ANOTHER FINANCIAL WIZARD'S IMAGE, CAREER TARNISHED.Byline: David E. Kalish Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. He was known by fellow traders as ``Mr. Copper Mr. Copper Otherwise known as Yasuo Hamanaka, Mr. Copper was a trader in the copper market who lost over $2.5 Billion for his employer, Sumitomo Corp. (in Japan). The losses amassed from unauthorized trading in secret accounts between 1985 and 1996. .'' They called him the most powerful player in the multibillion-dollar world market - able to move copper prices with huge transactions that sometimes involved hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, though, far less flattering superlatives are being used to describe Yasuo Hamanaka Yasuo Hamanaka was the chief copper trader at Sumitomo Corporation- one of the largest trading companies in Japan - and was also known as "Mr. Copper" because of his aggressive trading style and "Mr. Five Percent" because that is how much of the world's yearly supply he controlled. , the former head copper trader at Japan's Sumitomo Corp. Accused mastermind of one of the biggest financial frauds ever. Cover-up artist who hid an estimated $1.8 billion in losses from his employer. Sumitomo Corp., the leading player in the global copper business, said Thursday that Hamanaka admitted falsifying fal·si·fy v. fal·si·fied, fal·si·fy·ing, fal·si·fies v.tr. 1. To state untruthfully; misrepresent. 2. a. the company's books for 10 years to conceal his cover-up. The size of the loss makes it the biggest ever blamed on the unauthorized activities of a single trader. ``Everyone was familiar with him,'' said a trader in the copper floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) The world's largest physical commodity futures exchange. . If his name was mentioned as the trader behind a big transaction, ``It would make me quiver.'' Hamanaka, who lives in Tokyo, also was described as a quiet, unassuming businessman. He was so dedicated that he'd stay at work until 3 a.m. Tokyo time, when the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of markets close. Though he traveled extensively around the world for his job, he didn't take a vacation in the last 10 years. His downfall reinforced how fast bright stars can tumble in financial markets, where the staggering temptation to stretch the rules can abruptly make - and break - fortunes and fame. ``I'm just disappointed that another financial hero has bitten the dust,'' said copper analyst Richard Hirsch at Deutsche-Sharps Pixley Metals Inc. in New York. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion