The Shock Doctrine

Bankers Bet on Number of Arrests, Deaths and Injuries at G20

David Teather, The Guardian, April 2, 2009

"At Coq d'Argent, the restaurant atop the salmon-coloured building at Number One Poultry, next to Bank station, two traders were angry that the police didn't seem to be making any arrests. 'The demonstrators are goading the police and hitting them, but they aren't arresting anyone,' said one.

"'I'll make money if they arrest more than 140,' he said. Traders, he explained, were putting spread bets on the number of arrests - with the quoted spread on Bloomberg at 130-140. They were also paying out on deaths and if more than 20 protesters were injured in horse charges. The riots, they said, were only a minor inconvenience: 'We've been in this morning, made a lot of money and now are chilling out.'"