James:
We need more business leaders like Ann Barnhardt! As reported over at Zero Hedge, Ann Barnhardt, President of Barnhardt Capital Management (a cattle and grain hedge brokerage) writes an excellent letter to her clients explaining why she is shutting down her business and exiting the markets altogether. She cites the recent bankruptcy of MF Global as the last straw, and predicts the imminent downfall of brokerage firms and commodities dealers in the derivatives market.
This was mentioned on Rush Limbaugh’s show as her “Going Galt” speech, in reference to Ayn Rand’s character John Galt in Atlas Shrugged
See: “BCM Has Ceased Operations Part 1 and Part 2”. (Linked at Zero Hedge.)
Some highlights from Ann Barnhardt’s letter:
“The reason for my decision to pull the plug was excruciatingly simple: I could no longer tell my clients that their monies and positions were safe in the futures and options markets – because they are not.
The futures and options markets are no longer viable. It is my recommendation that ALL customers withdraw from all of the markets as soon as possible so that they have the best chance of protecting themselves and their equity.
In short, the problem is a SYSTEMIC problem, not merely isolated to one firm.
Finally, I will not, under any circumstance, consider reforming and re-opening Barnhardt Capital Management, or any other iteration of a brokerage business, until Barack Obama has been removed from office AND the government of the United States has been sufficiently reformed and repopulated so as to engender my total and complete confidence in the government, its adherence to and enforcement of the rule of law, and in its competent and just regulatory oversight of any commodities markets that may reform. So long as the government remains criminal, it would serve no purpose whatsoever to attempt to rebuild the futures industry or my firm, because in a lawless environment, the same thievery and fraud would simply happen again, and the criminals would go unpunished, sheltered by the criminal oligarchy.“