Their help wanted page certainly hasn't changed much since the last time I looked last month. Are they smart enough to not advertise that they're hiring like crazy (are they?).
Hmm... but maybe in the age of Blackwater they're just outsourcing. That would actually make more sense. Sheila might even get a lagniappe or two that way.
"Few expect the scale of the current crisis to approach that of the 1980s debacle, in which 2,000 banks and savings and loans were eventually closed." -- that would be correct.
Hardy Boys: Which company is providing all the swat teams, and how much are these guys getting paid?
Please,please what a shallow story.
If federally chartered savings banks
like Indy Mac, Countrywide and WaMu
have unregulated mortgage lending,if there are no consumer federal regulations, then these types of crisis will go on forever.The OTS states in writing that it is the lenders perogative to use those few rules as they see fit in lenidng their money.
Thats like telling a bank robber is his , and what kind of a gun to use.
Then there is John McCain ,26 years in Congress and McCain has done nothing about this metltdown, just like the nothing he did before.
As Americans we know where the problem lies,that problem needs be changed. Without change all this talk is to exercise your lungs. We need people in Government that have to live like the rest of us.
MLB
Always 'fun' to see my former employer (ANB Financial) mentioned in the press.
Yup, I was working for them when they got taken out. We were in a remote Chicago based office though, so instead of feds storming in on Friday afternoon, we just showed up on Monday, handed over keys, and were sent packing.
Yes, but will they be sent into battle with VisiCalc and Canon paper tape electronic adding machines?
Blast from the past (Dec '06):
As the seal is broken, like on an ancient tomb, a whiff of Aquanet and Grecian Formula curls the nose hairs of the onlookers. Smithers bursts in to a room full of sleepy 50 somethings and says "breakout the bong and disco ball fellas, it's party time once again!"
The Randall Park Mall was built a few miles from where I grew up as a kid. I believe it was the largest shopping mall in the country at the time it was built. Immense two story mall with five department store anchors, now empty.
This is nothing new. Compared to the private sector, government pay is crap, and so what happens is younger employees stick around for a few years, get good experience, and go work in the private sector. (I'm one of them.) The older employees who have 30 years are retiring, there are a few with their golden handcuffs on, and most of the rest long since went for better pay and working conditions with the contractors.
End result is that there is a perpetual skill deficit in government.
". . .Now, here comes the asset sales all at once. First, the FDIC said it will be liquidating IndyMac, then Merrill with $30 billion two weeks ago, this week Fannie says 54k homes may be bulked and now Lehman will likely sell $40 billion. . .
"Where do new buyers come from? . . .The move-up buyer was responsible for much of the housing boom we experienced in the last decade. There are very few move-up buyers left because neither median or per capita incomes can afford the median home prices in most cities in the nation using new vintage, 10-20% down, fully documented loan types. In the past an $85k per year income could buy a $800k home with little or no money down on a stated income Pay Option ARM. Now, the same borrower can afford a $300k mortgage. . ."
Early retirees are the saving grace of a mismanaged economy. When you've failed to train your workforce for a looming challenge, there are always some oldtimers still frisky enough to come back, fill the gap, and perhaps pass on their knowledge to the youngers. Y2K gave a whole lot of grey-haired COBOL coders a nice boost to their retirement cashflow.
As for this banking crisis being not as bad as the S&L crisis in the early '80s -- time will tell. It's a risk to assume that.
"Where do new buyers come from? . . .The move-up buyer was responsible for much of the housing boom we experienced in the last decade. There are very few move-up buyers left because neither median or per capita incomes can afford the median home prices in most cities in the nation using new vintage, 10-20% down, fully documented loan types. In the past an $85k per year income could buy a $800k home with little or no money down on a stated income Pay Option ARM. Now, the same borrower can afford a $300k mortgage. . ."
Nothing wrong here a 70% haircut in home prices won't fix.
I notice a lot of the "FOR SALE" signs now say "CASH ONLY" anyhow.
BTW I looked into this and found that the "CASH ONLY" stipulation comes from the local HOA.
Basically they're banning any credit transactions because they don't want new residents to come bearing hefty mortgages as a defense against future foreclosures and sagging property values.
Mr. Holloway and his colleagues used personal credit cards, rather than cards provided by the F.D.I.C., to avoid detection. If anybody asked why they were in town, they were told to say that they were with the Toy Shop on business, he said.
It is kind of cloak and dagger, Mr. Holloway said. You dont want to start a run on the bank.
Why don't they just claim to be a group of Mormon's?
Dead give aways for the swat team, include the purchase of yellow tape at the local hardware store, sunglasses, ammo, cardboard boxes, black ties, frequent visits to the barber shop and frequent visits to restrooms...
The following chart shows the distribution of the OIG's budget by major spending categories. Mostly, the OIG budget is comprised of salaries and benefits for its employees and the necessary funding for travel and training expenses. Our fiscal year 2007 budget also includes funds to replace our staff's laptop computers, which will be over 3 years old and due for replacement, in accordance with the Corporation's computer replacement schedule.
Thanks for link - there was a chart sidebar on this that gave me pause - on how to handle retirement funds in a bear market - except that the chart data assumes withdrawals started in 2002 - huhhhh?
Section 2236.2 Travel and Per Diem Policies: This section now incorporates the State Travel Policy previously provided in Appendix J. The mileage rate for a Recipients using a privately owned vehicle has been increased from 34¢ pr mile to 44.5¢
Effective January 1, 2007, the mileage rate allowed for use of a personal vehicle on business is 48.5 cents per mile.
3.0 TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION
Contractors shall ensure that all travel on behalf of the FDIC is necessary and allowable under the contract. A management official of the Contractor shall authorize all travel and travel vouchers reflecting travel expenditures.
4.0 AIR TRAVEL
Air travel should be in coach class only, unless the employee bears the cost of the difference between coach and first class. Travel should be planned as far in advance as possible to take advantage of discounted fares; especially, if reasonable certainty exists that the event will take place. If more than one air carrier offers service, travel should be on the carrier that offers the lowest price. If a restricted fare is booked and the Contractors employee requires a change, a reasonable exchange fee may be claimed. Contractor employees are required to fly on U.S. flag carrier service under the Fly America Act, unless an exception to the Act applies.
Re: NON-REIMBURSEMENT EXPENSES
Examples of expenses that will not be reimbursed include the following:
alcoholic beverages, entertainment;
laundry, dry cleaning and pressing (per diem reimbursement);
travel insurance;
parking fines;
charges incurred because of indirect travel for personal reasons;
gratuities and tips paid to porters, waiters, bellboys, and hotel maids inside the lodging facility (per diem reimbursement);
nonproductive time related to official travel to and from ones temporary duty station; and
any charges, fees, or other associated costs related to the making of reservations or other accommodations for travel.
No sensible person is going to be able to profitably chart or calculate his or her way out of this without inside information. The momentum players have a chance, a slim one... but a chance.
GSA establishes the CONUS per diem rates providing the maximum reimbursement allowances up to which federal employees are reimbursed by their agencies for expenses incurred while on official travel. The CONUS per diem rate for an area is actually three allowances in one: the lodging allowance, the meals allowance and the incidental expense allowance. Most of the CONUS (about 3,000 counties) are covered by the standard CONUS per diem rate of $109 ($70 lodging, $39 meals and incidental expenses). In Fiscal Year (FY) 09, there are about 400 Non-Standard Areas (NSA) that have per diem rates higher than the standard CONUS.
Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all.
And who's granting huge mtges these days anyhow?
Where is this happening ac?
IIRC, in the 1980's Fairbanks Ranch (north of San Diego and east of Del Mar) stipulated one million for the lot and approval of the architecture (with a minimum of a million for building costs) with no borrowing. Joan Kroc (McDonald's) and Helen Copley (San Diego Union Tribune) owned there. But I don't think that the newer cheaper subdivision was as stringent.
BTW- all those disparate styles set in the middle of the lots made it look more like some freakish Legoland development rather than a neighborhood.
NOT that it's applicable at all, LawyerLiz, but Manhattan Co-ops, the high end buildings, doorman full service types in the UES, haven't allowed financed deals for decades. Now, it's true that their legal structure allows this, along with other discretionary judgments about the suitability (or not) of potential owners.
So I am not at all sure how an HOA could have by=laws that restrict the ownership...Now individual buyers can certainly insist on contracts that are not contingent on financing, but that obviously can't restrict the means for the buyer can it?
Here is what I don't understand. Almost all of you seem to recognize that you are standing directly under massive forces that are cutting into our entire financial structure. And what are you focused on ? Trying to catch the falling knives without getting cut? Good luck.
Misean writes:
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
SPACE COWBOYS (2000) When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.
Clint Eastwood\t ... \tFrank Corvin
Tommy Lee Jones\t... \tHawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland... \tJerry O'Neill
James Garner... Tank Sulliva
"Misean writes:
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
SPACE COWBOYS (2000) When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space."
I'm thinking "Spaceballs." We're surrounded by assholes.
Escariot,
Sorry for your predicament. I'm in well diversified cash... I'm watching this implode, and I'll move back into the market when it makes sense again. But I sympathize with those who still think they can outsmart what is happening.
For Mr. Holloway, the return to work was quick ... working in Dallas on a strategic plan for the troubled ANB Financial, a bank in Bentonville, Ark., with $2.1 billion in assets that had moved fatefully into construction lending.
I came in about three weeks before the bank was closed, Mr. Holloway recalled. Though he was briefly in Dallas, his real office is on the road, he said.
How long before Wall Street traders put a PI on this guy? Three weeks is all the time in the world for setting up a massive short (or put) position...
Dallas Fed chief Richard W. Fisher speaks his mind in Q&A
"Capitalism wasn't designed to be stable, and we forget that too often... That's just the price we pay for a system that works better than anyone else's."
Escariot,
IMHO, this is now a game for the super-fund players. The market's volatility reflects that. They are very busy taking indecent liberties with each other, and, if you want to play in that game, then expect to be the subject of indecent liberties.
Michael LittleBig wrote:
"...Then there is John McCain ,26 years in Congress and McCain has done nothing about this metltdown, just like the nothing he did before...
MLB
Michael LittleBig | 08.17.08 - 9:08 am | #
greedspend, mcCain and 4 dems incl sen john glenn and were invoved in vouching for charles keating the head of Lincoln savings, in a preview of the kind of fraud , in miniature, that is taking place today, in part it was about mis representing IRA and elderly retirement money into risky CRE.
but payoff as in "campaign donations"
to frustrate regulation was then as now a significant part of the crime.
its time to make corporate campaign donations illegal and limit individual contributions to $1000 per individual citizen in the jurisdiction where the election takes place.
Analysis: Deal could cost the public
Acquisition puts a lot on the line
"Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of Countrywide was supposed to help keep the troubled mortgage lender from collapse. Things might not turn out exactly as planned."
"This is exactly the situation that the FDIC wanted to avoid with the marriage of Bank of America and Countrywide," said Joseph Mason, professor of finance at Louisiana State University." 404 Error, No such article | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
earlier in the week FFDIC posted a link referencing a consent decree between Vineyard bank of corona calif and the OCC / treasury.
the consent decree was nothing less than gruesome against vineyard bank
first on the list was something like fire you current dumb-ass CEO, advertise for a new one by october and check with us for advice and consent before you hire.
also on the list, were re-writes of the banks policies and proceedures on diversification, capitalization and loan standards
is this a new model for how the Fed, treasury and FDIC deal with most of the financial institutions in crisis?
Has it occurred to anyone else, that, just maybe, the collective of all C.E.O.'s have been paid a salary, bonus, and all the other compensation they receive that in total sort of exceeds the value of what they have delivered ?
These FDIC janitors are the low level unimportant and forgotten heros that get paid shit to clean up up after the messes left behind by Friends Of Angelo, Friends of IndyMac, Friends of WaMu, LEH, HSBC, etc, i.e, the crooks that broke these banks and robbed shareholders and contributed to these bank failures!
FDIC is paying these people pennies to go after mafia-like fraud, collusion and accounting games run by these crooks!
Re: TOTAL COMPENSATION
$15.92 mil (#84)
5-YEAR COMPENSATION TOTAL
$42.23 mil
Michael W Perry has been CEO of IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) for 13 years. Mr. Perry has been with the company for 13 years .The 43 year old executive ranks 4 within Banking Michael W Perry, CEO Compensation - Forbes.com
Now remember, this angel among bank crooks took a 50% pay cut last year and he serves as a role model for bank failures... and his compensation was the 4th highest of banking fraudsters: CEO Compensation - Forbes.com
RANK\tNAME\tCOMPANY\tPAY ($MIL)\t5-YR PAY ($MIL)\tSHARES OWNED ($MIL)\tAGE\tEFFICIENCY
54\tMarion O Sandler\t Golden West Finl\t 21.74\t 42.03\t 2,006.3\t 75\t 52
59\tCharles O Prince\t Citigroup\t 19.94\t 49.253\t 70.3\t 56\t NA
80\tJames E Rohr\t PNC Financial Services\t 16.77\t 38.41\t 42.1\t 57\t NA
84\tMichael W Perry\t IndyMac Bancorp\t 15.92\t 42.23\t 8.7\t 43\t 69
89\tRichard M Kovacevich\t Wells Fargo\t 15.16\t 136.91\t 112.0\t 62\t 162
99\tKerry K Killinger\t Washington Mutual\t 13.76\t 54.16\t 78.0\t 56\t 89
"Has it occurred to anyone else, that, just maybe, the collective of all C.E.O.'s have been paid a salary, bonus, and all the other compensation they receive that in total sort of exceeds the value of what they have delivered ?"
According to cotton pickin'...you're prolly right,
I feel aI need to go do something violent, as it is these asshats that we're going to bail out. Gramama Jenkins who got scammed is gonna be pushing a shopping cart down the street. But Mr. Bankster is gonna have his Hampton's house and eat it too. How sweet.
"The growth of government as an industry, Frank notes, has transformed the capital region: The richest county in America isnt in Silicon Valley or some sugarland preserve of Houstons oil kings; it is Loudoun County, Va., a fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C. The second richest county is Fairfax, Va., the next suburb over from Loudoun; the third, sixth and seventh richest counties are also suburbs of the capital." What's the Matter With Washington? - NY Times
Well, I've said a few things I think made sense, and I learned more than a few things from some others. I think I'll count my blessings and go home. OH - WAIT - I'M ALREADY THERE !!!!!
The richest county in America isnt in Silicon Valley or some sugarland preserve of Houstons oil kings; it is Loudoun County, Va., a fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C. The second richest county is Fairfax, Va., the next suburb over from Loudoun; the third, sixth and seventh richest counties are also suburbs of the capital."
When the parasite class earns more than one of the few remaining productive classes earn, the seeds of destruction have not only been planted, but are ready for harvest.
Why is The FDIC recalling people? Banks are failing, why?
Re: Congressional hearing
In response to a subpoena, Ebbers appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on July 8, 2002. At these hearings Ebbers stated "I do not believe I have anything to hide, I believe that no one will conclude that I engaged in any criminal or fraudulent conduct."[12] After making this statement Ebbers asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Following his actions, Ebbers was threatened with Contempt of Congress charges.[13] The basis of the allegation was that Ebbers' statement constituted testimony that could not be cross-examined. No charge of contempt was ever filed.
Federal authorities indicted Ebbers with security fraud and conspiracy charges on March 2, 2004.[9][18] An amendment to the indictment on May 25, 2004 increased the list of charges to nine felonies: one count each of conspiracy and securities fraud, and seven counts of filing false statements with securities regulators. Ebbers was found guilty of all charges on March 15, 2005.
WHY, are we living in a time, when defrauding investor is no big deal????
HUGE LOANS. That was a turning point in WorldCom's dramatic history. Regulators made it clear the roll-up was over. While WorldCom had invested a lot of money in constructing telecom networks, mergers and acquisitions had been the heart of its business plan and the key to its success on Wall Street. Suddenly, it couldn't find a legitimate way to maintain its identity as the world's largest growth company.
Rather than admit that painful truth, prosecutors argued in the three-week trial, Ebbers and five other key executives conspired to cook WorldCom's books and hide reality from investors and the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Prosecutors said Ebbers was under enormous personal pressure to boost the stock. Loath to undermine investor confidence, he had long refused to sell any shares. But he wanted to reap the benefits of his wealth, so he put up his stock as collateral to borrow more than $400 million, and used the cash to buy a huge ranch in Canada, a farm in the Southeast, a yachtmaker, and other companies.
FFDIC -
what makes Loudoun or Fairfax interesting is that the average is what makes the difference - both counties (and yes, I have lived in both) are quite homogenous. Of course, there are some significantly rich enclaves (Great Falls comes to mind), but in general, both counties merely reflect the high level of average income working in the industry of government.
This is part of the creation of an American counterpart to what Germany has in its 'Beamte' system - long term careers stable in income and numerous advantages, such as high quality education. But just as the Beamte in Germany are not part of the truly rich, the same is basically true of Loudoun and Fairfax.
Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud, U.S. officials said.
Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud, U.S. officials said.
The amazing thing is they may not find any evidence of fraud! Sure some laws may have been broken but they might not find any "criminal" acts. I guess it depends on if Mukasey is still around when they finish.
I would guess much of the fraud involved appraisers overevaluating property, knowing that the bank not only wouldn't complain but would send more work their way.
As U.S. regulators brace for more bank failures, consumers are wondering for the first time since the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s about the safety of their money.
Harry Newton, a former publisher who lives in New York City, moved $604,000 in cash to seven different banks last month after the seizure of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. to ensure that his funds were covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
In all, eight banks have been closed in 2008 by state and national regulators amid record losses tied to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, data compiled by the FDIC show.
Im worried about the banks that failed this year, said Newton, 66. Some of them werent on the FDIC watch list. I believe there are billions of dollars of assets on balance sheets that havent been written down yet.
AP IMPACT: Weak rules cripple appraiser oversight
Sunday August 17, 2:12 pm ET
By Mitch Weiss, Associated Press Writer
AP IMPACT: Toothless rules, bumbling regulators cripple oversight of real estate appraisers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal -- the real estate appraisal -- was undermined from within.
After the nation's last major banking disaster, Congress set up a system to catch rogue appraisers. Their game: inflating the value of homes at the direction of equally unscrupulous real estate agents and mortgage brokers, whose commissions are determined by the size of the deals.
But a six-month Associated Press investigation found that the system is crippled by both the bumbling of its policemen and their inability to effectively punish those caught committing fraud.
And despite ample evidence appraisers are pressured into inflating home values -- sometimes to prices in support of loans that are more than buyers can afford -- the federal regulators charged with protecting consumers have thus far made a conscious choice not to act.
"But he wanted to reap the benefits of his wealth, so he put up his stock as collateral to borrow more than $400 million, and used the cash to buy a huge ranch in Canada, a farm in the Southeast, a yachtmaker, and other companies."
I find it impossible to understand these people. Are they suffering from some kind of sickness? It's as if they're afraid that if they don't keep accumulating more wealth they're going to disappear.
sparks writes:
Misean,
No, actually it was shortly before WWII. Check me out. We were pacifists then. Now, we police the world without pay.
sparks | 08.17.08 - 1:14 pm | #
Tell that to the Northern Cheyenne, Lakota & Ogalala.
For that matter Custer as one of 'our own' knew differently too. As they say around here - Custer had it coming.
The NAMs analysis shows that in terms of real manufacturing value-added (price-adjusted, to reflect the quantity of output) the US remains by far the worlds largest manufacturer, producing nearly one-fourth of the worlds industrial output. Based on the highly respected World Bank database, our analysis also shows that we will produce twice as much this year as the fourth placed economy, China (the European Union and Japan are in second and third position, respectively). Even in current measures of manufacturing denominated in dollars (which inflate Chinas position because of the rising yuan and other factors), China will produce only about 60 per cent as much as the US in 2008. FT.com / Comment / Opinion - American industry can stay ahead of China
"Note that of the top five credit contract holders in the world, only BAC and HBC increased, and for BAC, this was a result of them taking a lot of Countrywide's paper. Three decreased, but, HBC not only increased their exposure YOY, but, did so by about 50%."
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank by market value, will seek to control costs by exercising more caution in lending and hiring, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Vincent Cheng, chairman of its Asian unit.
The outlook for the second half of the year is ``very challenging,'' the newspaper cited Cheng as saying. Slower growth in the region and faster inflation will prompt the bank to monitor expenses more carefully, the Post added.
Appraisers are not all to blame. Appraisers are a lagging phenom. Buy a house or two at a jacked up price and you get comps.
Of course there was fraud but it was only a small part of the problem. Appraisers also used 'models' to save time the way banks used FICO scores. Everything got out of hand and the regulators sat on their hands.
I have a friend who appraises ONLY on replacement cost less depreciation. Needless to say his business suffered these last few years but he is busier now than in 05. He only uses comps for distressed properties where replacement cost tends not to work.
HSBC, the U.K.'s largest bank by market value, is trying to buy the 51.02% stake in KEB from U.S.-based Lone Star Funds. HSBC Asia Pacific Holdings entered into a conditional agreement to buy the stake in September 2007, but HSBC failed to get regulatory approval for the $6 billion deal by the July 31 deadline.
Lone Star and HSBC are still in discussions, but haven't set a new deadline.
The government earlier this year said it couldn't approve or reject HSBC's application, which was filed in December, due to legal uncertainties involving KEB's owner. Lone Star bought KEB for about $1.3 billion in 2003.
HSBC had agreed to buy 51 percent of KEB, South Korea's No. 6 bank, from U.S. private equity fund Lone Star [LS.UL] last September, in a deal that could propel the UK-based bank into the top ranks of Asia's third-largest banking market.
But the July 31 deadline for completion of the transaction passed without regulatory clearance because of legal disputes surrounding Lone Star's investment activities in South Korea.
The government's top financial regulator said in late July that it would launch a review of HSBC's deal in a turnaround from its previous stance that it would wait until legal disputes surrounding Lone Star's activities in South Korea were cleared.
The long-running deal, mired in outstanding legal issues, is seen as a test of whether South Korea is genuine in its pledge to open its financial sector wider to international investors.
Scotiabank could be investor safe haven - Barron's
Bank of Nova Scotia could offer a safe haven for investors because it is not afflicted with hard-to-value credit assets and huge subprime write-downs, Barron's reported in its Aug. 18 edition Scotiabank could be investor safe haven - Barron's
| Reuters
Korean investigators are probing the legitimacy of Lone Stars $1.2 billion purchase in 2003 of KEB, the countrys largest foreign exchange bank; prosecutors have claimed collusion between Lone Star and KEBs CEO to inflate the banks losses, enabling the buyout firm to acquire KEB for less than its market value.
Massive resentment has been directed against Loan Star for structuring its holding of KEB so that stake sales could be conducted tax-free as offshore transactions.
I think we can safely say that pretty much everyone involved in this bubble is to blame in some way. Appraisers, buyers, fraudsters, banks, politicians, builders, wall street, heloc junkies, granite salesmen, NAR, GE's propoganda channel, Macklowe, Goldman Sachs and my uncle Ed. And every person who said real estate only goes up because this time it is different.
And David Brooks.
CR and Tanta, of course, are on the other list of Good People Who Tried to Warn You. Hell, if CR or Tanta told me to start building an ark, I might just do it. If Roubini said so I'd probably just start pricing Arks but take a more wait and see approach.
While the stock price manipulation case is the only legal issue involving Lone Star directly, former government officials and executives of the bank, also known as KEB, still face allegations that Lone Star's 2003 purchase of KEB was illegal. A verdict on that case is expected by the end of the year.
"The main case is whether or not Lone Star bought KEB on the cheap in collusion with various government officials," said Peter Tebbutt, a director of Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong. "That hasn't been resolved."
He added that this was a "good sign" and that it "may indicate" that the courts were leaning toward Lone Star's position.
A lower court in February found both Lone Star and the head of Lone Star's South Korean operations, Paul Yoo, guilty of driving down the share price of KEB's former credit card unit by spreading rumors to allow the bank to buy the unit at below-market prices.
But the Seoul High Court threw out the previous judgment, saying that Lone Star's announcement in 2003 of a possible capital write-down of the KEB card firm was not giving out false information, but was rather one option it was considering for the card unit.
"There is no evidence to prove Lone Star guilty of stock manipulation," Koh Eui Young, judge of the Seoul High Court, said in a court ruling.
But the country's financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said that it was not appropriate to go ahead with the sale process for KEB while legal proceedings were in progress.
Prosecutors will appeal the decision, a prosecutor said following the ruling.
That may convince officials to hold off on approving the deal until a Supreme Court decision and lead HSBC to pull out to look for other opportunities.
The High Court also handed down a suspended jail term of two and a half years for Lone Star's Yoo on separate charges of negligence of duties in Lone Star's other investment deals in South Korea. Yoo was cleared of the stock price manipulation charge.
Caning is used as a form of judicial or private corporal punishment of males in Singapor
12th Percentile writes:
I think we can safely say that pretty much everyone involved in this bubble is to blame in some way. Appraisers, buyers, fraudsters, banks, politicians, builders, wall street, heloc junkies, granite salesmen, NAR, GE's propoganda channel, Macklowe, Goldman Sachs and my uncle Ed. And every person who said real estate only goes up because this time it is different.
All I can say about Lonestar is they lie, and as loansharks, they seem to have no parallel right now.
As was obvious during a past August, anyone relying on them for anything is a fool.
Their word isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
If they want to contest my viewpoint, I draw the court's attention to their buyout of LEND that cost me money relying on their word. Never again will I trust fools that can't finish a deal they publicly wanted and bid up.
It used to be that a man's word was his bond, and Grayken should know that more than most. The greed of these folks will be their downfall.
Don't mention them again until they go broke, I will be one of the folks enjoying a dance on their grave.
I hope to be around as long as Sam Zell, and dance on a bunch of graves of folks who so richly deserve it.
Well Downey's Texas ratio was around 80 or 90 as of the end of March. It is probably higher now. That is the figure that matters and it is not good. In addition why would Downey be selling for 6% of book if it were not about to go down the tubes? The stock market is not that dumb.
Re:FFDIC writes:
Why Downey Financial is Not IndyMac
(I don't buy this because if a deposit run continues nothing else matters.) http://seekingalpha.com/article/...-is-not- indymac
mp writes:
Obama, because of the wars and the US economy.
Thanks for replying; however I'm taking the opposite forecast. Just read/listen to what conventional wisdom said about the '04 election - Bush should've been swept outta office. Nope. Half the pop. doesn't vote, and the rest are coin-flippers with a reactionary bent. Can't wait 'til its over.
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
Just read/listen to what conventional wisdom said about the '04 election - Bush should've been swept outta office.
What the polling had wrong in '04 was the "incumbent rule": undecideds break away from the incumbent. So, with Kerry tied (or even 1-2 pts behind Bush), the undecideds were supposed to carry him over the top. It didn't happen.
What I think the Obama strategy actually is, is to meet vote count goals for each state. "We need x votes in this state, y votes in this county, z votes in this precinct. And where phone contacts/door knocking show were underperforming, we'll emphasize new voter registration." If this distributed model works, it'll be brilliant. But it working depends on two things: accurate guesses on how many votes are needed to win each state (i.e., no surprise turnout for McCain) and enough money and boots on the ground to accomplish it.
Fine point. I see Team Obama putting the same misguided (or audacious??) hope behind "new voters", esp. those aged 18-25 and/or black. Those age/race groups are the most overestimated for turnout every election year, while the 65+ yo and white rural male demographics are the most underestimated. I'm in central Florida near "crucial" I-4 corridor and it's clear BO's lost this state. I don't know much about Ohio, but I suspect since Pen. is so competitive that BO's truly struggling in the white rustbelt. Again - can't wait 'til its over; it'll show how meaningless it was.
*** BusinessDay revealed on Saturday - via leaked client information of US investment bank Lehman Brothers - subprime exposures held by local councils, charities, churches, super funds, semi-government agencies and public companies across the nation.
Further, 20 councils have signed up for a class action lawsuit claiming misleading and deceptive conduct by Lehman in selling collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).
Lehman data shows that Australia has been a dumping ground for fancy structured products such as CDOs, and the damage is yet to be realised.
Further, these numbers ($2billion exposure across Australia to Lehman funds under management - most of which are CDOs) tell only half the story
Other banks such as ABN Amro, Westpac, Deutsche, Macquarie and Morgan Stanley have been involved in issuing CDOs. A slew of bombed-out CDOs is also listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Structured finance is complex, however, and the exposure of every client is different, in magnitude and by product. Some products, such as the Federation CDO (referenced by US subprime mortgages) are commonly thought to be worth 10% of their face value. Other exposures may be recovered.
There is also a distinction between CDOs and floating rate notes (FRNs) as FRNs were the second most common asset class in the Lehman portfolios. The Victorian Teachers Credit Union and credit union Mecu, held FRNs rather than CDOs in their funds managed by Lehman. Although the ASX ranks FRNs in the same asset class as CDOs, most FRNs are not collateralised and are generally considered safer.
Australian charities, churches and municipal governments face potential losses as great as A$2 billion ($1.7 billion) on investments linked to U.S. subprime mortgages, the Age newspaper reported.
The Metropolitan Ambulance Service in Victoria state and St Vincent de Paul Society are among groups that invested in mortgage-related products marketed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the Age said, without identifying its sources.
The charities haven't written down the value of their investments as payments are continuing and they say there isn't any impairment, the newspaper said.
About 20 municipal governments have signed up for a class action lawsuit against Lehman and may join an existing action by Wingecarribee Council in New South Wales state, the Age said.
Altogether, its London-based subsidiary has recorded $29 billion in losses, according to The Financial Times. As a result, Merrill does not figure to pay taxes in the United Kingdom for several decades, the paper noted.
Virtually all of Merrill's global activity in the CDO market has been channeled through Merrill Lynch International, its U.K.-based subsidiary, according to the report. So, at the 28 percent corporate tax rate, Merrill will be able to lower its U.K. tax bill by as much as $8 billion by offsetting losses against future profits, according to the FT.
Many other banks have recorded similarly distressing losses in the United States. The paper pointed out that UBS said most of the $42 billion it lost in the subprime crisis was booked in this country. Most of Citigroup's write-downs were here as well.
Bloomberg News noted that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently conceded that some Wall Street firms may pay little or no New York City or state taxes for years.
We have a supplier we've dealt with faithfully for over 50 years just call us one day and tell us we couldn't get [liquid asphalt] any more," said Scott Grannas, vice president of Grannas Bros. Co. Inc. in Hollidaysburg. That call came in the midst of a $24 million resurfacing job Grannas Bros. is doing on Interstate 99, and forced the firm to scramble to find oil for its two asphalt plants. Similar scenarios are playing out across Pennsylvania where the price for a liquid ton of the oil used to produce asphalt has jumped from about $330 in July 2007 to more than $800.
4th squirrel on Palomar Mountain has plague News - San Jose Mercury News
A fourth squirrel at a Palomar Mountain campground has tested positive for plague.
San Diego County health officials say the squirrel was found at the Doane Valley Campground and campers should avoid contact with squirrels. It was the fourth squirrel with plague found this year.
Plague is a bacterial disease contracted by wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected fleas.
sdtfs writes:
"Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all."
I feel sorry for the ho's, too...just tryin' to make a buck, but can't be sure whether it's an honest john, or a vice bust, although it seems to be pretty much a "cash on the barrelhead" deal. Have heard of high end escort services taking plastic, though.....WAIT!!!...that was "hoas"....never mind...
Rented a house w/another family and after one of the kids answered the house phone and got a message about being one payment away from car repo, we started answering everything.
All various messages...
able to consolidate their $20K debt and save $6K...
take advantage of opportunity to lower from their rate of 29.something% interest rate...
credit workout opportunity w/counseling firm...
Jeez, that's one way to avoid the collection calls. Just use the number for the vacation home.
Also noted a fair number of Sale signs and one place we liked - less than block from beach - was for sale for only $2.3M. MLS brochure in box showed that was placed on market 12/1/07.
Yeah, we're bad. But the kid was upset thinking that some bad men were coming to take our car (which we own, cash, thank you).
Good one Slim: "They are shooting down the value of appraisals like I've never seen before," said Rick Gordillo, whose practice specializes in residential real estate. "It's almost as if they don't want the business. They are turning away loans even when the values are there."
Re: The Appraisal Institute, a trade group with 32,000 members, has even begun offering a series of daylong seminars in cities across the country to retrain its members. The lectures are designed to help the group's appraisers adapt to the current market and learn how to better evaluate data.
LOL ROTFLMAO....Bawhahahahaaa Retrain the anyting goes bullshit ..LOL!
Re: "The challenge for us is to determine what's normal for the neighborhood. We have to be very careful and be sure that we're reading the market correctly and don't over- or undervalue the property we are looking at."
What, they don't just drive by anymore and honk the horn??
Re: The extra calls and the extra work to sort out home values mean that instead of being able to complete two appraisal reports a day, she is able to do only one, Mann said. At the same time, the slowdown in the market has meant cutting her staff from 17 people to four
Right, instead of driving 5 homes a day and making a $1000+, they have to work now.....too bad
FDIC, OTS,OCC are regulators in name only. They don't have ,the staff, the time, the expertise, the examiner manpower or the ability to police, this overwhelming multi financial complex. The analogy is to compare a turtle to the horse Big Brown. The financial boys have made the regulators look like Harry,Larry and Moe.
Remember, you get what you pay for.
Or maybe its "If you can't trust your Banker,who can you trust?
Michael LittleBig
We haven't been to the beach in Delaware for 2 years, but when we were there in 2006, it turns out the condo we rented was listed. (It was shown a couple times when we were there--we were on the beach anyway, and the realtor gave us a gift certificate for a real nice dinner.) Anyway, that's the first time this real estate bubble hit me. (We live in W. Pa., land of eternal recession.) Anyway, we're looking at the purchase price, roughly figuring what the mortgage will be, and then adding up the rents for the high season weeks and the other weeks (assuming it's not rented late Oct through April in Del). Even the most optimistic occupancy rates wouldn't come near servicing the debt, let alone other expenses.
Even considering the inflows to the DC economy (via our tax dollars) which largely support Delmarva real estate, it seems like it'll be a mess there at the shore.
they'll be happy for the job when hyperinflation sets i
Their help wanted page certainly hasn't changed much since the last time I looked last month. Are they smart enough to not advertise that they're hiring like crazy (are they?).
https://jobs1.quickhire.com/scripts/fdic.exe/runuserinfo?HaveUsedBefore=5
Hmm... but maybe in the age of Blackwater they're just outsourcing. That would actually make more sense. Sheila might even get a lagniappe or two that way.
"Few expect the scale of the current crisis to approach that of the 1980s debacle, in which 2,000 banks and savings and loans were eventually closed." -- that would be correct.
Hardy Boys: Which company is providing all the swat teams, and how much are these guys getting paid?
Is FFDIC around to give us a first hand account?
Please,please what a shallow story.
If federally chartered savings banks
like Indy Mac, Countrywide and WaMu
have unregulated mortgage lending,if there are no consumer federal regulations, then these types of crisis will go on forever.The OTS states in writing that it is the lenders perogative to use those few rules as they see fit in lenidng their money.
Thats like telling a bank robber is his , and what kind of a gun to use.
Then there is John McCain ,26 years in Congress and McCain has done nothing about this metltdown, just like the nothing he did before.
As Americans we know where the problem lies,that problem needs be changed. Without change all this talk is to exercise your lungs. We need people in Government that have to live like the rest of us.
MLB
Always 'fun' to see my former employer (ANB Financial) mentioned in the press.
Yup, I was working for them when they got taken out. We were in a remote Chicago based office though, so instead of feds storming in on Friday afternoon, we just showed up on Monday, handed over keys, and were sent packing.
That last rescue worked out great.
We all really learned our lesson the first time around.
Good morning, Tanta.
I wonder, does this mean FFDIC will be slipping away on weekends?
Yes, but will they be sent into battle with VisiCalc and Canon paper tape electronic adding machines?
Blast from the past (Dec '06):
As the seal is broken, like on an ancient tomb, a whiff of Aquanet and Grecian Formula curls the nose hairs of the onlookers. Smithers bursts in to a room full of sleepy 50 somethings and says "breakout the bong and disco ball fellas, it's party time once again!"
Way OT, but interesting none the less.
North Randall: Village of 850 close to collapse | Metro - cleveland.com - cleveland.com
The Randall Park Mall was built a few miles from where I grew up as a kid. I believe it was the largest shopping mall in the country at the time it was built. Immense two story mall with five department store anchors, now empty.
FDIC SWAT team. That made me laugh. I am picturing old white guys in blue windbreakers with foot high yellow "FDIC" emblazoned across the back.
Nice that he is feeling useful, and actually being useful, plus doing the DC double dip.
What happened with Downey?
Oh, perhaps Fannie planning on dumping 54k houses on the market as a bulk sale might make an interesting topic?
This is nothing new. Compared to the private sector, government pay is crap, and so what happens is younger employees stick around for a few years, get good experience, and go work in the private sector. (I'm one of them.) The older employees who have 30 years are retiring, there are a few with their golden handcuffs on, and most of the rest long since went for better pay and working conditions with the contractors.
End result is that there is a perpetual skill deficit in government.
Mr. Mortgage is on fire:
". . .Now, here comes the asset sales all at once. First, the FDIC said it will be liquidating IndyMac, then Merrill with $30 billion two weeks ago, this week Fannie says 54k homes may be bulked and now Lehman will likely sell $40 billion. . .
"Where do new buyers come from? . . .The move-up buyer was responsible for much of the housing boom we experienced in the last decade. There are very few move-up buyers left because neither median or per capita incomes can afford the median home prices in most cities in the nation using new vintage, 10-20% down, fully documented loan types. In the past an $85k per year income could buy a $800k home with little or no money down on a stated income Pay Option ARM. Now, the same borrower can afford a $300k mortgage. . ."
#
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
Cheers,
Early retirees are the saving grace of a mismanaged economy. When you've failed to train your workforce for a looming challenge, there are always some oldtimers still frisky enough to come back, fill the gap, and perhaps pass on their knowledge to the youngers. Y2K gave a whole lot of grey-haired COBOL coders a nice boost to their retirement cashflow.
As for this banking crisis being not as bad as the S&L crisis in the early '80s -- time will tell. It's a risk to assume that.
"Where do new buyers come from? . . .The move-up buyer was responsible for much of the housing boom we experienced in the last decade. There are very few move-up buyers left because neither median or per capita incomes can afford the median home prices in most cities in the nation using new vintage, 10-20% down, fully documented loan types. In the past an $85k per year income could buy a $800k home with little or no money down on a stated income Pay Option ARM. Now, the same borrower can afford a $300k mortgage. . ."
Nothing wrong here a 70% haircut in home prices won't fix.
I notice a lot of the "FOR SALE" signs now say "CASH ONLY" anyhow.
We can work through this.
BTW I looked into this and found that the "CASH ONLY" stipulation comes from the local HOA.
Basically they're banning any credit transactions because they don't want new residents to come bearing hefty mortgages as a defense against future foreclosures and sagging property values.
Maybe this explains why a number of banks already bust haven't been closed. Nobody available to close them.
What will these retired bank examiners make of the Level 3 assets of the new era? Will they even know what this stuff is?
More toxic spread.
Subprime pain sweeps the world
Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all.
And who's granting huge mtges these days anyhow?
Where is this happening ac?
This is amazing:
Mr. Holloway and his colleagues used personal credit cards, rather than cards provided by the F.D.I.C., to avoid detection. If anybody asked why they were in town, they were told to say that they were with the Toy Shop on business, he said.
It is kind of cloak and dagger, Mr. Holloway said. You dont want to start a run on the bank.
NY Times on Dr. Roubini article:
Dr. Doom - NY Times
Video to go with story:
YouTube -
I love the smell of Aquanet and Grecian formula in the morning...it smells like victory...victory.
Dead give aways for the swat team, include the purchase of yellow tape at the local hardware store, sunglasses, ammo, cardboard boxes, black ties, frequent visits to the barber shop and frequent visits to restrooms...
We're gonna have to start watching Denny's head count rather than pizza parlors, from now on.
Cheers,
Off Topic no doubt:
Office of Inspector General
FY 2007 Appropriation
FDIC Office of Inspector General, FY 2007 Appropriation, Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, HUD and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate
The following chart shows the distribution of the OIG's budget by major spending categories. Mostly, the OIG budget is comprised of salaries and benefits for its employees and the necessary funding for travel and training expenses. Our fiscal year 2007 budget also includes funds to replace our staff's laptop computers, which will be over 3 years old and due for replacement, in accordance with the Corporation's computer replacement schedule.
Thanks for link - there was a chart sidebar on this that gave me pause - on how to handle retirement funds in a bear market - except that the chart data assumes withdrawals started in 2002 - huhhhh?
- NY Times
FYI:
Section 2236.2 Travel and Per Diem Policies: This section now incorporates the State Travel Policy previously provided in Appendix J. The mileage rate for a Recipients using a privately owned vehicle has been increased from 34¢ pr mile to 44.5¢
Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all.
And who's granting huge mtges these days anyhow?
Where is this happening ac?
Well...
Maybe it's not really happening.
Sometimes my imagination gets the best of me.
But I still think we'll see a lot of ideas along the lines of "banning mortgages to keep home values up" in the coming months and years.
It's how we deal with crises.
We have to do something after all.
Update:
Effective January 1, 2007, the mileage rate allowed for use of a personal vehicle on business is 48.5 cents per mile.
3.0 TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION
Contractors shall ensure that all travel on behalf of the FDIC is necessary and allowable under the contract. A management official of the Contractor shall authorize all travel and travel vouchers reflecting travel expenditures.
4.0 AIR TRAVEL
Air travel should be in coach class only, unless the employee bears the cost of the difference between coach and first class. Travel should be planned as far in advance as possible to take advantage of discounted fares; especially, if reasonable certainty exists that the event will take place. If more than one air carrier offers service, travel should be on the carrier that offers the lowest price. If a restricted fare is booked and the Contractors employee requires a change, a reasonable exchange fee may be claimed. Contractor employees are required to fly on U.S. flag carrier service under the Fly America Act, unless an exception to the Act applies.
Re: NON-REIMBURSEMENT EXPENSES
Examples of expenses that will not be reimbursed include the following:
alcoholic beverages, entertainment;
laundry, dry cleaning and pressing (per diem reimbursement);
travel insurance;
parking fines;
charges incurred because of indirect travel for personal reasons;
gratuities and tips paid to porters, waiters, bellboys, and hotel maids inside the lodging facility (per diem reimbursement);
nonproductive time related to official travel to and from ones temporary duty station; and
any charges, fees, or other associated costs related to the making of reservations or other accommodations for travel.
It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fools game
No sensible person is going to be able to profitably chart or calculate his or her way out of this without inside information. The momentum players have a chance, a slim one... but a chance.
Can I join The FDIC??
GSA - Domestic Per Diem Rates
Finally:
GSA establishes the CONUS per diem rates providing the maximum reimbursement allowances up to which federal employees are reimbursed by their agencies for expenses incurred while on official travel. The CONUS per diem rate for an area is actually three allowances in one: the lodging allowance, the meals allowance and the incidental expense allowance. Most of the CONUS (about 3,000 counties) are covered by the standard CONUS per diem rate of $109 ($70 lodging, $39 meals and incidental expenses). In Fiscal Year (FY) 09, there are about 400 Non-Standard Areas (NSA) that have per diem rates higher than the standard CONUS.
Misean writes:
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
ROTFL
Seriously, I knew of a few ex-FDIC types who are thinking about reapplying.
Anyone else think we might match the 23,000 FDIC employees of the last downturn?
Got Popcorn?
Neil
Isn't our FFDIC going to say goodbye?
Afraid to start a run. In town for the Toy Store ? LOL! What kind of cover is that?
In town for the strippers' convention, maybe!
Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all.
And who's granting huge mtges these days anyhow?
Where is this happening ac?
IIRC, in the 1980's Fairbanks Ranch (north of San Diego and east of Del Mar) stipulated one million for the lot and approval of the architecture (with a minimum of a million for building costs) with no borrowing. Joan Kroc (McDonald's) and Helen Copley (San Diego Union Tribune) owned there. But I don't think that the newer cheaper subdivision was as stringent.
BTW- all those disparate styles set in the middle of the lots made it look more like some freakish Legoland development rather than a neighborhood.
NOT that it's applicable at all, LawyerLiz, but Manhattan Co-ops, the high end buildings, doorman full service types in the UES, haven't allowed financed deals for decades. Now, it's true that their legal structure allows this, along with other discretionary judgments about the suitability (or not) of potential owners.
So I am not at all sure how an HOA could have by=laws that restrict the ownership...Now individual buyers can certainly insist on contracts that are not contingent on financing, but that obviously can't restrict the means for the buyer can it?
Here is what I don't understand. Almost all of you seem to recognize that you are standing directly under massive forces that are cutting into our entire financial structure. And what are you focused on ? Trying to catch the falling knives without getting cut? Good luck.
above I meant individual SELLERS not buyers
duh
more coffee
"DrChaos writes:
NY Times on Dr. Roubini article:"
Roubini predicts the beginning of the end of the American empire. Fine with me. We can lose the empire and get back America.
Misean writes:
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
SPACE COWBOYS (2000) When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.
Clint Eastwood\t ... \tFrank Corvin
Tommy Lee Jones\t... \tHawk Hawkins
Donald Sutherland... \tJerry O'Neill
James Garner... Tank Sulliva
"Where is FFDIC?"
He is in training waiting to suit up.
Trying to catch the falling knives without getting cut? Good luck.
sparks | 08.17.08 - 12:49 pm | #
incoming Knife at 12 o'clock:
Choice One: attempt to catch
Choice Two: get out of the way
Choice three: lie down and take it in the chest/back
yeah. option two sounds good.
you have another plan?
"Misean writes:
Didn't the gov't pull John Rambo out of retirement?
SPACE COWBOYS (2000) When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space."
I'm thinking "Spaceballs." We're surrounded by assholes.
Escariot,
Sorry for your predicament. I'm in well diversified cash... I'm watching this implode, and I'll move back into the market when it makes sense again. But I sympathize with those who still think they can outsmart what is happening.
stdfs, mel,
Yeah...Space Cowboys and Balls. Sounds like a late night Denny's special.
Cheers,
Where' FFDIC?
Last I saw he was at the Toy Store shopping for a blue windbreaker and collecting "I heart Downey" memoribilia
This scares me a bit...
For Mr. Holloway, the return to work was quick ... working in Dallas on a strategic plan for the troubled ANB Financial, a bank in Bentonville, Ark., with $2.1 billion in assets that had moved fatefully into construction lending.
I came in about three weeks before the bank was closed, Mr. Holloway recalled. Though he was briefly in Dallas, his real office is on the road, he said.
How long before Wall Street traders put a PI on this guy? Three weeks is all the time in the world for setting up a massive short (or put) position...
Dallas Fed chief Richard W. Fisher speaks his mind in Q&A
"Capitalism wasn't designed to be stable, and we forget that too often... That's just the price we pay for a system that works better than anyone else's."
Dallas Fed chief Richard W. Fisher speaks his mind in Q&A |
News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
| Dallas Business News
Escariot,
IMHO, this is now a game for the super-fund players. The market's volatility reflects that. They are very busy taking indecent liberties with each other, and, if you want to play in that game, then expect to be the subject of indecent liberties.
Shelia Bair on Bloomberg weekend conversation show:
She implied the Fed was asleep at the wheel!
Michael LittleBig wrote:
"...Then there is John McCain ,26 years in Congress and McCain has done nothing about this metltdown, just like the nothing he did before...
MLB
Michael LittleBig | 08.17.08 - 9:08 am | #
greedspend, mcCain and 4 dems incl sen john glenn and were invoved in vouching for charles keating the head of Lincoln savings, in a preview of the kind of fraud , in miniature, that is taking place today, in part it was about mis representing IRA and elderly retirement money into risky CRE.
but payoff as in "campaign donations"
to frustrate regulation was then as now a significant part of the crime.
its time to make corporate campaign donations illegal and limit individual contributions to $1000 per individual citizen in the jurisdiction where the election takes place.
see "keating 5"
Roubini predicts the beginning of the end of the American empire. Fine with me. We can lose the empire and get back America.
Looking back it seems like America had it's best days when it was specifically trying not to be an empire.
Analysis: Deal could cost the public
Acquisition puts a lot on the line
"Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of Countrywide was supposed to help keep the troubled mortgage lender from collapse. Things might not turn out exactly as planned."
"This is exactly the situation that the FDIC wanted to avoid with the marriage of Bank of America and Countrywide," said Joseph Mason, professor of finance at Louisiana State University."
404 Error, No such article | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
She implied the Fed was asleep at the wheel!
Hahaha... it's like failing out of college and blaming your dealer for not giving you enough uppers.
ac,
"Looking back it seems like America had it's best days when it was specifically trying not to be an empire."
That was like in 1789 or so...if memory serves.
Cheers,
Misean,
No, actually it was shortly before WWII. Check me out. We were pacifists then. Now, we police the world without pay.
Why Downey Financial is Not IndyMac
(I don't buy this because if a deposit run continues nothing else matters.)
Why Downey Financial is Not IndyMac -- Seeking Alpha
Houston Chronicle
Builders hit by credit crunch as banks tighten cash flow
Banks curtail generous lending practices, putting projects on hold
404 Error, No such article | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Misean,
No, actually it was shortly before WWII. Check me out. We were pacifists then. Now, we police the world without pay.
Remember the Maine! And the trumped up reasons for the Spanish American war. The Big Stick doesn't sound pacifist.
sparks,
War to take Canada (1812). Westward expansion. Trail of tears. War against Mexico. War of Norther Aggression.
I'm sure I'm missing a few...Like the Taking over the Spanish Empire in the early 1900's. Oh, and the Phillipine incident.
Oh well...
Cheers,
Forgive my sense of humor, but it strikes me that you are all focused on "how the cookie crumbles".
FFDIC,
Thanks again for about an hour of reading. I'll be back.
Cheers,
Re: He is in training waiting to suit up.
He is also in training to shut up and go along with a lot of fraud!
earlier in the week FFDIC posted a link referencing a consent decree between Vineyard bank of corona calif and the OCC / treasury.
the consent decree was nothing less than gruesome against vineyard bank
first on the list was something like fire you current dumb-ass CEO, advertise for a new one by october and check with us for advice and consent before you hire.
also on the list, were re-writes of the banks policies and proceedures on diversification, capitalization and loan standards
is this a new model for how the Fed, treasury and FDIC deal with most of the financial institutions in crisis?
Has it occurred to anyone else, that, just maybe, the collective of all C.E.O.'s have been paid a salary, bonus, and all the other compensation they receive that in total sort of exceeds the value of what they have delivered ?
Re: FDIC Spooks
These FDIC janitors are the low level unimportant and forgotten heros that get paid shit to clean up up after the messes left behind by Friends Of Angelo, Friends of IndyMac, Friends of WaMu, LEH, HSBC, etc, i.e, the crooks that broke these banks and robbed shareholders and contributed to these bank failures!
FDIC is paying these people pennies to go after mafia-like fraud, collusion and accounting games run by these crooks!
Re: TOTAL COMPENSATION
$15.92 mil (#84)
5-YEAR COMPENSATION TOTAL
$42.23 mil
Michael W Perry has been CEO of IndyMac Bancorp (NDE) for 13 years. Mr. Perry has been with the company for 13 years .The 43 year old executive ranks 4 within Banking
Michael W Perry, CEO Compensation - Forbes.com
Now remember, this angel among bank crooks took a 50% pay cut last year and he serves as a role model for bank failures... and his compensation was the 4th highest of banking fraudsters:
CEO Compensation - Forbes.com
RANK\tNAME\tCOMPANY\tPAY ($MIL)\t5-YR PAY ($MIL)\tSHARES OWNED ($MIL)\tAGE\tEFFICIENCY
54\tMarion O Sandler\t Golden West Finl\t 21.74\t 42.03\t 2,006.3\t 75\t 52
59\tCharles O Prince\t Citigroup\t 19.94\t 49.253\t 70.3\t 56\t NA
80\tJames E Rohr\t PNC Financial Services\t 16.77\t 38.41\t 42.1\t 57\t NA
84\tMichael W Perry\t IndyMac Bancorp\t 15.92\t 42.23\t 8.7\t 43\t 69
89\tRichard M Kovacevich\t Wells Fargo\t 15.16\t 136.91\t 112.0\t 62\t 162
99\tKerry K Killinger\t Washington Mutual\t 13.76\t 54.16\t 78.0\t 56\t 89
sparks,
"Has it occurred to anyone else, that, just maybe, the collective of all C.E.O.'s have been paid a salary, bonus, and all the other compensation they receive that in total sort of exceeds the value of what they have delivered ?"
According to cotton pickin'...you're prolly right,
I feel aI need to go do something violent, as it is these asshats that we're going to bail out. Gramama Jenkins who got scammed is gonna be pushing a shopping cart down the street. But Mr. Bankster is gonna have his Hampton's house and eat it too. How sweet.
Cheers,
That is funny as hell:
C: Charles O Prince: 5-YEAR COMPENSATION $49.253 mil
Indy: Michael W Perry: 5-YEAR COMPENSATION
$42.23 mil
WamU: Kerry K Killinger: 5-YEAR COMPENSATION $54.16 mil
BAC: Kenneth D Lewis: 5-YEAR COMPENSATION
$64.09 mil
Go ahead, take a look at 5 year performance; probably wony work, but you get the idea:
Chart | IDMC.PK - Yahoo! Finance
Book Review
Whats the Matter With Washington?
"The growth of government as an industry, Frank notes, has transformed the capital region: The richest county in America isnt in Silicon Valley or some sugarland preserve of Houstons oil kings; it is Loudoun County, Va., a fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C. The second richest county is Fairfax, Va., the next suburb over from Loudoun; the third, sixth and seventh richest counties are also suburbs of the capital."
What's the Matter With Washington? - NY Times
Well, I've said a few things I think made sense, and I learned more than a few things from some others. I think I'll count my blessings and go home. OH - WAIT - I'M ALREADY THERE !!!!!
Trade well my friends... think... and trade well.
FFDIC,
The richest county in America isnt in Silicon Valley or some sugarland preserve of Houstons oil kings; it is Loudoun County, Va., a fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C. The second richest county is Fairfax, Va., the next suburb over from Loudoun; the third, sixth and seventh richest counties are also suburbs of the capital."
When the parasite class earns more than one of the few remaining productive classes earn, the seeds of destruction have not only been planted, but are ready for harvest.
YouTube - Megadeth-Symphony of Destruction
Cheers,
It tweren't our fault, they made us do it.
THE DEBT TRAP; Home Equity Frenzy Was a Bank Ad Come True - NY Times
Why is The FDIC recalling people? Banks are failing, why?
Re: Congressional hearing
In response to a subpoena, Ebbers appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on July 8, 2002. At these hearings Ebbers stated "I do not believe I have anything to hide, I believe that no one will conclude that I engaged in any criminal or fraudulent conduct."[12] After making this statement Ebbers asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Following his actions, Ebbers was threatened with Contempt of Congress charges.[13] The basis of the allegation was that Ebbers' statement constituted testimony that could not be cross-examined. No charge of contempt was ever filed.
Federal authorities indicted Ebbers with security fraud and conspiracy charges on March 2, 2004.[9][18] An amendment to the indictment on May 25, 2004 increased the list of charges to nine felonies: one count each of conspiracy and securities fraud, and seven counts of filing false statements with securities regulators. Ebbers was found guilty of all charges on March 15, 2005.
HUGE LOANS. That was a turning point in WorldCom's dramatic history. Regulators made it clear the roll-up was over. While WorldCom had invested a lot of money in constructing telecom networks, mergers and acquisitions had been the heart of its business plan and the key to its success on Wall Street. Suddenly, it couldn't find a legitimate way to maintain its identity as the world's largest growth company.
Rather than admit that painful truth, prosecutors argued in the three-week trial, Ebbers and five other key executives conspired to cook WorldCom's books and hide reality from investors and the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Prosecutors said Ebbers was under enormous personal pressure to boost the stock. Loath to undermine investor confidence, he had long refused to sell any shares. But he wanted to reap the benefits of his wealth, so he put up his stock as collateral to borrow more than $400 million, and used the cash to buy a huge ranch in Canada, a farm in the Southeast, a yachtmaker, and other companies.
FFDIC -
what makes Loudoun or Fairfax interesting is that the average is what makes the difference - both counties (and yes, I have lived in both) are quite homogenous. Of course, there are some significantly rich enclaves (Great Falls comes to mind), but in general, both counties merely reflect the high level of average income working in the industry of government.
This is part of the creation of an American counterpart to what Germany has in its 'Beamte' system - long term careers stable in income and numerous advantages, such as high quality education. But just as the Beamte in Germany are not part of the truly rich, the same is basically true of Loudoun and Fairfax.
Washington state's Muckleshoot Indian Tribe has announced its own mortgage assistance program.
The address does not exist - Muckleshoot
C'mon FFDIC, give us the info we are waiting for. Did they let go of the past and call you up?
Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud, U.S. officials said.
Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud, U.S. officials said.
The amazing thing is they may not find any evidence of fraud! Sure some laws may have been broken but they might not find any "criminal" acts. I guess it depends on if Mukasey is still around when they finish.
I would guess much of the fraud involved appraisers overevaluating property, knowing that the bank not only wouldn't complain but would send more work their way.
As U.S. regulators brace for more bank failures, consumers are wondering for the first time since the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s about the safety of their money.
Harry Newton, a former publisher who lives in New York City, moved $604,000 in cash to seven different banks last month after the seizure of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. to ensure that his funds were covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
In all, eight banks have been closed in 2008 by state and national regulators amid record losses tied to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, data compiled by the FDIC show.
Im worried about the banks that failed this year, said Newton, 66. Some of them werent on the FDIC watch list. I believe there are billions of dollars of assets on balance sheets that havent been written down yet.
MSM playing some catch-up ball...
AP IMPACT: Weak rules cripple appraiser oversight
Sunday August 17, 2:12 pm ET
By Mitch Weiss, Associated Press Writer
AP IMPACT: Toothless rules, bumbling regulators cripple oversight of real estate appraisers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal -- the real estate appraisal -- was undermined from within.
After the nation's last major banking disaster, Congress set up a system to catch rogue appraisers. Their game: inflating the value of homes at the direction of equally unscrupulous real estate agents and mortgage brokers, whose commissions are determined by the size of the deals.
But a six-month Associated Press investigation found that the system is crippled by both the bumbling of its policemen and their inability to effectively punish those caught committing fraud.
And despite ample evidence appraisers are pressured into inflating home values -- sometimes to prices in support of loans that are more than buyers can afford -- the federal regulators charged with protecting consumers have thus far made a conscious choice not to act.
{snip}
"But he wanted to reap the benefits of his wealth, so he put up his stock as collateral to borrow more than $400 million, and used the cash to buy a huge ranch in Canada, a farm in the Southeast, a yachtmaker, and other companies."
I find it impossible to understand these people. Are they suffering from some kind of sickness? It's as if they're afraid that if they don't keep accumulating more wealth they're going to disappear.
sparks writes:
Misean,
No, actually it was shortly before WWII. Check me out. We were pacifists then. Now, we police the world without pay.
sparks | 08.17.08 - 1:14 pm | #
Tell that to the Northern Cheyenne, Lakota & Ogalala.
For that matter Custer as one of 'our own' knew differently too. As they say around here - Custer had it coming.
The NAMs analysis shows that in terms of real manufacturing value-added (price-adjusted, to reflect the quantity of output) the US remains by far the worlds largest manufacturer, producing nearly one-fourth of the worlds industrial output. Based on the highly respected World Bank database, our analysis also shows that we will produce twice as much this year as the fourth placed economy, China (the European Union and Japan are in second and third position, respectively). Even in current measures of manufacturing denominated in dollars (which inflate Chinas position because of the rising yuan and other factors), China will produce only about 60 per cent as much as the US in 2008.
FT.com / Comment / Opinion - American industry can stay ahead of China
Interesting post here: HBC has tremendous credit derivative exposure | HBC Message Board Posts
"Note that of the top five credit contract holders in the world, only BAC and HBC increased, and for BAC, this was a result of them taking a lot of Countrywide's paper. Three decreased, but, HBC not only increased their exposure YOY, but, did so by about 50%."
Banker discrimination
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ah.H2xr8CZ.4&refer=home
The outlook for the second half of the year is ``very challenging,'' the newspaper cited Cheng as saying. Slower growth in the region and faster inflation will prompt the bank to monitor expenses more carefully, the Post added.
Appraisers are not all to blame. Appraisers are a lagging phenom. Buy a house or two at a jacked up price and you get comps.
Of course there was fraud but it was only a small part of the problem. Appraisers also used 'models' to save time the way banks used FICO scores. Everything got out of hand and the regulators sat on their hands.
I have a friend who appraises ONLY on replacement cost less depreciation. Needless to say his business suffered these last few years but he is busier now than in 05. He only uses comps for distressed properties where replacement cost tends not to work.
War of Norther Aggression.
How about the "War to stop Rednecks from Treating Black People as Property"?
HSBC, the U.K.'s largest bank by market value, is trying to buy the 51.02% stake in KEB from U.S.-based Lone Star Funds. HSBC Asia Pacific Holdings entered into a conditional agreement to buy the stake in September 2007, but HSBC failed to get regulatory approval for the $6 billion deal by the July 31 deadline.
Lone Star and HSBC are still in discussions, but haven't set a new deadline.
The government earlier this year said it couldn't approve or reject HSBC's application, which was filed in December, due to legal uncertainties involving KEB's owner. Lone Star bought KEB for about $1.3 billion in 2003.
"How about the 'War to stop Rednecks from Treating Arab People as Property?'"
Sign me up!
HSBC had agreed to buy 51 percent of KEB, South Korea's No. 6 bank, from U.S. private equity fund Lone Star [LS.UL] last September, in a deal that could propel the UK-based bank into the top ranks of Asia's third-largest banking market.
But the July 31 deadline for completion of the transaction passed without regulatory clearance because of legal disputes surrounding Lone Star's investment activities in South Korea.
The government's top financial regulator said in late July that it would launch a review of HSBC's deal in a turnaround from its previous stance that it would wait until legal disputes surrounding Lone Star's activities in South Korea were cleared.
The long-running deal, mired in outstanding legal issues, is seen as a test of whether South Korea is genuine in its pledge to open its financial sector wider to international investors.
Scotiabank could be investor safe haven - Barron's
Bank of Nova Scotia could offer a safe haven for investors because it is not afflicted with hard-to-value credit assets and huge subprime write-downs, Barron's reported in its Aug. 18 edition
Scotiabank could be investor safe haven - Barron's
| Reuters
Korean investigators are probing the legitimacy of Lone Stars $1.2 billion purchase in 2003 of KEB, the countrys largest foreign exchange bank; prosecutors have claimed collusion between Lone Star and KEBs CEO to inflate the banks losses, enabling the buyout firm to acquire KEB for less than its market value.
Massive resentment has been directed against Loan Star for structuring its holding of KEB so that stake sales could be conducted tax-free as offshore transactions.
I think we can safely say that pretty much everyone involved in this bubble is to blame in some way. Appraisers, buyers, fraudsters, banks, politicians, builders, wall street, heloc junkies, granite salesmen, NAR, GE's propoganda channel, Macklowe, Goldman Sachs and my uncle Ed. And every person who said real estate only goes up because this time it is different.
And David Brooks.
CR and Tanta, of course, are on the other list of Good People Who Tried to Warn You. Hell, if CR or Tanta told me to start building an ark, I might just do it. If Roubini said so I'd probably just start pricing Arks but take a more wait and see approach.
While the stock price manipulation case is the only legal issue involving Lone Star directly, former government officials and executives of the bank, also known as KEB, still face allegations that Lone Star's 2003 purchase of KEB was illegal. A verdict on that case is expected by the end of the year.
"The main case is whether or not Lone Star bought KEB on the cheap in collusion with various government officials," said Peter Tebbutt, a director of Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong. "That hasn't been resolved."
He added that this was a "good sign" and that it "may indicate" that the courts were leaning toward Lone Star's position.
A lower court in February found both Lone Star and the head of Lone Star's South Korean operations, Paul Yoo, guilty of driving down the share price of KEB's former credit card unit by spreading rumors to allow the bank to buy the unit at below-market prices.
But the Seoul High Court threw out the previous judgment, saying that Lone Star's announcement in 2003 of a possible capital write-down of the KEB card firm was not giving out false information, but was rather one option it was considering for the card unit.
"There is no evidence to prove Lone Star guilty of stock manipulation," Koh Eui Young, judge of the Seoul High Court, said in a court ruling.
But the country's financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said that it was not appropriate to go ahead with the sale process for KEB while legal proceedings were in progress.
Prosecutors will appeal the decision, a prosecutor said following the ruling.
That may convince officials to hold off on approving the deal until a Supreme Court decision and lead HSBC to pull out to look for other opportunities.
The High Court also handed down a suspended jail term of two and a half years for Lone Star's Yoo on separate charges of negligence of duties in Lone Star's other investment deals in South Korea. Yoo was cleared of the stock price manipulation charge.
12th Percentile writes:
I think we can safely say that pretty much everyone involved in this bubble is to blame in some way. Appraisers, buyers, fraudsters, banks, politicians, builders, wall street, heloc junkies, granite salesmen, NAR, GE's propoganda channel, Macklowe, Goldman Sachs and my uncle Ed. And every person who said real estate only goes up because this time it is different.
You left out S&P and Moody's.
All I can say about Lonestar is they lie, and as loansharks, they seem to have no parallel right now.
As was obvious during a past August, anyone relying on them for anything is a fool.
Their word isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
If they want to contest my viewpoint, I draw the court's attention to their buyout of LEND that cost me money relying on their word. Never again will I trust fools that can't finish a deal they publicly wanted and bid up.
It used to be that a man's word was his bond, and Grayken should know that more than most. The greed of these folks will be their downfall.
Don't mention them again until they go broke, I will be one of the folks enjoying a dance on their grave.
I hope to be around as long as Sam Zell, and dance on a bunch of graves of folks who so richly deserve it.
Lonestar and Grayken deserve it in my estimation.
Someday this war's gonna end...
AllenM writes:
All I can say about Lonestar is they lie, and as loansharks, they seem to have no parallel right now.
The good side of Lone Star.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyUS0...
"I will be one of the folks enjoying a dance on their grave."
Conjure enjoys pissing on graves. We couldn't piss on Hitler's, because he doesn't have one, so we pissed on his doorstep instead.
mp--Probably you've seen this on Big Picture;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzuin...
mp,
Conjure's purpose in life is to analyze and make forecasts, correct? If so, whom does he predict to win the Prezidenzy and why?
Anonymouse,
I think Conjure's bag is shinies...as a means to an end.
(Scrooge McDuck and chasing pretty girls are actually larger motive forces than forecasting if I have read between the lines correctly)
Oh and chocolates may figure in there somewhere as well!
"If so, whom does he predict to win the Prezidenzy and why?"
Obama, because of the wars and the US economy.
He warns, however, that much can happen between now and November to change that forecast.
Mel, that video is priceless. Conjure also enjoyed it immensely.
Conjure's friend Scrooge McDuck
Lecture series on money (Part 1 of 2)
Conjure says, "My old friend Scrooge is a highly entertaining and knowledgeable investment professional."
YouTube - Scrooge McDuck and Money (01)
Well Downey's Texas ratio was around 80 or 90 as of the end of March. It is probably higher now. That is the figure that matters and it is not good. In addition why would Downey be selling for 6% of book if it were not about to go down the tubes? The stock market is not that dumb.
Re:FFDIC writes:
Why Downey Financial is Not IndyMac
(I don't buy this because if a deposit run continues nothing else matters.)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/...-is-not- indymac
FFDIC is on travel.
The accumulated FDIC premiums are in some Iraqi grafter's pockets in Iraq.
Where do they get the cash?
mp writes:
Obama, because of the wars and the US economy.
Thanks for replying; however I'm taking the opposite forecast. Just read/listen to what conventional wisdom said about the '04 election - Bush should've been swept outta office. Nope. Half the pop. doesn't vote, and the rest are coin-flippers with a reactionary bent. Can't wait 'til its over.
...they'll be happy for the job when hyperinflation sets in...
Reserve currencies don't hyperinflate. Next stop is (more) widespread deflation.
energyecon- "(Scrooge McDuck and chasing pretty girls are actually larger motive forces than forecasting if I have read between the lines correctly)"
Conjure says, "Speaking of pretty girls, here is the 'IT' Girl. There was no other."
YouTube -
We have almost another 100 posts to make, so get on with it!!
How to Prop Up the Housing Market
A proposal from Alan Greenspan:
Greg Mankiw's Blog: How to Prop Up the Housing Market
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
Just read/listen to what conventional wisdom said about the '04 election - Bush should've been swept outta office.
What the polling had wrong in '04 was the "incumbent rule": undecideds break away from the incumbent. So, with Kerry tied (or even 1-2 pts behind Bush), the undecideds were supposed to carry him over the top. It didn't happen.
What I think the Obama strategy actually is, is to meet vote count goals for each state. "We need x votes in this state, y votes in this county, z votes in this precinct. And where phone contacts/door knocking show were underperforming, we'll emphasize new voter registration." If this distributed model works, it'll be brilliant. But it working depends on two things: accurate guesses on how many votes are needed to win each state (i.e., no surprise turnout for McCain) and enough money and boots on the ground to accomplish it.
uncle toby,
Fine point. I see Team Obama putting the same misguided (or audacious??) hope behind "new voters", esp. those aged 18-25 and/or black. Those age/race groups are the most overestimated for turnout every election year, while the 65+ yo and white rural male demographics are the most underestimated. I'm in central Florida near "crucial" I-4 corridor and it's clear BO's lost this state. I don't know much about Ohio, but I suspect since Pen. is so competitive that BO's truly struggling in the white rustbelt. Again - can't wait 'til its over; it'll show how meaningless it was.
Wake the fuc- up here!
Costs of credit debacle worsen
Costs of credit debacle worsen
*** BusinessDay revealed on Saturday - via leaked client information of US investment bank Lehman Brothers - subprime exposures held by local councils, charities, churches, super funds, semi-government agencies and public companies across the nation.
Further, 20 councils have signed up for a class action lawsuit claiming misleading and deceptive conduct by Lehman in selling collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).
Lehman data shows that Australia has been a dumping ground for fancy structured products such as CDOs, and the damage is yet to be realised.
Further, these numbers ($2billion exposure across Australia to Lehman funds under management - most of which are CDOs) tell only half the story
Other banks such as ABN Amro, Westpac, Deutsche, Macquarie and Morgan Stanley have been involved in issuing CDOs. A slew of bombed-out CDOs is also listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Structured finance is complex, however, and the exposure of every client is different, in magnitude and by product. Some products, such as the Federation CDO (referenced by US subprime mortgages) are commonly thought to be worth 10% of their face value. Other exposures may be recovered.
There is also a distinction between CDOs and floating rate notes (FRNs) as FRNs were the second most common asset class in the Lehman portfolios. The Victorian Teachers Credit Union and credit union Mecu, held FRNs rather than CDOs in their funds managed by Lehman. Although the ASX ranks FRNs in the same asset class as CDOs, most FRNs are not collateralised and are generally considered safer.
Australian charities, churches and municipal governments face potential losses as great as A$2 billion ($1.7 billion) on investments linked to U.S. subprime mortgages, the Age newspaper reported.
The Metropolitan Ambulance Service in Victoria state and St Vincent de Paul Society are among groups that invested in mortgage-related products marketed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the Age said, without identifying its sources.
The charities haven't written down the value of their investments as payments are continuing and they say there isn't any impairment, the newspaper said.
About 20 municipal governments have signed up for a class action lawsuit against Lehman and may join an existing action by Wingecarribee Council in New South Wales state, the Age said.
Taxpayers Foot Bill for Wall Street Risk-taking
Investment banks will carry forward their subprime losses, which will be offset against future earnings.
Taxpayers Foot Bill for Wall Street Risk-taking - - CFO.com
Altogether, its London-based subsidiary has recorded $29 billion in losses, according to The Financial Times. As a result, Merrill does not figure to pay taxes in the United Kingdom for several decades, the paper noted.
Virtually all of Merrill's global activity in the CDO market has been channeled through Merrill Lynch International, its U.K.-based subsidiary, according to the report. So, at the 28 percent corporate tax rate, Merrill will be able to lower its U.K. tax bill by as much as $8 billion by offsetting losses against future profits, according to the FT.
Many other banks have recorded similarly distressing losses in the United States. The paper pointed out that UBS said most of the $42 billion it lost in the subprime crisis was booked in this country. Most of Citigroup's write-downs were here as well.
Bloomberg News noted that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently conceded that some Wall Street firms may pay little or no New York City or state taxes for years.
Asphalt shortage halts some roadwork
Asphalt shortage halts some road work | Breaking Midstate News with The Patriot-News -
We have a supplier we've dealt with faithfully for over 50 years just call us one day and tell us we couldn't get [liquid asphalt] any more," said Scott Grannas, vice president of Grannas Bros. Co. Inc. in Hollidaysburg. That call came in the midst of a $24 million resurfacing job Grannas Bros. is doing on Interstate 99, and forced the firm to scramble to find oil for its two asphalt plants. Similar scenarios are playing out across Pennsylvania where the price for a liquid ton of the oil used to produce asphalt has jumped from about $330 in July 2007 to more than $800.
Is CR in danger?
4th squirrel on Palomar Mountain has plague
News - San Jose Mercury News
A fourth squirrel at a Palomar Mountain campground has tested positive for plague.
San Diego County health officials say the squirrel was found at the Doane Valley Campground and campers should avoid contact with squirrels. It was the fourth squirrel with plague found this year.
Plague is a bacterial disease contracted by wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected fleas.
sdtfs writes:
"Altho I sympathize with the Hoas, I can't see how they can enforce disallowing any financing at all."
I feel sorry for the ho's, too...just tryin' to make a buck, but can't be sure whether it's an honest john, or a vice bust, although it seems to be pretty much a "cash on the barrelhead" deal. Have heard of high end escort services taking plastic, though.....WAIT!!!...that was "hoas"....never mind...
Activists sound wake-up call for sleepy corporates
Activists sound wake-up call for sleepy corporates
Real estate chaos hits appraisal industry
Real estate chaos hits appraisal industry
OT but just back after week at the DE beach.
Rented a house w/another family and after one of the kids answered the house phone and got a message about being one payment away from car repo, we started answering everything.
All various messages...
able to consolidate their $20K debt and save $6K...
take advantage of opportunity to lower from their rate of 29.something% interest rate...
credit workout opportunity w/counseling firm...
Jeez, that's one way to avoid the collection calls. Just use the number for the vacation home.
Also noted a fair number of Sale signs and one place we liked - less than block from beach - was for sale for only $2.3M. MLS brochure in box showed that was placed on market 12/1/07.
Yeah, we're bad. But the kid was upset thinking that some bad men were coming to take our car (which we own, cash, thank you).
Good one Slim: "They are shooting down the value of appraisals like I've never seen before," said Rick Gordillo, whose practice specializes in residential real estate. "It's almost as if they don't want the business. They are turning away loans even when the values are there."
Re: The Appraisal Institute, a trade group with 32,000 members, has even begun offering a series of daylong seminars in cities across the country to retrain its members. The lectures are designed to help the group's appraisers adapt to the current market and learn how to better evaluate data.
LOL ROTFLMAO....Bawhahahahaaa Retrain the anyting goes bullshit ..LOL!
Re: "The challenge for us is to determine what's normal for the neighborhood. We have to be very careful and be sure that we're reading the market correctly and don't over- or undervalue the property we are looking at."
Re: The extra calls and the extra work to sort out home values mean that instead of being able to complete two appraisal reports a day, she is able to do only one, Mann said. At the same time, the slowdown in the market has meant cutting her staff from 17 people to four
Right, instead of driving 5 homes a day and making a $1000+, they have to work now.....too bad
Squirrels with plague? Say it ain't so. I just tested a new recipe I was going to share.
I guess we could always put these squirrels in the trunks of the appraiser's H3's?
Or "Plagued Squirrels" would be a really nice name for a Rock band.
I just hate it about the squirrels. Can't someone do something?
FDIC, OTS,OCC are regulators in name only. They don't have ,the staff, the time, the expertise, the examiner manpower or the ability to police, this overwhelming multi financial complex. The analogy is to compare a turtle to the horse Big Brown. The financial boys have made the regulators look like Harry,Larry and Moe.
Remember, you get what you pay for.
Or maybe its "If you can't trust your Banker,who can you trust?
Michael LittleBig
homedad,
We haven't been to the beach in Delaware for 2 years, but when we were there in 2006, it turns out the condo we rented was listed. (It was shown a couple times when we were there--we were on the beach anyway, and the realtor gave us a gift certificate for a real nice dinner.) Anyway, that's the first time this real estate bubble hit me. (We live in W. Pa., land of eternal recession.) Anyway, we're looking at the purchase price, roughly figuring what the mortgage will be, and then adding up the rents for the high season weeks and the other weeks (assuming it's not rented late Oct through April in Del). Even the most optimistic occupancy rates wouldn't come near servicing the debt, let alone other expenses.
Even considering the inflows to the DC economy (via our tax dollars) which largely support Delmarva real estate, it seems like it'll be a mess there at the shore.