Bitter Chocolate

So it was Armajaro and not BNP Paris Bas. The man behind the huge cocoa corner is Anthony Ward. Check out the story in the Daily Mail.

In 2002 he made £40 million in two month by simply hoarding cocoa. I wonder how much he will make this time.

Yesterday, I mentioned that the massive purchase of cocoa that took place yesterday in London reminded me of the attempts to corner commodities markets in the late 1800s. Today, the UK’s Telegraph makes it explicit. Citing unnamed experts, the paper reports that “it was very unlikely that a chocolate company, such as Nestle or Kraft, or even their suppliers, would buy such a huge order in one go and that is was probable that one or a number of speculators, possibly hedge funds, had attempted to corner the market.”

Then MSN reported that the hedge fund actually has a name. It’s Armajaro, both a global cocoa broker and the operator of several hedge funds. Later Wall Street Journal Online reported that BNP Paris Bas and nine other brokers took possession of the cocoa. Ah, confusion. That’s what a corner is all about.

Wow, it’s like in the days of the robber barons.

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