The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.Blogger Tips and Tricks
This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Friday, April 16, 2010

"Goldman Sachs" ,charged with fraud..[ 955 ]

Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SEC

NEW YORK
Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:32pm EDT
Main Image

Main Image

NEW YORK (Reuters, April 16th, 2010) -

Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product designed to fail.

The civil lawsuit is the biggest crisis in years for Goldman, which emerged from the global financial meltdown as Wall Street's most influential bank.

It is also a huge test for Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, who has faced a firestorm of criticism over the bank's pay and business practices, and it comes as lawmakers in Washington debate sweeping reform of financial industry regulation.

The case has also ensnared John Paulson, a hedge fund investor whose firm Paulson & Co made billions of dollars by betting the nation's housing market would crash. This included an estimated $1 billion from the transaction detailed in the SEC lawsuit, which the agency said cost other investors more than $1 billion.

Fabrice Tourre, a Goldman vice president who the SEC said was mainly responsible for creating the questionable mortgage product, known as ABACUS, was also charged with fraud.

MORE SEVERE THAN EXPECTED

Goldman vowed to defend itself.

"The SEC's charges are completely unfounded in law and fact," it said. "We will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation."

In its lawsuit, the SEC alleged that Goldman structured and marketed ABACUS, a synthetic collateralized debt obligation that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities.

It alleged that Goldman did not tell investors "vital information" about ABACUS, including that Paulson & Co was involved in choosing which securities would be part of the portfolio.

It also alleged that Paulson took a short position against the CDO in a bet that its value would fall.

Paulson & Co said it did buy credit protection from Goldman on securities issued in the ABACUS program, but did not market the product. Tourre was not immediately available for comment.

Shares of Goldman fell as much as 15.6 percent, and dragged broad U.S. stock indexes lower.

"These charges are far more severe than anyone had imagined," and suggest Goldman teamed with "the leading short-seller in the industry to design a portfolio of securities that would crash," said John Coffee, a securities law professor at Columbia Law School in New York.

"The greatest penalty for Goldman is not the financial damages -- Goldman is enormously wealthy -- but the reputational damage," he said, adding that "it's not impossible" to contemplate that the case could lead to criminal charges. Coffee spoke on Reuters Insider.

Goldman had not disclosed that the SEC was considering a lawsuit but had known charges were possible and had urged the SEC not to file them, people familiar with the situation said on Friday. The sources requested anonymity because the probe was not public.

COMING OUT SWINGING

The lawsuit is a regulatory and public relations nightmare for Blankfein, who has spent 18 months fending off complaints that Goldman is an unfair beneficiary of taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street. He became chief executive less than a year before the product challenged by the SEC was created.

"This could be the beginning of a period where you have a regulatory cloud over Goldman Sachs, and perhaps even the entire investment banking industry," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co in Philadelphia.

John Paulson is not related to Henry "Hank" Paulson, who was Blankfein's predecessor as Goldman CEO and later become U.S. Treasury secretary.

The SEC lawsuit represents an aggressive expansion of regulatory efforts to hold people and companies responsible for the nation's financial crises. It could help the SEC rehabilitate its reputation after missing other high-profile cases, including Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

"The SEC has come out swinging," said Cary Leahey, senior managing director of Decision Economics in New York.

Robert Khuzami, head of the SEC's enforcement division, said John Paulson was not charged because it was Goldman that made misrepresentations to investors, not Paulson.

Still, Khuzami called Paulson's firm "a hedge fund that had a particular interest in the securities performing poorly."

It is unlikely that criminal charges will be brought, a person close to the matter said. Representatives for the Justice Department declined to comment.

In afternoon trading, Goldman shares sank $23.82, or 12.9 percent, to $160.45 on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier falling to $155.57. The perceived risk of owning Goldman debt, as measured by credit default swaps, increased.

No comments: