Here's why you shouldn't conspire to rig currency markets over instant messenges

Banks from the US, UK, and Switzerland have been caught illegally manipulating markets in foreign currency. It's a serious business that has led to billions in fines. But also to the public disclosure of the internet chat rooms in which the illegal collusion happened. The mixture of high finance, criminality, and sloppy typing is mostly hilarious:

"Cable" is slang for the British pounds to US dollars trade. This proposal to "double team" them is the essence of the scandal. Traders at different banks are supposed to operate independently of one another — to compete, in other words — rather than team up to soak clients:

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