Cempaka Belanda: High-frequency trader Optiver pays $14 million in oil manipulation case

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.
They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Friday, April 20, 2012

High-frequency trader Optiver pays $14 million in oil manipulation case

Reuters, Jonathan Stempel, NEW YORK, Fri Apr 20, 2012

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators claimed their first victory in a four-year old effort to crack down on oil market manipulation on Thursday, announcing a $14 million settlement with high-frequency trading firm Optiver.

In a ruling that came just two days after U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a renewed campaign against illegal oil trading schemes, the Amsterdam-based company agreed to disgorge $1 million in profits and pay a $13 million civil penalty over allegations it used a rapid-fire tool nicknamed "The Hammer" to influence U.S. oil prices in 2007.

It was the first case brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its 2008 effort to curb market malfeasance, launched as prices soared toward a record near $150 a barrel in the middle of that year.

The case alleged that traders in Optiver's Chicago office reaped a $1 million profit by engaging in a practice called "banging the close", in which the firm attempted to move U.S. oil prices by executing a large volume of deals during the final moments of trading.

While far from the agency's largest fine, the case was viewed as an important milestone in the CFTC's efforts to get more aggressive over market manipulation - a charge that has historically been difficult to prove, despite mounting political pressure to take rogue traders to task.

"The CFTC will not tolerate traders who try to gain an unlawful advantage by using sophisticated means to drive oil and gas futures prices in their favor," David Meister, the CFTC's enforcement chief, said in a statement.

"Manipulative schemes like ‘banging the close' harm market integrity, and false and misleading statements to exchange officials to cover tracks obstruct the investigative process."

Optiver, which neither admitted nor denied the CFTC's allegations as is common in settlement cases, said it was "pleased to put this matter behind it".

The settlement bars traders Christopher Dowson, Randal Meijer and Bastiaan van Kempen from trading commodities for eight years, four years and two years, respectively. Two of the three defendants have since left the firm.

The order also limits the entire company from trading U.S. oil futures in the three minutes prior to the market close for the next two years.

The fine is less than the $19.3 million that Optiver had set aside for the case in its 2010 annual report.

"YOU NEVER KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO LAST"

Optiver, founded as a one-person operation by options trader Johann Kaemingk in Amsterdam in 1986, is considered a pioneer within the close-knit high-frequency and algorithmic trading communities of Amsterdam and Chicago.

It has more than 600 employees worldwide, including offices in Sydney, and says on its website it has "never had a loss-making year". The firm trades only with its own capital, and doesn't have any clients.

The CFTC case revealed emails and phone recordings showing efforts by traders at Optiver's Chicago branch to "move," "whack" and "bully" oil prices.

According to a CFTC background sheet, van Kempen told an Optiver trader on March 19, 2007: "You should milk it for right now because you never know how long it's going to last."

The CFTC complaint said Optiver and van Kempen made false statements to New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) compliance officials in an effort to conceal the manipulative scheme.

The defendants had attempted to manipulate NYMEX U.S. crude oil, gasoline and heating oil contracts on the 19 separate times during 11 days in March 2007, according to the complaint.

"Those who seek to manipulate oil or other commodity markets should know we aren't messing around," said CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton. "You manipulate, we are going after you."

In a copy of the private company's 2010 annual report obtained by Reuters last year, the firm reported trading income of 551.1 million euros (about $800 million) in 2007 and 710.6 million euros in 2008.

But trading income fell to 263.7 million euros in 2009 and 377.5 million euros in 2010.

Based on reported personnel expenses at the firm and a staff of 600, the average annual salary was about 153,000 euros in 2010.

LONG TIME COMING

President Obama on Tuesday called on lawmakers to raise civil and criminal penalties on individuals and companies involved in manipulative practices.

But while the CFTC was keen to trumpet the Optiver settlement on Thursday, the long wait between the alleged manipulation and a settlement illustrates the difficulties faced by regulators.

"As reflected by the court's order, we will seek significant financial penalties from violators and limitations on their privileges to trade on markets in the United States," Meister at the CFTC said.

High-frequency trading has come under scrutiny in commodity markets in recent years following a series of violent and seemingly inexplicable price moves that many traders have blamed on its growth. But most of the CFTC's outright manipulation cases still revolve around human trades.

In 2010 the CFTC won a $25 million fine from renowned hedge fund Moore Capital Management for attempting to manipulate settlement prices of platinum and palladium futures, also for "banging the close". Another major suit against London-based oil trader Arcadia and its U.S. unit is pending in court.

The CFTC is expected to review HFT trading, which has come in for fierce criticism since the equity market "flash crash" in May 2010.

The settlement was approved on Thursday by Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The case is CFTC v. Optiver US LLC et al, U.S. District court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-06560.

(Additional reporting by Karey Wutkowski, Sarah Lynch and Alexandra Alper in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Bernard Orr and Robert Birsel)

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