man from the Fed was a woman from the Fed. Moore could almost taste the condescension every time she spoke to him.
‘Joe, if something’s going on here, we’ve got to stop it right now.’
‘Something like what?’
‘Is this some kind of coordinated action?’
‘Like a bear raid?’ Mancini chuckled. ‘Look, they’re being shorted, right? That doesn’t mean we’re looking at a bear raid.’
‘I don’t think this is funny. Can you tell me that for sure? Can you tell me for sure nothing’s going on here?’
‘I can only tell you what I can tell you.’ Mancini’s voice was snappy now. ‘If I thought we were looking at something illegal you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be doing something about it and I wouldn’t be waiting for you to tell me.’
‘I hope not.’
‘Of course not. But you know, I need some evidence first. Last time I looked this is still a free market. They’re taking bets, Cindy. Okay? They’re taking bets out there on who’s going to come back to the market for cash. And people are taking profit. It’s been a good year. Some people are gonna want to take a little profit and when they hear Professor Strickland saying the party’s over and they see the market getting a little jittery they say it’s time to do it. Strickland’s paid to burst the bubble, right? They’re worried that’s what he’s going to do.’
Cindy was silent for a moment. ‘Where did you hear these rumors?’
‘Jeez, Cindy! It’s just something guys are hearing. You ought to get in the market a little. There are rumors out there every single day.’
‘You don’t know any more about it?’ said Moore, ignoring the jibe.
‘I don’t. I swear I don’t. It’ll be this rumor today, it’ll be something else tomorrow. We’ve got a little profit-taking going on, it makes it all seem a little worse.’
Moore was silent.
‘Come on, Cindy. It’s like a snake pit out there. You’ve got to sit back and let them writhe. Enjoy it. Watch them eat each other and give thanks to God you’re not out there with them.’
‘Yeah,’ said Moore. ‘Thanks.’ She put the phone down. Mancini might be right, but she was paid to do more than watch the snakes writhe, as he put it. And she thought he was way too complacent. For someone paid to identify market manipulation, he was way too willing to accept that any given pattern of trades was just the regular market at work. Joe Mancini had always struck her as the kind of regulator who was invariably ready to arrive just as soon as the horse had bolted.
She wasn’t going to leave it at that. She had worked at the New York Fed for the past fourteen years and that meant she had seen the events of ’08 up close. She had seen Bear Stearns get sold over a weekend. She had seen Lehman go down and AIG nationalized in the course of forty-eight hair-raising hours. Once things started moving, she knew, they could move with extraordinary speed. This needed to go higher. She spoke to her boss, who spoke to his boss, Jerry Rabin, the president of the New York Fed. They both already knew that Fidelian’s stock was slipping. Rabin got on the phone to Bill Custler, the CEO of Fidelian Bank.
Rabin knew Custler well. He asked him what he thought was going on with the stock price. Custler said he had no idea.
‘Bill,’ said Rabin, ‘is there something we should know?’
‘We’re in compliance,’ said Custler.
‘I’m not saying you’re not.’ Rabin paused. He respected Bill Custler as a competent and honest executive. ‘People are shorting you, Bill. Why are they doing that?’
‘I have no idea.’
Rabin didn’t know if he heard something in Custler’s tone. It was a little more stiff and formal than normal.
‘Bill, if you’ve got something to tell us, for God’s sake, tell us early.’
There was silence.
Rabin waited for him to reply.
‘Bill?’
‘Jerry,’ said Custler, ‘I’ve got nothing to tell you.’
11
TONY EVANGELOU LAUGHED. ‘Ed,’
‘Joe, if something’s going on here, we’ve got to stop it right now.’
‘Something like what?’
‘Is this some kind of coordinated action?’
‘Like a bear raid?’ Mancini chuckled. ‘Look, they’re being shorted, right? That doesn’t mean we’re looking at a bear raid.’
‘I don’t think this is funny. Can you tell me that for sure? Can you tell me for sure nothing’s going on here?’
‘I can only tell you what I can tell you.’ Mancini’s voice was snappy now. ‘If I thought we were looking at something illegal you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be doing something about it and I wouldn’t be waiting for you to tell me.’
‘I hope not.’
‘Of course not. But you know, I need some evidence first. Last time I looked this is still a free market. They’re taking bets, Cindy. Okay? They’re taking bets out there on who’s going to come back to the market for cash. And people are taking profit. It’s been a good year. Some people are gonna want to take a little profit and when they hear Professor Strickland saying the party’s over and they see the market getting a little jittery they say it’s time to do it. Strickland’s paid to burst the bubble, right? They’re worried that’s what he’s going to do.’
Cindy was silent for a moment. ‘Where did you hear these rumors?’
‘Jeez, Cindy! It’s just something guys are hearing. You ought to get in the market a little. There are rumors out there every single day.’
‘You don’t know any more about it?’ said Moore, ignoring the jibe.
‘I don’t. I swear I don’t. It’ll be this rumor today, it’ll be something else tomorrow. We’ve got a little profit-taking going on, it makes it all seem a little worse.’
Moore was silent.
‘Come on, Cindy. It’s like a snake pit out there. You’ve got to sit back and let them writhe. Enjoy it. Watch them eat each other and give thanks to God you’re not out there with them.’
‘Yeah,’ said Moore. ‘Thanks.’ She put the phone down. Mancini might be right, but she was paid to do more than watch the snakes writhe, as he put it. And she thought he was way too complacent. For someone paid to identify market manipulation, he was way too willing to accept that any given pattern of trades was just the regular market at work. Joe Mancini had always struck her as the kind of regulator who was invariably ready to arrive just as soon as the horse had bolted.
She wasn’t going to leave it at that. She had worked at the New York Fed for the past fourteen years and that meant she had seen the events of ’08 up close. She had seen Bear Stearns get sold over a weekend. She had seen Lehman go down and AIG nationalized in the course of forty-eight hair-raising hours. Once things started moving, she knew, they could move with extraordinary speed. This needed to go higher. She spoke to her boss, who spoke to his boss, Jerry Rabin, the president of the New York Fed. They both already knew that Fidelian’s stock was slipping. Rabin got on the phone to Bill Custler, the CEO of Fidelian Bank.
Rabin knew Custler well. He asked him what he thought was going on with the stock price. Custler said he had no idea.
‘Bill,’ said Rabin, ‘is there something we should know?’
‘We’re in compliance,’ said Custler.
‘I’m not saying you’re not.’ Rabin paused. He respected Bill Custler as a competent and honest executive. ‘People are shorting you, Bill. Why are they doing that?’
‘I have no idea.’
Rabin didn’t know if he heard something in Custler’s tone. It was a little more stiff and formal than normal.
‘Bill, if you’ve got something to tell us, for God’s sake, tell us early.’
There was silence.
Rabin waited for him to reply.
‘Bill?’
‘Jerry,’ said Custler, ‘I’ve got nothing to tell you.’
11
TONY EVANGELOU LAUGHED. ‘Ed,’
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