MarketWatch: Ignore the Libor scandal at your own risk [View all]

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By David Weidner, MarketWatch


SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Maybe you’ve seen the headlines mentioning “Libor” or Bob Diamond or the fixing of interest rates. Perhaps you vaguely know that banks were tinkering with the rates for their own advantage.

Big deal, you say. So what?

So, basically investors, including your mutual fund, were hosed. So, the banks essentially stacked the deck so they would be guaranteed to win. So, it was an organized effort that included more than a dozen participants. And who orchestrated it all? The cops who were supposed to regulate them.

You should care because of all the missteps of the financial crisis, this one can’t be explained away by Wall Street’s excuses: “We were just stupid.” “It was the borrowers’ fault.” “We misjudged the risk.” “We didn’t see it coming.” ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ignore-the-libor-scandal-at-your-own-risk-2012-07-17?link=MW_story_popular