Conspiracy Theory of the Day

A confidential report from the Pentagon just made public says that the 2008 financial crisis was the result of targeted attacks by terrorists groups. A ramp up of oil prices that began in 2007 led to the bear raids against Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in 2008. The final phase may be in place now, forcing the US to engage in massive and unsustainable borrowing to cope with the Great Recession that followed. The consequent collapse of the dollar is assured.

Two firms, left anonymous in the report, were particularly aggressive in the execution of this plan, which engaged in highly leveraged purchases of credit default swaps and the shorting of stocks. It is believed they were acting as agents on behalf of unnamed enemies of the US. Was it China? Jihadists? Or Goldman Sachs (GS)?

I know that parties with advanced knowledge of the 9-11 attacks bought a massive position in American Airlines puts just days before, which they executed through Swiss banks. They never collected a windfall profit thought to exceed $200 million, as the FBI was ready to pounce. So we know that at least terrorist friends are active in the market in big size.

However, this report sounds more like a John le Carre novel than having any bearing in reality. Did terrorists force Alan Greenspan to keep interest rates artificially low? Did they intimidate millions of subprime borrowers into taking out loans they could never repay. Did terrorists drug the SEC, putting them to sleep while bankers ran wild? Did Chinese agents lobby for the repeal of Glass Steagle?

I doubt it. It all sounds like a fantasy that squeezed through the cracks on a slow news day. I think the Pentagon better stick to their day job of blowing up stuff rather than analyzing financial markets.

Was This a Trading Strategy?