A FINANCIAL trader in London caused a storm of outrage
by claiming that world leaders cannot do anything to prevent a global market collapse, saying that investment bank Goldman
Sachs ruled the world.
Alessio Rastani's comments on BBC Television on Monday have
gone viral.
Answering questions about world leaders' response to the eurozone
debt crisis, the 34-year-old said traders "know the stock market is finished. The euro, as far as they're concerned, they
don't really care".
"For most traders, we don't really care that much how they're
going to fix the economy, how they're going to fix the whole situation, our job is to make money from it," he said.
As the BBC presenter looked on in shock, he added: "The governments
don't rule the world. Goldman Sachs rules the world. Goldman Sachs does not care about this rescue package, neither does the
big funds."
A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said the bank had no comment.
The remarks by Rastani, described by the BBC as an independent
trader, caused a storm on Twitter and in British newspapers.
The Daily Mail website said it was the "moment trader told shocked
BBC presenter the City just LOVES an economic disaster," while The Independent described him as "the trader who lifted the
lid on what the City really thinks".
The Guardian asked readers in an online poll if they were shocked,
with two options: "No, this is how capitalism works", or "Yes (but only by his honesty)".
Asked about his warning that millions of people's savings could
vanish in the next year, Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said this was not the case as savings were guaranteed across
Europe. Believe that if you will!
Other commentators meanwhile speculated that Rastani was simply
expressing views in public that were privately held by many.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said on Twitter that Rastani
had merely "voiced what traders working for big firms and funds say in private," while the Financial Times asked in a blog
entry "Do traders dream of defaulting Greeks?"
The BBC also stood by him, saying it had carried out "detailed
investigations" but could find no evidence to suggest Rastani was not what he claimed.
