Other companies have bailed from wholesale without failing. WAMU and Wells Fargo IIRC.
OT but Housing Kaboom reports a McMansion REO for sale at $51 dollars per square foot in San Jacinto, an exurban community in Southern California. Sluburb, here we come!
A woman who posts often on another blog I read says her husband (works for Wachovia) and all the other San Antonio executives have been told to be in the office Wednesday for a video conference with the new pres in NC for important news. Everyone is worried.
"Tom Stone writes:
Iceman,she should try Detroit.you can buy outright for $10.
Tom Stone | 07.21.08 - 3:30 pm | #"
I think I can scrape together the 2 bucks for the down payment if I look hard enough under my couch cushions. But what would my monthly be on the remaining 8 bucks (plus interest)?
Why do you estimate the bottom to be higher than previous bottoms, when it appears there will be much tighter credit conditions this time around.
Also, when talking about CRE being overbuilt, you seem to assume that overall demand will hold fairly steady, but it seems to me that much of that demand comes from highly discretionary forms of retail that could suffer a substantial contraction.
If we do see a significant decline in demand and further tightening of credit, isn't it possible that CRE investment could fall much further than in the past few recessions?
Barry Ritholz has lost it...his posts are sloppy (blames my coffee intake) for not linking to real short interest sites (his was to "minyanville").....and generally is appealing to a lower form of readership with the "Idiots fiddle while Rome burns" post.
How about the Short sale "limit's" eh?
No that would require him to step on his friend's toe's. Or the current post on how the mortgage industry employs criminals (complete with the ominous "mug shots" of the guilty) I can't disagree with that in some rare cases but it totally leaves out the FACT the banking industry created the current mess by collecting fee's in order to exacerbate the problems with the original loans.
I dunno, wholesale lending always seemed kinda silly to me. The suprise for me isn't that Wachovia is getting out -- I'm suprised they were still doing it.
The bar has been lowered far enough that anything outside of terrible reports on new and existing home sales and sales prices will pressure bond prices. The 10-yr has been nicking around the 4.1% yield area, with a bit of a barrier 4.105%. The curve is working flatter with the 2-10-yr yield spread now 139.5.
Now Barry Ritholz has decided to become part of the problem by removing any negativity towards him and his talking his book. (which he is IMO)
He has removed this post (a few minutes ago).....
Of course let's not pin the blame on the banking system that took these "bad loans" and created TRILLIONS of dollars in "products" that are now the source of ROT in the financial system.
No let's just pick on the loans that the whole system used to create the current problems we now have-as if they had no idea they were going to work out this way-just as long as they collected the fee's . No one told these banks to utilize more than 45:1 in leverage (in some cases more).
Let's just arrest the person who called 911 to report the fire.
Honestly BR you've really lost sight of the "Big Picture"
Ciao
MS
Posted by: michael schumacher | Jul 21, 2008 3:31:58 PM
Post a comment
Total POS IMO....can't have any objectivity now can you.
Ciao
MS
OT -- while I will remain short the market, I have lost my confidence that the correction/crash will come anytime soon. I have no idea when it will come.
Jim Grant's OpEd in the WSJ made sense to me: hoi polloi/Main Street is Wall Street, now, and want the feds to keep their stock market up.
I thought that I would be able to retire this summer, after my 2X plus margin bet bore fruit, but, alas, no joy.
The bar has been lowered far enough that anything outside of terrible reports on new and existing home sales and sales prices will pressure bond prices. The 10-yr has been nicking around the 4.1% yield area, with a bit of a barrier 4.105%. The curve is working flatter with the 2-10-yr yield spread now 139.5.
Again if we follow the same path we did in the 1930s we could see the congress fiddle around with the markets until they crash the bond market and cause a secondary panic.
"We have revised our rate views, and now anticipate that the U.S. yield curve will undergo higher yields and a steeper yield curve," Deutsche Bank economists said in a research report. Deutsche is forecasting the 10-year note yield will climb to 4.50 percent in the near term.
RETARD, can't that puke see the curve going flat and yields going lower...dumbass shill!!
BofA reports it cannot sell any of the Countrywide paper, Freddie slows purchases, CRE vacancies rise, and Wachovia to hold an after market conference call. CR visitors; 450. What other indicator do we need?
The problem is if the politicians do the right thing they're going to end up being hated and reviled like Herbert Hoover.
Since no one has the principles to go through that they're be relegated to cooking up ways new ways to game the markets and the public for as long as possible until it becomes impossible deny the magnitude of the deception that's really occurred.
The the next scam will be for those responsible to dissociate themselves with the damage they've caused by blaming scapegoats like the short-sellers and otherwise obscuring the real source of the problems we've had.
jg writes:
"OT -- while I will remain short the market, I have lost my confidence that the correction/crash will come anytime soon"
it is really sad to have to hope for a disaster for success.
A sideway market is a lot easier to trade as oppose to staying ""invested"" in an exponential move. I just heard this guy on Bloomberg say the easy money gas been made with the financials, I wish to correct: the easy money has been made for the lucky kamikaze. For traders, the fun is just beginning Short rules or not, traders just adapt, that is what they do best.
Cancer-stricken Kennedy gets ovation on Senate return
Jul 9, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) Veteran Senator Edward Kennedy got a standing ovation from his colleagues as he returned to the US Senate Wednesday for the first time since being diagnosed with brain cancer. YouTube -
Last month you looked into the precipice of financial meltdown and acted," Schumer said. "It is hard to disagree with the need to take quick and dramatic action to spare our financial system of the risk of the kind of meltdown we saw in the Great Depression."
But Schumer and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., the ranking Republican on the House-Senate panel, said they both had questions about the decision-making process behind the Bear Stearns bailout, and the implication it holds for future rescues.
ernanke wouldn't comment about a proposed plan to have the Federal Housing Administration provide guarantees to help troubled homeowners refinance mortgages they could no longer afford.
"The Federal Reserve is acting in its sphere of influence. Housing is very important; that's Congress' sphere of influence, not the Fed's," he said in response to a question from Schumer.
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate indicated Tuesday that they were willing to work on a bipartisan agreement on such a measure, although the Bush administration is still reluctant to support it. And some Democrats on the panel were not happy with Bernanke for avoiding the issue.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., became somewhat testy as Bernanke refused to take a position on the issue, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, urged Bernanke to take a stand.
"I know it's up to us, but you're the expert. You're the one we depend on. You're the superstar," Cummings said. "So we come to you. I'm just asking for three to four things that you would love to see us do that would help."
Bernanke played Kennedy like a Stradavarius!
And make no mistake folks - Bernanke knows what Congress will do, because Congress learns NOTHING from their past mistakes. The 1991 document submitted into testimony when they were debating the dismantling of Glass-Steagall makes this clear.
A number of Democratic members of the committee made a show of berating the Fed chairman for refusing to recommend specific fiscal measures to Congress.
After noting that an economic downturn would put pressure on state budgets, forcing states to either raise taxes or cut spending, Senator Edward Kennedy asked, What can we do to assist our constituents, especially those who are closer to retirement? Bernanke avoided answering the question, in response to which Kennedy theatrically removed his glasses and began raising his voice, demanding, Are you going to provide help and assistance to the states?
Bernanke replied that he has authority only over monetary policy, and that Congress would have to make fiscal decisions. To this, Kennedy replied, You have to have some position. Bernanke answered, No, sir, I do not. Im all in favor of helping people, sir, but thats up to the Congress.
The absurdity of Kennedys show of displeasure was underscored by the fact that Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, the committees chairman, said in his opening remarks that Bernanke was not testifying in order to recommend policies to Congress, and that this was not his job.
Aw, G-, and I hope that home prices come down sharply so that folks with foresight and savings can and will buy homes from the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, remember, G-, it is folks like me who will be deploying the capital at the bottom to provide jobs for the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, only after we hit bottom in five years or so will I deploy my capital.
"I suspect an FDIC takeover. The purchase of World was a criminal conspiracy involving kickbacks, bribes, everything else (people always wondered how Wachovia could make a purchase they were warned against making). It seems Wachovia was raided the other day.
This bank is through."
Attorney General Michael Mukasey pre-empted a contempt of Congress vote by the House oversight committee this morning by claiming executive privilege. Henry A. Waxman's House oversight committee subpoenaed Mukasey to issue a ton of documents related to the Valerie Plame Wilson scandal, including the interview special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had with Dick Cheney.
The oversight committee has spent a year trying to get its hands on interviews Fitzgerald had with Cheney and President George W. Bush about what Waxman calls "the despicable outing of Ms. Wilson." Fitzgerald is fine with the interviews being made public, but the Bush administration isn't. Waxman called the executive privilege claim "ludicrous."
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) judged it "bizarre" for another reason. Cummings argued at an oversight committee business meeting this morning that Cheney can't claim executive privilege because he's announced he's not part of the executive branch. "You can't say you're not part of the executive branch when it suits you," Cummings said. "But then say you're in the executive branch when you don't want to give documents about the Plame case."
Maybe the laid off United pilots went to work for the PPT: Friday's and today's 'landings' -- gentle, unrushed closes, no need to scare the sheeple -- were true sights to behold.
Fitch views the increase in the loan loss reserve to 1.84% of loans positively. Additionally, CRBC has committed to provision expense at least meeting NCOs in the second quarter. Credit problems remain primarily in the land development, land hold, and construction portions of the commercial real estate loan portfolio, and largely were originated by Michigan-based Republic Bancorp Inc., which CRBC acquired in December 2006.
The Nikkei finished the session 0.2% lower at 13,237.89, while the broader Topix index ended little changed at 1,297.88. The Nikkei lost nearly 8.5% during the past 12 sessions. Its longest losing string was 15 consecutive sessions in 1954, followed by 13 straight losses in 1949 and 12 in 1953.
Apple shipped 2,496,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing 41 percent unit growth and 43 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,011,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 12 percent unit growth and seven percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone(TM) units sold were 717,000 compared to 270,000 in the year-ago-quarter.
that's pretty telling since they have a history of sand bagging the Q release( I should know I worked in the Fin dept.) I looked at put options a few weeks ago but they were ridiculously over-priced even then.
Enough big money firms own APPL at well above 100 they will be stepping in to "defend" it regardless of the cost.
Think that whoosh last week had anything to do with these wonderful earnings reports?
And Wachovia was the crown jewel in NC's business community from early in the last century until the egos chose to compete with (then) NCNB in expanding through M&A at any cost and risk.
Tell me again why banks were allowed to expand across states when state banking had worked for so long. I have this to say about deregulation:
When the lights are turned off, the cockroaches come out to play.
I moved a CD from STI to WB today as they offer 4.25% on 12 month CD's.
Chatting with the branch manager I said don't you guys do an Indymac on me to which he said he had put all of his 401K in WB stock last week when it bottomed ( well bottomed for now).
Thing is WB is 20 times the size of INDYMAC and would wipe the FDIC out if it goes bellyup. Yet the manager said he has had a steady stream of people opening CDs. I told him I've got my lawnchair ready to sit out front if it comes a cropper.
I had fergitted that Wachovia (Winston-Salem) had been bought by First Union (Charlotte if memory serves) and had taken the name Wachovia for the combined bank as the Wachovia brand was much more respected than the First-Union. I assume FU was able to monitize the Wachovia brand while lowering the NC banking standards.
NC is immune from everything. My prediction is that NC becomes the new capital, replacing a downtrodden and disgraced Washington D.C. All hail president Sebastian.
headlines just coming through on bloomberg now: "WACHOVIA ENDS WHOLESALE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDING / WACHOVIA WILL CONTINUE HOME LENDING THROUGH OWN EMPLOYEES / WACHOVIA SPOKESMAN DON VECCHIARELLO COMMENTS IN INTERVIEW"
Interesting Times: You can consider opening an account at one of the FX bucket shops like OANDA. They'll let you leverage yourself to the moon (100:1) if you'd like.
"Aw, G-, and I hope that home prices come down sharply so that folks with foresight and savings can and will buy homes from the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, remember, G-, it is folks like me who will be deploying the capital at the bottom to provide jobs for the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, only after we hit bottom in five years or so will I deploy my capital."
jg - I am unsure if I am the AW, G-, you are refering to, but I am also waiting to buy a home after selling a couple of years ago. And my capital is invested and providing jobs, yes?
FIrst
Is Sam's Club wholesale or retail?
The credit python continues to tighten around the nation.
Sister-in-law in New Jersey complaining over the weekend of the 20% requirement that becoming increasingly common. "I'll never buy with 20% down!"
layaway?
iceman:
she'd better be careful, or she'll be priced out forever.
I just got off the phone with Suzanne. there's never been a better time to buy than now.
So many lenders exiting the lending business, but still very few bankruptcies of builders. The builders keep building, but who will do the lending?
Didn't IndyMac make this very same announcement on Monday two weeks ago? And by Friday it was in the grave.
Odds that Wachovia is still in business next Monday?
Commodity long dollar short momo plays making a nice little comeback today.
It's not quite the same old BubbleWorld but at least they're trying.
all your money velocity are belong to us
Iceman,she should try Detroit.you can buy outright for $10.
What's the differents in wholesale and retail mortage lending ? Are they no doning mortage loans now?
But how's the commute to the unemployment office Tom?
Ouch...another one bites the dust.
How long will it take foolish flippers to realize the money fountain went dry and it's not coming back any time soon...
No, no! not Wachovia. I've got a reputation. WaMu first or at least Downey.
Maybe I should cover with some hedges? Win/Place?Show?
ICANHAZ,she has her pitbulls pull her sled.Yup wachovia is toast,this is the Deathrattle.
Retail = Originate and sell off.
Wholesale = buy from other originators and sell off.
Both have one problem in common.
How in hell were they still doing wholesale lending?
My girlfriend was birching about 20 percent down. It's like Gen Xers think it's an entitlement like free speech or something.
Wachovia won't offer HELOCs anymore! But, but, oh man, how will I pay for property taxes, especially after maxing out my 403b last Christmas?!
Aaargh!
first the securities biz...and now the wholesale ops.
like someone keeps dipping this bank into the piranha tank.
Zero!
ZIRP-USA,
20% down in Dubai, right? Or are you back in the U.S.?
As predicted on CR this morning. Damn... this site is becoming a real working crystal ball.
Lottery numbers please?
40-49-50-51-54 / 6
Sister-in-law in New Jersey complaining over the weekend of the 20% requirement that becoming increasingly common. "I'll never buy with 20% down!"
Lol. Oh, she'll buy. Just not when she thought she would. Time to teach Gen Y (and some Gen X) about delayed gratification...
No, no! not Wachovia. I've got a reputation. WaMu first or at least Downey.
ROTFLMAO
Maybe having a bad reputation is a good thing?
No rebound in 2009. I still predict the greatest price drops in 2009.
Got Popcorn?
Neil
Other companies have bailed from wholesale without failing. WAMU and Wells Fargo IIRC.
OT but Housing Kaboom reports a McMansion REO for sale at $51 dollars per square foot in San Jacinto, an exurban community in Southern California. Sluburb, here we come!
A woman who posts often on another blog I read says her husband (works for Wachovia) and all the other San Antonio executives have been told to be in the office Wednesday for a video conference with the new pres in NC for important news. Everyone is worried.
"Tom Stone writes:
Iceman,she should try Detroit.you can buy outright for $10.
Tom Stone | 07.21.08 - 3:30 pm | #"
I think I can scrape together the 2 bucks for the down payment if I look hard enough under my couch cushions. But what would my monthly be on the remaining 8 bucks (plus interest)?
I'll predict mass production & distribution of $1000, $5000, $10000, $20000 dollar bills on 11-28-2008...just in time to buy more holiday crap....
CR
Why do you estimate the bottom to be higher than previous bottoms, when it appears there will be much tighter credit conditions this time around.
Also, when talking about CRE being overbuilt, you seem to assume that overall demand will hold fairly steady, but it seems to me that much of that demand comes from highly discretionary forms of retail that could suffer a substantial contraction.
If we do see a significant decline in demand and further tightening of credit, isn't it possible that CRE investment could fall much further than in the past few recessions?
Oops, my comment was referring to the previous post regarding office investment, not Wachovia.
I'll predict mass production & distribution of $1000, $5000, $10000, $20000 dollar bills on 11-28-2008...just in time to buy more holiday crap....
You fool it will be before the election!!!
OT:
Barry Ritholz has lost it...his posts are sloppy (blames my coffee intake) for not linking to real short interest sites (his was to "minyanville").....and generally is appealing to a lower form of readership with the "Idiots fiddle while Rome burns" post.
How about the Short sale "limit's" eh?
No that would require him to step on his friend's toe's. Or the current post on how the mortgage industry employs criminals (complete with the ominous "mug shots" of the guilty) I can't disagree with that in some rare cases but it totally leaves out the FACT the banking industry created the current mess by collecting fee's in order to exacerbate the problems with the original loans.
He has truly lost sight of the "Big Picture".
Shame really..
Ciao
MS
@suecris
He just wants to be able to do one of those Donald Trump "Ya Fiya'd!"'s.
Requires a visual presence are most of the fun gets taken out it.
I dunno, wholesale lending always seemed kinda silly to me. The suprise for me isn't that Wachovia is getting out -- I'm suprised they were still doing it.
He has truly lost sight of the "Big Picture".
Shame really..
Ciao
MS
Agree 100% The saddest thing is how he keeps track of how many hits his blog gets. Also his market predictions in January were shattered.
Ritholtz is a good guy.
He is getting more and more distracted however which hurts the work.
Happens to most everyone who sees some success.
The bar has been lowered far enough that anything outside of terrible reports on new and existing home sales and sales prices will pressure bond prices. The 10-yr has been nicking around the 4.1% yield area, with a bit of a barrier 4.105%. The curve is working flatter with the 2-10-yr yield spread now 139.5.
Now Barry Ritholz has decided to become part of the problem by removing any negativity towards him and his talking his book. (which he is IMO)
He has removed this post (a few minutes ago).....
Of course let's not pin the blame on the banking system that took these "bad loans" and created TRILLIONS of dollars in "products" that are now the source of ROT in the financial system.
No let's just pick on the loans that the whole system used to create the current problems we now have-as if they had no idea they were going to work out this way-just as long as they collected the fee's . No one told these banks to utilize more than 45:1 in leverage (in some cases more).
Let's just arrest the person who called 911 to report the fire.
Honestly BR you've really lost sight of the "Big Picture"
Ciao
MS
Posted by: michael schumacher | Jul 21, 2008 3:31:58 PM
Post a comment
Total POS IMO....can't have any objectivity now can you.
Ciao
MS
OT -- while I will remain short the market, I have lost my confidence that the correction/crash will come anytime soon. I have no idea when it will come.
Jim Grant's OpEd in the WSJ made sense to me: hoi polloi/Main Street is Wall Street, now, and want the feds to keep their stock market up.
I thought that I would be able to retire this summer, after my 2X plus margin bet bore fruit, but, alas, no joy.
Sigh. Back to the salt mines.
hmmm visitor count ticked over 400+...
The bar has been lowered far enough that anything outside of terrible reports on new and existing home sales and sales prices will pressure bond prices. The 10-yr has been nicking around the 4.1% yield area, with a bit of a barrier 4.105%. The curve is working flatter with the 2-10-yr yield spread now 139.5.
Again if we follow the same path we did in the 1930s we could see the congress fiddle around with the markets until they crash the bond market and cause a secondary panic.
Let's see if we learn from history...
Corralito!
Andale andale!
I just got off the phone with Suzanne. there's never been a better time to buy than now.
Yearning to Learn | 07.21.08 - 3:28 pm | #
[waits 1 minute]
"Now !"
[waits 1 minute]
"No, now !"
[waits 1 minute]
"No, now, really !"
ac,
Sadly, that appears to be the current path.
SPX target ~1290. Shorts beware.
when i change my longs into shorts, i will let u all know.
"We have revised our rate views, and now anticipate that the U.S. yield curve will undergo higher yields and a steeper yield curve," Deutsche Bank economists said in a research report. Deutsche is forecasting the 10-year note yield will climb to 4.50 percent in the near term.
RETARD, can't that puke see the curve going flat and yields going lower...dumbass shill!!
anti-calculatedrisk,
1269 the 20 day moving average is where the bear rally will end but thanks for keeping us up to date on all you latest moves.
BofA reports it cannot sell any of the Countrywide paper, Freddie slows purchases, CRE vacancies rise, and Wachovia to hold an after market conference call. CR visitors; 450. What other indicator do we need?
ac,
Sadly, that appears to be the current path.
The problem is if the politicians do the right thing they're going to end up being hated and reviled like Herbert Hoover.
Since no one has the principles to go through that they're be relegated to cooking up ways new ways to game the markets and the public for as long as possible until it becomes impossible deny the magnitude of the deception that's really occurred.
The the next scam will be for those responsible to dissociate themselves with the damage they've caused by blaming scapegoats like the short-sellers and otherwise obscuring the real source of the problems we've had.
visitors; 450. What other indicator do we need?
I'm kinda hoping for 666 visitors as a sign.
jg writes:
"OT -- while I will remain short the market, I have lost my confidence that the correction/crash will come anytime soon"
it is really sad to have to hope for a disaster for success.
A sideway market is a lot easier to trade as oppose to staying ""invested"" in an exponential move. I just heard this guy on Bloomberg say the easy money gas been made with the financials, I wish to correct: the easy money has been made for the lucky kamikaze. For traders, the fun is just beginning Short rules or not, traders just adapt, that is what they do best.
anti-calculatedrisk writes:
"SPX target ~1290. Shorts beware.
when i change my longs into shorts, i will let u all know."
...well "anticalculated risk" we will be sure to follow your advice just like your name suggests we should
OT,
DX cracked 72 to the downside...
Other indicator:
Republic Bancorp doin' just fine:
Republic Bancorp's 2Q profit up 8 percent - Business First of Louisville:
(they were all beaming during closing bell just now)
Hey schumacher,
starting to believe in your own BS eh?
very soon you are gonna get yours.
Cancer-stricken Kennedy gets ovation on Senate return
Jul 9, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) Veteran Senator Edward Kennedy got a standing ovation from his colleagues as he returned to the US Senate Wednesday for the first time since being diagnosed with brain cancer.
YouTube -
Bernanke sees recession risk
Bernanke says economy could shrink in first half of year - Apr. 2, 2008
Last month you looked into the precipice of financial meltdown and acted," Schumer said. "It is hard to disagree with the need to take quick and dramatic action to spare our financial system of the risk of the kind of meltdown we saw in the Great Depression."
But Schumer and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., the ranking Republican on the House-Senate panel, said they both had questions about the decision-making process behind the Bear Stearns bailout, and the implication it holds for future rescues.
ernanke wouldn't comment about a proposed plan to have the Federal Housing Administration provide guarantees to help troubled homeowners refinance mortgages they could no longer afford.
"The Federal Reserve is acting in its sphere of influence. Housing is very important; that's Congress' sphere of influence, not the Fed's," he said in response to a question from Schumer.
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate indicated Tuesday that they were willing to work on a bipartisan agreement on such a measure, although the Bush administration is still reluctant to support it. And some Democrats on the panel were not happy with Bernanke for avoiding the issue.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., became somewhat testy as Bernanke refused to take a position on the issue, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, urged Bernanke to take a stand.
"I know it's up to us, but you're the expert. You're the one we depend on. You're the superstar," Cummings said. "So we come to you. I'm just asking for three to four things that you would love to see us do that would help."
Bernanke played Kennedy like a Stradavarius!
And make no mistake folks - Bernanke knows what Congress will do, because Congress learns NOTHING from their past mistakes. The 1991 document submitted into testimony when they were debating the dismantling of Glass-Steagall makes this clear.
A number of Democratic members of the committee made a show of berating the Fed chairman for refusing to recommend specific fiscal measures to Congress.
After noting that an economic downturn would put pressure on state budgets, forcing states to either raise taxes or cut spending, Senator Edward Kennedy asked, What can we do to assist our constituents, especially those who are closer to retirement? Bernanke avoided answering the question, in response to which Kennedy theatrically removed his glasses and began raising his voice, demanding, Are you going to provide help and assistance to the states?
Bernanke replied that he has authority only over monetary policy, and that Congress would have to make fiscal decisions. To this, Kennedy replied, You have to have some position. Bernanke answered, No, sir, I do not. Im all in favor of helping people, sir, but thats up to the Congress.
The absurdity of Kennedys show of displeasure was underscored by the fact that Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, the committees chairman, said in his opening remarks that Bernanke was not testifying in order to recommend policies to Congress, and that this was not his job.
sndk missed by a mile....Nas is gonna take it in the chin if apple comes in low...
"very soon you are gonna get yours."
Please...oh please DO elaborate..
I can't wait....
Ciao
MS
Aw, G-, and I hope that home prices come down sharply so that folks with foresight and savings can and will buy homes from the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, remember, G-, it is folks like me who will be deploying the capital at the bottom to provide jobs for the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, only after we hit bottom in five years or so will I deploy my capital.
jrysk at implode-o-meter wrote in the comments:
"I suspect an FDIC takeover. The purchase of World was a criminal conspiracy involving kickbacks, bribes, everything else (people always wondered how Wachovia could make a purchase they were warned against making). It seems Wachovia was raided the other day.
This bank is through."
Hmmm..
Attorney General Michael Mukasey pre-empted a contempt of Congress vote by the House oversight committee this morning by claiming executive privilege. Henry A. Waxman's House oversight committee subpoenaed Mukasey to issue a ton of documents related to the Valerie Plame Wilson scandal, including the interview special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had with Dick Cheney.
The oversight committee has spent a year trying to get its hands on interviews Fitzgerald had with Cheney and President George W. Bush about what Waxman calls "the despicable outing of Ms. Wilson." Fitzgerald is fine with the interviews being made public, but the Bush administration isn't. Waxman called the executive privilege claim "ludicrous."
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) judged it "bizarre" for another reason. Cummings argued at an oversight committee business meeting this morning that Cheney can't claim executive privilege because he's announced he's not part of the executive branch. "You can't say you're not part of the executive branch when it suits you," Cummings said. "But then say you're in the executive branch when you don't want to give documents about the Plame case."
BTW.."MY BS" as you put it has been very profitable as of late.....care to let us in own your own situation?
I thought so....
Ciao
MS
JP:
420 Visitors Online
Now THAT's an omen!
Maybe the laid off United pilots went to work for the PPT: Friday's and today's 'landings' -- gentle, unrushed closes, no need to scare the sheeple -- were true sights to behold.
Bravo, PPT, bravo! Encore, tomorrow!
Currently Smoking Cannabis writes:
Now THAT's an omen!
LOL. Perhaps, but not an omen to buy or sell. And those days are behind me.
Amex Misssed
Dammit, how long does it take to say "You're all fired"? I want to know what's up at Wachovia!
"Amex Misssed"
You mean they told the truth (unlike BAC).
schering-plough also missed..Tomorrow could be interesting with Dolly heating up...all the misses..
Amex missed bigtime...
AMEX missed badly
405 Visitors Online, and there are 2 accidents at 405 Freeway right now... Is that an omen?
"know what's up at Wachovia!"
I dont think earnings are out until tommorow morning. So I would expect the announcement when the full earnings report.
I thought they were reporting AH today - that was AMEX and they LAID and EGG
yeS, AMEX MISSED HUGE. BLOOMBERF IS TALING ABOUT IT. Thier forecast is not good for 2nd Half.
405 Visitors Online, and there are 2 accidents at 405 Freeway right now... Is that an omen?
Thanks for the laugh.
AMEX CC will be very interesting.
I hope CR does a post on it...this is the higher end consumer and business customer..
AMEX missed REALLY badly!!
Nice to see them getting ahead of this thing.
JP: Correct. 420 visitors is an omen to sit and do nothing. Just eat and watch a movie.
When the US economy fully implodes, I expect to hear someone notice that "we are all Currently Smoking Cannabis now."
It does cure nausea, ya know.
Yah AXP layed it out straight up - increased loss reserves big time - it was like a 35% miss on the street expectations.
AXP apparently hasn't heard about the new and improved accounting rules. Too bad. They could have made a bundle with undeclared losses.
OT,
DX cracked 72 to the downside...
Again, looks like the dollar carry trade may be partly taking the place of the yen carry trade.
I guess the market will be up then......
"it's all out" will be the mantra...
Ciao
MS
You have to have some position. Bernanke answered, No, sir, I do not. Im all in favor of helping people, sir, but thats up to the Congress.
Almost sounds like Bernanke knows that there's no way to go back in time and undo a bubble.
Maybe he learned something from researching the Depression after all.
Again, looks like the dollar carry trade may be partly taking the place of the yen carry trade.
ac | 07.21.08 - 4:29 pm | #
How can a little guy like me get in on these carry trades?
Dollar-Brasilian Real looks decent.
Fitch views the increase in the loan loss reserve to 1.84% of loans positively. Additionally, CRBC has committed to provision expense at least meeting NCOs in the second quarter. Credit problems remain primarily in the land development, land hold, and construction portions of the commercial real estate loan portfolio, and largely were originated by Michigan-based Republic Bancorp Inc., which CRBC acquired in December 2006.
How can a little guy like me get in on these carry trades?
Dollar-Brasilian Real looks decent.
Don't really know, but I assume it involves borrowing huge sums of money to get sufficiently low rates.
My first rock blogging contribution:
YouTube - Guns N' Roses - Civil War (Music Video)
Sorry grandpa...You tried; we blew it.
Currently Smoking Cannabis writes:
It does cure nausea, ya know.
Currently Smoking Cannabis | 07.21.08 - 4:28 pm | #
Yeah, but it also makes you paranoid, and there's already enough of that going around.
ac - could you define huge sums... 100k or 100m?
What's going on in the conference call?!!
Anon: You make a very solid point. Damn it.
Nikkei slips for 12th consecutive session (again?)
Nikkei slips for 12th consecutive session - MarketWatch
The Nikkei finished the session 0.2% lower at 13,237.89, while the broader Topix index ended little changed at 1,297.88. The Nikkei lost nearly 8.5% during the past 12 sessions. Its longest losing string was 15 consecutive sessions in 1954, followed by 13 straight losses in 1949 and 12 in 1953.
I can only hope the market goes higher on this news. Retest of the lows soon...
This ruins my day..Always thought I was immune by eating them...
FDA traces salmonella outbreak to jalapeno peppers: report
apple missed
IT-
100m "might" be a start.....it's well over that amount IMO.
Ciao
MS
YouTube -
ac - could you define huge sums... 100k or 100m?
Again, I don't know, but with garden variety brokers you're looking at borrowing on the order of a million dollars to get decent interest rates.
Apple didn't missed it gave poor guidance. Por favor.
MS - thanks. If I had anywhere near that, I'd probably find better uses of my time than follow a carry-trade.
apple missed
Apple shipped 2,496,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing 41 percent unit growth and 43 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,011,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 12 percent unit growth and seven percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone(TM) units sold were 717,000 compared to 270,000 in the year-ago-quarter.
LOL. Some miss!
Texas Instrument missed, not Apple.
AMX appearantly not on the 'do not short list'. Rich folk be having troubles too?
2-10-yr yield spread
2-10-yr yield spread
2-10-yr yield spread
tim-
that's pretty telling since they have a history of sand bagging the Q release( I should know I worked in the Fin dept.) I looked at put options a few weeks ago but they were ridiculously over-priced even then.
Enough big money firms own APPL at well above 100 they will be stepping in to "defend" it regardless of the cost.
Think that whoosh last week had anything to do with these wonderful earnings reports?
Still waiting "I like Barry".....
Ciao
MS
Apple 1.19 vs 1.08 but guidance is not good. Amex is hurting big time.
New thread, above.
And Wachovia was the crown jewel in NC's business community from early in the last century until the egos chose to compete with (then) NCNB in expanding through M&A at any cost and risk.
Tell me again why banks were allowed to expand across states when state banking had worked for so long. I have this to say about deregulation:
When the lights are turned off, the cockroaches come out to play.
Jim
I moved a CD from STI to WB today as they offer 4.25% on 12 month CD's.
Chatting with the branch manager I said don't you guys do an Indymac on me to which he said he had put all of his 401K in WB stock last week when it bottomed ( well bottomed for now).
Thing is WB is 20 times the size of INDYMAC and would wipe the FDIC out if it goes bellyup. Yet the manager said he has had a steady stream of people opening CDs. I told him I've got my lawnchair ready to sit out front if it comes a cropper.
May I suggest "Currently smoking pipe bomb" for a great kick
I don't think WB closed their Vertice wholesale division. Vertice used to be American Mortgage Network (Amnet).
he said he had put all of his 401K in WB stock last week when it bottomed
Boy is he in for a surprise...
Unplug it dude, it's gonna blow!
Take a look YouTube - The Percolator
I had fergitted that Wachovia (Winston-Salem) had been bought by First Union (Charlotte if memory serves) and had taken the name Wachovia for the combined bank as the Wachovia brand was much more respected than the First-Union. I assume FU was able to monitize the Wachovia brand while lowering the NC banking standards.
Piedmont was another (similar) story.
This is not my Father's NC.
Jim
Unplug it dude, it's gonna blow!
LOL! Now those cross-dressers deserve a pipe bomb!
NC is immune from everything. My prediction is that NC becomes the new capital, replacing a downtrodden and disgraced Washington D.C. All hail president Sebastian.
Is the Wachovia story confirmed or not?
Great, wachovia is my checking acct.
No, it has not been confirmed. There is no press release just a bunch of people saying their AEs have called them saying it is not Vertice.
Used to be call Walk-all-over-ya.
LOL! Now those cross-dressers deserve a pipe bomb!
Don't ask, don't tell!
Yes, but all those AEs called this morning. There was supposed to be some conference call at 1 pm.
headlines just coming through on bloomberg now: "WACHOVIA ENDS WHOLESALE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDING / WACHOVIA WILL CONTINUE HOME LENDING THROUGH OWN EMPLOYEES / WACHOVIA SPOKESMAN DON VECCHIARELLO COMMENTS IN INTERVIEW"
Vertice, the wholesale mortgage division owned by wachovia securities, is still open. WB is not out of the wholeale business as of yet.
Odds of Wachovia staying in the business past next Monday are pretty high. If not, I transfer all of my assets into mattress holding llc.
Interesting Times: You can consider opening an account at one of the FX bucket shops like OANDA. They'll let you leverage yourself to the moon (100:1) if you'd like.
Turkish Lira here we come!
"Aw, G-, and I hope that home prices come down sharply so that folks with foresight and savings can and will buy homes from the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, remember, G-, it is folks like me who will be deploying the capital at the bottom to provide jobs for the imprudent and spendthrift.
But, only after we hit bottom in five years or so will I deploy my capital."
jg - I am unsure if I am the AW, G-, you are refering to, but I am also waiting to buy a home after selling a couple of years ago. And my capital is invested and providing jobs, yes?