Tuesday Was Not a Good Day for the Financial Markets (Or Maybe It Was!)

Wednesday's financial news stories looked suspiciously like the police blotter.

New York Times:  Rate Inquiry Accelerates With Arrests In London
"In a sign of the escalation, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office made the first arrests in connection with the rate-rigging inquiry on Tuesday....In a predawn raid, police took three men into custody at their homes on the outskirts of London. One of the men is Thomas Hayes, 33, a former trader at UBS and Citigroup, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. The other two men arrested worked for the British brokerage firm R P Martin, said another person briefed on the matter."

Chicago Tribune:  Former Rochdale Securities trader arrested in fraud scheme
"NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI arrested a former trader at the Connecticut firm Rochdale Securities on Tuesday in a fraud scheme involving Apple stock, U.S. prosecutors said. According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Monday, David Miller bought Apple shares for himself ahead of the tech giant's October 25 earnings announcement, then told his employer Rochdale the trade was for a customer who would bear the risk if it lost money."

Bloomberg:  Deutsche Bank Says Co-CEO Fitschen Subject of CO2 Probe
"Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) co-Chief Executive Officer Juergen Fitschen and Stefan Krause, the firm’s chief financial officer, are subjects of a tax probe involving the sale of carbon-emission certificates that led to five arrests and police raids on the lender’s Frankfurt offices."

Reuters:  Former MF Global trader pleads guilty in $141 mln trading loss
"A rogue trader for now-bankrupt futures brokerage MF Global pleaded guilty on Tuesday to violating commodities trading laws in 2008, causing $141 million in losses.  Evan Dooley, who worked in MF Global's Memphis office, made a series of overnight bets in wheat futures on CME Group's electronic trading system, even though he knew he did not have money to cover potential losses, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago."

Did I miss a Lindsey Lohan story in there somewhere?  

Actually it got me thinking.  Which of the below is true?

• there is more financial crime now than there used to be
• more financial activities are now considered criminal
• there is better enforcement of securities/commodities laws today than there used to be
• financial crimes are now considered newsworthy
• it is just my imagination