Greenspan's deputy, Ben Bernanke, also has been pushing the myth of deflation and pledging that the Fed will print paper without limit to ensure "it doesn't happen here." In a speech last November, Bernanke spoke boldly of that inflationist "technology" at the Fed's disposal -- the printing presses: "By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation." The markets were so "reassured" by these irresponsible central bank pledges last fall that the gold price sky-rocketed still further.

Deflation Myth by Richard M. Salsman -- Capitalism
Magazine

Economist Alan Blinder’s 2007 working study, “How Many U.S. Jobs May be Offshorable?,” made a powerful claim about the US economy: that at least 22% of all US jobs are offshorable.
Study Confirms Much of U.S. Labor Market 'Offshorable' -- Seeking Alpha

Ok, all else aside, that was f*ing AWESOME.

That's pretty awesome.

Its actually an interesting question: There is an implicit guarentee on the bonds (which is still strong, 75 basis points over treasuries is not that much), is there an implicit guarentee on the stock?

If there is, what is the level?

The honour, recommended by the UK Foreign Office and approved by the Queen in August, is in recognition of Greenspan's "contribution to global economic stability."

Greenspan, 76, has been dubbed the second most powerful man in America and has steered the country's economy through four presidencies.

"It's a very unusual day for an economist," he said, as he received the knighthood at the queen's Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands.

"I am deeply appreciative of this honour which I shall always cherish," he said.

Re: While borrowers can refinance fixed-rate mortgages, Greenspan said homeowners were paying as much as 0.5 to 1.2 percentage points for that right and the protection against a potential rate rise, which could increase annual after-tax payments by several thousand dollars.

He said a Fed study suggested many homeowners could have saved tens of thousands of dollars in the last decade if they had ARMs. Those savings would not have been realized, however, had interest rates shot up.

"American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage," Greenspan said.

Joseph McKenzie, deputy chief economist at the Federal Housing Finance Board, says buyers like the stability of fixed-rate mortgages, but there is increasing flexibility in products. "There are lots of innovative programs, especially targeting low-income and first-time buyers," he says.

He should have bought - could have made 20% in a few hours or about 200% if he bought the right options.
This was a pretty lame post though...

So what do folks see in the crystal ball for GE's earnings tomorrow?

So what do folks see in the crystal ball for GE's earnings tomorrow?

Its going to be bad. They are still dangling the fact that their lucrative appliance business could be sold. This isn't good news before earnings...

Where is that Gm death watch again?

I was in the field buckin' hay when Nellie, my market-wise horse, alerted me. I fell down right there and cried. Cried hard, 'cuz I was long FRE,FNM with a target of 30. I just bawled like a new born calf. I think I broke my thimblewhit too.

@ ndk.......

I am sure there is word out among the powerful to not stoke the fear....

Fear is a giant killer in a fractional reserve fiat economy.

They are in quite a pickle....make that WE

U.S. Reluctant to Bail Out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
Is reluctant a synonym of effing-impossible-short-of-BK?

Mark my words - today's lows of FRE and FNM WILL BE RETESTED. All time record hourly volume, daily volume, weekly volume, monthly volume at those lows now.

Thank God it's Friday, I need the weekend to think this over...

Great clip.. thanks CR and NEMO.

It's official, mkt is ok:

CFTC says no evidence of oil manipulation, hoarding
| Markets
| Reuters

The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission told Congress on Thursday there is no evidence that market traders are working together to push up crude oil prices or that oil supplies are being hoarded.

"We have no evidence that people are hoarding oil," CFTC Chairman Walter Lukken told a House Appropriations subcommittee. He also said the CFTC doesn't "see systemically in the current market" that traders are "working together" to drive up prices.

I just hope someone videos the hangings and post them on YouTube.

484 Visitors Online

Go short

Amazing...they trotted out all the asshats on FDIC day.

Now these hearings a week away from humphrey hawkings. Oh yeah...this economy is strong, the dollar is strong, we've avoided systemic risk, the next one is no where in sight, we're gabbing here, nothing to see, move along.

Cheers,

rumors that Pimco's a little nervous about sending trades Lehman's way are only adding to the volatility.

I'm late to the party. Turned on cnbc to see Henry Waxman asking Bernanke why Blackrock won a no-bid contract. What for?

Bernanke said he "would look into it."

CR,

Do you think Faber would be stunned by these bears?
Tiny URL - create a shorter link

I do!

Turned on cnbc to see Henry Waxman asking Bernanke why Blackrock won a no-bid contract. What for?

Blackrock manages Bear Stearns' $30B portfolio as part of the JPM bailout.

Bill Miller is WS whipping boy...

Jamie sales trader
"hey bill, have youheard aboutENE! It's great , there earnings are gonna be spectacular! Take a million from me! "

Bill...'I'll take 2million shares

these two dumb bastards still sit across from each other and talk stocks?, like they know what they're talking about?

i thought this schtick died with the last bear market. jeez.

OT: I have a solution for Dodd, Bernanke, Paulson, Bush, et al:

A Russian woman in St Petersburg killed her drunk husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

St Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.

Now I remember why I don't watch CNBC...it is visual noise with all those tickers speeding along at the top and bottom of the screen. That is the definition of information overload. Why would anyone watch the ticker for trade information anyway when you can just set up your computer to ping you when there's a trade in a name you are interested in. And then these guys are just blathering on...total waste of mental effort.

There is no way I waste my time on any of the business channels. In my opinion, this is INFOTAINMENT and not information. And it's pretty apparant by this clip that these people have no experience in a bad market, during stressful conditions, or in times of economic uncertainty because they are born and bred American dopes (TM Jas). Honestly, if Maria could show more boob as she breathlessly covered a topic to get the ratings up, I'm sure she would. That's what's important here...business news for the proles.

View it as entertainment and move on. Sort of like People or The Star or US of the Business World.

Don't even get me started on the Congressional hearings.

Bill Gross just said that with the "window" open, there will be no more failures of large institutions.

Death by Couch: My great aunt died in a Murphy Bed.

Death by Folding furniture:

glumbert - The Folding Chair

dk writes:
What an angry termination by Frank! He just cut off a senator who had asked three brilliant questions. The second regarded the monetization of interventions and the remaining size of the Fed's balance sheet. The third was whether the Fed had any limitations on the kinds of bailouts it could invoke under its emergency circumstances clause.

Frank cut off the line of questioning very aggressively before Bernanke could be compelled to answer!

I'm stunned! This is a little nerve-wracking

CNBC must have got the call to cut to commercial as well. Totally unreal. Very scary. These guys are scared to death

Is it possible to have Dodd & Bernanke do a sleepover tonight?

Is it possible to have Dodd & Bernanke do a sleepover tonight?

If he's lucky he'll get a reach around.

Maybe we should redo Bastille Day with these idiots.

Speaking of new inventions, I'm working on a deal with Fox & CNBC to install Depends-cam for those moments where a truth detector just wont work

"Maybe we should redo Bastille Day with these idiots."

I second that motion.

So this questioning is now just orchestrated propoganda between cronies to dupe the public?

Lets expose this BS!

I dont want the kind of "reform" (socialization of their losses) these bastards want to shove down our throats!

Does anyone know what this garbage is here:

Fixed-to-Floating Rate
Non-Cumulative
Perpetual Preferred Stock

Freddie Mac Investor Preferred Stock Offerings

Re: http://www.freddiemac.com/investors/pdffiles/FtFPrefStock-oc.pdf

Joint Book-Running Managers
LEHMAN BROTHERS GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
Senior Co-Lead Manager
BEAR, STEARNS & CO. INC.

Hmmmm X2:

If we are not able to meet the
30% mandatory target capital surplus, OFHEO may, among other things, seek to require us to
(a) submit a plan for remediation or (b) implement other remedial steps. In addition, OFHEO has
discretion to reduce our capital classiÑcation by one level if OFHEO determines that we are
engaging in conduct OFHEO did not approve that could result in a rapid depletion of core capital or
determines that the value of property subject to mortgage loans we hold or guarantee has decreased
signiÑcantly. See Regulation and SupervisionÌOÇce of Federal Housing Enterprise OversightÌ
Capital Standards in our November 20, 2007 Information Statement Supplement relating to our
Ñnancial report for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 (the ""November 20, 2007
Information Statement Supplement'') and Note 10: Regulatory CapitalÌClassiÑcation to our
consolidated Ñnancial statements in the Information Statement for information regarding additional
potential actions OFHEO may seek to take against us.

Sumimasen, excuse me.

Fannie, Freddie plunge on rescue report
Fannie, Freddie plunge on reports of feds planning bailout - Jul. 10, 2008

The government doesn't expect the firms to fail and no rescue plan is imminent, according to the report. But the paper reported that talks, which it said had previously been part of normal contingency planning, have become more serious recently.

The two companies own or guarantee about $5 trillion of mortgages -- or nearly half of all U.S. home-mortgage debt outstanding.

So, what about this Tanta & CR, et al?? What about the 30% mandatory target capital surplus, required by OFHEO????

Down to 414 on-line, and the S&P is up 10+. Got calls?

OT
there were actually only three missiles, which is 25 per cent less threatening to the world's oil supply

Time to buy...rally........

mp writes:
homedad- "mp: what's the cigar of choice?"

Macanudo Duke of Devon Maduro
mp | 07.10.08 - 12:30 pm | #

These guys have a half off sale on MP's cigar of choice.

The page cannot be found 475.html

does that mean the bottom is in?
Taos | 07.10.08 - 1:44 pm | #

Anon,

多谢 !

But I still cannot fathom Sumimasen's post...

http://www.freddiemac.com/investors/ar/pdf/2007annualrpt.pdf

Risk-Based Capital. The risk-based capital standard requires the application of a stress test to determine the
amount of total capital that we must hold to absorb projected losses resulting from adverse interest-rate and credit-
risk conditions speciÑed by the GSE Act and adds 30% additional capital to provide for management and operations
risk. The adverse interest-rate conditions prescribed by the GSE Act include one scenario in which 10-year Treasury
yields rise by as much as 75% (up-rate scenario) and one in which they fall by as much as 50% (down-rate scenario).
The credit risk component of the stress tests simulates the performance of our mortgage portfolio based on loss rates
for a benchmark region. The criteria for the benchmark region are established by the GSE Act and are intended to
capture the credit-loss experience of the region that experienced the highest historical rates of default and severity of
mortgage losses for two consecutive origination years.

Our failure to manage to the mandatory target capital surplus would result in an OFHEO inquiry regarding the reason
for such failure. If OFHEO were to determine that we had acted unreasonably regarding our compliance with the
framework, as set forth in OFHEO's letter, OFHEO could seek to require us to submit a remedial plan or take other
remedial steps. We reported to OFHEO that our estimated capital surplus at November 30, 2007 was below the 30%
mandatory target capital surplus. In order to manage to the 30% mandatory target capital surplus and to improve business
Öexibility, we reduced our common stock dividend for the fourth quarter of 2007, issued $6.0 billion of non-cumulative,
perpetual preferred stock and reduced the size of our retained and cash and investments portfolio. See ""RISK
FACTORSÌCompetitive and Market RisksÌMarket uncertainty and volatility may adversely aÅect our business,
proÑtability, results of operations and capital management.'' However, as of December 31, 2007, we reported to OFHEO
that we exceeded each of our regulatory capital requirements in addition to the 30% mandatory target capital surplus.
OFHEO has announced that it will discuss with management a gradual decrease of the 30% mandatory target capital
surplus as we complete the requirements of the consent order. The approach and timing of this decrease will also include
consideration of our Ñnancial condition, our overall risk proÑle and current market conditions. It will also include
consideration of the importance of remaining soundly capitalized to fulÑll our public purpose and recent temporary
expansion of our mission.

mp,

Why, hamburger and madcow...

here is a CONundrum worthy of Greenspan:

feds claim they are trying to prevent a systemic event in the economy by bailing out the financials.
But bailing out the financials means the dollar goes straight into the crapper and resulting inflation becomes a systemic event.

I.e. you can only avoid one systemic failure by substituting it by a worse systemic failure.

unvcl billy, what sac rumor are you hearing?

Former White House adviser Karl Rove, the man once dubbed "Bush's Brain," didn't show up - despite a congressional subpoena - to a hearing today about allegations of political pressure at Bush's Justice Department.

It turns out, President Bush himself directed Rove to snub the subpoena.

Lehman !@#$%^&()_)(&^%$#@#$%^&()_)(&%$#@#$%^&()(&$#@!#$%^&()_)(&%$#@#$%^&*
here we go again!

Pacific Investment Management Co., manager of the world's biggest bond fund, and hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LLC both said speculation they had backed away from Lehman was unfounded.

Pimco continues to trade with Lehman,'' the company said today in an e-mailed statement. Pimco fund manager Bill Gross said in an interview with CNBC that there'sno question'' about the firm's solvency.

LOL.......... bring out more clowns; PIMCO is just trying to maintain value in LEH and the sahres they have..... Gross is a whore!