Monday, October 31, 2011

Nearly $700 Million Vanishes into Thin Air

Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's MF Global is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to FOX News. So by any reasonable interpretation, this firm is facing a crisis that threatens its very existence, having lost $192 million in the past quarter and having seen a 60% drop in the value of its shares. Buying up all those European bonds could have made money if the slacker nations got their act together, but since there is no end in sight to the financial morass that is the European Union, these bonds have collectively become a giant millstone that could drag down MF Global with it. The New York Times' Dealbook adds another complication: federal investigators are looking into the probability that this company is unable to account for up to $700 million of its investors' money.

UPDATE: As though Gov. Corzine didn't have problems enough, now a NorthJersey.com/AP article quotes Craig Donohue, the head of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, who said that MF Global violated rules designed to safeguard its clients' money.

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