Some interesting stats just "popped up", that opened my eyes a little.
The stats...
JPMorgan Chase Total Assets: Approx $ 1.9 trillion dollars Total Exposure To Derivatives: Approx $ 70 trillion dollars
Citibank Total Assets: Approx $ 1.3 trillion dollars Total Exposure To Derivatives: Approx $ 58 trillion dollars
Bank Of America Total Assets: Approx $ 1.4 trillion dollars Total Exposure To Derivatives: Approx $ 44 trillion dollars
Goldman Sachs than Total Assets: Approx $113 billion dollars Total Exposure To Derivatives: Approx $42 trillion dollars
That means that the total exposure that Goldman Sachs has to derivatives contracts is about 370 times greater than their total assets....and now Goldmans is a member of the Dow Index! Pillar of stability?
Can anyone say that Goldman Sachs is not being incredibly reckless, or is it just another day in the life? Of course derivatives are designed to manage risk, but is there a whale lurking in the management team.
Reportedly the overwhelming majority of these derivatives contracts are interest rate derivatives. Wild swings in interest rates could set off this time bomb and send the US and global entire financial system plunging into chaos. I guess this is what Warren B was referring to.
But of course this is just scare mongering
Also , for those with an eye for figuresm a good read at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (USA).
But it would seem reasonable to conclude that the financial system is intrinsically unstable. (The opposite of gold, which is remarkably physically and chemically stable.)
Does anyone know what % of the GDP comes from the Financial Industry in the USA? Reportedly 48m people on food stamps? They are obviously not in the financial sector!
