Are Big Banks Using Derivatives To Suppress Bullion Prices? – Paul Craig Roberts and Dave Kranzler

We have explained on a number of occasions how the Federal Reserve’s agents, the bullion banks (principally JPMorganChase, HSBC, and Scotia) sell uncovered shorts (“naked shorts”) on the Comex (gold futures market) in order to drive down an otherwise rising price of gold. By dumping so many uncovered short contracts into the futures market, an artificial increase in “paper gold” …

Latest Guilty Pleas Prove Big Bank Criminality ‘Rampant,’ But Jail Time Non-Existent – Deirdre Fulton

In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement that five global financial institutions have agreed to plead guilty to multiple crimes and pay about $5.6 billion in penalties for manipulating foreign currencies and interest rates, corporate watchdogs are reiterating the call to ‘break up the banks’ in light of their ongoing malfeasance. As with other recent settlements, Wednesday’s news provides further evidence to …

Deutsche Bank Pays $2.5 Billion Fine For Interest Rate Rigging – Pratap Chatterjee

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay out a record $2.5 billion fine to settle U.K. and U.S. government investigations into allegations of fixing global interest rates, just months after six other banks paid out $4.3 billion on similar charges. Activists say that the banks should have faced criminal charges. “The question remains: does the punishment fit the crime?” writes Angela McClellan of …

One in Four Local Banks Has Vanished Since 2008. – Stacy Mitchell

This article was produced by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, as part of itsCommunity-Scaled Economy Initiative, which produces research and partners with a range of allies to implement public policies that curb economic consolidation and strengthen locally owned enterprise. Here’s a statistic that ought to alarm anyone interested in rebuilding local economies and redirecting the flow of capital away from …