Capitalismo conspiratorio em Wall Street

Esta matéria deve alegar todos aqueles que cultivam uma visão conspiratória da história, sobretudo a de que o capitalismo global é dominado por um grupo de conspiradores instalado em Wall Street.
Paulo Roberto de Almeida


Secret group keeps grip on trading derivatives
The International Herald Tribune, 15.12.2010

NEW YORK — On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in New York.

The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives, one of the most profitable — and controversial — fields in finance. They also share a common secret: The details of their meetings, even their identities, have been strictly confidential.

Drawn from giants like Deutsche Bank, UBS, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, the bankers form a powerful committee that helps oversee trading in derivatives, instruments that, like insurance, are used to hedge risk.

In theory, this group exists to safeguard the integrity of the multitrillion-dollar market. In practice, it also defends the dominance of the big banks.

The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts to make full information on prices and fees freely available.

Banks’ influence over this market, and over clearinghouses like the one this select group advises, has costly implications for businesses large and small, like Dan Singer’s home heating-oil company in Westchester County, north of New York City.