Quote from point&click:
Letting people treat the financial markets like the Wild West was always going to end in disaster but unfortunately the situation we find ourselves in is the natural evolution of human greed,not just the 'evil' bankers but also the greedy scumbags piling all their money into hedge funds wanting massive returns without any thought about how it is achieved or who gets hurt.
Quote from point&click:
Letting people treat the financial markets like the Wild West was always going to end in disaster but unfortunately the situation we find ourselves in is the natural evolution of human greed,not just the 'evil' bankers but also the greedy scumbags piling all their money into hedge funds wanting massive returns without any thought about how it is achieved or who gets hurt.
Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:
It's not as simple as portrayed. It never is. As Scott Turrow wrote, the media sees things in black and white ignoring the greys.
Many of the "greedy" hf customers were pension funds. Most of these pensions are restricted by their charter to just small amounts in "risky" stock market investments. The lion's share is dedicated to fixed income. The typical pension fund is under funded. Against the backdrop of generally higher rates in the 70's-90's most of these funds made an assumption of 8% a year returns via Treasuries, corporate bonds ect. As rates plunged earlier in the decade these funds were FORCED to chase higher returns. Instead they own a lot of toxic waste. They were less motivated by "greed" than "need."