Amateur Investors Burned by Speculative Trading

Syria Media Report 20-Jun-08

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Friday, 20 June, 2008

Amateur Investors Burned by Speculative Trading

Syria Media Report 20-Jun-08

The pro-government website DamasPost reported on June 12 that investors in the northwestern city of Idleb are losing their shirts in high-risk speculative trading on international markets.

DamasPost said agencies that have set themselves up as financial consultants are arranging trades in crude oil, gold, silver and four major currencies. Investors have to hand over a minimum of 1,000 US dollars, which is transferred to middlemen in Dubai and Jordan who place the money on US markets.

Since most investors are inexperienced, they are losing sums that add up to 100,000 dollars a day.

The website said the activity amounted to gambling, noting that one man has lost his 14 million lira farm but is still investing. A property speculator has lost most of the one billion lira he collected from prospective investors in Idleb.

DamasPost said there is no legislation to restrict such transactions.

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