Neither one of these articles debunk the accusation that (some) hedge fund managers are shorting in anticipation of a hard Brexit and that (some) of them are financially behind Boris.
The FT says, basically, that
- not all hedge funds are shorting
- not all shorted stocks have Brexit exposure as their primary concern
- investing is complicated
- hedge funds don’t have monolithic strategies
- hedge funds short stuff for other reasons
- more big donations went to Remain
- the data presented with the hedge fund argument has problems
Every one of those statements could be true, but even in their entirety the don’t actually refute the claim.
draxen
6344
Nor is there any proof that Boris is pursuing a no deal Brexit to please financial backers who stand to profit from it.
So we’ve concluded that… there is currently no proof either way.
I thought I read that Brexit was brought on primarily so a bunch of rich Brits wouldn’t have to pay into some new EU tax on millionaires that was about to go into effect.
…and that you erroneously claimed there was.
Banjax
6347
I think that’s true ish. I think many of those are true followers of the messiah and are not put back in their box. Why one can only speculate but I think that it could be because the leader tacitly endorses the view. This feels like the anti Semitic stories he either agrees with the view or he doesn’t want to upset the Apple cart so he won’t come out clearly condemning it.
If he came out and publically stated it though he’d be done. Instead we have that travesty of a vote at conference so they can all sing ‘ohh Jc’
The difference with the Tory party is they’ve gone full cuckoo but they have been going that way for sometime on Europe and other subjects. I wonder what would have happened if the had held a referendum on the death penalty.
Meh, it’s like why people voted for Trump, a bunch of people have an idea, if it’s the right idea, who knows, it’s most likely a little bit of this, a little bit of that, with a whole bunch of “trying to go back in time” in there for good measure.
I’m going to believe the Prime Ministers sister and the man who was Chancellor of the Exchequer a few months before any attempts by Johnsons supporters to try and debunk the claims, especially since anything that comes out of a Brexiters mouth is a lie. One have decades of experience of Johnson, the other a lifetime and Hammond is at the centre of the Westminster/Tory bubble. His other brother thinks he’s an honourless dog too.
Aceris
6350
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
- There are obvious political reasons Boris is doing what he is doing (look at polling, listen to the focus groups. His political strategy may be founded on Trumpian deception and cynicism but it’s not delusional). There doesn’t need to be some mysterious mastermind.
- Anyone currency hedging a long position in UK companies is going to look like they are “betting against UK plc” as far as the people peddling this theory are concerned, when really they are doing the opposite.
Are there some financiers who expect the pound to crash and are betting accordingly? Almost certainly. Are they largely brexiteers? A lot less certain. Remember that with the ERM debacle it was Soros who made hundreds of millions. Brexiteers are if anything more likely to be optimistic about the UK economy. Do they have political influence? Only so much as extremely rich financiers all have a certain amount of access and credibility if they want it.
If anyone’s got a link to some actual investigative reporting written by someone who understands the financial industry then I’ll take a look, but the fact that Odey’s funds have short positions is in and of itself both unsurprising and uninteresting given the way they operate. Even if he is betting against the pound, how is Boris beholden to him?
None of this changes the fact that the people banging the no deal drum, whether financiers or politicians, are largely nationalist fools who do not have the best interests of the country at heart. But that doesn’t mean we should embrace conspiracy theories.
Aceris
6351
The “spike” is the one piece of “evidence” that something more than routine short positions was involved, justifying the entire article.
Except it’s not evidence because they made it up, either by accidentally screwing up their data (which is actually very plausible) or deliberately.
The big regulated funds have positions the market knows about. The smaller, unregulated offshore funds where old money hides will be opaque. Hence when the former Chancellor repeats what the insiders talk about, you listen to that.
jpinard
6353
Yes, those are the people WITHOUT money who are uneducated enough to be bullish on hard Brexit. Those with money know what this means and are planning appropriately, some trying to profit off it and pushing Brexit because it’s more money for them.
Aceris
6354
This must be the first time ever you’ve taken Phil Hammond’s unsubstantiated word over Chris Dillow’s.
Conveniently left Johnsons sister out of the equation eh
Check this out, the list used by Tory whips to blackmail their MP’s into line which made the news a while back has been leaked unredacted. Also interesting, the things that are negatives for their own party but aren’t really to their opponents.
Its well known the Queen hates any mention of her in a political sense. Its the duty of her government to Leave Her Bloody Out Of It. I can imagine Johnson is already hated by her. She hated Cameron for very very mildly hinting she didnt want Scottish independence. I’m sure she won’t do anything other than rubber stamp what No.10 wants, she’s knows if shes anything other than a rubber stamp and tourist magnet then a future government have an excuse to get rid of the Royals.
As would a future Thomas Mair.
Guap
6359
Holy shit that list is hilarious. “Nicknamed Guy Copperfeel” . . . “impregnated staffers”.
“Video exists of three males urinating on him.”
Is “perpetually intoxicated” better or worse than “a drunk”?
I have no problem with Will being a pissboy or the pissboy lifestyle but being a Tory is a step too far. Unconsensual sadism is not cool.
Being unfamiliar with UK lingo, I couldn’t figure out what was meant by “researcher”. Basically it’s a lower tier position where they search the internet and media regarding issues which matter for the MP, plus perform miscellaneous other tasks.
I think the truth is far worse than the idea anyone is doing any of this with any sort of molevelant plan in mind.
Nobody in the upper echelons of power has a clue what they’re doing. They’re just throwing stuff at the wall, desperately trying to find something that sticks.
