miss the idea that repo-to-maturity represents risk, instead of a “sale?” Sen. Conrad is absolutely right when he says this is a hole big enough to accomodate a Mack truck.

FINRA may be in the pockets of the big brokerage firms (one can argue about that), but where the heck was the SEC, and especially the CFTC?

Markets are “self-regulating?” Yeah, right. Even regulators are not (it seems) “self-regulating.”

By: northforkinv

northforkinv — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:30:34 +0000

don’t forget Hank Paulson had him booted out of Goldman co-CEO slot for trying singlehandedly to have that firm buy the sinking positions of John Meriweather’s hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management. All those broker trading desk guys like Meriweather and Corzine think the way to make money is to always average down.

By: matthewslyman

matthewslyman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:27:57 +0000

Following a schedule like Corzine’s could turn most of us into rogue traders; especially if you combine that schedule with a strong desire for personal recognition. Recent psychological research has shown that sleep-deprived subjects tend to take bigger risks more optimistically, and tend to be hasty in seeking a big win:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obse rvations/2011/03/08/short-on-sleep-the-b rain-optimistically-favors-long-odds/

By: woodywoods

woodywoods — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:44:11 +0000

Another crook out of a seemingly endless parade of crooks. We need to pick up the pace in swapping out the pot smokers in jail in exchange for extremely harmful and real criminals like Corzine.

By: mm11217

mm11217 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:24:15 +0000

Good piece, but I disagree with the contention that the role of the CEO is to be paranoid about all risks. In fact, I think CEOs that act on that philosophy are doomed to fail. Risk assessment and mitigation fall on many shoulders, including the general counsel and the compliance officer. In my mind, a CEO needs to take a balanced approach between seeking opportunities and containing unnecessary risks.

By: tbuhl

tbuhl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:40:55 +0000

Felix – I think the NYT was making a point the Corzine kept prop trading even when he was an executive at MF Global and Goldman. This means he used the banks funds and kept a p&l for those trades that was not combinded with the trades for the rest of the prop desk. To me this read as an ego trade because Corzine felt the need to have his trading return success visable to others at the bank.

By: fred5407

fred5407 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:15:09 +0000

Simple answer. John Corzine was not qualified to be a CEO and the people on the board were not qualified for their position on the board. The board members should also face trial along with Corzine. Time to get the financial community on stable ground. Oh, by the way, we should also remember that we have an unqualified sitting president, and a whole batch of unqualified Republicans seeking the Office.