Friday 9 August 2013

The shady side of coal seam industry investment in Australia 2013


"He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas"
Attributed: Poor Richard’s Almanack


US banking giant JPMorgan Chase is facing parallel civil and criminal investigations over its sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.
In a securities filing on Thursday, JPMorgan said it was notified in May by the civil division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California that it had preliminarily concluded that the bank ‘‘violated certain federal securities laws’’ in connection with the subprime mortgage-backed securities offered over 2005-2007.
The filing described a federal criminal inquiry in parallel to the civil investigation, but did not provide further details…
The company last week agreed to pay $US410 million to resolve US charges that it manipulated power prices in California and the Midwest…

Bloomberg.com ( Au8gust 2013:

JPMorgan, led by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, is seeking to resolve U.S. and U.K. probes after botched trades by its chief investment office fueled more than $6.2 billion of losses last year. Senate investigators concluded in March that the bank dodged regulators and misled investors amid souring bets by Bruno Iksil, a trader dubbed the London Whale because his positions were so big.

The Huffington Post 8 August 2013:

JPMorgan -- once a darling in Washington -- on Wednesday disclosed a raft of expected enforcement actions that have been broadly mentioned by the bank and its chief executive and chairman, Jamie Dimon, but never before in such detail. Once finalized, the enforcement orders may further damage the bank’s already-battered reputation and lead to heightened scrutiny of its practices.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating JPMorgan's collection and sale of delinquent consumer credit card debt, including its use of sworn documents to pursue bad debts. Kamala Harris, California attorney general, has sued the bank over similar practices.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency told JPMorgan it will punish the lender for its credit card collections practices and use of allegedly dubious documents, including for potentially cheating active-duty members of the military under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. JPMorgan has previously settled cases under the servicemembers act related to home mortgages.
In addition, the OCC and CFPB have told JPMorgan that they will formally discipline the bank for “unfair or deceptive” practices related to identity theft products it previously sold to consumers.
Perhaps in anticipation of expected settlements, the bank increased its estimate of possible legal losses in excess of its reserves by $800 million to $6.8 billion…

According to www.jpmorgan.com:

 J.P. Morgan’s Oil & Gas Investment Banking group provides investment banking services to the oil and gas industry on a global basis. Our clients include many of the world’s leading players and producers. The group is headquartered in New York, with additional offices in Houston, Calgary, Toronto, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific….
The Oil & Gas Investment Banking group covers the complete oil and gas value chain, which includes exploration and production, natural gas processing and transmission, refining and marketing, and oilfield services.….

Through its subsidiary, JP Morgan Nominees Australia Ltd,  JP Morgan Chase is one of the top shareholders in many companies involved in the Australian coal seam gas industry, including Metgasco Limited and ERM Power Limited.

It would appear that all the dogs have fleas when it comes to coal seam gas.

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