IMF Says Threat of Sharp Global Slowdown Has Eased

The probability of a sharp global slowdown has eased due to recent policy measures adopted in the euro zone to tackle its debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, but it warned risks to world growth remain "squarely to the downside."

In a report to G20 finance ministers in Mexico over the weekend and only published on Thursday, the IMF said the euro zone should act decisively on multiple fronts to successfully resolve its sovereign debt crisis.

"The key risk remains that policies do not shift Europe toward a 'good equilibrium' and fail to break adverse feedback loops between real, fiscal, and financial sectors," the IMF said, urging euro zone policymakers to increase a firewall by about $500 billion to protect countries from financial contagion.

The IMF said the European Central Bank should continue injecting liquidity and stay fully engaged in securities purchases to help shore up financial stability.

Meanwhile, ECB monetary policy should focus on ensuring price stability, it said, adding that there was room to lower the target policy rate if needed.

In the United States, Britain and Japan, central banks should stand ready to expand unconventional measures if the outlook worsens, the IMF said.

In emerging markets, the IMF said growth had slowed more than expected, although risk perceptions had eased and capital flows had resumed into emerging Asia, Latin America and South Africa economies since the beginning of 2012.

In emerging countries with high inflation and public debt, including India and some economies in the Middle East, a "cautious stance" to policy easing was needed, the IMF said.

The IMF said higher oil prices were a risk to global growth and repeated an earlier warning that the impact of an oil supply shock in the Middle East "could be large" if supplies were not increased elsewhere.

In particular, a halt in Iran's oil exports could trigger an initial price increase of about 20 percent to 30 percent, the IMF warned.

Saudi Arabia assured G20 finance ministers over the weekend it was prepared to release more oil if necessary to make up for supply disruptions, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told a news conference on Sunday.

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IMF Says Threat of Sharp Global Slowdown Has Eased

The probability of a sharp global slowdown has eased due to recent policy measures adopted in the euro zone to tackle its debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, but it warned risks to world growth remain "squarely to the downside."

In a report to G20 finance ministers in Mexico over the weekend and only published on Thursday, the IMF said the euro zone should act decisively on multiple fronts to successfully resolve its sovereign debt crisis.

"The key risk remains that policies do not shift Europe toward a 'good equilibrium' and fail to break adverse feedback loops between real, fiscal, and financial sectors," the IMF said, urging euro zone policymakers to increase a firewall by about $500 billion to protect countries from financial contagion.

The IMF said the European Central Bank should continue injecting liquidity and stay fully engaged in securities purchases to help shore up financial stability.

Meanwhile, ECB monetary policy should focus on ensuring price stability, it said, adding that there was room to lower the target policy rate if needed.

In the United States, Britain and Japan, central banks should stand ready to expand unconventional measures if the outlook worsens, the IMF said.

In emerging markets, the IMF said growth had slowed more than expected, although risk perceptions had eased and capital flows had resumed into emerging Asia, Latin America and South Africa economies since the beginning of 2012.

In emerging countries with high inflation and public debt, including India and some economies in the Middle East, a "cautious stance" to policy easing was needed, the IMF said.

The IMF said higher oil prices were a risk to global growth and repeated an earlier warning that the impact of an oil supply shock in the Middle East "could be large" if supplies were not increased elsewhere.

In particular, a halt in Iran's oil exports could trigger an initial price increase of about 20 percent to 30 percent, the IMF warned.

Saudi Arabia assured G20 finance ministers over the weekend it was prepared to release more oil if necessary to make up for supply disruptions, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told a news conference on Sunday.

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Oil Prices to Extend Gains, Threatening Global Recovery

Oil prices are poised to gain for the third straight week, undermining global equity market sentiment and threatening the fragile economic recovery, CNBC's weekly survey of market sentiment showed.

A CNBC poll of analysts and traders showed 12 out of 16 respondents, or 75 percent, expect oil prices to rise this week. Three believe prices will fall and one expects no change. Though the bulls comprise the overwhelming majority, many are lightening long positions, or bets that prices will rise, as they believe the recent rally is showing signs of fatigue.

"You have to trade from the buy side but I would be reducing my long positions ahead of the weekend," said Tom James, Chairman & Co-Founder, Navitas Resources, in an email on Thursday. "The fundamentals in the physical market don't support the current short term price." James added that he was looking to add long positions on any pullback in Brent crude to $115. "Target for the year is now $150 on longer term basis for Brent."

Brent crude [LCOCV1  Loading...      ()   ] hit a record high in Euro terms last Thursday at 93.60 euros per barrel as supply concerns escalated. U.S. crude futures [CLCV1  Loading...      ()   ] settled at just under $110 a barrel on Friday, recording their biggest weekly gain in two months. For the week, U.S. crude rose 6.3 percent, the most since the week to Dec. 23.

Dhiren Sarin, Chief Technical Strategist, Asia-Pac at Barclays Capital, who correctly predicted Brent's move above $120, is switching to a more neutral bias for U.S. crude. "On balance, having been bullish for two weeks... we are sensitive to a correction or, in the least, a pause above $103.40/75" for WTI, Sarin said.

However, John Licata, CEO and Chief Commodity Strategist at Blue Phoenix, expects U.S. crude futures to gain momentum over Brent.

"WTI is about to see a rally at the expense of Brent as facts like France getting just 3 percent of oil from Iran and Britain not taking Iranian oil deliveries in 6 months cause a contract allocation shift into WTI," Licata said.

This shift will further be fueled by a lack of refining capacity in the Northeast U.S. and concerns surrounding militant attacks on oil installations in Nigeria by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Licata said. According to him, outside Iran, Nigeria is a "very big factor" for global oil markets because the U.S. is a big buyer of Nigerian crude.

Gasoline Surge?

Numerous respondents this week are warning higher retail gasoline prices could threaten the fragile economic recovery in the U.S.

David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer, of Cumberland Advisors said an additional penny a gallon on gasoline translates roughly to a $1.4 billion decrease in U.S. annual spending power.

"A big uncertainty premium is building" in the price of crude oil because of the geo-political uncertainty, Kotok wrote in a weekly commentary. "We remain overweight energy."

The average U.S. price of gasoline jumped 18 cents a gallon in the past two weeks to $3.69 on Feb. 24, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey, Reuters reported.

But supplies of fuel remained plentiful in most of the country, the survey found.

At $4.24 a gallon, San Diego had the highest average price for regular unleaded gasoline on Feb. 24, while the lowest price was $3.07 a gallon in Denver.

Some believe gasoline prices may average $4.50 a gallon or as high as $5.00, damaging demand ahead of the peak summer driving season.

Blue Phoenix's Licata said record gasoline prices in February are "troubling and could be the precursor for $4.50 plus gasoline this summer." That, he explained, could create another 'Prius Effect' and "delay economic growth, which unlike in 2008 supports more hybrid car/PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) demand. However with no real widespread substitute of oil on a mainstream level, I believe near-term the real long idea is to be bullish for WTI versus Brent."

Shelley Goldberg, Director, Global Resources & Commodities Strategy at Roubini Global Economics said "demand destruction is already kicking in as the U.S. is psychologically reluctant to fill up the tank with gasoline nearing $4 a gallon at the pump while the U.K., from a currency standpoint, faces ever rising petrol prices."

Meanwhile, policymakers are issuing warnings about the rise in global oil prices. In its final communique after the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, the G20 noted risks to growth from rising oil prices, which jumped to a nearly 10-month high above $125 a barrel on Friday. The G20 welcomed pledges by oil producers to ensure adequate supply.

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Regulators Plan Safeguards to Prevent Another MF Global

Federal regulators are narrowing a list of possible new safeguards for customers at futures firms, a response to the collapse of MF Global and the disappearance of more than $1 billion in client cash.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will hold a public roundtable next week to discuss policy changes, including a plan that would allow customers to trade through futures brokerage firms without keeping their excess cash there, according to a copy of the agenda provided to The New York Times.

The plan, which would allow customers to keep their cash at clearinghouses rather than brokerage firms, is gaining support in pockets of the regulatory world. The commission is also circulating an internal list of more than 10 other ideas, including keeping customers updated on the whereabouts of their money and creating an insurance fund to backstop losses in customer accounts.

People close to the agency cautioned that the list was preliminary and could be whittled down. The agency, the people said, might issue a release in the coming weeks that outlines a few favored policy options.

A few new rules were already under way before MF Global [MF.F  Loading...      ()   ] filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 31. In December, the C.F.T.C. limited how brokerage firms can invest customer money.

On Thursday, the agency will vote on a rule that will require a brokerage firm’s chief compliance officer to create internal controls for protecting customer money, an effort that began in 2010.

But the disappearance of more than $1 billion in MF Global’s customer money, a significant blemish for regulators, widened the scope and the stakes of the crackdown. The fiasco, proponents of an overhaul say, highlighted gaping holes in the regulatory system that allowed MF Global to mingle customer money with firm funds.

Current DateTime: 03:41:46 23 Feb 2012
LinksList Documentid: 22528753“This was a bucket of cold water in the face” for regulators, said Bart Chilton, a Democratic member of the commission, who is championing the insurance fund, among other changes.

Regulators and the trustee with the job of returning money to customers have traced most of the missing futures money to an assortment of MF Global’s banks, securities customers and trading partners, people briefed on the case have said. But clawing the money back will be daunting, because some of these recipients were entitled to payouts from MF Global. The delay has shaken the firm’s clients, a mix of hedge fund traders and farmers, who are still lacking nearly a third of their money.

Over the last few months, the breach of customer accounts has become the subject of a sprawling federal investigation. Federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago, the F.B.I. and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are all examining potential wrongdoing.

The case also carries ramifications beyond the courtroom — and even MF Global. The broader futures industry now faces a wave of regulations that seek to avert a repeat of MF Global’s sins.

The seeds of an overhaul are seen in the list of policy ideas circulating the trading commission. The list features several ambitious ideas, like a plan that would force the agency to keep a closer eye on so-called self-regulators, private firms that police the futures industry.

Other ideas are more modest, including requiring brokerage firms to regularly disclose the safety of the money of their customers. Currently, most futures firms must share their reports with regulators only monthly.

Another item likely to be discussed at the meeting next week is a plan to modify the agency’s bankruptcy rules that govern how customers’ assets are doled out when a firm collapses. MF Global customers have complained that they are at the back of the line in the claims process, behind the firm’s banks and creditors.

Sensing a crackdown, the industry has moved to produce its own ideas for change. The Futures Industry Association, an influential trade group, created a task force to study policy changes. Self regulators, groups like the CME Group and the National Futures Association, have formed a similar committee.

Capitol Hill has weighed in, too. The Senate agriculture committee last month sent letters to a range of industry players, seeking their input on whether Congress should draft new laws in response to the MF Global debacle.

“A central principle of the futures market was broken and a good dose of the rule of law is probably the first step toward bringing back confidence,” said Jamie Selway, a managing director at ITG, a firm that operates an electronic equities and futures business. “The question is how do you do it?”

This story originally appeared in The New York Times

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Failure of MF Global Creates Tax Nightmare for Farmers

With the tax man breathing down his neck, Ohio farmer Tony Rohrs is scrambling to figure out how much money he made last year in an account at MF Global.

Anthony Lee | OJO Images | Getty ImagesThousands of former clients of the failed brokerage, including farmers, cattle ranchers and investors, have not yet received tax forms that detail their profits and losses, preventing them from preparing accurate returns for the Internal Revenue Service ahead of a rapidly approaching deadline.

"I'm running out of time," said Rohrs, who faces a March 1 filing deadline like many farmers.

The collapse of MF Global, which had a large group of agricultural clients, has produced one financial frustration after another for former customers who still have not been fully reimbursed for hundreds of millions of dollars that were frozen in their accounts as a result of the firm's Oct. 31 bankruptcy.

A trustee overseeing the bankruptcy frustrated customers by returning portions of the frozen funds in staggered amounts during the past three months and requiring them to fill out claim forms to get their own money back.

The delayed tax forms add insult to injury for many as the lack of data means some people may have to pay taxes on profits they did not really make while being unable to write off money they may never see again.

The tax forms, known as 1099s, are normally delivered around the beginning of February.

However, the trustee, James Giddens, has pushed back the deadline for mailing the forms as he investigates an estimated $1.6 billion shortfall in accounts of customers of the brokerage. He has said the firm's use of customer funds to cover corporate transactions led to the massive shortfall.

The latest delay came on Wednesday as Giddens applied for permission to send out one variety of the 1099 form 30 days after the Feb. 15 deadline. He previously applied to extend by 30 days the deadline for a batch of different 1099 forms that were due out by Jan. 31.

MF Global, run by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, collapsed after making risky bets on European sovereign debt. Customers' accounts were subsequently transferred to a handful of other brokerages in November.

Incomplete Accounting

Rohrs has received 1099 forms for each of his two MF Global accounts, which were transferred to brokerage R.J. O'Brien. However, one 1099 reflected only losses he incurred following the transfer in November, leaving out gains earned during the first 10 months of the year.

Rohrs, who plants corn, soybeans and wheat, said he would use his own financial records to make his best estimate of how much money he made.

It is difficult for many farmers to estimate earnings because they do not often keep detailed records of their profits or losses in individual accounts. Instead, they rely on brokerages like MF Global to do that job and send them an annual statement.

Rohrs, like many farmers, had a hedge account with MF Global that was used to protect his positions in the cash grain markets.

Lacking the 1099 forms, former clients have hired tax specialists and attorneys to help them figure out what they owe and how to report it.

For farmers, it is another expense and distraction from the collapse that already forced some to put off buying crucial supplies needed to produce food.

"I've got a business to run and I've got to keep doing that," Rohrs said.

Accountants at Pioneer FBFM Association, a nonprofit in central Illinois that helps farmers run their businesses, have been receiving emails daily about the late 1099s, agent Kent Meister said.

Farmers must file their taxes by March 1 if they earned at least two-thirds of their gross income from farming and did not file an estimate of what they owe in mid January. The earlier-than-normal deadline is a trade-off for not paying estimated taxes throughout the year.

Even if the forms arrive soon, Meister is worried they will be full of errors, leaving little time for farmers to pursue corrections. He is telling clients to do their best to put together records from last year to determine their earnings at MF Global.

The difficulties with 1099s could prompt farmers to take a more active role in tracking their earnings, with Meister saying his "ultimate solution is that maybe we do a better job of accounting for these things each month."

Former MF Global client Joe Ocrant, a trader and president of cattle-based investment firm Oak Investment Group in Chicago, expects he will have to file for an extension for his tax returns due to the delay.

Ocrant received a 1099 from R.J. O'Brien, which now clears his accounts, showing he earned a larger-than-expected profit after his account was transferred.

He is reluctant to pay taxes on the gains because he has not received a form from the trustee and expects it will reflect a commensurate loss in the account.

"I cannot show that loss because I do not have a 1099 from MF Global," Ocrant said.

Plea to IRS

An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the delays, saying the agency could not discuss "a specific taxpayer or situation." The agency's website directs taxpayers to submit an amended return if they receive a 1099 form after filing their taxes.

Customer advocate group the Commodity Customer Coalition is pushing the government for more guidance. It estimated that "not a single MF Global customer has filed their 2011 tax return as a result" of the trustee's delay in sending out 1099 forms.

The coalition asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to direct the IRS to tell former MF Global customers how to account for assets still frozen in the bankruptcy. It has not yet received a response, said John Roe, the group's co-founder.

Former clients have received about 72 percent of their missing money back so far. They cannot declare the remainder as a loss yet because there is still the possibility it will be returned, tax experts said.

"It's all still in the works of being returned," farmer Rohrs said, adding sarcastically: "That's a little bit of icing on the cake."

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

View the original article here

Failure of MF Global Creates Tax Nightmare for Farmers

With the tax man breathing down his neck, Ohio farmer Tony Rohrs is scrambling to figure out how much money he made last year in an account at MF Global.

Anthony Lee | OJO Images | Getty ImagesThousands of former clients of the failed brokerage, including farmers, cattle ranchers and investors, have not yet received tax forms that detail their profits and losses, preventing them from preparing accurate returns for the Internal Revenue Service ahead of a rapidly approaching deadline.

"I'm running out of time," said Rohrs, who faces a March 1 filing deadline like many farmers.

The collapse of MF Global, which had a large group of agricultural clients, has produced one financial frustration after another for former customers who still have not been fully reimbursed for hundreds of millions of dollars that were frozen in their accounts as a result of the firm's Oct. 31 bankruptcy.

A trustee overseeing the bankruptcy frustrated customers by returning portions of the frozen funds in staggered amounts during the past three months and requiring them to fill out claim forms to get their own money back.

The delayed tax forms add insult to injury for many as the lack of data means some people may have to pay taxes on profits they did not really make while being unable to write off money they may never see again.

The tax forms, known as 1099s, are normally delivered around the beginning of February.

However, the trustee, James Giddens, has pushed back the deadline for mailing the forms as he investigates an estimated $1.6 billion shortfall in accounts of customers of the brokerage. He has said the firm's use of customer funds to cover corporate transactions led to the massive shortfall.

The latest delay came on Wednesday as Giddens applied for permission to send out one variety of the 1099 form 30 days after the Feb. 15 deadline. He previously applied to extend by 30 days the deadline for a batch of different 1099 forms that were due out by Jan. 31.

MF Global, run by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, collapsed after making risky bets on European sovereign debt. Customers' accounts were subsequently transferred to a handful of other brokerages in November.

Incomplete Accounting

Rohrs has received 1099 forms for each of his two MF Global accounts, which were transferred to brokerage R.J. O'Brien. However, one 1099 reflected only losses he incurred following the transfer in November, leaving out gains earned during the first 10 months of the year.

Rohrs, who plants corn, soybeans and wheat, said he would use his own financial records to make his best estimate of how much money he made.

It is difficult for many farmers to estimate earnings because they do not often keep detailed records of their profits or losses in individual accounts. Instead, they rely on brokerages like MF Global to do that job and send them an annual statement.

Rohrs, like many farmers, had a hedge account with MF Global that was used to protect his positions in the cash grain markets.

Lacking the 1099 forms, former clients have hired tax specialists and attorneys to help them figure out what they owe and how to report it.

For farmers, it is another expense and distraction from the collapse that already forced some to put off buying crucial supplies needed to produce food.

"I've got a business to run and I've got to keep doing that," Rohrs said.

Accountants at Pioneer FBFM Association, a nonprofit in central Illinois that helps farmers run their businesses, have been receiving emails daily about the late 1099s, agent Kent Meister said.

Farmers must file their taxes by March 1 if they earned at least two-thirds of their gross income from farming and did not file an estimate of what they owe in mid January. The earlier-than-normal deadline is a trade-off for not paying estimated taxes throughout the year.

Even if the forms arrive soon, Meister is worried they will be full of errors, leaving little time for farmers to pursue corrections. He is telling clients to do their best to put together records from last year to determine their earnings at MF Global.

The difficulties with 1099s could prompt farmers to take a more active role in tracking their earnings, with Meister saying his "ultimate solution is that maybe we do a better job of accounting for these things each month."

Former MF Global client Joe Ocrant, a trader and president of cattle-based investment firm Oak Investment Group in Chicago, expects he will have to file for an extension for his tax returns due to the delay.

Ocrant received a 1099 from R.J. O'Brien, which now clears his accounts, showing he earned a larger-than-expected profit after his account was transferred.

He is reluctant to pay taxes on the gains because he has not received a form from the trustee and expects it will reflect a commensurate loss in the account.

"I cannot show that loss because I do not have a 1099 from MF Global," Ocrant said.

Plea to IRS

An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the delays, saying the agency could not discuss "a specific taxpayer or situation." The agency's website directs taxpayers to submit an amended return if they receive a 1099 form after filing their taxes.

Customer advocate group the Commodity Customer Coalition is pushing the government for more guidance. It estimated that "not a single MF Global customer has filed their 2011 tax return as a result" of the trustee's delay in sending out 1099 forms.

The coalition asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to direct the IRS to tell former MF Global customers how to account for assets still frozen in the bankruptcy. It has not yet received a response, said John Roe, the group's co-founder.

Former clients have received about 72 percent of their missing money back so far. They cannot declare the remainder as a loss yet because there is still the possibility it will be returned, tax experts said.

"It's all still in the works of being returned," farmer Rohrs said, adding sarcastically: "That's a little bit of icing on the cake."

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

View the original article here

Failure of MF Global Creates Tax Nightmare for Farmers

With the tax man breathing down his neck, Ohio farmer Tony Rohrs is scrambling to figure out how much money he made last year in an account at MF Global.

Anthony Lee | OJO Images | Getty ImagesThousands of former clients of the failed brokerage, including farmers, cattle ranchers and investors, have not yet received tax forms that detail their profits and losses, preventing them from preparing accurate returns for the Internal Revenue Service ahead of a rapidly approaching deadline.

"I'm running out of time," said Rohrs, who faces a March 1 filing deadline like many farmers.

The collapse of MF Global, which had a large group of agricultural clients, has produced one financial frustration after another for former customers who still have not been fully reimbursed for hundreds of millions of dollars that were frozen in their accounts as a result of the firm's Oct. 31 bankruptcy.

A trustee overseeing the bankruptcy frustrated customers by returning portions of the frozen funds in staggered amounts during the past three months and requiring them to fill out claim forms to get their own money back.

The delayed tax forms add insult to injury for many as the lack of data means some people may have to pay taxes on profits they did not really make while being unable to write off money they may never see again.

The tax forms, known as 1099s, are normally delivered around the beginning of February.

However, the trustee, James Giddens, has pushed back the deadline for mailing the forms as he investigates an estimated $1.6 billion shortfall in accounts of customers of the brokerage. He has said the firm's use of customer funds to cover corporate transactions led to the massive shortfall.

The latest delay came on Wednesday as Giddens applied for permission to send out one variety of the 1099 form 30 days after the Feb. 15 deadline. He previously applied to extend by 30 days the deadline for a batch of different 1099 forms that were due out by Jan. 31.

MF Global, run by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, collapsed after making risky bets on European sovereign debt. Customers' accounts were subsequently transferred to a handful of other brokerages in November.

Incomplete Accounting

Rohrs has received 1099 forms for each of his two MF Global accounts, which were transferred to brokerage R.J. O'Brien. However, one 1099 reflected only losses he incurred following the transfer in November, leaving out gains earned during the first 10 months of the year.

Rohrs, who plants corn, soybeans and wheat, said he would use his own financial records to make his best estimate of how much money he made.

It is difficult for many farmers to estimate earnings because they do not often keep detailed records of their profits or losses in individual accounts. Instead, they rely on brokerages like MF Global to do that job and send them an annual statement.

Rohrs, like many farmers, had a hedge account with MF Global that was used to protect his positions in the cash grain markets.

Lacking the 1099 forms, former clients have hired tax specialists and attorneys to help them figure out what they owe and how to report it.

For farmers, it is another expense and distraction from the collapse that already forced some to put off buying crucial supplies needed to produce food.

"I've got a business to run and I've got to keep doing that," Rohrs said.

Accountants at Pioneer FBFM Association, a nonprofit in central Illinois that helps farmers run their businesses, have been receiving emails daily about the late 1099s, agent Kent Meister said.

Farmers must file their taxes by March 1 if they earned at least two-thirds of their gross income from farming and did not file an estimate of what they owe in mid January. The earlier-than-normal deadline is a trade-off for not paying estimated taxes throughout the year.

Even if the forms arrive soon, Meister is worried they will be full of errors, leaving little time for farmers to pursue corrections. He is telling clients to do their best to put together records from last year to determine their earnings at MF Global.

The difficulties with 1099s could prompt farmers to take a more active role in tracking their earnings, with Meister saying his "ultimate solution is that maybe we do a better job of accounting for these things each month."

Former MF Global client Joe Ocrant, a trader and president of cattle-based investment firm Oak Investment Group in Chicago, expects he will have to file for an extension for his tax returns due to the delay.

Ocrant received a 1099 from R.J. O'Brien, which now clears his accounts, showing he earned a larger-than-expected profit after his account was transferred.

He is reluctant to pay taxes on the gains because he has not received a form from the trustee and expects it will reflect a commensurate loss in the account.

"I cannot show that loss because I do not have a 1099 from MF Global," Ocrant said.

Plea to IRS

An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the delays, saying the agency could not discuss "a specific taxpayer or situation." The agency's website directs taxpayers to submit an amended return if they receive a 1099 form after filing their taxes.

Customer advocate group the Commodity Customer Coalition is pushing the government for more guidance. It estimated that "not a single MF Global customer has filed their 2011 tax return as a result" of the trustee's delay in sending out 1099 forms.

The coalition asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to direct the IRS to tell former MF Global customers how to account for assets still frozen in the bankruptcy. It has not yet received a response, said John Roe, the group's co-founder.

Former clients have received about 72 percent of their missing money back so far. They cannot declare the remainder as a loss yet because there is still the possibility it will be returned, tax experts said.

"It's all still in the works of being returned," farmer Rohrs said, adding sarcastically: "That's a little bit of icing on the cake."

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

View the original article here