JPMorgan’s $2 billion experiment with truthiness (Reuters)

Bill Black, a finance criminologist, says JPMorgan is now defining as a hedge “something that performs in exactly the opposite fashion of a hedge.” Designed to reduce risk, Black says the bank’s $2 billion in losses came from deals that “dramatically increased risk by placing a second bet in the same direction, which compounded the risk.” Contrary to Black statement, reports indicate the trade began as a standard hedge and morphed into speculation as the bank layered bet on top of bet. Banks Too Big to Fail have delayed implementation of the Volcker Rule, which bars some speculative trades, and other provisions of the Dodd-Frank law. “It’s clear that JPMorgan has absolutely no fear that this might have consequences,” Black said.