Black Scarf

Randy Na

Description

The book highlights through various analogies, how the extremist views of Republican ideology are destroying the Capitalist system. Elections are coming up and the President is struggling to make a second term.Emma Flood's personal tragedy, caused by Hightower Bank's dubious investments, motivates her to crusade against the excesses of all banks, big business and cronyism within government. Poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor propel her to get involved in a dangerous mission that could cost her her life.She and some activists form a protest group called 'The Black Scarf'. They decide to use flash mobs in Personal Denial Of Service attacks against Hightower to protest industry abuses and the absurd remuneration of top executives. In this they are aided by a hacking group that mounts their own DDOS attacks.The Black Scarf blames Republican ideology for the incredible flight of capital to tax havens which is now quickly choking the life out of the Capitalist System and as an illustration quantifies the unbelievable number of BMW's that could be bought with the money held in offshore accounts.Meanwhile the FBI is up to their necks trying to find a group of terrorists causing immense damage to the American economy.Agent Guthrie has been assigned to keep tabs on Emma as Homeland Security are concerned the protest may be going too far.A connection appears between Guthrie's previous assignment of drug smuggling tunnels on the US/Mexico border linking a drug cartel to both the terrorists and to money laundering by the CEO of Hightower Bank.The terrorist attacks reach deadly proportions requiring the President to intervene.The drama unfolds as the protest movement and the terrorists find they could be sharing a common target, and the President is presented with an uncomfortable question.

Informations

• Publié par: eBookPartnership.com
• Date de parution: 20 septembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781909270473
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Black Scarf
By Randy Na
You can never be too greedy, Donald Trump
2012 Randy Na
Randy Na has asserted his rights in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by eBookPartnership.com First published in eBook format in 2012 eISBN: 978-1-909270-47-3
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
All names, characters, places, organisations, businesses and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Contents
Chapter 1 - George Crespo
Chapter 2 - Emma Flood
Chapter 3 - The Black Scarf
Chapter 4 - Capitol Hill
Chapter 5 - The Tunnel
Chapter 6 - Kibera
Chapter 7 - The FBI
Chapter 8 - Denial of Service
Chapter 9 - The President
Chapter 10 - The first threat and the AGM
Chapter 11 - Emma threatened and another bomb
Chapter 12 - Emma attacked
Chapter 13 - BMWs to the moon
Chapter 14 - Another bomb
Chapter 15 - A break through
Chapter 16 - Banks, ports, schools and buses
Chapter 17 - The Chase
Chapter 18 - The Basement
Chapter 19 - The Biltmore
Chapter 20 - Wasim
Chapter 21 - The Ceremony
Postscript.
U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
Chapter 1 - George Crespo
Those little town blues. New York 2002. Floor to ceiling glass. High up powerful views across Manhattan. George Crespo did not really need to hum Frank Sinatra's little tune. He had already made it there. CEO of Hightower Bank, still in his early forties, handsome, black hair slicked back, medium height. His world is not one taken in small measures. His meteoric rise has given him an aura among the financial community.
George Crespo was excited. He had been doing his homework. Banker’s homework. He understood probably better than any of his peers how the industry worked. And the industry according to George Crespo was ready. He had been sounding them out for over a year and he now knew instinctively that once he began they would all follow. All of them. Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, UBS. They would all follow. Countrywide, Fannie, Freddie and all the mortgage brokers, they were just waiting to hear the whistle blow. Although as yet they didn't know it.
But the banks would follow, they really had no option. The unwritten law of big business dictated it. Security in numbers. The rules of the jungle worked in exactly the same way on Wall Street as it did on Capitol Hill. They would all follow and all comply. Tough to prosecute your best friends. Funny. The logic of it all came from a George Bush legislation. George Crespo just changed one word. No Bank Left Behind.
One of his closest friends had been with him on the journey. Crespo could always rely on Bernie Layman. Fifties, grey balding, pixyish round face, showing slightly the worst for wear, the long hours of deal making, good food, booze, cocaine and prostitutes, clearly had taken their toll. Stefan Goldsmith, tall, scrawny, vulture like, the third of the triumvirate. Three of the world’s top financiers. Crespo, looking out across the skyline, his kingdom. The other two sitting casually at the conference table. Crespo, hands in pockets, turns slightly.
'What you think?'
He turns and stares hypnotically at them. 'A plan?'
Layman and Goldsmith look at each other. A pause then slowly they both nod. A further drawn out silence before Goldsmith finally responds. 'Yeah, good, logical. A bit risky, but yeah, sounds like a plan to me.'
Crespo smiles then looks at Goldsmith. Goldsmith shrugs opening his arms approvingly. 'Ditto George, but hell just for whatever sake, let’s go over it one more time. OK?'
Crespo, with the slightest of grins. 'A pleasure, Stefan.' He walks to a whiteboard hanging on a wall behind the head of the conference table. Scribbled in red is written;
Massive credit
Mortgages for everyone
Subprime loans include two years teaser payments
Bundle into securities
Sell securities to investors
He's loving this. He’s sure they‘ll go for it. With assured confidence he begins.
'Remember up to now our bundled debt is some of the most sought after in the market. Safe, good and steady returns. So we extend credit, limitless credit to mortgage lenders and brokers. They then start selling subprime.'
'Subprime?' Layman is not totally convinced. A bit left field.
Crespo in his stride. 'Exactly. Everyone wants their own home and most will do anything to buy one. Even those that have no chance to repay their loans. But with teaser mortgages, everyone thinks, hell I got two years to get my act together, Right?'
Goldsmith nods. 'So if they get a chance, they go for it. Nothing to lose.'
Crespo continues. 'Exactly. And you know how big that market is?’ A rhetorical question. ‘Now listen, subprime on a massive scale. The big banks do the underwriting. OK? With our money and political contacts, we can get round many of the rules. I tell you there will be so much competition that even dead people will qualify.'
He gets serious. 'To allow this to work, at least two years teaser payments must be built into the loan. They pay basically nada for two years. Nearly free living in a home of their own. Unheard of. Hey? What a deal?'
Can’t argue with that.
'We then bundle the prime and the subprime into securities. The high returns on the subprime with the security of the prime will make them irresistible to the Street and the Europeans.'
He's speaking their language. Crespo instinctively feels any doubts slowly evaporating.
Layman wants to make sure. 'You reckon there’s no risk George? I mean from the legality of the securities. The S.E.C.?'
'Bernie, my council says no, absolutely. Because the loans will be pooled and sold off, we will completely avoid any responsibility. And remember the whole industry will be involved. And the S.E.C. will take forever to see what’s happening. They won’t know shit.'
No one says anything. All thinking, weighing up the risks. Crespo looks at them, his smile challenging. 'Tell me Bernie, who are your friends and neighbors? Who do you see at the golf club, at the yacht club?'
Layman shrugs.
Crespo continues. 'Lawmakers, regulators, the FED. CEO’s, guys from the ratings agencies, and of course the lobbyists. They ain’t gonna do squat. Take it from me, no one will see a minute of jail time. There might be the odd Senate Hearing, but shit, you play dumb. When those guys ask a question you know someone else wrote, whatever answer you give, they don't have a fuckin clue. Walk in the park.'
Now Layman gets into the act. Crespo has been waiting for this moment.
'The ratings agencies. Got to get them truly buttered. Remember, the higher they rate these securities, the more they get paid. They will capitulate to temptation. AAA’s all over the place.'
They look at each other. Is this the jackpot? After a while, Goldsmith stands up, walks over to Crespo and gives him a playful punch. Goldsmith is getting excited. 'Brilliant, George. More I think... it’s fantastic. About balance sheets...' He leaves his thoughts hanging in the air for a moment.
'Now imagine, if all the income the loans would generate over their lifetimes are recorded at the start, as if none would default, Jesus, share values will soar.'
'You’re getting the idea Bernie, real good.'
Goldsmith chimes in hardly able to contain himself. 'I love it. Plenty of time to buy stock, the market will go out of sight. Huge fees, commissions, the bonuses, then just when the real mortgage payments start to kick in, we start to offload.' That's when the market will start to sneeze, then temperatures will rise and before you know it, full blown pneumonia.’
Crespo goes up to the whiteboard and starts to write. 'Then we sit and wait for.. a...' He finishes the word and they all say it together. 'BAILOUT.' He then puts his hands in the air like an orchestra conductor and they all sing together, 'Cause we’re just too big to fail!'
Smiles. But Crespo is thinking. It’s not really that they are too big to fail. He knows that they are really just too big to prosecute. Not when they are all on board. He breaks out of his reverie.
Layman isn't finished. 'Then when the stocks hit rock bottom, we buy in again. Fucking genius.'
Crespo isn't finished either. 'One more thing, just before the shit does hit the fan, we bet like hell that the housing market will implode, a total collapse.'
Goldsmith knows the logic. 'Bet against the very products we’re selling. Hedging at its best.' He pauses, then 'We’ll make so much money that even if the banks go fucking under, who gives a shit?'
'And Gentlemen, we’ll get a wonderful new investor on board.' They look puzzled.
He waits, smiles. 'The Taxpayer.'
This is the funniest thing.
Goldsmith likes a joke. 'But what about the poor people who lose their homes?'
Crespo knows this type of joke. 'I once knew a poor person.' They look at him amazed. 'Yeah, his company was worth four hundred million. Went bust from some dumb investments. The poor bastard was down to his last five million.' Chuckles. 'No one would speak to him.'
Hilarious!
Crespo is beaming. 'Bernie, I'm gonna make a prediction, you want to hear it?'
'Go on.'
'You will be the next Chairman of the Fed.' Crespo is not joking. 'And you Stefan, ei