Fed Releases Stress Test Results

I have nothing to say; I just wanted to be first.

banks are estimated to have total losses of 600 billion

Please wear ruby slippers when reading it. Remember to click them occasionally.

WFC appeared to be insolvent under the stress test results in a flash I saw on CNBC ?

"The SCAP is a complement to the Treasury's Capital Assistance Program (CAP), which makes capital available to financial institutions as a bridge to private capital in the future."

This is not to be confused with SCAM which is a Federal Program run through CNBS to convince you morons to buy more shares and believe this horse spit.

Nostrovia,

3-4% loss rate on Prime mortages is the 'adverse =(baseline)' scenario

really? sounds like a mark to fiction...

Girlfriend and I were just talking the other day about how people who have just been in a car wreck often can't help giggling and other inappropriate behavior.

CR,

Does fraud look better with spreadsheets, graphs and the right headers?

I was going to read the report but I decided to just wait and let someone else tell me what to think.

DJIA up 700 points tomorrow.

PNC $600mm
SunTrust $2.2bn
5/3 $1.1bn
Nations $2.5bn
Morgan Stanley $1.8 bn
Key Corp $1.8 bn
GMAC $11.5bn
Citi $5.5 bn
BAC $33.9 bn
WFC $13.7 bn

BB&T
State Street all good.

Big pop up on FITB after hours...

"Green shoots" meme versus "recession -

http://www.realmeme.com/roller/page/realmeme?entry=green_shoots

I normalized the counts so that the graphs are relative size, it shows the inverse correlation better. "Recession" is probably two orders of magnitude higher than "green shoots". There's also a far closer correlation of "green shoots" to news media count, the meme is almost certainly being driven by the media instead of grassroots movement.

The inverse relationship is probably a normal result of opposite paradigms, one cancels out the other. In other words, people tend to believe either the economy is recoverying or it is not.... but not both at the same time. (except for me, Dawg and mp, us all be schizo to some degree).

Wow.... GS doesn't expect very many losses...

...they must think the taxpayers are going to pick up the tab or something Smile

what the hell. Citi is up 10% after hours.... Wasn't this baked it already?

Think of the poor chickens that had to beheaded for creating the input numbers. Let us observe a moment of silence for the heroic sacrifice of those chickens.

"3-4% loss rate on Prime mortages is the 'adverse =(baseline)' scenario"

total joke, along with the 11% loss on home equity.

So I finally registered on hoocodanode to post a comment.

I'm looking at the Citi breakdown on 24 and it lists assets at 996.2 billion.

Question: Does this include the off-balance sheet SIVs

PNC (yes - $600 mil) and CapOne (inexplicably, 'no need') were my bracket busters Sad

my picks for yesses and hell-yesses:
BofA 33.9
Shitigroup 5.5 (bwahahahahaha)
WF 13.7
MS 1.8
GMAC 11.5
Suntrust 2.2
CapOne (wrong!?!)
Regions 2.5
5/3 1.1
KeyCorp 1.8

and my nays:
JPM
GS
MetLife
PNC (wrong - barely, though, needs 0.6)
USBank
BNYMellon
State St
BBT
Amex

Well, having skimmed through the PDF I'm certainly glad to see that under no imaginable scenario will losses on second-lien mortgages (including HELOCs) exceed 12-16 percent.

Whew! For a while there I thought a huge number of them were going to turn out to be - oh gosh, what's the word - oh yeah, worthless.

That'll teach me to believe my own lying eyes instead of the Fed's quant-jockeys!

Tim waiting for 2012 (homepage, profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 5:03 pm
"banks are estimated to have total losses of 600 billion
"

... and through the magic of creative accounting, that number becomes ... poof--$185 billion!

... now, don't we all feel better?

What scenario did they use to do the stress test?

No! CDS, MBS, SIVs, ABss etc do not exist. Have you not used my ruby slippers?

//Does this include the off-balance sheet SIVs//

And the SP500 futures are - up of course..

I like how they compare the loss ratio to historical loss ratios from the Depression. I guess no one told them they didn't have computers in banks during the Depression.

To err is human;
To colossally screw up takes a computer.

... I only got 'em all!

(names, that is)

happy days are here again folks.

expect a ton of money to pour into oil and other commodities tomorrow.

How about this one:

CRE losses under adverse 9-12.

Yeah, umm. Ok.

Basel Too,
from last thread, well I would expect them to have their own mutual funds buy the debt/equity offerings. It has happened in the recent past with Merrill Lynch placing the debt of a deal it handled with the pension fund it was running for Puerto Rico (?)

What's more, what is the risk of doing it? The banks still have good ratings, or a plausible story to expect government support. If the bank fails, looking at the conflicts of interest in mutual funds will be the last concern looked at. Regulators have more urgent work than they can handle. If anything, the more debt a smaller bank can't distribute, the more systemically important it becomes and will get a better welfare check

However we already know the offerings are being subscribed, so it's a question of who is and not who would. Sure they can't raise what they actually need, but every little penny counts

Is Conjure's bond meltdown finally upon us? Or did he retract that?

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/stocks-end-lower-poor-treasury/story.aspx?guid={F5C97413-290C-4F44-A20C-9DD20DEC3D01}&dist=msr_1

"What scenario did they use to do the stress test? "

Tequilla (large quants), peril sensitive sunglasses, and several large doses of morphine.....oh wait..."scenario"....A pleasant one.

I'm so much more confident now. Apparently those were not the banks we were looking for.

magic ruby slippers and chants of positivity?

//"What scenario did they use to do the stress test? "//

What scenario did they use to do the stress test?

Apparently, the one where we all wake up tomorrow and find out it's 2005 again. Kinda like Groundhog Day, but without all the snow.

Hey, I wouldn't mind being four years younger. Bring it on!

The AH market is reacting like this is all a surprise. BBAD?

"After taking account of losses, revenues and reserve build requirements, in the aggregate, these firms need to add $185 billion to capital buffers to reach the target SCAP capital buffer at the end of 2010 under the more adverse scenario. ut a number of these firms have either completed or contracted for asset sales or restructured existing capital instruments since the end of 2008 in ways that increased their Tier 1 Common capital. These actions substantially reduced the final SCAP buffer."

So where did the other $110.4 billion coming from in just 5 months? More details?

And the Fed smart guys anticipate only $600 billion in additional losses over two years. WTF?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Long anticipated, controversial stress tests for the health of 19 financial institutions Thursday showed that the banking sector is secure, however based on a pessimistic forecast considered by bank regulators, losses for 2009 and 2010 could be $600 billion. According to the report, ten institutions are ordered to raise $74.6 billion in private capital over the next seven months. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner indicated that bank credit losses will continue across asset classes. "Banks will need strong capital to weather these losses while making loans," Geithner said.

Basel, do you have live futures?

If I was CEO of Wells Fargo, I would call this stress test assinine.

These projected future losses depend heavily on how the economy behaves over the next 2 years. It's clear that all the federal spending is going to have an impact, and that will probably mitigate the foreclosures, heloc and credit card losses etc to some degree. If the banks can write some higher quality loans to borrowers who can actually pay them back, there are excellent spreads on new loans now. The question is and will remain - can the fed keep printing without tipping things over... and we are not including any scenario for an outside event to make things worse...

It's a real failure of the policymakers to put us in such a situation after decades of real growth, squandering revenues and not retaining anything for the bad times....

"Banks will need strong capital to weather these losses while making loans," Geithner said.

Yeh, but not quite so strong capital when they decide to NOT make loans. But then MORE capital later, when they realize what results from the banks not making loans, and when they see the reason the noone wanted to borrow.

I believe they are using their "expected" scenario for mandating capital raises, and talking about how robust their "adverse" scenario is

no live futures, just looking at the live AH trades.

Fed Finds 10 U.S. Banks Need Total Capital of $74.6 Billion

and the rest are lying.

Lucifer:

Since this test asked the banks to model their losses and then benchmarked them (graded em on a curve?), I suspect that some funny business was allowed.

Questions I'd like answered:

  1. What assets are CDOs, Synthetic CDOs, CDO squared?
  2. What assets have CDS wraps on them?
  3. What is the value of the asset with and without the CDS wrap?
  4. Who wrote the CDS wrap on the asset? What is the probability that this counterparty can pay out?
  5. What CDS has the bank wrtten? How much is it on the hook for under adverse scenarios?
  6. List all off-balance sheet vehicles.
  7. What currency risk do your foreign entities present?

And last but not least, because afterall, these banks are being held by taxpayer money:

  1. Publish answers to these questions on a weekly basis online.
  2. Mark all assets to market.

Friedman just resigned.

Wow.

One crook gone.

Long anticipated, controversial stress tests for the health of 19 financial institutions Thursday showed that the banking sector is secure, however based on a pessimistic forecast considered by bank regulators, losses for 2009 and 2010 could be $600 billion.

Ah! This is obviously some strange usage of the word 'secure' that I wasn't previously aware of.

So, uh, now what? Is the next pony show the trotting out of each bank as it finds private capital, only to have to repeat the performance quarter after quarter when its book continues to deteriorate beyond expectations (whocoodanode?) I mean, I feel like Im about to jump into a time machine that will transport us back to Jan 07, then Jan 08, then a visit to the kitchen sink, then.....please, make it stop. Just make it stop.

Loss rate for Second Lien mortgages looks on the low side. If any of these houses go into foreclosure, the loan will be a 100% loss since the drop in house prices already exceeds the loan value. Let's hope the people who take out these loans don't lose their jobs and decide to keep paying their over-priced mortgages.

For all the collateralized obligations it would be much more informative if they were valued on actual current cash flow...

One also needs to look closely at the revenue projections they're making.

We need to account for previous write-downs, but the BofA numbers look like a fantasy. The indicative rates for first lien mortgages are 7% to 8.5% - and I believe BofA is in worse shape (with their acquisition of Countrywide) than most banks. So I was expecting losses substantially higher than the indicative rates. Instead they are lower.

That makes no sense unless BofA has already written this down (I don't think they have).

Wells Fargo is estimating two year losses of 11.9% on First Liens and 13.2% on 2nds - that is more reasonable. I don't think BofA passes the smell test.

best to all

Props to Samdog for calling the 5 P.M. CRVIX spike.

GMAC is in a world of hurt: They need to raise $400mm more ($1.5bn) they currently have in Tier 1 common capital($1.1).

Uncle DiTech?

MrBeach,

You want accountability.. hmm.. Arrest the Heretic!

Recession is over. The moose out front should have told you.

Re: "smell test"

BofA smells like what it is.

We've already nationalized Chrysler, GM is up at bat and GMAC is in the on deck circle.

CR,

So are they more colorful than other numbers. They are ALL fraudulent! That is why we are in this mess.

//but the BofA numbers look like a fantasy.//

And the futures went positive. So much for me believing this was going to be a critical week. Fantasy continues. Wonder if we will have a big rally tomorrow? Come on Nero fiddle faster.

10 year bond

3.36% ....

about those spreads ...

Recession over, wasn't that easy? Just print tons of dollars and hand them to the banksters, and all is good.

Now, on to stagflation...

What does the Memo: Purchase Accounting Adjustments line for BAC mean?

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York shaped Washington's response to the financial crisis late last year, which buoyed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other Wall Street firms. Goldman received speedy approval to become a bank holding company in September and a $10 billion capital injection soon after.

During that time, the New York Fed's chairman, Stephen Friedman, sat on Goldman's board and had a large holding in Goldman stock, which because of Goldman's new status as a bank holding company was a violation of Federal Reserve policy.

The New York Fed asked for a waiver, which, after about 2½ months, the Fed granted. While it was weighing the request, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December. They've since risen $1.7 million in value.

Was that wrong, should he not have done that?

Nemo!

930+ people aboard CR--what's the previous CRVIX ecord?

OK this event is over. Time to move on and look forward.

In that spirit, I have a question. What will happen, exactly, when these institutions turn out to need multiples of these amounts 6-12 months from now?

On a percentage of total assets...GMAC is in the worst shape...those guys at Ceberus are sure smart...

After WWII, the USAF tried to duplicate one of the German designs, the Flying Wing

Northrop YB-49 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It failed for various reasons, one of them being feedback loop instability. Notice the similarity to the B-2 bomber.

B-2 Spirit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One big difference is the computer-based control system for the wings.

One big difference between the 1933 economy and the 2009 economy is the feedback loop.

thanks EHP

no, he was just following the playbook

It's a good thing WFC raised their dividend in mid 2008 before cutting it recently. Those guys are simply the best are modeling the future. Just ask Buffett.

CR: I think you're looking for this on page 8, para 2.

The total loss estimate of $600 billion for the 19 BHCs is in addition to the substantial losses that have already been taken by these firms in the past couple of years. That is, the forward looking losses in the SCAP do no include the losses that have already occurred since the assets were originated and are already reflected in the firms' balance sheets.

Anybody got the poop on who sold bonds today ...

I just watch a piece promoting how wonderful it is to have layaway and credit in Brazil. Why do we doubt the idea of print and print and inflate. Of course, bubbles will form and pop and we will have viscous inflation/deflation cycles. Of course, we will run out of good stuff like fish and air. Of course, we the banks will make a world of debt slaves all microchipped and tracked with the mark of the beast. But why doubt at this point in the cycle. More and More new money coming. A brave new world coming. Pray.

F.W.I. I am an atheist.

Scripted bait and switch.

"GMAC is in the worst shape."

I have a feeling GMAC will be taken care of...

Nemo - by then we will be more numb than we are now - that's the plan, and sadly it will work

look how quickly the AIG CDS payout furor died down...

"ghostfaceinvestah (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 2:27 pm reply Ignore user Recession over, wasn't that easy? Just print tons of dollars and hand them to the banksters, and all is good.

Now, on to stagflation"

That was the easy part, very predictable, throwing that kind of money will lead get things going. NOW WTF are they going to do with the rates moving up, commodities moving up, etc...I sure hope they take away the punchbowl ASAP!!!

Nemo,

In answer to your question. The return of TARP

No worries, we have an ~ $700 billion place holder in the budget.

broward,

But the PTB still believe that we are culturally and technologically in the 1930s.. maybe the 1950s.

//One big difference between the 1933 economy and the 2009 economy is the feedback loop.//

"930+ people aboard CR--what's the previous CRVIX ecord?"

Not even close.

Newly registered here. Is it just me or is the 9.1% total loan loss just a tad high?

Here is the spreadsheet for Table 3 in the document. This has the losses and loss rate by each bank.

best to all.

"I sure hope they take away the punchbowl ASAP!!! "

Way too late for that. BB knows he needs to keep buying MBS at a price that NOBODY else will pay, in order to pump more money to the banksters to really keep them off the dole.

The got the car rolling down the hill...uh oh, it doesn't have brakes.

"The New York Fed asked for a waiver, which, after about 2½ months, the Fed granted. While it was weighing the request, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December. They've since risen $1.7 million in value.

Was that wrong, should he not have done that? "

No! Shows massive incompetence. He should have bought 373,000 shares. Moron! Nothing our corrupt masters can stand less is a person engaging in conservative corruption! It's WHOLE HOG PIG AT THE TROPH TIMES BOYS!

Sheesh...Friedman...what and idiot.

Nostrovia,

"What will happen, exactly, when these institutions turn out to need multiples of these amounts 6-12 months from now?"

Nemo, everyone will be watching 'American Idle', and it won't matter.

Cerberus is genius! I bet they all went to Ivy League Skoolz.

Where are the rolled up Par, Marked & Projected Adverse Scenario values by institution ?

I want to get a laugh/.

930+ people aboard CR--what's the previous CRVIX record?

Not even close, I am afraid. The highest visitor count I ever recorded (2308) was on September 29, 2008 at 14:35:00 Eastern.

Although that was with Haloscan, which might not be comparable... Highest I have recorded for hoocoda/node is...

...1029 visitors, five minutes ago.

"But the PTB still believe that we are culturally and technologically in the 1930s.. maybe the 1950s."

Don't think so, Lucifer. This is essentially the 1994 playbook all over again. Sucker enough cash into below-true-growth bonds, a de facto transfer of money from savers to borrowers, which is what has to happen. In a worst-case scenario, I suspect the Feds would just freeze redemptions and mandate a nominal return on Jas's retirement fund. Smile

"look how quickly the AIG CDS payout furor died down... "

Funny about that, because just today AIG announced the notional on their FP book decreased from 2.7T to 1.5T in the quarter, so it looks like the rumor at Zero Hedge about the AIG fire sale goosing up the banks results had some truth to it.

So does the market call the bluff tomorrow, or does the band keep playing?

Nemo: I don't this news event is over just yet.

There is so much obfuscation in this document, that IMHO, this will reduce confidence.

I agree C&C... GMAC is the worst of the lot. From the graphs, it looks like it has negative Tier 1 capitol.

"So does the market call the bluff tomorrow, or does the band keep playing? "

Which market?

It will be interesting to see if the govt fudges the employment numbers upward a bit tomorrow, in order to calm down the bond market. Otherwise we could see 3.5% on the 10 year easy.

mmckinl --

Anybody got the poop on who sold bonds today ...

The U.S. Treasury, mostly. The question, I think, is not who sold, but who failed to buy...

Don't know about the market, but I know what I am doing. Going to go see the matinee of Star Trek. Lose myself in fantasy for a while and wonder why we aren't going where no man has gone before anymore.

So they are saying that we have needed GDP-dwarfing intervention to combat a cumulative $950 billion in losses (under the more adverse scenario)?

Vonbek777,

We invested in banking scams rather than developing such technology.

//Lose myself in fantasy for a while and wonder why we aren't going where no man has gone before anymore.//

Uh, newsflash Vonbek...that is EXACTLY where we're going. And in a handbasket, I might add.

How does this square with the IMF's projections ? WHo will be more right ?

Of course, with cost of funds at nearly zero, the banks are minting money of the loans that are current.

Another way to look at it is, that they're keeping the cash they would be paying out on savings and MM accounts on their balance sheets. So over time, this will repair them at the direct expense of savers.

The question therefore is what happens in the next 6-24 months. The Feds have forestalled any immediate run on the banking system by blanket guaranteeing it all.

Now the question is, can the economy actually move forward on its own?

Nemo

Thanks ...

First impression on the damage to mortgage rates ...

It won't matter. One might be closer to reality, but not by much.

//How does this square with the IMF's projections ? WHo will be more right ?//

Did hear on the radio today that warp power may be possible in theory. Those magnetic plasma portals connecting the sun to the earth might have given us some insight finally.

So the Memo: Purchase Accounting Adjustments line comes across as accounting write downs for companies that have made acquisitions over the last year as only JPM, BAC, WFC and CapitalOne have them.

"So they are saying that we have needed GDP-dwarfing intervention to combat a cumulative $950 billion in losses (under the more adverse scenario)?"

LOL! Good point. Zimbabwe Ben is buying $1.2T of MBS alone.

And Lord knows how much in SPX futures...

Question: How much has the government already spent to solve a $600bn problem?

The banks only need $74.6 Billion. And govt Sachs has a long history of accurate loss forecasts. The last time I heard a number like that was in January, when GM only needed $17B to get over a rough patch.

with cost of funds at nearly zero, the banks are minting money of the loans that are current.

And if the those loans are backstopped by the government (e.g. FHA), there is no credit risk.

Not seeing what is already set aside as reserves. Anyone ?

"Lose myself in fantasy for a while"

What, reading the Stress test wasn't sufficient?

But how will the markets respond to the serious news? Manny gets a 50 game suspension for steroids! Even Obumble has to comment. 'Course, Obumble has to comment on the weather, and hand washing too, so maybe it doesn't matter THAT much.

Vonbek777,

Do you think we could build a nuclear powered spaceship to reach mars with a few billion? Yes.. but we would have destroy sweetheart contractor deals at NASA.

Tomorrow is the best "get out now while you still can" day that will be seen for quite some time. Wait until the CRE bust makes the new and improved coming stress tests appear to be more like a CAT SCAN as opposed to the recent one of a 5 year old with a stethoscope playing bank doctor.

EHP,
"Question: How much has the government already spent to solve a $600bn problem? "

Beoing bid the contract, there were, ummmm, cost overuns.

Nostrovia,

He is just a player, not a banker or businessman. It also helps to be white..

//Manny gets a 50 game suspension for steroids! //

"no need" means we will let you fail.

ie: there is no need for us to waste money baling your bankrupt ass unsecured credit card portfolio, cap 1 spammer fukapes.

"First impression on the damage to mortgage rates ... "

About that...

the MBS market kind of had an "oh shit" moment today, when it realized that maybe ZImbabwe Ben won't backstop every trade.

See if this works - this is the current coupon Fannie from Bloomberg, up 22bps today (prices on the 4% dropped about 25 ticks).

Bloomberg.com:
Personal Finance

And if the those loans are backstopped by the government (e.g. FHA), there is no credit risk.

So a bank can sit and print money all day by writing FHA loans without any interest rate risk (zirp for a long time) or credit risk.

Maybe this bank rally has something going for it.

Freidman - NY Fed - Trading on insider info - I think Bernie Madoff is getting a cellmate...

dont worry they will get more bailouts. just that it will be under a different name. and you thought theyd give up on the bankers! well maybe the small ones that fail every friday, yes.

Comrade Misean is Dope
The long term, high dollar, TV/satellite radio contracts for MLB/NBA/NFL are losing lots of money. NHL has been beating the NBA in local markets during these playoffs for head-to-head matchups. Difference is $75mn per year for NHL vs $930mn for NBA. Yikes

There was a functional design for a solar sail/nuclear hybrid ship. Have to be built in space or at least assembled in space, but it could get you there and back with a seven man crew. Estimates for private construction were under a billion. We could go if we wanted too.

Here, take the meat bridge. It's right here. ... Well, fine, don't take the meat bridge. ...

Mr Beach,
I call it political capital arbitrage. Mortgaging the American homeowner dream

Why would mortgages of all things ever need a national guarantee? Ditto for student loans with the protection they have under the law in bankruptcy

How is it with Citi alone having trillions of dollars in Level three assets that the entire universe of tested banks needs $135 billion to cover losses on assets held for investment? What am I missing?

NY Fed head head insider trading with GS...I am shocked, in other news, the sky is blue

Well have to sign off for now. Here's hoping that tomorrow won't be an exercise in keyboard headbanging in disbelief....

Vonbek777,

But banksters and their scams are more important... right?

//We could go if we wanted too.//

"The long term, high dollar, TV/satellite radio contracts for MLB/NBA/NFL are losing lots of money. NHL has been beating the NBA in local markets during these playoffs for head-to-head matchups. Difference is $75mn per year for NHL vs $930mn for NBA. Yikes"

I know. Honestly though it's really visible on cable TV too. They're running stub infomercial adds during prime time these days.

Think of the poor chickens that had to beheaded for creating the input numbers.

You are going to owe people keyboards fro that one!

GMAC - Governmentally Manipulated Actuarial Casino

"The New York Fed asked for a waiver, which, after about 2½ months, the Fed granted. While it was weighing the request, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December. They've since risen $1.7 million in value.

Was that wrong, should he not have done that?"

I tell you, I've gotta plead ignorance.

Speaking of ads, what is up with all these ads for ranchettes in Wyoming?

ghostfaceinvestah

thanks ...

prognosis going forward on mortgage rates ?

Reading stories about banks raising capital without government support.

Give me a break.

Please.

Every Bank Holding Company now has implicit government support. Just like Fannie & Freddie. Of course, Paulson let the Fannie & Freddie preferred holders go. Geithner seems to be a more generous fellow.

Bank debt is money good.

"I have nothing to say; I just wanted to be first."

I have nothing to say either. Why can't I be first?

Actually, this is the story of most of the 'literature' of any given period.

So should I just send checks to the banks directly, or wait for the govt. to just send my taxes directly to them ?

  • splat

Speaking of ads, what is up with all these ads for ranchettes in Wyoming?

~~~~

You probably don't get the mineral rights ...

So when coal or NG go back up they tear up your land ...

"Speaking of ads, what is up with all these ads for ranchettes in Wyoming? "

You have to ask?

EHP:

The Dept of Education plans on eliminating private placement of student loans; instead, all federal student loans would be placed directly with the USG. Bye-bye Sallie Mae.

"You can get a 30yr fixed no points in LA right now for 4.933 - "

...so you can go out and overpay for a house.

No, thanks.

"The Wall Street Journal reported that Friedman had come under scrutiny because of his large holdings of Goldman Sachs Group Inc"

I knew when he got picked it was because of his patriotism to the USGS. Not the US Geological Survey

United States of Goldman Sachs!

"Speaking of ads, what is up with all these ads for ranchettes in Wyoming?"

I once stayed overnight at the Kirkbride Ranch in eastern Wyoming. The ranch produced "fine quarter horses and happy feeder cattle." Alan Kirkbride also described himself on his business card as a rancher for Christ.

The land surrounding the ranch produced a fine crop of MX missiles - Warren Air force Base.

150 Regulators calculated all of the risk for the financial system in 45 days... I work for a small to mid tier regional bank and the FDIC sends 10-15 people just to our bank to do our annual review.

Fed tells GMAC to raise $11.5 billion

"SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Banking regulators on Thursday told GMAC Financial Services, the lending unit of General Motors Corp., that it needs to raise $11.5 billion in capital to stabilize its books as mortgage and auto loan losses mount."

"Bread and Circuses" keeps going through my mind.. well. what little of it I have left these days...

  • James

sometimes I wonder if anybody really gets it yet.

If one guy owns everything in the world, what is he going to trade for?

Ergo, everybody has to move forward. If a large # of people are NOT moving forward, rich guys don't get to move forward, either.
Ergo, we have padded contracts and government redistribution, in spite the theoretical attraction of "free markets" and laissez faire

Blogpulse graph confirms the Google trends "green shoots" versus "recession" meme breakout and inverse relationship.
Really interesting as they measure two different things - queries versus blog entries.

http://www.realmeme.com/roller/images/TheCrash/greenShootsRecessionBlogPulse.png

I'll try a sentiment graph on them to see if there's a lot of animosity towards "green shoots".

We occasionally meet some FDIC people on our walks in Rock Creek park. I studiously avoid the topic of banks, but one is aware of it, nonetheless.

150 Regulators calculated all of the risk for the financial system in 45 days

LOL. I remember all of the press about how hundreds of regulators were "sweeping in" all over Wall Street and placing the banks' noses to the grindstone... And the astroturfer Joe Shmoe reminding me I wasn't smart enough to understand the super secret plan that Obama had concocted to nationalize the banks.

I guess I still don't

Anyone notice the VW and Porsche merger ? Porsche racked up debts of $12 billion in the idiotic attempt to buy control of VW.
Why were VW's board even interested in a merger ? Just wait for Porsche to go arse up and buy the bits of the corpse you want..

$12 billion.. I expect all the execs are voting on 'retention bonuses' for doing such a good job and such a bold initiative Sad

  • splat

"If one guy owns everything in the world, what is he going to trade for?"

What is he going to live for? That way lies madness.

The Dept of Education plans on eliminating private placement of student loans; instead, all federal student loans would be placed directly with the USG. Bye-bye Sallie Mae.

What they are eliminating is the Federal Family Education Loan Program, whereby private and non-profits finance federally guaranteed student loans. The idea is that the loans will be originated by the federal Department of Education via Treasury borrowings because, hey, the federal government already guarantees the loan and what is the difference?

The student loan backed bonds issued by FFELP lenders ran into problems with the collapse of the auction rate securities market in early 2008. These bonds aren't trading and the FFELP lenders already rely on a program established by DOE to purchase the loans to keep the programs going.

How can Geithner sleep at night knowing that if any of these banks need more capital than what is prescribed in the stress test then the whole system comes crashing down.?The Treasury will be have zero credibility.

"The Treasury will be have zero credibility. "

I think you mean their credibility will do negative, they're at 0 already.

Basel Too,
Still, one has to wonder about the initial justification. There's more than enough evidence that the cheaper loans become for education/housing, the more expensive education/housing becomes (at least until now during the extended credit bubble) -- more harm than good. I know its cronyism, but I say horsepuckey

O/T:
You'll know when we have a real bubble going again when Sotheby's takes off. It's the ultimate canary in the coal mine.

bond girl, did you know that through the FFELP a student can finance the entire cost of their education with federal loans? By entire cost, I mean room+books+living expenses. It's ridiculous. I know people that are now nearing $200K...

"You'll know when we have a real bubble going again when Sotheby's takes off. It's the ultimate canary in the coal mine."

An astute observation. But I wonder how many of the truly 'priceless' are in private hands. Would the Prado sell its El Grecos?

Under the “more adverse” scenario (read, realistic scenario) the 19 bank holding companies (BHC’s) will suffer total losses during 2009 and 2010 of $600 billion, of which $455 billion will come from whole loans held on the banks balance sheets, and $135 billion will come from available for sale securities. This is in addition to the losses that the BHC’s have already taken. To determine if banks need to raise more capital, they had to have projected tier one capital of 6% of assets at the end of 2010, and at least 4% has to be common equity (as opposed to preferred). In total, nine of the 19 came out with no need to raise new capital, while ten will need to find some money. The banks that have to raise the most are Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and GMAC (partially owned by General Motors, GM). The total for all ten banks that need to raise capital is $74.6 billion. This is after the effects of the “better than expected earnings” in the first quarter and other capital actions that the banks have already taken or announced, such as selling off assets, or in the case of Citigroup (C), the exchanging of TARP preferred into common stock. There are two parts to this, the resources other than Capital to absorb losses, which is mostly the net revenues that the firms will be generating this year and next, and the capital actions. The non capital resources will supposedly absorb $362.9 billion of losses. Even after allowing for the effects of the potential “earn out” the losses would have been $185 billion. Most of that difference is from Citigroup, which was able to knock its capital raise requirement down from $92.6 billion to just $5.5 billion.

The results break out the expected losses by type of loan, in total the larges percentage losses are expected to be in credit cards, at 22.2%, although the range of expected lasses varies widely from company to company, ranging from a low of 17.4% at SunTrust (STI) to a high of 39.9% at Key Corp (KEY). The next ugliest group of loans are expected to be second mortgages at 13.8% overall. Again there are huge variations in the expected loss rates, ranging from a low of 6.3% at KEY to a high of 21.2% at GMAC (lost another one at Ditech). The best loan class is expected to be Commercial and industrial loans with total defaults of just 6.1%. The loan category that overall looks far to low to me in terms of loss severities is Commercial Real Estate with losses of 8.5% expected.

I will have a fuller analysis of this tomorrow after I have had a chance to more fully digest the report.

EHP:

Trust me, i understand that the Higher Ed abomination is a result of the credit bubble, but it's another one of those third rails...

“Once truth is denied to human beings, it is pure illusion to try to set them free. Truth and freedom either go together hand in hand or together they perish in misery.”
Pope John Paul II

Almost $12 trillion is being spent to bail out the financial sector ( the Wall St crooks who got into this mess because of their greed ) compared to only about $1 trillion being spent on economic stimulus ( the taxpayers )
Raw Story » Naomi Klein: Poorest, most vulnerable paying for bank bailouts

So once again the poor and middle class are being asked to bail out the most wealthy

Obama is this the change you repeatedly talked about in your campaign for POTUS ?

To top it off fucktard Bernanke has the audacity to call for revamped banking oversight

Holy mackeral ! up is down, black is white, America is one big ponzi scheme

The ministry of disinformation in Bush admin was so transparent and comical but these guys in the Obama admin really think they are being taken seriously ?

"'The New York Fed asked for a waiver, which, after about 2½ months, the Fed granted. While it was weighing the request, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares in December. They've since risen $1.7 million in value.

Was that wrong, should he not have done that?'

I tell you, I've gotta plead ignorance."

It wasn't the trading and conflicts of interest that caused him to resign. As it happens, he was caught having sex with the cleaning lady.

You can get a 30yr fixed no points in LA right now for 4.933 -

~~~~

Conforming

Basel Too,
Wasn't critiquing you, perhaps just venting about stupid people

@femto

Conjure has retracted nothing.

Have a nice day.

So student loans cant be discharged by bk, as long as the borrower is in school they dont have to make any payments, whenever they stop going to school they have to start paying, so these loans can get so big that the borrower might die before they could pay them off? Does the lender garnish their wages if they dont pay voluntarily?

seal it back up and re-leak it. we need another rally.

"Conjure has retracted nothing."

Not even his claws, fangs or... .penis?!

Three Little Words Every Leader Needs to Learn - Rosabeth Moss Kanter - HarvardBusiness.org
Three Little Words Every Leader Needs to Learn - Rosabeth Moss Kanter - HarvardBusiness.org

Here's my list
1) CEO's of too big too fail banks ( the Wall St Crooks )
2) Alan Greenspin
3) Hank Paulson
4 Ben Bernanke
5) Tim Geithner
gee I could be here for hours so will stop for now Wink

Nice 16bp move in the TNX over one session, Ben. GJ.

nominated for comment of the day:

"Bond Girl (homepage, profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 2:40 pm

So they are saying that we have needed GDP-dwarfing intervention to combat a cumulative $950 billion in losses (under the more adverse scenario)?"

so these loans can get so big that the borrower might die before they could pay them off?

There are lifetime limits for federal loans, so you can't stay in forever. Through undergraduate, it's ~60K. For regular grad/law/business school, it's another ~$139K; for health professions school, the limit is ~$225K

"Almost $12 trillion is being spent to bail out the financial sector ( the Wall St crooks who got into this mess because of their greed )"

Maybe so, but greed is a universal characteristic, not one confined to Wall Street.

It's the way we live.

ArtVandelay22,

Remarkable.

So if this story is true, shouldn't there be speedy trials of all Fed and GS suspects, followed by swift, French Revolution-style punishments?

pavel.chichikov perhaps so for many but Wall St is the EPITOME OF GREED or else you've been sleeping under a rock for too long.

NY Fed chair Friedman resigns abruptly |
Business |
guardian.co.uk

Friedman obtained a waiver regarding his Goldman shares until the end of this year, and last week said he planned to resign by then.
However, since then, media attention turned to additional Goldman Sachs shares Friedman bought in December 2008 and January 2009.
"With respect to Steve's purchases of Goldman shares in December of 2008 and January of 2009, which have been the object of some attention lately, it is my view that these purchases did not violate any Federal Reserve statute, rule or policy," said Thomas Baxter, executive vice president and general counsel of the New York Fed, in a statement.

Denis Hughes, the deputy chair of the board and president of the New York State AFL-CIO, a large public employee union, will be the acting chair, the New York Fed said. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Dan Grebler) Printable version larger | smaller Business

"O/T:
You'll know when we have a real bubble going again when Sotheby's takes off. It's the ultimate canary in the coal mine."
- EHP

  • it's insights like this that will always make you relevant, to me. +1!

The Dept of Education plans on eliminating private placement of student loans; instead, all federal student loans would be placed directly with the USG. Bye-bye Sallie Mae.

When I first read this, I read it as The Debt of Education.

"...so these loans can get so big that the borrower might die before they could pay them off? Does the lender garnish their wages if they dont pay voluntarily?"

yes... with interest they seem to increase exponentially to something unrecognizable, and
no.... but it shows up on the computer screen at the bank and ends any loan discussion

Stephen Friedman has resigned as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

He wants to spend more time with his billions.

Americans’ trust in the financial system has been “shattered” in the past 18 months, says Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel.

She says we’re on our way to restoring that trust, but only as the nation’s elites wake up to a new reality:

Elizabeth Warren's Message to Wall Street Wake Up! The Game Has "Fundamentally Changed: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance

A breath of fresh air that not afraid to tell it like it really is !

More of this please...

“We’re going from a world in which folks at the top only talked to each other, and maybe their regulators on occasion,” Warren says. “It was a very quiet and very private conversation involving billions of dollars. Once you take taxpayer money.... it’s a three-way conversation.”
- Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel.

BINGO fucking spot on !

The most "disappointing" thing about all this is the lack of outrage from the right side of the blogosphere... you'd think they would take the time to chase this huge story... but it looks to me they are owned and operated by the RNC.

Nice timing for Chair of the NY Fed Stephen Friedman's resignation letter just as the stress test results are announced - I wonder how much he made on his Goldman share purchases? I wonder how much Goldman new of the Fed and Treasuries intentions? I wonder if this will even get a mention in the MSM?

I did a LOT of drugs and alcohol for years. I don't have any problems from that except when I see things like the stress tests and then it's like I'm having flashbacks and the DTs! Oh yeah,and every time I look at the market the last couple of months........"To the Moon ,Alice"

"So once again the poor and middle class are being asked to bail out the most wealthy

Obama is this the change you repeatedly talked about in your campaign for POTUS ?

To top it off fucktard Bernanke has the audacity to call for revamped banking oversight"

You got it. Just wait until commodity inflation really takes off (courtesy of the banksters speculating with all that taxpayer money).

The poor and middle class won't know what hit them.

Rock Creek Park is urban heaven.

Samdog (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 2:34 pm
Hey Nemo, maybe we'll see a huge spike in the CRVIX around 5 pm. Whatcha' think?

Nemo:

What was the spike number? (I saw 933 but it was probably higher)

What's the record? It's hard to see on the historical graphs.

It's still updating 

[BTW, I like your idea/method for calculating a 'relative visitor count.' There are plenty of CR addicts who still logged in all day (like me).]

more on Friedman

Cashing in on 'Government Sachs'

Cashing in on 'Government Sachs'

Basel Too,

Don't think of it as students going $200,000 in debt. Think of it as a federal subsidy for college athletics capital construction programs. And fancy dorms with suite bathrooms.

"Rock Creek Park is urban heaven."

But badly eroded, like some other things.

"You'll know when we have a real bubble going again when Sotheby's takes off. It's the ultimate canary in the coal mine." - EHP

The Art Market Is Back? Now That’s Surrealism

"Christie’s sales total of $102 million was a huge drop from last year’s spring-auction total of $277 million. Sotheby’s auction experienced an even steeper decline, to $61 million from the $223 million last November. Sotheby’s failed to sell its two most-prominent works, a Picasso and Giacometti"

The Art Market Is Back? Now That’s Surrealism - The Wealth Report - WSJ

"Not even his claws, fangs or... .penis?!"

Bad mental image.

Anyone notice the VW and Porsche merger ? Porsche racked up debts of $12 billion in the idiotic attempt to buy control of VW.
Why were VW's board even interested in a merger ? Just wait for Porsche to go arse up and buy the bits of the corpse you want..

$12 billion.. I expect all the execs are voting on 'retention bonuses' for doing such a good job and such a bold initiative

Wow, talk about thru the looking glass. When Axel Merk got caught in the mother of all short squeezes on VW, who made the mother of all mints?

Porsche

VW is the one with massive overcapacity, Porsche is the one who subcontracts most manufacturing on everything except 911's. If you're waiting for Porsche to go TU you'll be waiting for a long, long time.

"Rock Creek Park is urban heaven."

and such a contrast to the 'hell' that is washington dc

Blackhalo - I think that was EHP's point. The art market is not back. Yet.

edit: nor likely to return to bubble proportions anytime soon, IMO.

@ ghostfaceinvestah (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 3:45 pm
You got it. Just wait until commodity inflation really takes off (courtesy of the banksters speculating with all that taxpayer money).
The poor and middle class won't know what hit them.

Yup this double whammy could be the final straw....maybe

If you're waiting for Porsche to go TU you'll be waiting for a long, long time.

Thank goodness, The thought of BHO or Angela Merkel stepping in to cover my warranty on my new 911 was downright scary.

BAC up almost 9% AH. How does this make sense to anyone?

So was it cleared up whether the tests used Q1'09 earnings or '08?

friedman is a typical pig. 71, can't steal enough money, connected to the jew york city banksters. I hope he dies hideously.

"How does this make sense to anyone? "

just the same pyramid-of-shorts as the past six weeks

Commodity inflation will have to wait until the great summer energy glut. Today's $57 oil is the same head fake that Dow 8400 represented.

$57 oil in the face of continued demand destruction and mounting stockpile=Short bucky

Basically everything today (rising oil, 10yr yield rise, weak USD) signals the 1st step in short bucky; let's see if this turns into the start of the funding crisis.

Why would a lender do that? Just wait a week and get a 30 year T-Bill at that rate, with much less risk.

Not much margin left to securetize that loan.

i had to see for myself (to believe it) you are right ... up 6.46%

Elizabeth Warren is a dope who believes in change.

"Just wait until commodity inflation really takes off "
Higher is better, right?

"I think that was EHP's point. The art market is not back. Yet."

I just saw the article from a couple of days ago, and had not seen any comments on it so added it for color.

Rob Dawg, did you see the coal haulage numbers it today's railfax?

Gee thx REBear for you fine elucidating perspective

“We’re going from a world in which folks at the top only talked to each other, and maybe their regulators on occasion,” Warren says. “It was a very quiet and very private conversation involving billions of dollars. Once you take taxpayer money.... it’s a three-way conversation.”
- Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel.

Rob Dawg,

I think you were on-line:

Yesterday there was a question about whether oil producers could "turn off" (cap wells?) the flow of oil given the lack of storage space.

Did you happen to see--or do you know--how easy it is to temporarily stop a producing well? Someone cormmented they'd lose it.

Don't they cap them in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricanes?

“We’re going from a world in which folks at the top only talked to each other, and maybe their regulators on occasion,” Warren says. “It was a very quiet and very private conversation involving billions of dollars. Once you take taxpayer money.... it’s a three-way conversation.”

I don't think three way conversation is true, more like a 2 way demand. The two banksters say "WE NEED MORE MONEY PROLE FOOL" and the Govt. obliges.

Even after giving them trillions, the taxpayer still isn't in the club.

  • splat

A list of Fed programs with and without GAO oversight: First 5, yes...
According to Federal Reserve staff, the following is a list of 13(3) emergency actions covered by the ``single and specific'' language of amendment No. 1021 to S. 896:
Actions related to Bear Stearns and its acquisition by JP Morgan Chase, including:
a. Loan To Facilitate the Acquisition of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Maiden Lane I)
b. Bridge Loan to The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. Through JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

  1. Bank of America--Authorization to Provide Residual Financing to Bank of America Corporation Relating to a Designated Asset Pool (taken in conjunction with FDIC and Treasury)
  2. Citigroup--Authorization to Provide Residual Financing to Citigroup, Inc., for a Designated Asset Pool (taken in conjunction with FDIC and Treasury)
  3. Various actions to stabilize American International Group (AIG), including a revolving line of credit provided by the Federal Reserve as well as several credit facilities (listed below). AIG has also received equity from Treasury, through the TARP, which would also be captured in amendment #1020.
    a. Secured Credit Facility Authorized for American International Group, Inc., on September 16, 2008
    b. Restructuring of the Government's Financial Support to American International Group, Inc., on November 10, 2008 (Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III)
    c. Restructuring of the Government's Financial Support to American International Group, Inc., on March 2, 2009
  4. TALF--finally, amendment No. 1020 would expand GAO's authority to oversee the TARP, including the joint Federal Reserve-Treasury Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF)

    Neither amendment No. 1021 nor No. 1020 would include short-term liquidity facilities:

  5. Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility
  6. (AMLF)
  7. Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF)
  8. Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF)
  9. Primary Dealer Credit Facility and Other Credit for Broker-Dealers (PDCF)
  10. Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF)

That means there is no oversight to what is going on to the last 6 programs. I don't understand why Congress is not providing oversight of the "short term liquidation facilities" but I'm glad someone (Grassley and others) are awake at the wheel at least a little bit ... or perhaps they are just doing the two-handed kabuki and won't go any further in threatening full oversight of the Fed.

Grassley's speech prior to voting...
In March, the Finance Committee held a hearing on the progress and oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, TARP. At that hearing the Government Accountability Office--GAO--testified that it is not just firms that take taxpayer money under TARP who can say ``no'' to GAO's requests for information, prior to my other amendment on this bill. The Federal Reserve can also refuse to cooperate.
The GAO's ability to audit the Federal Reserve is restricted by law. Perhaps those restrictions could be defended back when the Federal Reserve focused only on monetary policy. However, today it is routinely exercising extraordinary emergency powers to subsidize financial firms far above the levels Congress is willing to authorize through legislation. The Federal Reserve is taking on more and more risk in complicated and unprecedented ways. That risk is ultimately borne by the American taxpayer.
Congress authorized $700 billion in funds under TARP. However, the total projected assistance in various initiatives by the Federal Reserve could be up to $3.4 trillion by GAO estimates. This modified version of the amendment does not give GAO authority to look at all of that additional taxpayer risk. It is much narrower than the one I originally filed, but it is a reasonable step in the right direction, and it does not threaten monetary policy independence.

I

km4,
"Warren believes there will be more public “conversations” like the AIG hearing"

What exactly did the AIG hearing achieve? During the 'CONversation', Timmay kept saying he did not know the 'details' of the bonus plan until March 10th. That was it! Nobody even remembers the AIG 'conversation' anymore.

Warren has good intentions but does anyone care?

The 5 Senators who voted against the bill... Bunning, Coburn, DeMint, Gregg, Inhofe...

Byzantine_Ruins (homepage, profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 4:08 pm reply Ignore user
Rob Dawg, did you see the coal haulage numbers it today's railfax?

You mean: (17.2%)
Saw it coming yes but it is the supply stocks that are interesting.

I see Rotterdam awash in oil, Royal Dutch Shell using tankers as arbitrage, declining transportation consumption, the Kansas tank farms full, on and on. This is an inventory wall not unlike the new vehicle inventory problem of last year.

I'm frankly getting tired of seeing things.

splat agree bit at least credit Elizabeth Warren is creating awareness so give her credit.

Unfortunately the mostly assclowns we have representing us in Congress will say something like good point Liz....when is my next appointment with Corporate Lobbyist.

REBear I hear you - see right above

This is the Hope for Homeowners or whatever... the bill that Dodd introduced after Durbin's "the bankers own the place" speal... I haven't read much about what Durbin was trying to do...

Pretty much, went down like I thought it would. Fluffy bunnies, unicorns, ponies, etc. Nothing can stop the Matrix from being reinitialized, because that's what most people want, you see. They want steak, even if it's a fantasy.

Samdog (profile) wrote (in reply to...) on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 4:12 pm reply Ignore user
Rob Dawg,
I think you were on-line:
Yesterday there was a question about whether oil producers could "turn off" (cap wells?) the flow of oil given the lack of storage space.
Did you happen to see--or do you know--how easy it is to temporarily stop a producing well? Someone cormmented they'd lose it.
Don't they cap them in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricanes?

This is like a 508* class (at the professor's discretion). Stopping is easy but the "cost" is in starting up again. Some places it is routine like my Ventura County where the little lights switch off one by one on the hillsides depending upon the price of oil. It isn't that easy with long line large scale suppliers. Then there's politics. A disruption in Mexico could lead to larger problems.

I guess be better watch our tone on Internet message boards!

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh police and the NHL's security office have investigated a death threat made against Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin on a Pittsburgh Penguins fan message board. The post, reportedly written by a teenager from Chambersburg, Penn., said: "I'm killing Ovechkin and I don't care what happens to me." The Penguins immediately informed local police, as well as the NHL and the Capitals.

BAC up almost 9% AH. How does this make sense to anyone?

Short squeeze? Insider info? Either those, or the market is irrational.

"splat agree bit at least credit Elizabeth Warren is creating awareness so give her credit."

EW has stood by and watched the travesty that is TARP unfold from a position of responsibility. She is no better than Hank, Ben, or any of the other GS employee fifth column saboteurs. If anything, her muttered chastisements qualify her as chief set designer of the Potemkin village.

HollywoodHack I'm not into innuendo....just the facts please !

"EW has stood by and watched the travesty that is TARP unfold from a position of responsibility. She is no better than Hank, Ben, or any of the other GS employee fifth column saboteurs. If anything, her muttered chastisements qualify her as chief set designer of the Potemkin village. " - HH

  • like she could buck Congress single-handedly.

"like she could buck Congress single-handedly. "

uh, excuse me - has she resigned in disgust? has she come out in public in favor of HR 1207? or has she just muttered 'tsk tsk' at her fellow Ivy leaguers as the travesty continues and the trillions keep on going into the vacuum that is the nyfed?

really, this is someone whose background consists of writing personal finance books - lightweight is too kind. and that's the plan - have some mild expressions of disapproval within the political "tent", but, of course, nothing substantive enough to dare to lift the curtains around the mighty Fed. this is how things are legitimized.

Elizibeth Warren represents us, for better or worse. Better, I say. Who else is speaking up on our behalf? HH, you are obviously a wordsmith. Why don't you write to her and make your objections known? The clarity of your exposition might be able to pass her firewall.

km4 (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 7:31 pm

HollywoodHack I'm not into innuendo....just the facts please !

As Hack said, has she quit? If not, she's complicit. Being the loyal opposition when they're robbing the Treasury makes you an accessory.

Oh I see Byzantine_Ruins and HollywoodHack get to make the rules i.e. ER must quit to be credible
Whatever you're smoking it must be really good Wink

km4 (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 7:56 pm

Oh I see Byzantine_Ruins and HollywoodHack get to make the rules i.e. ER must quit to be credible

Yes. Otherwise she's what's called "a fig leaf". She can say any damn thing she wants about three-sided discussions, the banks own Congress and will get whatever they want with no real pain, QED again and again. Speaking of smoking shit, maybe you noticed they gave away your future prosperity, and her jawboning is just a roadside advert along the way.

Why are you confusing what comes out of her mouth with something that's relevant to your experience? She's just a set of plastic teeth chattering away on a forgotten counter. What are we going to do, have another "stress test" to prove we'll "get tough"?

thx barfly and I see that Byzantine_Ruins is still living in the Ottoman empire daze Wink

$600 billion, of which $455 billion will come from whole loans held on the banks balance sheets, and $135 billion will come from available for sale securities.

dirk, key here isw held on the bank balance sheets, perfect timing is that the trillions were taken off balance sheets 4 weeks ago....

She has said plenty...the problem is the limp wrists in the Congress and Senate will not act on her findings. She has NO POWER to do ANYTHING but to bitch about it and point out the obvious...just like US!

Re the art market...have a friend who is a private dealer, used to work for Sotheby's. He says their accounting is more addled than you can imagine...and the market for late 20th century art is truly lousy. What's moving?? Asian porcelain, and significant master works from private collections, especially those owned by Latin Americans. His coup for the year...arranging the sale of a Rubens from a South American owner to a buyer in the midwest.

Money man,

she is now one of us citizens auditors of the stimulus... same power but is allowed to speak...

One big difference between the 1933 economy and the 2009 economy is the feedback loop.

Which one? the positive feedback loop of the FIRE<->Real economies or the negative loop the Fed and Gov't are allegedly trying?

km4 (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/7/2009 - 8:22 pm

thx barfly and I see that Byzantine_Ruins is still living in the Ottoman empire daze

More late Han Dynasty, I think.

I'd really like to hear Tanta's take on this one...

this 12 hour time zone's a killer for following threads in real time... bugged off around 4:15 am my time and
now I'am back on at 2:15 pm...

now if I could have just hung on for say 2 more hours until the new CR posting...

Login or register to post comments
Syndicate content