Author: Gus Lubin and Joe Weisenthal

The news out of Europe is that Deutsche Bank and several others have been raided in a C02 swapping tax evasion scheme.

This is amazing news because the carbon market — a concept beloved by both banks and environmentalists — is still nascent.

No, we don’t yet know how this is going to play out but really the fact that a market that’s barely gotten off the ground is already drawing suspicious of tax evasion is very damning, and suggests that banks can’t be trusted if the market ever gets huge.

Stepping back, because European carbon market rules were badly constructed, plenty of companies — not just banks — are already making a fortune — merely by virtue of the fact that slow business has meant they’ve easily come under their goals.

No. 10: Slovenské elektrárne — a Slovak power company

Surplus permits in ’08: 1,400,000

2008 value: $27 million

2012 est. value: $173 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 9: U.S. Steel — operator of factories in Slovakia and Serbia

Surplus permits in ’08: 1,600,000

2008 value: $31 million

2012 est. value: $200 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 8: CEZ — Czech energy group

Surplus permits in ’08: 1,700,000

2008 value: $33 million

2012 est. value: $210 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 7: HeidelbergCement — German cement company

Surplus permits in ’08: 1,700,000

2008 value: $33 million

2012 est. value: $210 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 6: Salzgitter — German steel company

Surplus permits in ’08: 2,000,000

2008 value: $39 million

2012 est. value: $250 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 5: Cemex — Mexican cement co. with over 100 factories in Spain

Surplus permits in ’08: 2,700,000

2008 value: $52 million

2012 est. value: $330 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 4: SSAB Svenskt Stal — Swedish steel co.

Surplus permits in ’08: 3,300,000

2008 value: $64 million

2012 est. value: $410 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 3: Corus — a London subsidiary of Tata Steel

Surplus permits in ’08: 3,400,000

2008 value: $66 million

2012 est. value: $422 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 2: Lafarge — World’s largest cement co. (French)

Surplus permits in ’08: 4,200,000

2008 value: $82 million

2012 est. value: $520 million

Source: Sandbag

No. 1: ArcelorMittal — World’s largest steel company (Luxembourg)

Surplus permits in ’08: 14,400,000

2008 value: $280 million

2012 est. value: $1,800 million

Source: Sandbag

See also…

The Scary Reason Europe Is Doomed To Crisis After Crisis After Crisis

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The Chinese real estate bubble is in full swing, but the country’s citizens maintain a reputation for being thrifty and not taking on much debt.

All that is about to change. Big time.

In fact, it already is.

A source in China confirms that in just the last few months, several of his colleagues — as many as 30% of the employees at a medium sized IT services firm — who never once had a credit card have started using them.

Not just that, they’re rolling over debt equivalent to 25% of their monthly salary.

Remember, these are people with almost no experience with debt.

This is not surprising. As the middle class emerges, and people have stable jobs, credit cards offer a quick shortcut to a nice jump in standard of living. Beyond that, other dynamics, such as the gender imbalance, will compell men to spend more for mating and competition purposes.

Bottom line: this market is about to get huge.

Research firm Celent has put together a series of charts showing just how big it will get.

Get ready for the explosion >

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See Also:

• China’s Credit Tightening Pipedream Bursts As Yuan Loans Are Set To Jump 18% In 2010
• China Can’t Tighten Credit Until The Rest Of The World Does
• China Charges Higher Despite Threat Of Credit Crackdown