Monday 16 June 2014

Greenpeace FX Losses: It's So Easy, Isn't It?

So Greenpeace have contrived to lose €3.8m in currency speculation !  To quote the great man, one must have a heart of stone to read it without laughing.

But it's easily done, isn't it ?  We're short cable, so that means, errr, we're long, errr ... what was it again?
"to be really clear about what happened, the staff member who lost their job didn’t gamble on stock markets or speculate on currency. ... What went wrong was that someone without proper authority signed contracts to exchange currency. And that ended up losing money because the value of the Euro fell. It’s like choosing a fixed rate mortgage rather than a variable rate mortgage to avoid risky fluctuations - but this time we would have been better off with a variable rate. The staff member didn’t have the authority to make such a big decision" - (Marie from Greenpeace, writing at CiF)
So: speculating, then.  I know it's a nasty word, "Marie from Greenpeace", but there it is.  First the Co-op Bank, then this.  Capitalism, eh?  Short, long, delta, forward curve, mark-to-market ... so many difficult things to learn.   Still, with a budget of €300m ...and if you need some expert banking advice I believe Fred Goodwin is still at a loose end.

"Donors will rightly be surprised and disappointed ... we welcome your comments or questions."   But not so much as to let you post them on our website, you understand.

Yes, we understand.

ND
 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they would have been better off putting their money in oil and guns.

Anonymous said...

After an indifferent day, nice to get a laugh about something.

Ben Gunn said...

That's why it's better to be a capitalist.

No need for disappointment, shame or guilt when you find your ethical leaders have invested the collection plate money in Wonga. Or the widows pension fund in rent boys and cocaine.

We already know our side are the bad guys.

Anonymous said...

People who don't understand what they're getting into should quit playing with the big boys

CityUnslicker said...

Anon - not sure about that, then how would the big boys make money!

Anonymous said...

"Anon - not sure about that, then how would the big boys make money!"

Bloated capitalists - exploiting the unwary and stupid - who only have the €300mn to lose - from exploting the unwary and stupid

Blue Eyes said...

Reminds me of the local authorities and IceSave.

Budgie said...

Marie of Greenpeace: "... losing money because the value of the Euro fell ..."

And the gentleman/lady in question wouldn't happen to be a British hating europhile, would s/he?

SumoKing said...

How the hell did they enter into these contracts without having proof of authority demanded of them?

Any bog standard company would be taking board resolutions and providing KYC on everyone above minion level, never mind a high profile charity.

Explanation seems ropey.

Blue Eyes said...

If she lost €3.8m, how much did she speculate with??

Nick Drew said...

very fair question, BE: Sumo - ditto

all in all, just like when little Jerome Kerviel lost € 6 billion "acting alone" ... using what lines of credit exactly, hmmm ?

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