BASEL claims to have released "new regulations":

"The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released new regulations Wednesday as part of the global fallout from the market-crippling credit crunch. The world's top bank regulator said it will patch up tears in the regulatory cloth, and will institute tougher consequences to stave off risky practices which led to the current financial turmoil."

Yeah, right. They will do no such thing - if Basel gave a good damn about the truth they would get rid of "Level 3" fiction entirely and force recognition of marks.

But no, we have banks that get back ninety-seven percent of the properties they send to "auction" as a consequence of reserves and bid-rigging (self-dealing) and and thus their "reserve" (or is it their full loan value? We never do find out as the model is not disclosed) is then allowed to be used as "the mark" on that property's value, even though there was a bid for some amount by an arms-length buyer for a lesser amount.

The bank just didn't like the number, so they refused to sell.

They're within their right to refuse to sell.

But it is fraud to claim that the actual value of that property is above the highest bid placed by an arms-length buyer.

Nor is it limited to real estate. Emboldened by the absolute lack of prosecutorial sanction banks appear to be intentionally under reporting borrowing costs and, as a consequence, manipulating LIBOR.

LIBOR is a key indication of stress in the banking system and borrowing costs as expressed by LIBOR is one of the key inputs into the interest rate puzzle. It affects borrowing costs on virtually all commercial and much consumer credit, either directly or indirectly.

What's even worse is that Eurobor Futures are one of the most liquid swap contracts on the planet and are used by people to hedge interest rate risk. If the underlying is fraudulently manipulated then a LOT of people that are on both sides of those trades are going to get ocularly penetrated unjustly.

If you think this disconnect between "what I think its worth" and what the market says its worth is unusual, there is nothing unusual about it!

It is in fact exactly why we have a stock market! Without that there would be no market. I buy a stock from you because I believe that the price is too low; that is, I'm buying for less than the stock's actual value. You sell to me because you think that the stock is worth less than what is sells for to me.

One of us is right and one of us is wrong, but today when the market closes I am forced by law to count the value of that stock I bought at what the market says its worth whether I agree with that price or not.

There is exactly one way to know what something is worth, and that is to put it out for bid and find out what an arm's length buyer will pay for it. That is its value - whether you like it or not - for today.

I view other claims of value and flat-out manipulation of marks, whether in credit instruments, LIBOR, stocks or home prices to be nothing other than organized fraud - that is, racketeering on a grand international scale.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) reported an 11% drop in first-quarter net income, but in yet another example of the pernicious horsecrap - again fed by the utter lack of prosecutorial oversight - dropped from the 4th quarter. Their CEO said:

"Looking forward, Mr. Stumpf said "We may not have seen the last of the challenges for this cycle, but we're very excited about our opportunities to continue to gain market share prudently in our core businesses at a time when many of our competitors are struggling.""

I'm sure you are Mr. Stumpf, especially considering that The Cops have not forced you to take a reserve for all those HELOCs and 2nds that exceed the value of the house they are written on, and you're quite sure they never will either, as those cops are all bought and paid for. In California, that would be a lot of them right? In previous recessions those loans (not to mention complex securities based on them) have proven to be worth a big fat zero - nothing. Not a "little less", nothing.