er, no.
They colluded to artifically fix certain interest rates associated with trading to make more money. That isn't really the same thing.

it's probably closest to bookmakers fixing odds, except the whole thing is a giant betting syndicate gambling on many hundreds times more money than actually exists, either in the form of actual wealth or commodities or even potential commodities, so in the grand scheme of things, fixing a few odds is pretty fucking meaninless.

I only understand about 10% of what the fuck is going on but I'd suggest it's probably akin to fixing odds on a horse that doesn't actually exist and isn't really running in a race that no-one can see the winner of anyway.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:41, 2 replies, latest was 13 years ago)

it's more like playing monopoly blindfolded with a deaf mute
where you say there's a hotel on mayfair but it's not really, it's on old kent road and it's not a hotel it's a house only you don't own the house, old kent road or a blindfold.
and you're not playing monopoly, it's hungry hungry hippos.
( mark morrisons prison shoes I love Willie, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:45, Reply)

Put this man on the Today programme NOW

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:48, Reply)

mumpers. Once again, the voice of reason.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:48, Reply)

well, I do work for a large bank.

( mark morrisons prison shoes I love Willie, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:49, Reply)

You're doing arguing on the internet wrong
You're supposed to be taking some half-understood data and, with no context based on actual experience, make a sweeping judgment, compare some people to Hitler and then accuse anybody that disagrees with you of having no life.

I hope this helps.
( Kroney, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:56, Reply)

I don't even own a Hitler, though.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:58, Reply)

I like to think all french people act like on allo allo
does this help, GOERING!!!!
( mark morrisons prison shoes I love Willie, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:59, Reply)

you are Robert Peston AICMFP.
best explanation I've heard so far, anyways.
(localboy purveyor of pisspoor puns, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:49, Reply)

I never had hungry hungry hippos.

(Bazongaloid, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:50, Reply)

neither have barclays, hence the problem.

( mark morrisons prison shoes I love Willie, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:55, Reply)

The libor is calculated daily from an estimate of every banks borrowing from every other.
So at barclays, overnight they borrow £1mill from RBS at 3%, £1mill from HSBC at 5% then it should be reported as they paid an average of 4% to the BBA. The traders hassled/offered favours to the analysts who had to report the lending rates to the BBA to put it lower than it actually was. There's quotes from IM's at the bottom of this article. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18622264
(PsychoChomp, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:48, Reply)

ITS ALL THE FAULT OF TONY B-LIAR GORDON CLOWN AND THE REST OF NU LIBOR!!

(Bazongaloid, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:51, Reply)

euuugh, those IM's are replusive

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:52, Reply)

yes
but neither you or I really know what that actually means in terms of impact on anything. Because they aren't actually borrowing real money. They are moving around things that don't exist for the purpose of betting on things that haven't happened yet.

Also, none of us know whether this even matters. After all, the stock market and traders existed perfectly happily up until the late 80s doing exactly what they are being fined for now, which is setting their own transaction rates.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:55, Reply)

well, that kind of trading ain't as much as you think.
as far as how a bank operates as a whole.
libor borrowing is used for servicing lending books or covering where items are falling due mostly.
I like to think of it as a big gay daisy chain where they all cum one at a time and pass it on.
( mark morrisons prison shoes I love Willie, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 10:58, Reply)

yeah, like I said, I probably understand about 10%-20% of it.
I'm not claiming otherwise. I just think it's a bit daft getting mad about something about 0.001% of the population understand.

I'm also yet to be convinced that it actually makes a difference to anything? especially if all banks are doing it. And I'd be awful suprised if Barclays have some kind of cunt monopoly on investment bankers.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 28 Jun 2012, 11:01, Reply)