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The Greatest Criminal Enterprise in the World

By , Chief Investment Strategist, Money Morning • @ShahGilani_TW -

From the Editor: Shah Gilani is one of the few people who can show you how it really is. In this case, he's going to show you the real reason the Fed chose not to taper. If you're overly idealistic, don't read this. It will only anger you. That, of course, is why Shah's naming names today...

Ben Bernanke is the don of the greatest criminal enterprise in the world.

And yesterday his made monsters, the Five Families, lined up to kiss his ring, again.

By not "tapering" or reducing the $85 billion a month ($45 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities) the Fed is buying from banks, the Fed is saying to its hit men, "We are family, and as long as Johnny Law is coming after you, we've got your back."

The "legal and litigation costs" (that means lawyers and fines) racked up by America's Five Families since the credit crisis gently (not) ushered in the Great Recession is over $103 billion, by some estimates. That doesn't include actual losses from related activities.

The Five Families, according to the Federal Reserve, are big, very big bosses in their territories, which means America and a good part of the world.

Let's name names... and then I'll tell you the REAL reason the Fed didn't taper yesterday

Bankster Gangsters: Global Commodities Grab Causes Major Bank Profits to Soar

By , Money Morning -

Major bank profits are up. Way up.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) just reported that its first-quarter earnings nearly doubled to $3.46 billion, the investment-banking giant's second-most-profitable quarter since going public a decade ago.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) recently said its first-quarter earnings came in at $3.3 billion, up 55% from a year ago.

And Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) reported that its earnings for the first three months of the year rang in at $2.83 billion.

For all three of these banking giants, the first-quarter results blew past analyst expectations. Their stock prices? Approaching levels not seen since the start of the financial crisis. In fact, JPMorgan's stock is within 10% of its five-year high.

Major bank profits are zooming - despite the fact that U.S. consumers are struggling to repay loans.

So how are these guys pulling this off? Well, if you dig, you'll find that the bulk of major bank profits are coming from stronger trading revenue and other segments that are enabling the largest banks to overcome weakness in the lending area, which decades ago was the banking sector's bread-and-butter business.

If you dig deeper still, as I've done, you unearth one of the key reasons these banking behemoths are booking such massive profits. They've been moving enormous amounts of capital into one area of the market.

I'm talking about commodities.

For an inside look at how banks can reap 15-fold returns on their physical-commodities stakes, please read on...

For an inside look at how banks can reap 15-fold returns on their physical-commodities stakes, please read on...