Yesterday, a trader in London appeared during an interview on BBC and said, "I go to bed every night and dream of another recession," after pointing out, "For most traders we don't really care about having a fixed economy, having a fixed situation, our job is to make money from" the economic woes in Europe. Independent trader Alessio Rastani added, "The governments don't rule the world - Goldman Sachs rules the world." You can watch him shock the presenters here:
Forbes wondered if Rastani was actually part of The Yes Men and spoke to him. After asking many questions about trading, Forbes' Emily Lambert went for the kill:
FORBES: Have you heard of the Yes Men?
AR: Heard of it before? Not quite sure why they’re calling me that. I have no idea where that came from.
FORBES: Because there’s a video of you posing as a Dow Chemical spokesman.
AR: What? A Dow Chemical spokesman? Have you seen this video? That can’t be right. I’ve never spoken to Dow Chemical before in my life. Maybe it’s a fake. Are you sure about this? Honestly, listen, I’ve no idea where that came from. That interview yesterday was one of the first ones I did live.
I don’t know why they think it’s a hoax. No, I am a trader absolutely. I have trader friends who could back that up. One of my mentors is a bestselling author and trader. Everyone knows me.
CNBC's John Carney doesn't think Rastani is a Yes Man and doesn't think he looks like the Dow Chemical spokesman (see video below), Tweeting that he seemed "dodgy" and might be a "'trading coach' type", plus, Rastani's Twitter and YouTube accounts go far back.
And the BBC just released this statement, "We've carried out detailed investigations and can't find any evidence to suggest that the interview with Alessio Rastani was a hoax. He is an independent market trader and one of a range of voices we've had on air to talk about the recession." Piers Morgan calls Rastani a "repulsive, greedy, insensitive trader." At Reuters, Felix Salmon thinks Rastani could be a trader AND a Yes Man:
Independent traders are, well, independent — and you don’t need to spend very much time hanging around the comments section (or even many of the posts) at Zero Hedge to discern a strong nihilistic and even anti-capitalist strain to much of the thinking in that community. Independent traders are often men in their 20s and 30s who inherited a substantial sum of money and who for whatever reason don’t have a more attractive opportunity in the regular workforce. They work from home, they tend to have a strong contrarian streak, and they have a lot of time on their hands.
All of which is entirely consistent with the profile of the kind of people who might join or become the Yes Men.
