Toborrow and toburrow and tobarrow! That's our crass, hairy and
evergrim life, till one finel howdiedow Bouncer Naster raps on the
bell with a bone and his stinkers stank behind him with the
sceptre and the hourglass. We may come, touch and go, from
atoms and ifs but we're presurely destined to be odd's without
ends.
Well at least Reid isn't blowing smoke up our...hat
Reid Says Congress Won't Act Because `No One Knows What to Do'
By James Rowley
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Congress is unlikely to pass new legislation to overhaul financial regulations this year ``because no one knows what to do,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters today.
We are in new territory, this is a different game,'' Reid said at a briefing in Washington. Neither Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke nor Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsonknow what to do but they are trying to come up with ideas,'' Reid said.
Re: Gregg (NH), the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, tells Steve Inskeep that if AIG were allowed to become insolvent, it would create a worldwide meltdown in a variety of areas specifically for U.S. financial institutions.
AIG lost the business from casino plays that were retarded, so why will giving them more cocain and chips solve their inability to manage fuc-ing money? Why are taxpayers being placed at risk in order to bail out friends of wall streets mafia?
Bahgdad Dodd "I can assure you there are no Bank Tanks in the city. We are in control of the Capital and the capital. Ignore the tanks behind me please"
Dodd who recently had help from Countrywide with his mortgage, sees no risk or corruption in the market, no collusion, no conspiracy to defraud, no trouble with accounting issues...crooks!
So "aunt shirley" who has never called me in my life (and i'm old) calls because she has a countrywide cd maturing tomorrow, a merrill lynch broker and he's offering her a bac cd.
anyone want to explain the fdic limits on that? (rhetorical question)
Citi would require an arrangement a la AIG, Fannie/Freddie and Bear Stearns. Assuming Dodd and Gregg are doing the politician thing and blabbing what they were told, it sounds like the Fed and Treasury don't anticipate that immediately. The arena will be the regional banks, if Fed and Treasury are right. If the feds arealready shopping Wamu, that is probably preparatory to a determination of the least costly alternative of resolution, which is a step in the process.
C'mon guys, how do you think Senators become Senators... by being Honest, Thoughtful, Truth-Tellers? This is no Capra film folks, Mr.Smith got shot trying to go to Washington
that's exactly what they both agreed on that the root cause was the "foreclosure crisis" that if we can just stop those pesky foreclosures the clouds will stop dropping acid and sulfur-fire...seriously, this is SYSTEMIC. If the system can be taken down by a single factor, it must be redesigned...but yes, they are going to use taxpayer dollars, in America, China, Europe, etc...
In June 2008 Conde Nast Portfolio reported that several influential lawmakers and politicians, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, and Fannie Mae former-CEO Jim Johnson, received favorable mortgage financing from Countrywide by virtue of being "Friends of Angelo."[9][10] Senator Dodd received a $75,000 reduction in mortgage payments from Countrywide at allegedly below-market rates on his Washington, D.C. and Connecticut homes.[9][11]
We won't have to use tax dollars to buy homes in foreclosure. It would be MUCH easier for Congress to direct F&F to stop making foreclosures. Further, they could ask F&F to buy non conforming loans and stop foreclosures on those. Defaulted borrowers will be given permanent forbearance just as in Japan.
A foreclosure moratorium (a permanent one) would, of course, seemingly prop up real estate prices. It would also eliminate access to collateral on F&F-guaranteed mortgages.
I think that's where we are headed. Agency bonds now more-or-less explictly guaranteed by the Treasury will be UNSECURED bonds. No access to collateral, no security.
So what you get is a slower decline in home prices, dramatically less activity in home sales, and, in the long term, much higher costs to the U.S. tax payer.
Anyone know if this ever happened?
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, slated to be called as a prosecution witness in the criminal fraud trial against five executives for allegedly helping American International Group inflate its reserves, may also be called as a defense witness by at least one of the defendants, CNBC has learned.
The executive, Elizabeth Monrad, was the former chief financial officer of General Re, a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which engaged in the transaction that prosecutors say illegally transferred $500 million in reserves to AIG.
The transaction has attracted widespread regulatory attention, forcing AIG to restate earnings, pay $1.6 billion in fines and penalities, and causing the insurance giant to oust its former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, who was involved in the deal. Greenberg says he's done nothing Buffett May Be Defense Witness In AIG Fraud Case
Gregg: I dont see any entities out there that appear to be in trouble that meet this type of standard--that they would melt down the entire system if they went under.
Dodd: "Some banks. Some banks, some regional banks, but nothing of the size of AIG, Lehman Brothers or Merrill Lynch."
Gregg and Dodd need to stop the cocaine lunches.
.
If you include the supplier and after-markets,
how about the Little Three U.S. Auto manufacturers: Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors?.
I just bought 100 shares of Washington Wachovia Taxpayers Mutual, given that the Federal Reserve has set a floor. Besides, given that Senator Dodd has just resigned so he can manage this new financial institution, we know it can never fail, unless of course the U.S. itself were to do so, and the U.S. won't, given that Putin and Dubai have agreed in advance to bail out the U.S., should such become necessary. (Not until next week or so will we have learned whether the U.S. will require such assistance, so until then, let's go shopping!)
Chief of Berkshire Unit Pleads Guilty in A.I.G. Inquiry
senior executive of the General Re Corporation, John Houldsworth, plans to plead guilty this week to federal criminal charges of helping the insurance giant American International Group doctor its books, according to Mr. Houldsworth's lawyer and prosecutors conducting a wide-ranging investigation of abuses in the insurance industry. - NY Times
Clearly what we need is a stronger Executive Branch and more surveillance. It is disgusting that we could not stave off the Clinton recession even though we had a world-class MBA giving it his all.
Dodd's had so many bankers blowing so much smoke up his ass for so many years that he can't even think straight. His best campaign contributors are going down one by one.
Tons of dirt here below and dont forget the $33 billion in goodwill bullshit that Mr. Clean has stuffed into his derivative timebomb!
Re:
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Mr. Spitzer's office looked into insurance transactions that American International Group Inc. conducted with two firms, cellphone distributor Brightpoint Inc. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. AIG paid $126 million in a settlement without admitting or denying guilt. Later, both the SEC and Mr. Spitzer's office scrutinized a deal struck between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway's General Reinsurance unit in 2000 to determine if the deal was aimed at making the giant insurer's reserves look healthier than they were. Longtime Chairman Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg retired from the company, and in late March, AIG admitted to a broad range of improper accounting. Other AIG executives were forced out, including chief financial officer Howard Smith. Meanwhile, Berkshire chief Warren Buffett this week told investigators that he didn't know details about the contentious transaction. Mr. Greenberg also was deposed and repeatedly invoked his constitutional right against self incrimination.
Re: he Justice Department has accused the four of orchestrating an audacious fraud, putting together a sham reinsurance transaction that allowed AIG to falsely report some $500 million (euro420 million) in reserves against losses and thereby mislead shareholders, Wall Street and regulators.
The alleged conspiracy, using phony contracts and a secret side deal, was designed to make it appear that AIG's loss reserves were growing so as to inflate the company's stock price, prosecutors say.
New York-based AIG, one of the world's largest insurance companies, last week agreed to pay a record $1.64 billion (euro1.38 billion) in a settlement with federal and New York state authorities. It also apologized for having deceived investors and regulators with misleading accounting practices.
AIG was alleged to have taken part in bid-rigging schemes, paid secret commissions to insurance brokers to steer business to it, used phony insurance deals to burnish its earnings and misstated the amounts of workers' compensation premiums it had collected. Former Gen Re, AIG Execs Plead Not Guilty to Reinsurance Fraud Charges
I miss the days of 127 visitors online. Hard to follow when so many comments happening. I guess this is what they call "thrill" by bears. When bears get euphoric, we are close to a bottom.
Elvis writes:
I miss the days of 127 visitors online. Hard to follow when so many comments happening. I guess this is what they call "thrill" by bears. When bears get euphoric, we are close to a bottom.
Elvis | 09.17.08 - 1:30 pm | #
I'm thinking that J6P is not buying this BS anymore.
News radio here is seriously critical of what's happening this week. That's quite unusual.
Drive time wacky DJ's are even talking about it.
Comrade Misean
Same up here. You've got guys and gals with definite blue collar vibe calling in and asking questions about "how did this happen?". On BOTH the the lib and conservative stations.
I don't know much about financial matters, but I was wondering if now is the time to buy Lehman stock. I noticed that it is really cheap now. Any advice you could give would be appreciated.
aleister perdurabo writes:
"Toborrow and toburrow and tobarrow!"
Bankrun, past Hank and Ben's, from spin of word to bounce of lie, brings us back by a sternaean sybil of scabious corpus back to Frankfurt and environs.
IIRC our new found guru Nouriel Roubini
doesn't talk about buying up the toxic SIVs (which would bail out the Big Boys and maybe youse) but in buying up the toxic mortgages the sub-prime alt-A etc.
NYC forces some builders to add low-cost units to their development. Then there is a lottery for people who qualify for low-cost to see who gets them. To me this doesn't solve the underlying problem for the 95% who are losers but it keeps them happy.
This is exactly what is going to happen under a mortgage buy-out plan.It seems to reward the little pigs who built their houses with straw.
And makes us brick-built pigs rageful.
But this way the SIV paper regains most of face value and can be deleveraged.
IMHO the money for this will have to come from a basic rethinking of America and its role in the world. Not only will we have to give up buying our toys, but so will the Generals and Admirals.
There was a huge and bipartisan decision to invade Iraq. No one thought of the costs. We bet and we lost. Iraq was our Picketts charge.
Don't sell your financial stocks, or you'll kick yourself when you miss out on the big rebound!
The first comment by a reader is also awesome, revealing an exciting new concept in trading: apparently selling short with a 'put' is a way that sizable fortunes can sometimes be made, seemingly paradoxically, in a declining market.
Was I asleep, dreaming, or didn't WaMu just get downgraded to junk? A junk rated retail bank with ample HELOC and Option ARM exposure- just exudes stability doesn't it?
Think of the corruption at Fannie and AIG and both, too big to fail, but why? Too big to fail because they seem to be like conduits between a corrupt congress and government and now bailouts to save the crooks that have been involved in this fraud for decades!
I wonder how the Milton Friedman disciples are going to interpret this. How can they explain why de-regulation always leads to financial panics? The answer seems to obviously be that short term individual greed always overrules the long term good of the institution. They always viewed the institutions as the individuals looking out for their own good, rather than seeing that the instututions were made up of individuals who cared more about their own short term profit rather than the company's.
Don't know if this was already tagged FT.com | Willem Buiter's Maverecon |
Buiter on the end of the road for American capital which allows children to play with loaded guns.
Heads I win and get to keep it. Tails mama and daddy will pay it for me.
Sorry Dodd but the existing financial system is missing some key parts and they woun't be returning anytime soon.
The number of paper millionaires has been significantly reduced and the economy bear will chew up the tech and energy sectors in the near term.
Oh and that flow of funds report that Hank and Ben were parading around the globe (21 trillion SFR)to raise capital for gov't debt markets, well that charade has finally be unmasked, another made for TV financial drama with a bad ending.
Milton Friedman would be spinning in his grave if he could see what's going on now. What we have here is Keynesianism run amok combined with crony captialism and the most inept political leadership I can remember.
Truly a disaster. And somehow, free markets are going to get the blame for this.
The act of extraction, got you number than number than numb
Into your pockets, son, they got you thinkin' that
What you need is what they sellin', made you think that buyin' is rebellin'
From the theaters to malls, on every shore,
the thin line between entertainment and war
The front line is everywhere, there be no shelter here
American eyes, American eyes
View the world from American eyes
Bury the past, rob us blind
And leave nothing behind
OT question that's been puzzling me for the past week--why is the government so afraid of bankruptcies? My aunt's a bankruptcy judge--it's not a one-day-kaboom-it's-over event, it's a slow process that's all about the orderly unwind of obligations and sorting out who deserves to get what. Isn't a thoughtful, judicial process exactly what we need in this sort of situation, rather than a extremely rash decision to throw vast sums of government money at specific private institutions with no particular thought behind who wins and loses as a result?
Excellent, heady article in the NYT on the government's current approach to the crisis - the devil will be in the details, and the details are not known. Uncertainty breeds contempt
I think that CR's cautious optimism in last night's post, although drawn from CR's many years of experience, downplays two important factors - the law of unintended consquences and chaos theory (maybe just different sides of the same coin). Past experience provides zero insight into future events given all these new-fangled financial insttuments and arrangements.
JS writes:
Isn't it the Tragedy of the Commons, not the prisoner's dilemma?
Both, with a dash of Schrodinger's cat thrown in for good measure. The cat (economy) is simultaneously both dead and alive. It's not until we actually try to measure it that the paradox can be resolved and final state determined. So, let's not try to measure it, and we're all good...
Anyone know what AXA is, they were listed as a top holder for
LEH & AIG? Went to see who owns MS and there they are again. Wonder what they else they hold?
JS writes:
Well on the bright side, hopefully this will destroy the neo-cons and the Republican party can go back to being good old-fashioned paleo-cons.
JS | 09.17.08 - 1:52 pm | #
The Republican party has now become the party of more regulation. They know how to survive.
that's exactly what they both agreed on that the root cause was the "foreclosure crisis" that if we can just stop those pesky foreclosures the clouds will stop dropping acid and sulfur-fire...seriously, this is SYSTEMIC. If the system can be taken down by a single factor, it must be redesigned...but yes, they are going to use taxpayer dollars, in America, China, Europe, etc...
That's what they say every time. "We have to do it."
We have to halt stocks after a 1000 point drop to stop a panic.
We have to bail out LTCM.
We have to cut rates.
We have to keep Bear Stearn's assets off the market.
We have to backstop Fannie and Freddie debt.
It's a terminal psychology -- at each step you only make the system more fragile. I can only end in total self-annihilation.
Dodd and others living on the gov't dole/expense account including the IMF can forget the MSM happy talk but they will wait until after the election, then it will all about higher taxes and the new lower standard of living for J6P.
JEDDAH (Reuters) - The worst of the financial crisis may still lie ahead and more major financial institutions may face trouble in coming months, IMF director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Wednesday.
"The roots of the crisis are behind us, the roots being the fall in housing prices. The consequences for some financial institutions are still in front of us. We have to expect that there may be in the coming weeks and coming months other financial institutions with some problems," he said.
Still, the world economy was very resilient and should rebound in 2009, Strauss-Kahn said to reporters after a meeting with Gulf Arab finance ministers and central bank governors.
Another St. Roubini prediction that the IBs were at a disadvantage with Commercial banks since they didn't have the backing of the deposit base to lever.
The end result of Gramm's trashing Glass-Steigell (sp?) was to trash the IBs.
A treasury bill is probably a safer place to keep money than a mattress... After all mattresses can burn or get washed away in a flood. A negative interest rate isn't inconceivable.
But if you're willing to pay negative interest on your savings, then why not just buy gold and pay for the vaulting expense? Oh, yeah.. I guess people already ARE.
I actually watched a "financial advisor" say "the damage is limited to wall street and will not impact main street" on last nights news (LA). My wife thought I was crazy for screaming BS at the TV.
Also, enjoyed Hillary during the same segment, "I've seen this coming for two years". Me screaming at TV...then why didn't you do something to stop the madness.
I don't know about that...if you stop trusting the money market in your 401Ks, and CD aren't an option, a negative interest but secure treasury might seem a reasonable option.
There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
Will Rogers
Kent Brockman: Now, Mr. Burns, you said you wanted an opening tirade.
Mr. Burns: Yes, thank you, Kent. Fifteen minutes from now, I will wreak a terrible vengeance on this city. No one will be spared. NO ONE!
Kent Brockman: [chuckles] A chilling portrait of things to come.
"Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%"
It means, in today's context, probably two things:
First, risk aversion: fewer investors want to hold private credit exposure, and the T-bill has no definable credit risk, because you can be paid in printed currency. (Let's let that just sit there)
Second, it may be a symptom of portfolio restructuring on the part of the MM funds. They have to mount a big public relations campaign here, to assure their holders that they are safe, and that means holding govies.
Don't be surprised to see negative yields this week: all that means is the demand for bills is so strong, that investors will pay more (slightly) than face value.
You say Congress doesn't think it is going to get worse. But Nouriel Roubini does. He sent another cheery missive round this morning. He says the lights at the end of the tunnel are from an oncoming freight train.
Someone on this site once recommended reading "The Creature from Jeckyl Island" about the creation of the Federal Reserve and its actual intent and behavior. Thank you Mr./Ms. recommender. It certainly argues well that the Federal Reserve is a means of shifting private losses onto tax payers. We should not EVER depend upon the Fed to regulate sufficiently to avoid this kind of meltdown 'cause it won't do it considering its real purpose. So when Hanky Panky and others Bushian suggest expanding the regulatory powers of the Fed at the expense of the SEC and other regulators or legislation, folks, they're not doing we taxpayers any favors whatsoever. Rather they are expanding our liability.
Congress is so ineffectual against big capital, one can only weep.
Yeah, especially if comm paper, et.al. is being traded out for govies. Price on the old falling, price on the new rising, cushions evaporating.
Knew this was a big problem last night when the first one turned out to be true; once again, the MSM fails to tell the public what they really need to know. Oh well, "Megan Fox" is still today's #1 search on Yahoo. Something called "Federal Reserve" is #10.
Ameritrade has an announcement out about their Reserve cash sweep vehicle. They've put in a redemption request for all cash sweep customers, who will probably get their cash back in about seven days with a 3% haircut (although the haircut will be recalculated after the close each day).
That's one group that probably isn't buying the dip today...every last one of them has zero cash in their account.
(That's not all Ameritrade customers, of course, just those with accounts over some threshold who decided to chase the higher yield.)
Hi
Toborrow and toburrow and tobarrow! That's our crass, hairy and
evergrim life, till one finel howdiedow Bouncer Naster raps on the
bell with a bone and his stinkers stank behind him with the
sceptre and the hourglass. We may come, touch and go, from
atoms and ifs but we're presurely destined to be odd's without
ends.
First to call Bullshit!!!
WAMU? (first)
C-i-t-i-g-r-o-u-p
Citigroup sends its regards.
Well at least Reid isn't blowing smoke up our...hat
Reid Says Congress Won't Act Because `No One Knows What to Do'
By James Rowley
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Congress is unlikely to pass new legislation to overhaul financial regulations this year ``because no one knows what to do,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters today.
We are in new territory, this is a different game,'' Reid said at a briefing in Washington. Neither Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke nor Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsonknow what to do but they are trying to come up with ideas,'' Reid said.
Reid Says `No One Knows What to Do' to Solve Crisis (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
Citi's not a big bank anyway...
These crooks are amazing!
This is what I hate about poltics today. Every must "spinfully" correct. We can't trust the public with the truth.
First!
Citigroup total assets at Jun 30
$2,100,385,000,000
Dear Sen. Dodd
Please define "some banks".
If some banks really means only some banks, sure,no bailing needed.
If "some banks" means "most of the regional banks still around now" then I agree also, no bailing needed, since no bailout would help then.
but what about the middle? They can haz bailoutz then?
Sincerely
Schmuck the taxpayer
Duh... citicorp? Wachovia? Washington Mutual?
Maybe the Federal Reserve?
Comrades,
Wachovia sends it's regards to the glorious senators.
Nostrovia,
Gary just shorted Lehman. Too slow...
The truth didn't get us to where we are today.
The literal definition of "some banks" is "at least one bank".
Some is the most mischievous word ever created.
That depends on what the definition of "regional" is...
Anybody here from NH or CT?
Please, please, please don't keep sending these guys back to Washington.
Re: Gregg (NH), the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, tells Steve Inskeep that if AIG were allowed to become insolvent, it would create a worldwide meltdown in a variety of areas specifically for U.S. financial institutions.
Those statements mean they're assuming that C and BAC are solvent. I'm not nearly so confident about that.
In a week they'll be talking about using tax dollars to buy foreclosure homes.
I.E. using taxpayer dollars to bail out the Wall Street banks holding on to these things.
They'll say "we have to do it to stop home prices from falling or the economy will collapse".
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Whew. That was a close one. I trust these people and their intimate knowledge of economics. I can stop reading CR now.
Those came also to my mind immediately.
Could the Fed go under if the stuff they took onto their balance sheet turns out to be worthless?
GM, Ford, Chrysler ?
Could the Fed go under if the stuff they took onto their balance sheet turns out to be worthless?
In that case, wouldn't they just turn on the printing presses?
I'm guessing they don't believe the hype any more than Flavor Flav does, but got to show calm to J6P. Especially after Drudge's breathless headlines.
It's hard to see anything when your head is inside your ass.
Bahgdad Dodd "I can assure you there are no Bank Tanks in the city. We are in control of the Capital and the capital. Ignore the tanks behind me please"
yep. Heard that on the way into work. Good thing I put my window down.
Oh, was it just a "correction" in the market? The way to the Great Correction is lined with assurances that it will soon go up again.
Save yourselves some typing; don't list the individual companies, just list the indexes.
Dodd who recently had help from Countrywide with his mortgage, sees no risk or corruption in the market, no collusion, no conspiracy to defraud, no trouble with accounting issues...crooks!
Hahaha!!! It's Spitzer's fault!
Is Gregg also a friend of Mozilla and AIG?
Yeeeeaaaah, stock mkt.
Some people get it.
Must go to court. . . on a foreclosure, of course.
With BankUnited. And we do have a defense.
I think what they really mean is"we have No More Money"
Famous last words.
So "aunt shirley" who has never called me in my life (and i'm old) calls because she has a countrywide cd maturing tomorrow, a merrill lynch broker and he's offering her a bac cd.
anyone want to explain the fdic limits on that? (rhetorical question)
sheeeeeesh.
she's my canary. people are very nervous.
Citi would require an arrangement a la AIG, Fannie/Freddie and Bear Stearns. Assuming Dodd and Gregg are doing the politician thing and blabbing what they were told, it sounds like the Fed and Treasury don't anticipate that immediately. The arena will be the regional banks, if Fed and Treasury are right. If the feds arealready shopping Wamu, that is probably preparatory to a determination of the least costly alternative of resolution, which is a step in the process.
Dodd.... LOL!!!
Just last week I saw an interview with him right after F&F got taken over. He didnt know it was coming and was dumbfounded.
The point is that he doenst know whats coming next. Hank isnt asking Dodd for permission and Dodd is 2 steps behind the average reader on CR.
He'd be better off if he said "no comment" or "i sure hope not"
.......
I feel so comforted.
C'mon guys, how do you think Senators become Senators... by being Honest, Thoughtful, Truth-Tellers? This is no Capra film folks, Mr.Smith got shot trying to go to Washington
ac,
that's exactly what they both agreed on that the root cause was the "foreclosure crisis" that if we can just stop those pesky foreclosures the clouds will stop dropping acid and sulfur-fire...seriously, this is SYSTEMIC. If the system can be taken down by a single factor, it must be redesigned...but yes, they are going to use taxpayer dollars, in America, China, Europe, etc...
The same thing was stated by Sarah Palin on Sept. 15, 2008 before AIG bailout.
In June 2008 Conde Nast Portfolio reported that several influential lawmakers and politicians, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, and Fannie Mae former-CEO Jim Johnson, received favorable mortgage financing from Countrywide by virtue of being "Friends of Angelo."[9][10] Senator Dodd received a $75,000 reduction in mortgage payments from Countrywide at allegedly below-market rates on his Washington, D.C. and Connecticut homes.[9][11]
Angelo Mozilo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Is Gregg a friend of AIG??
Actually, Mr. Smith is in Congress representing the Austin, Texas area.
ok, ok, I'm with them on no more dropping shoes.
What is next though? dropping trou? Dropping undies?
Hahahahah dropping to knees and crying for baby jeebus to save us, each and every banker? hahahaha
What is next though? dropping trou?
LOL!!!!
These guys are clueless..
AC,
We won't have to use tax dollars to buy homes in foreclosure. It would be MUCH easier for Congress to direct F&F to stop making foreclosures. Further, they could ask F&F to buy non conforming loans and stop foreclosures on those. Defaulted borrowers will be given permanent forbearance just as in Japan.
A foreclosure moratorium (a permanent one) would, of course, seemingly prop up real estate prices. It would also eliminate access to collateral on F&F-guaranteed mortgages.
I think that's where we are headed. Agency bonds now more-or-less explictly guaranteed by the Treasury will be UNSECURED bonds. No access to collateral, no security.
So what you get is a slower decline in home prices, dramatically less activity in home sales, and, in the long term, much higher costs to the U.S. tax payer.
lol they're just repeating treasury's lines to inject confidence into the market. i think that boat sailed on monday though.
Great speech by the slut Palin! What a whore!
Why should we believe them? THey had no idea we would end up here in the first place!
Anyone know if this ever happened?
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, slated to be called as a prosecution witness in the criminal fraud trial against five executives for allegedly helping American International Group inflate its reserves, may also be called as a defense witness by at least one of the defendants, CNBC has learned.
The executive, Elizabeth Monrad, was the former chief financial officer of General Re, a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which engaged in the transaction that prosecutors say illegally transferred $500 million in reserves to AIG.
The transaction has attracted widespread regulatory attention, forcing AIG to restate earnings, pay $1.6 billion in fines and penalities, and causing the insurance giant to oust its former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, who was involved in the deal. Greenberg says he's done nothing
Buffett May Be Defense Witness In AIG Fraud Case
Comrades,
Nope no more shoe storms. We're moving onto something far fouler and stinkier. It rhymes with fit and is getting mighty close to the fan.
WaMu $2.11.
Nostrovia,
why you guys try and apply logic to the situation.
The age of reason is long gone.
We live in the age of image.
Sweet! Profit storms! Bottom is in!
Re: Anyone know if this ever happened?
YES! Go look up some crap on the Berkshire Insurance Mafia, as I recall ... nah, Ill get you facts, just a second
Wachovia in single digits.
Gregg: I dont see any entities out there that appear to be in trouble that meet this type of standard--that they would melt down the entire system if they went under.
Dodd: "Some banks. Some banks, some regional banks, but nothing of the size of AIG, Lehman Brothers or Merrill Lynch."
Gregg and Dodd need to stop the cocaine lunches.
.
If you include the supplier and after-markets,
how about the Little Three U.S. Auto manufacturers: Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors?.
I just bought 100 shares of Washington Wachovia Taxpayers Mutual, given that the Federal Reserve has set a floor. Besides, given that Senator Dodd has just resigned so he can manage this new financial institution, we know it can never fail, unless of course the U.S. itself were to do so, and the U.S. won't, given that Putin and Dubai have agreed in advance to bail out the U.S., should such become necessary. (Not until next week or so will we have learned whether the U.S. will require such assistance, so until then, let's go shopping!)
Chief of Berkshire Unit Pleads Guilty in A.I.G. Inquiry
senior executive of the General Re Corporation, John Houldsworth, plans to plead guilty this week to federal criminal charges of helping the insurance giant American International Group doctor its books, according to Mr. Houldsworth's lawyer and prosecutors conducting a wide-ranging investigation of abuses in the insurance industry.
- NY Times
Thanks Naked Kings.
Clearly what we need is a stronger Executive Branch and more surveillance. It is disgusting that we could not stave off the Clinton recession even though we had a world-class MBA giving it his all.
who thinks a wb-bac merger is in order?
Dodd's had so many bankers blowing so much smoke up his ass for so many years that he can't even think straight. His best campaign contributors are going down one by one.
i'm loving this short squeeze on everything gold esp. GDX.
Tons of dirt here below and dont forget the $33 billion in goodwill bullshit that Mr. Clean has stuffed into his derivative timebomb!
Re:
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Mr. Spitzer's office looked into insurance transactions that American International Group Inc. conducted with two firms, cellphone distributor Brightpoint Inc. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. AIG paid $126 million in a settlement without admitting or denying guilt. Later, both the SEC and Mr. Spitzer's office scrutinized a deal struck between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway's General Reinsurance unit in 2000 to determine if the deal was aimed at making the giant insurer's reserves look healthier than they were. Longtime Chairman Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg retired from the company, and in late March, AIG admitted to a broad range of improper accounting. Other AIG executives were forced out, including chief financial officer Howard Smith. Meanwhile, Berkshire chief Warren Buffett this week told investigators that he didn't know details about the contentious transaction. Mr. Greenberg also was deposed and repeatedly invoked his constitutional right against self incrimination.
Bob Jensen's Threads on Rotten to the Core
cnbc bobo keeps saying dubai and qatar are going to save us. god help us all should that happen.
But wait!
Is that Imelda's moving truck backing up next door?
I am loving this Michelle hissy fit.
NO REGULATION EVAH.
Some of these CNBC sex kittens are pouting in the cutest way.
Is this a misprint? Am I really seeing 0% interest on 13-week Treasuries?
aleister perdurabo,
More?
Re: he Justice Department has accused the four of orchestrating an audacious fraud, putting together a sham reinsurance transaction that allowed AIG to falsely report some $500 million (euro420 million) in reserves against losses and thereby mislead shareholders, Wall Street and regulators.
The alleged conspiracy, using phony contracts and a secret side deal, was designed to make it appear that AIG's loss reserves were growing so as to inflate the company's stock price, prosecutors say.
New York-based AIG, one of the world's largest insurance companies, last week agreed to pay a record $1.64 billion (euro1.38 billion) in a settlement with federal and New York state authorities. It also apologized for having deceived investors and regulators with misleading accounting practices.
AIG was alleged to have taken part in bid-rigging schemes, paid secret commissions to insurance brokers to steer business to it, used phony insurance deals to burnish its earnings and misstated the amounts of workers' compensation premiums it had collected.
Former Gen Re, AIG Execs Plead Not Guilty to Reinsurance Fraud Charges
Comrades,
I'm thinking that J6P is not buying this BS anymore.
News radio here is seriously critical of what's happening this week. That's quite unusual.
Drive time wacky DJ's are even talking about it.
Nostrovia,
I miss the days of 127 visitors online. Hard to follow when so many comments happening. I guess this is what they call "thrill" by bears. When bears get euphoric, we are close to a bottom.
I got two things to say:
Whatta ya mean, I'm trying to have it both ways??!!
Elvis writes:
I miss the days of 127 visitors online. Hard to follow when so many comments happening. I guess this is what they call "thrill" by bears. When bears get euphoric, we are close to a bottom.
Elvis | 09.17.08 - 1:30 pm | #
no, we are not close to a bottom. kthanks.
Oh please God, let AIG survive to continue with more fraud and God bless Dodd and all the crooks in Congress for helping America!
Naked Kings - whocoodanode?
Bullshit! Plain and simple.
cnbc bobo keeps saying dubai and qatar are going to save us. god help us all should that happen.
comrade jd
I don't think I want to wear a hijab:(
jd,
Who are you and why are you here?
What Sounds Good With Morgan? - Dealbreaker - A Wall Street Tabloid - Business News Headlines and Financial Gossip
MS ALREADY LIQUIDATING IN INDIA
sell and get out of MS
IT will be below $6 tomorrows
Boy oh boy are these stupid bastards in for a surprise. Either that they are flat out lying which is more then likely we are truly f*cked.
Elvis writes:
jd,
Who are you and why are you here?
Elvis | 09.17.08 - 1:32 pm | #
I'm one of the euphoric bears you mentioned earlier.
o, we are not close to a bottom. kthanks.
comrade jd
I didn't say we were. And, by the way, that "comrade" thing is old already.
Dataquick numbers are out:
Rewind: SoCal home prices down 34%, back to '03 levels | L.A. Land | Los Angeles Times
I'm thinking that J6P is not buying this BS anymore.
News radio here is seriously critical of what's happening this week. That's quite unusual.
Drive time wacky DJ's are even talking about it.
Comrade Misean
Same up here. You've got guys and gals with definite blue collar vibe calling in and asking questions about "how did this happen?". On BOTH the the lib and conservative stations.
I don't know much about financial matters, but I was wondering if now is the time to buy Lehman stock. I noticed that it is really cheap now. Any advice you could give would be appreciated.
aleister perdurabo writes:
"Toborrow and toburrow and tobarrow!"
Bankrun, past Hank and Ben's, from spin of word to bounce of lie, brings us back by a sternaean sybil of scabious corpus back to Frankfurt and environs.
J6P is going to need a scape goat. It must be three words or less. Taking bets....!
Greedy Businessmen?
Democratic regulations?
New World Order?
or do we just use the easy one that few can define...the neocons?
IIRC our new found guru Nouriel Roubini
doesn't talk about buying up the toxic SIVs (which would bail out the Big Boys and maybe youse) but in buying up the toxic mortgages the sub-prime alt-A etc.
NYC forces some builders to add low-cost units to their development. Then there is a lottery for people who qualify for low-cost to see who gets them. To me this doesn't solve the underlying problem for the 95% who are losers but it keeps them happy.
This is exactly what is going to happen under a mortgage buy-out plan.It seems to reward the little pigs who built their houses with straw.
And makes us brick-built pigs rageful.
But this way the SIV paper regains most of face value and can be deleveraged.
IMHO the money for this will have to come from a basic rethinking of America and its role in the world. Not only will we have to give up buying our toys, but so will the Generals and Admirals.
There was a huge and bipartisan decision to invade Iraq. No one thought of the costs. We bet and we lost. Iraq was our Picketts charge.
Can't listen at work. Was there tinny, salutatory music playing in the background?
But there were never any shoes that were about to drop! The shoes dont even exist! Everything is fine. Go watch the game. Give us your 401k!
I think Dick Fuld just bought himself 5 more years in A block
asl writes:
Can't listen at work. Was there tinny, salutatory music playing in the background?
CNBC is using 70s-era porn jams.
If you want a dispatch regarding what it's like here in fly-over land, check out this hilarious article the Star Tribune:
Be brave: Don't cash out now | StarTribune.com
Don't sell your financial stocks, or you'll kick yourself when you miss out on the big rebound!
The first comment by a reader is also awesome, revealing an exciting new concept in trading: apparently selling short with a 'put' is a way that sizable fortunes can sometimes be made, seemingly paradoxically, in a declining market.
http://ww2.startribune.com/user_comments/comments.php?d=asset_comments&asset_id=28431799§ion=/lifestyle/yourmoney
Was I asleep, dreaming, or didn't WaMu just get downgraded to junk? A junk rated retail bank with ample HELOC and Option ARM exposure- just exudes stability doesn't it?
Our economy? It has been as strong as ever. The fundamentals are solid.
What Sounds Good With Morgan? - Dealbreaker - A Wall Street Tabloid - Business News Headlines and Financial Gossip
MS IS BROKE
Think of the corruption at Fannie and AIG and both, too big to fail, but why? Too big to fail because they seem to be like conduits between a corrupt congress and government and now bailouts to save the crooks that have been involved in this fraud for decades!
I wonder how the Milton Friedman disciples are going to interpret this. How can they explain why de-regulation always leads to financial panics? The answer seems to obviously be that short term individual greed always overrules the long term good of the institution. They always viewed the institutions as the individuals looking out for their own good, rather than seeing that the instututions were made up of individuals who cared more about their own short term profit rather than the company's.
What Sounds Good With Morgan? - Dealbreaker - A Wall Street Tabloid - Business News Headlines and Financial Gossip
MS IS BROKE
They are already out of India
CCC,
"70's era porn jams"
ROFL.
Nostrovia,
UB Loves NK
I"m lovin it.
here we go......
They better hurry up and privatize social sec while there's still a couple IBs around to steal it.
looks like we may blow through 10700 here...look out below.
Oh yeah....
We are all Sweet Sweetback now.
Can a good mash up artist combine
Sunday Bloody Sunday
and
Everyday is Like Sunday
GS defending $100 pretty well though.
Don't know if this was already tagged
FT.com | Willem Buiter's Maverecon |
Buiter on the end of the road for American capital which allows children to play with loaded guns.
Heads I win and get to keep it. Tails mama and daddy will pay it for me.
everyday is bloody
I can't help it but I keep thinking about what Reid said and giggling. Huge bonus if it was scripted.
We won't have to use tax dollars to buy homes in foreclosure. It would be MUCH easier for Congress to direct F&F to stop making foreclosures.
If that happens I will immediately go out and buy the most expensive home I can afford and default the next month.
What Sounds Good With Morgan? - Dealbreaker - A Wall Street Tabloid - Business News Headlines and Financial Gossip
MS IS BROKE
Its sells of India assets on a fire sale
I KNOW asl! wtf?
The answer seems to obviously be that short term individual greed always overrules the long term good of the institution.
The Prisoner's Dilemma
If MS and Goldman can't operate in this market the municipalities are screwed.
Outside of the financials what other companies/entities rely on short term financing, similar to the IBs, to fund ongoing operations?
إن ثقب في ثوب أكبر من أي شخص يستطيع فيكس
Dodd and Greg are being proven wrong in hilariously record time with MS.
Sorry Dodd but the existing financial system is missing some key parts and they woun't be returning anytime soon.
The number of paper millionaires has been significantly reduced and the economy bear will chew up the tech and energy sectors in the near term.
Oh and that flow of funds report that Hank and Ben were parading around the globe (21 trillion SFR)to raise capital for gov't debt markets, well that charade has finally be unmasked, another made for TV financial drama with a bad ending.
nothing of the size of AIG, Lehman Brothers or Merrill Lynch.
Ned's dead, Baby. Ned's dead.
الفوز الأول!
Milton Friedman would be spinning in his grave if he could see what's going on now. What we have here is Keynesianism run amok combined with crony captialism and the most inept political leadership I can remember.
Truly a disaster. And somehow, free markets are going to get the blame for this.
ring the "all is well" alarm
Ring the "all is well" alarm!
RING THE "ALL IS WELL" ALAAAARM!!!!
"إن ثقب في ثوب أكبر من أي شخص يستطيع فيكس"
I'm not sure I agree.
NO SHELTER
The act of extraction, got you number than number than numb
Into your pockets, son, they got you thinkin' that
What you need is what they sellin', made you think that buyin' is rebellin'
From the theaters to malls, on every shore,
the thin line between entertainment and war
The front line is everywhere, there be no shelter here
American eyes, American eyes
View the world from American eyes
Bury the past, rob us blind
And leave nothing behind
It is possible we've seen the last of the megafailures. (I'd sweep WAMU with this week's pile, the writing is on the wall.)
The problem is, how many mid-sized failues like LEH where the Fed and Treasurey step back.. are still out there? A couple of AIG's worth?
Maybe an AIG should become the new benchmark unit. (Let's say, 100 billion) It's like the richter scale. "This failure measure .25 of an AIG!"
If we have any sovreign wealth fund failures, those could be multiple AIGs...
these men are dangerous individuals.
Isn't it the Tragedy of the Commons, not the prisoner's dilemma?
There are no "free markets" and Milton is not the god many would make him out to be.
oops! imelda tripped while carrying a box of...
LA #'s out....TIMBERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Back to 2003. WOW!
Friedmanize the profits, and Keynesize the fallout.
Gold Star.
13-WEEK TREASURY BILL down 94.19% ????
OT question that's been puzzling me for the past week--why is the government so afraid of bankruptcies? My aunt's a bankruptcy judge--it's not a one-day-kaboom-it's-over event, it's a slow process that's all about the orderly unwind of obligations and sorting out who deserves to get what. Isn't a thoughtful, judicial process exactly what we need in this sort of situation, rather than a extremely rash decision to throw vast sums of government money at specific private institutions with no particular thought behind who wins and loses as a result?
Comrades,
MS needs to come out and say they are well capitalized.
Then they an go down and say hello to WaMu.
Nostrovia,
Excellent, heady article in the NYT on the government's current approach to the crisis - the devil will be in the details, and the details are not known. Uncertainty breeds contempt
Henry Paulson’s Frankenstein - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com
I think that CR's cautious optimism in last night's post, although drawn from CR's many years of experience, downplays two important factors - the law of unintended consquences and chaos theory (maybe just different sides of the same coin). Past experience provides zero insight into future events given all these new-fangled financial insttuments and arrangements.
SO cal #'s - New round of writedowns on MBS
YouTube -
If I only had a brain. There are just SO many analogies to "wizard of oz" here. Who plays Toto and pulls back the curtain?
And for some reason I see Paulson / BB as a sort of hybrid wicked witch, sending flying monkeys with baskets of money out of the castle.
But I guess that makes Dorothy the market they're attacking. OK, so maybe I'm hanging out with CSC at Lefty's too much.
Berkshire appears to have become the anti-DOW:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Google Finance
Well on the bright side, hopefully this will destroy the neo-cons and the Republican party can go back to being good old-fashioned paleo-cons.
Dick Fuld just ordered their hedge fund traders to kill financial stocks before they die - MS ESPECIALLY
JS writes:
Isn't it the Tragedy of the Commons, not the prisoner's dilemma?
Both, with a dash of Schrodinger's cat thrown in for good measure. The cat (economy) is simultaneously both dead and alive. It's not until we actually try to measure it that the paradox can be resolved and final state determined. So, let's not try to measure it, and we're all good...
C&C
Where can I find the numbers?
I cant believe what I'm seeing with respect to Goldman Sachs.
DQNews - DataQuick Real Estate Headlines and Statistics
and
latimes.com
VIX above 35! Highest in a year?
Anyone know what AXA is, they were listed as a top holder for
LEH & AIG? Went to see who owns MS and there they are again. Wonder what they else they hold?
JS writes:
Well on the bright side, hopefully this will destroy the neo-cons and the Republican party can go back to being good old-fashioned paleo-cons.
JS | 09.17.08 - 1:52 pm | #
The Republican party has now become the party of more regulation. They know how to survive.
ac,
that's exactly what they both agreed on that the root cause was the "foreclosure crisis" that if we can just stop those pesky foreclosures the clouds will stop dropping acid and sulfur-fire...seriously, this is SYSTEMIC. If the system can be taken down by a single factor, it must be redesigned...but yes, they are going to use taxpayer dollars, in America, China, Europe, etc...
That's what they say every time. "We have to do it."
We have to halt stocks after a 1000 point drop to stop a panic.
We have to bail out LTCM.
We have to cut rates.
We have to keep Bear Stearn's assets off the market.
We have to backstop Fannie and Freddie debt.
It's a terminal psychology -- at each step you only make the system more fragile. I can only end in total self-annihilation.
Isn't it the Tragedy of the Commons ...
Yep, that's a better fit.
3 Month Treasury Bill \t0.54% \t-0.138
Dodd and others living on the gov't dole/expense account including the IMF can forget the MSM happy talk but they will wait until after the election, then it will all about higher taxes and the new lower standard of living for J6P.
JEDDAH (Reuters) - The worst of the financial crisis may still lie ahead and more major financial institutions may face trouble in coming months, IMF director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Wednesday.
"The roots of the crisis are behind us, the roots being the fall in housing prices. The consequences for some financial institutions are still in front of us. We have to expect that there may be in the coming weeks and coming months other financial institutions with some problems," he said.
Still, the world economy was very resilient and should rebound in 2009, Strauss-Kahn said to reporters after a meeting with Gulf Arab finance ministers and central bank governors.
Any idea when NBER would 'call' the recession? November 5th? Site The National Bureau of Economic Research has no clues I can see.
Schrodinger's sailcat:
Let's just throw it on the freeway and run over it until we can send it like a frisbee over the horizon.
Another St. Roubini prediction that the IBs were at a disadvantage with Commercial banks since they didn't have the backing of the deposit base to lever.
The end result of Gramm's trashing Glass-Steigell (sp?) was to trash the IBs.
C&C
When will they post the Zip Code charts?
Comrade Exit,
"wizard of oz"
That was written as a critique of the Federal Reserve System. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve is the Wizard.
Talk to CCC, then go get Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard DVD. It's quite surreal.
Nostrovia,
Tom Friedman just grabbed a cab in India where the driver was wearing a WaMu t-shirt. It's cool.
A treasury bill is probably a safer place to keep money than a mattress... After all mattresses can burn or get washed away in a flood. A negative interest rate isn't inconceivable.
But if you're willing to pay negative interest on your savings, then why not just buy gold and pay for the vaulting expense? Oh, yeah.. I guess people already ARE.
Energyecon @ 1:05
No one knows what to do?
Just got back to the skybox at the Roman Coliseum and LOL at that comment from Reid.
When that one hits the general population tonight, it's going to open some eyes.
They got him at grillies. Decoratin the saloon.
Oh, Gawd. The hubris is off the charts now. Those words will haunt him.
o more shoes. it's all contained. everything is fine, please go back to your homes. oh, foreclosed on? sorry. never mind.
What Sounds Good With Morgan? - Dealbreaker - A Wall Street Tabloid - Business News Headlines and Financial Gossip
MS IS BROKE
Oh sh*t, I almost forgot. Did anyone catch King George yesterday?
And I quote from memory: "Ah hope the country isn't getting dis-aster fa-tigue, he he"
What I wouldn't give for a little fireside chat right now.
Maybe Reid can summon Brian Boytano.
I actually watched a "financial advisor" say "the damage is limited to wall street and will not impact main street" on last nights news (LA). My wife thought I was crazy for screaming BS at the TV.
Also, enjoyed Hillary during the same segment, "I've seen this coming for two years". Me screaming at TV...then why didn't you do something to stop the madness.
These SoCal numbers blow. But surely Orange County will be different. Everyone wants to live here.
oh, foreclosed on? sorry. never mind.
... and don't even think of voting.
A negative interest rate isn't inconceivable.
I don't know about that...if you stop trusting the money market in your 401Ks, and CD aren't an option, a negative interest but secure treasury might seem a reasonable option.
I do not think this word means what you think it means.
thanks Misean. Freaky.
Whoops, missed the "isn't".
A treasury bill is probably a safer place to keep money than a mattress...
T bills in demand along with dropping oil prices is good for the US dollar.
I'm a bit fixated on this right now because I'm sitting on some dollar pegged currency and I'm trying to time a transfer.
Sexy Rat live on CNBC!!!
Time for 'baitin...
Comrades,
10700 seems to be the DOW line in the sand for the day.
Nostrovia,
Wachovia or WAMU? The race to the bottom. Sheila hair looked better this AM.
There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
Will Rogers
The comments by Dodd and Gregg will surely go down in history, which will not be kind.
Mise:
The Big Picture
What a trip.
I'm ready for several big stimulus packages. The kind i used to get in when i was in colleges.
Saw the 90-day at .03% yield this AM. Thought I was seeing things.
History is being made.
COME TO JESUS.
Comrades:
All is well in 'Merika. Sen. Dodd has spoken. Our original "there's no housing bubble" genius politician/great leader.
...so we about got that risk priced in yet?
TED: 3.04
Need Conjure say that the next leg down is in?
mp:
Maybe if you're Baptist we can do some goodtime praying and get things back on track.
But right now, I think God's leaning towards Catholic and we're about to do penance.
Wowzers. MS is getting punked like a prison bitch.
Time to arrange a marriage.
Saw that 3 month too, mp. Yikes!! 54 year low.
Homedad, my only point with that is the "Come to Jesus" moment has arrived.
mp writes:
Saw the 90-day at .03% yield this AM. Thought I was seeing things.
History is being made.
COME TO JESUS.
Thought the same thing myself this AM, had to be a misprint on Yahoo Finance, but then it ticked from 0.04 to 0.05 and knew it was for real.
Why do you want everyone to come to my landsacpe guy?
mp writes: Need Conjure say that the next leg down is in?
I figured he was already chewing on it. Ummmm, meaty...
Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%
Thanks
Scotto writes:
Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%
The market has moved us to ZIRP, even if the Fed decided to hold pat yesterday.
"Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%"
EVERYONE WANTS CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS. NOTHING IS SAFE. NOTHING.
Quiz time: Herbert Hoover or John McCain said the following:
"The fundamental business of the country...is on a sound .. basis."
Answer: Well, Herbert Hoover said it on Oct. 25, 1929, but McCain said it Monday. What a maverick!
It's an exodus from Goldman. They better start worrying about their future. This is pre-death-spiral price/volume action taking place.
What a maverick!
Yep. He's redefining the word.
Well at least if financial services tank we still have manufacturing to fall back on.
Bouncing off 10700 again. Stubborn little level, ain'tcha?
"EVERYONE WANTS CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS. NOTHING IS SAFE. NOTHING."
Thanks mp.
Holy carp.
"Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%"
It means it's in direct competition with the underside of your mattress.
Kent Brockman: Now, Mr. Burns, you said you wanted an opening tirade.
Mr. Burns: Yes, thank you, Kent. Fifteen minutes from now, I will wreak a terrible vengeance on this city. No one will be spared. NO ONE!
Kent Brockman: [chuckles] A chilling portrait of things to come.
Just wait until the corporate defaults start to mount an assault!
The first time I heard the term "cascading cross-defaults" was here, on this blog, a little over two years ago.
The phrase sent chills up and down my spine as I pondered the negatively reinforcing feedback loops that could be generated.
My question of the moment: have we arrived at this precipice?
"Please help me understand the implications of the 3-month T-bill going to 0%"
It means, in today's context, probably two things:
First, risk aversion: fewer investors want to hold private credit exposure, and the T-bill has no definable credit risk, because you can be paid in printed currency. (Let's let that just sit there)
Second, it may be a symptom of portfolio restructuring on the part of the MM funds. They have to mount a big public relations campaign here, to assure their holders that they are safe, and that means holding govies.
Don't be surprised to see negative yields this week: all that means is the demand for bills is so strong, that investors will pay more (slightly) than face value.
3 month T-bill = 0? Lotta MMs gonna break the buck. Gotta pay those admins.
You say Congress doesn't think it is going to get worse. But Nouriel Roubini does. He sent another cheery missive round this morning. He says the lights at the end of the tunnel are from an oncoming freight train.
Someone on this site once recommended reading "The Creature from Jeckyl Island" about the creation of the Federal Reserve and its actual intent and behavior. Thank you Mr./Ms. recommender. It certainly argues well that the Federal Reserve is a means of shifting private losses onto tax payers. We should not EVER depend upon the Fed to regulate sufficiently to avoid this kind of meltdown 'cause it won't do it considering its real purpose. So when Hanky Panky and others Bushian suggest expanding the regulatory powers of the Fed at the expense of the SEC and other regulators or legislation, folks, they're not doing we taxpayers any favors whatsoever. Rather they are expanding our liability.
Congress is so ineffectual against big capital, one can only weep.
John Mack of MS pulling a Bear Sterns Cayne now on CNBC:
Blaming the short sellers, rather than his own incompetence, for driving MS stock down.
"Lotta MMs gonna break the buck."
Yeah, especially if comm paper, et.al. is being traded out for govies. Price on the old falling, price on the new rising, cushions evaporating.
Knew this was a big problem last night when the first one turned out to be true; once again, the MSM fails to tell the public what they really need to know. Oh well, "Megan Fox" is still today's #1 search on Yahoo. Something called "Federal Reserve" is #10.
Have you seen my red pin-heels?
Ameritrade has an announcement out about their Reserve cash sweep vehicle. They've put in a redemption request for all cash sweep customers, who will probably get their cash back in about seven days with a 3% haircut (although the haircut will be recalculated after the close each day).
That's one group that probably isn't buying the dip today...every last one of them has zero cash in their account.
(That's not all Ameritrade customers, of course, just those with accounts over some threshold who decided to chase the higher yield.)
No more shoes?!
Does the phrase "can't see the forest for the trees" seem apropo here?
I think Dodd meant to say his zipper is open again and if there are any lobby groups that need him, he will be on standby
FDIC in the news:
FDIC insurance fund can cover high losses -- Bair
FDIC insurance fund can cover high losses -- Bair
| Reuters
UPDATE 2-Modified IndyMac loans showing results-FDIC's Bair
UPDATE 2-Modified IndyMac loans showing results-FDIC's Bair
| Reuters
Memo to Obama and McCain
Don't just stand there and talk: Do something!
Memo to Obama and McCain -- Don't just stand there, do something! Darrell Delamaide's Political Capital - MarketWatch
FDIC's Bair, Fed's Duke To Appear At US House Hearing Wed
CNNMoney.com: 404 Page Not Found
Is Washington Mutual Bankrupt? Why the FDIC is Quaking in Its Boots Horsemen of the Apocalypse Don Gear as WaMu Rumors Spread
Is Washington Mutual Bankrupt? Why the FDIC is Quaking in Its Boots - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com
Las Vegas Woman Learns Hard Lesson on FDIC Insurance
Las Vegas Woman Learns Hard Lesson on FDIC Insurance - Las Vegas Now
Lenders to FHA: Thanks but no thanks for your help
Testifying before Congress, lenders praised the FHA's foreclosure prevention program but indicated that they'd prefer to handle their own mortgage workouts.
Lenders praised new FHA program but won't use it much. - Sep. 17, 2008
Nothing big enough left to bail out, Senator? How about the Fed itself?
http://www.rgemonitor.com/10000?cluster_id=9979
Hmm... This may help explain why Sen. Gregg dropped my case after making a few phone calls back in '04...
just got back from lunch....I figured I'd go even though I was not hungry.....I figured I would need something to thow up
What a bunch of propaganda crap. These assholes should be hung.