I love Google News. It puts everything you need to know (or care to know) in one little place and in neat little categories. I don’t like MSN because it’s too busy and Yahoo! makes me want to buy a cow or baby buffalo or some farm animal. Ever see the TV show Lady Hoggers? I could do that you know now that I live in Texas. It’s legal in Texas to kill feral hogs because apparently they destroy so much and do more harm than good.
An interesting story appeared on Google News from Reuters about how MF Global has misplaced one customers’ money—about $50 million in fact, and the customer is complaining they can’t find any money in their account at all—it’s simply disappeared.
According to the story by Jonathan Stempel (wasn’t he in the movie Quiz Show?), the trustee for the now bankrupt MF Global is evading the problem but Stempel did say, “Investigators believe MF Global may have diverted the missing customer money for its own needs. The amount missing is unclear, but a lawyer for (James) Giddens (trustee) has estimated the sum could be $1.2 billion or more.” This $1.2 billion includes the missing customers’ money.
The customer who says funds are missing is Highridge Futures Fund LLP and it’s pretty fair to say they’re not happy with the $50 million invisible mistake (that’s their portion of the $1.2 billion MF Global needs to pay out).
I had funds invested with Morgan Stanley for a long time and I loved my broker—trusted him, he called each week, etc. In 2008 when everything went haywire, I decided Oliver Stone movies were a better investment and went Hollywood so to speak—and it’s paying off—well at least it will soon.
With movie investments you have a couple choices and it’s still risky. You can put some money in at the get go and when the project is fully funded (before filming starts) you can get it back plus a set percentage or leave it in there and hope the movie will do well at the box office—that’s the risky business part.
I tried to think of an Oliver Stone movie that didn’t work out so well and I’m sure there are some but only the famous come to mind so I guess I gambled on a name, not the movie topic (which I shall not reveal here.)
I’d sure like to invest in a Spike Lee movie if I could, but his are hard to get into because so many investors want those top positions so the time to invest comes and goes so quickly, it’s difficult to get in on the bottom floor. Again, I digress.
Back to MF Global, this is another company that failed due to tough economic times, bad investments and portfolios going nowhere. Shame really. I don’t have any money invested with MF Global and never did but if I did, I would certainly be surprised to open my laptop, login to my MF Global account and find my money missing.
I know it’s the bankruptcy courts who appoint said trustees but they sort of remind me of those executioners who sneak into prisons before the deadly hour with hoods or masks on their face and no one ever knows who they are. (Do they still do that?). I live in Texas now so I bet no masks or hoods are involved because in Texas, if you kill one of us, we will kill you back, as comedian Ron White is famous for saying.
Trustee. Say that word three times. Trustee-Trustee-Trustee. Don’t you feel like you’re saying “trust me?”
If this were me, I’d be staking a long-term claim on trustee James Giddens’ place of business or house even, especially if $50 million of my money had gone missing.
I think we should think of a new name for bankruptcy trustees. King or Dictator of the Money would be good. Or, that famous name from that old Mel Brooks film – Count de Money would be even better. Trustee sort of sounds bland and blah and if you say it enough—yep, you get “trust me.” Something to think about indeed!
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