“Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 ‘maritime companies’ and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking,”
Tag: pirates
Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair | Reuters
THE INVISIBL
E HAND OF THE MARKET MOVES UPON THE WATERS…
This is a classic example of why capitalism will never go away. It’s efficient and it rewards initiative. A pirate leader, what you might call a ‘vulture capitalist’, describes the market:
“The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”
And just like any capital market, shareholders wait breathlessly for returns:
Piracy investor Sahra Ibrahim, a 22-year-old divorcee, was lined up with others waiting for her cut of a ransom pay-out after one of the gangs freed a Spanish tuna fishing vessel.
“I am waiting for my share after I contributed a rocket-propelled grenade for the operation,” she said, adding that she got the weapon from her ex-husband in alimony.
“I am really happy and lucky. I have made $75,000 in only 38 days since I joined the ‘company’.”
Two questions: I wonder what Adam Smith would think? And, when is Merrill Lynch going to start offering pirate funds?
Dispatches From The Front 