[rschneid]

I humbly submit to you hypothesis that the lawlessness of finance is so pervasive that it has effectively become legalized through intellectual and regulatory capture. If you're interested in supporting evidence for this idea, check out how Enron sought and acquired SEC 'approval' for their ponzi instruments....

[JumpCrisscross]

> the lawlessness of finance is so pervasive that it has effectively become legalized through intellectual and regulatory capture

Right, this is the popular narrative, and it’s why numpties think they can get away with trading out-of-the-money calls on tenders.

> check out how Enron sought and acquired SEC 'approval' for their ponzi instruments

Source? Because the SEC doesn’t approve (or deny) corporate instruments. It regulates disclosure.

[rschneid]

Well official disclosure in finance is very similar to assigning value, since many of the instruments that actually trade are derivative or abstract representations of actual assets with 'real' value.

My only point is that the notion of 'legal' can get very fuzzy when you're talking about an industry with so many private/self-interested entities that rival or exceed intellectual/manpower of the agencies responsible for regulation.

If you want to learn more about the SEC's role or dereliction of duty in the Enron case you could start here: https://www.investopedia.com/updates/enron-scandal-summary/#...

Google could lead you to more evidence, if you wish to explore the hypothesis further...