So they pay the $4.8 million fine and skip all the way (while laughing) to the bank to deposit $295.2 million of ill-gotten gains from John and Mary Consumer.
And who says crime doesn't pay??
Aug 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge grudgingly approved Morgan Stanley's $4.8 million settlement of electricity price-fixing charges over activity estimated to have cost New York consumers about $300 million, turning aside claims by a major nonprofit that the accord let the bank off too easily.
The case, which also involved the electricity generator KeySpan Corp, was the first in which the U.S. Department of Justice said it tried to recover improper profit from a financial services company that used derivatives to foster anticompetitive behavior.
Morgan Stanley entered a swap agreement with KeySpan in 2006 that gave it a stake in revenue by Astoria Generating Co, which also operated in New York City. It also entered a related hedge with Astoria.
The government said the arrangement allowed KeySpan to withhold substantial electricity generating capacity from the market, driving prices higher for consumers, and generated $21.6 million of net revenue for Morgan Stanley.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/morgan-stanley-price-fixing_n_1753637.html
The Occupy folks question the legality and fairness of this shit and demand accountability. The Teatards defend it as capitalism - American style - and shill for right wing political candidates who believe likewise.
Now do you understand why The Gadfly has such a visceral dislike of the Tea Party zombies?
----TFG
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