"Exhibit A, our favorite Tan Man, whose transformation from “I got into this business to help poor brown people” in the 90s to “those brown people made me do it” is nothing short of nauseating."
EvilHenryPaulson (profile) wrote on Wed, 5/13/2009 - 9:31 pm reply Ignore user
O/T: World of sport
$1.1bn Dallas Cowboys stadium gives up on finding a sponsor, to be known as "Cowboys Stadium"
Hardly off topic. Half the NBA teams are insolvent. Maybe a quarter of the MLB teams will be in trouble by the end of the season. Don't even bother with hockey.
I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up.
Strange vibes out there this week. I've been getting a lot of calls from random characters in my past in these last two days. People who I haven't spoken to for two years or more are calling me up to talk to me. It's to the point where my phone is ringing constantly in the evening - I don't have enough time to talk to all of these people and call them back. I'll be talking to one, and another will call and leave a message while I'm on the phone. I am not accustomed to receiving many calls outside my work, certainly not more than one a week. Something is definitely up.
On the plus side, I gave notice on Monday, and I'll be out of a job at the end of this month.
paulson said that the government regulator could have required the banks to raise capital, which is technically true. But, the regulators couldn't have required government capital. Also, i'm not sure of my timeline, but were MER, MS, and GS banks during that meeting? If not, then they would have been subject to the prudential requirements.
Rob Dawg,
Hockey has a few exceptional problem franchises, and I don't want to thread jack because the history can become quite involved, but suffice it to say the league is in the best shape going forward
Hoopajoops LTD (homepage, profile) wrote on Wed, 5/13/2009 - 9:35 pm reply Ignore user
I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up.
You need to distinguish between a dream and precognition. 500 points (Dow) down from here is an eye blink.
A scapegoat in the private sector. I would like to see some "elected officials" do the perpwalk as well......Christopher Cox, Peolsi, Alan Greenspan to name a few.....
I still think that derivatives merely spread / propagate problems through the system. Our biggest problem was the housing bubble, and the biggest single factor was low downpayment requirements. Far from eliminating the problem, our government is nourishing it, through the FHA and tax credits etc. I have to conclude the derivative fix, whilst a good idea, is being executed as a way to distract us, and to prove to the gullible public that our politicians are "doing something". Strict old-fashioned minimums on downpayments, 20% or more for some homes, would do a lot more to fix the real underlying problems we have than almost any other action being taken. But I can guarantee it will never happen, because the real goal is to keep home prices as high as possible.
"On the plus side, I gave notice on Monday, and I'll be out of a job at the end of this month." -- Hoops
Nostalgia. I quit my job last year. Gave 'em two weeks notice and said sayonara. They tried hard to convince me to stay, however, and offered me a raise to boot. I ended up not leaving.
I dunno, maybe some would think I just didn't have the "hoops" to follow through.
the cali situation could be a trigger for a big down day.
i expect that the same kind of snowballing we have seen from short covering will occur to the downside if there is an 8% down day or perhaps three 4% or two 6% consecutive down days. there has been a very concerted effort to bring it down slowly. anything unexpected could sideswipe the market and derail the managed descent. the trading arm of the government knows where stops are set and will buy buy buy to avoid tripping them, however, they have a lot of balls in the air and the recently uncooperative bond market has been showing they are not all powerful.
Rob Dawg, Hoops, you do realize that too much anticipation of a market drop is just going to prolong the rally, right? Dow won't drop a stink-bomb until most people are expecting flowers and sunshine.
Basel most of that debt was tied to home mortgages. Most economic activity was tied to rising real estate values. Home prices are the key and until the fundamentals change down we go.
one disturbing stat i read here a few hours ago was that retail investors poured the more money into stock and bond mutual funds last week than they have since feb 2007.
PatientRenter - you are so right. If Obama was serious about fixing the root problem and making sure it never happens again, he would regulate the mortgage market. 20% down on everything. No exceptions.
But he continues to avoid making the hard choices.
I actually think what the Tan Man did, selling his shares in fully-disclosed transactions, is much more honorable than what the govt is currently doing with all its private, backdoor deals (AIG CDS settlements, etc). He filed SEC reports for all his sales, if you as a shareholder didn't like it, you could have sold too (or better yet, shorted).
Blaming Mozilo for this whole mess is like blaming CRA, or Barney Frank, or the Rating Agencies. They all played their part, but ultimately it was the American culture that is to blame. This senseless belief that "homeownership = American dream" is (or was) so ingrained into American culture that people would stop at nothing to get a house.
The only thing that changed in recent years, really, is technology allowed subprime and other toxic loans to be extended even farther throughout the system. You know how hard it would have been to service a $50B portfolio of Option ARMs in 1995, with the servicing systems available at the time?
"I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up."
Funny, I swear, I usually don't even think about the stock market at night, but I had a dream that the S&P hit 529. I remember that number clearly - 529. Spooky weird.
"PatientRenter - you are so right. If Obama was serious about fixing the root problem and making sure it never happens again, he would regulate the mortgage market. 20% down on everything. No exceptions."
You mean, like other countries do?
or more accurately, in other countries banks usually hold mortgages on their balance sheets, and get govt coverage for the over 75s or 80s (sort of like non-securitized FHA).
I totally agree, as I have said earlier, we are never going to get out of this current mess unless and until we fix the mortgage finance system in our country.
As a start I would nationalize Fannie and Freddie, and merge them with the FHA. That would be a good start.
Then work on some covered bond type thing where Fannie/Freddie/FHA take "top cover" risk, or quota share risk, and the banks hold the mortgages on balance sheet and take remaining credit risk, funded by covered bonds (maybe purchased by the FHLBs or the Fed - BB is buying every mortgage originated anyway).
This whole messed up system of banks essentially acting as brokers, the GSEs buying, guaranteeing, pooling, and securitizing mortgages, buying some of their own MBS for their portfolio, selling most to the Fed, requiring banks to keep repurchase rights, involving a private MI industry to take over-80 risk, the MIs denying coverage on any claim with a hint of fraud, ... Totally ridiculous.
And as the govt is realizing, it is so impossible to pin down ownership of a mortgage, forget about doing modifications.
ned davis research has this chart which asserts a possible impending value of 108 for the SPX based on 83.2 year average PE of 16.3 multiplied by their twelve month trailing earnings estimate of $6.66 for quarter ending 3-31-09.
Basel Too, I decided that medical school would be unwise at this point, because I anticipate a change to the current structure of medical education in the US (indentured debt servitude for all doctors, yay!) and I would be a sucker to get in before the 80% off sale subsidized by the government.
Right now, I'm getting classes in the basic sciences, with a mind towards doing agricultural sciences or perhaps other cellular level biological sciences.
Actually I support that plan for more effecient short sales or deed in lieu. It gets the property on the market and that is all that matters. The sitting around waiting to foreclose is in nobodys best interest. Move the weak out and get the strong in. A plan to facilitate short sales and deed in lieu isn't a bad thing at all.
I also didn't note anywhere in the article where is said anything about a moratorium. I do agree those are a bad idea and do nothing to resolve the problem.
good luck with that, i'm sure you'll do extremely well. interesting that i went the reverse route. got my degree in biochemistry and physics, then went legal.
I think you made the right choice. You're a big picture guy probably do more good fixing the system rather than patient by patient. Again safe trip & report back on RE OK
Blaming Mozilo for this whole mess is like blaming CRA, or Barney Frank, or the Rating Agencies.
No, we're just blaming him for his part in the mess, not the whole thing. Let's start with the easy ones first.
BTW- 524/529 is that the bottom,...or just a stop on the way lower? Inquiring minds want to know. Wish I had the guts to invest on someone else's dreams and hunches!
Where in the world is Paul Krugman? Every recent article that mentions him refers to a "forum in Shanghai" or "conference in Shanghai." There is indeed a conference going on over there (just finished). Interesting lineup of attendees:
Reuben Jeffrey, a Yalie, just like James Kwak over at Baseline Scenario. Goldman Sachs, of course, London & Paris offices, and the State Department. Chairman of the Commidity Futures Trading Commission.
This fellow teaches at Berkeley and is particularly interested in: " the integration of real estate, mortgage and financial markets; urban labor markets; housing; spatial economics; and local public finance." Hmmm.....
I have a late-night treat. Been doing some browsing of the old Congressional Record online. Stumbled upon debate in the 101st Congress regarding raising of the debt ceiling from $3.1T to $3.5T. My general impression is that our Congress back then (1989-1990) were a whole lot more fiscally conservative. Now they don't even pretend.
Here is a speech given by SC Representative Tallon, entitled "The Big Picture" on April 26, 1989. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk today about foreign and defense policy and what impact they have on our Federal budget deficits. First, the very big picture: The cold war is over, suggest many economists, and we have won. But what has this got to do with our money?
Everything. If true it means, for starters, that we may be able to shrink the deficit without big tax hikes. It means the 1987 stock market crash may not have signaled a looming economic collapse. It means both sides can shift military resources to more productive
things.
After all, the goal of the Reagan military buildup wasn't to become so strong that we could take over the world. The Japanese--in part because they don't
spend much on the military--are already taking over the world. Rather, it was to become strong enough to make the Soviets see the futility of the competition
and then, from that position of strength, to negotiate meaningful reductions. Say what you will about Ronald Reagan's budget deficits, the strategy seems to
have worked.
Freer markets and greater personal incentives are busting out all over--in Russia--perestroika; in China--the Chinese are launching a stock market; in the
historic United States-Canada Free Trade pact; in Europe's move toward economic unification; in lower personal income-tax rates--most recently in Japan.
Free trade and low tax rates are the stuff of economic growth. Combined with today's awesome pace of technological progress, they add up to what could be a
very bright future.
Of course there are a few problems: the greenhouse effect, melting icecaps that may sink my coastal congressional district, drugs and crime, debt piled upon
debt, terrorism; the prospect that some crazed 14-year-old with an Apple II GS might wipe out a million bank accounts. As always, there is lots to lose sleep
over. As always, we are dancing across the high wire. But we have made some encouraging progress.
Now for the pretty big picture.
For years, we've been consuming more than we've been producing. Given the first law of economics--that there's no free lunch--you have to wonder how
we've pulled this off. We've done it by saving next to nothing, which imperils our future, and by going deep into hock, which imperils it further. We've been
importing VCR's and, to pay for them, selling real estate and major corporations. After 5 or 10 years, when the VCR's break down, we won't get the buildings
or businesses back. We'll just have to sell others.
We've been saying that it's better to borrow the money to buy a $45,000 German car than to buy a $12,000 American car and invest the remaining $33,000
in our future.
Sooner or later, to get things back in balance, America will have to consume less and/or produce more. Consuming less won't necessarily lead to recession, as
it might have in the old days. With the dollar so low, and with the Japanese and others so flush, we'll be busily employed making things for them. Until we do
consumer less or produce more, our wealth and competitive strength will just continue to drain off, like a big swimming pool with a slow leak.
How will America ever balance its budget? Continued economic growth, combined with modest revenue enhancement, modest cuts in the $300 billion defense
budget, would head us in the right direction.
As for all those suddenly unemployed military men and women, redeploying 100,000 of them to civilian duty as high school teachers might help to get our
toughest inner-city kids off crack and onto reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Actually, it's not necessary to try to wipe out the deficit entirely--at least not right away. The trick is to keep it trending down and keep the economy growing.
Right now, our $2.5 trillion national debt equals 50 percent of our $5 trillion gross national product. At the end of World War II, our deficit was 127 percent of
the GNP. If the economy should continue to expand at 7 percent a year, through real growth and inflation, it would reach $10 trillion in 1999. If, over that
same decade, we ran annual $100 billion deficits, the total debt would have grown to $3.5 trillion--but it would have shrunk to just 35 percent of the GNP.
Maybe with a little common sacrifice and common sense we can get our fiscal house in order.
Another treat... this one is more funny on who is quoted, but also spot on.
America on Sale for Half Price - House of Representatives, October 18, 1989 Mr. Speaker, we are once again treated to a good deal of hand-wringing in this morning's papers following yesterday's release of the merchandise
trade figures for August. Our trade defict surged to the largest deficit of any 1 month this year and for the second month in row U.S. exports have dropped.
The numbers appear to signal that the easy improvements in the trade deficit have been made and that perhaps our export drive has run out of steam.
Equally expected was the hue and cry from some corners that we need to reduce the value of the dollar if we are to make any substantial progress toward
driving this deficit down. My colleagues, be aware, this is a wrong-headed and dangerous strategy. Dollar devaluation is no panacea to our trade and
competitiveness problems.
And for those who need persuading, I would call their attention to the words of Bear Stearns' chief economist Lawrence Kudlow who was quoted recently as
stating that, `were it true that a weak currency paves the way for trade surpluses, then presumably Argentina would be the center of today's global economy.'
The drop in the dollar over the past few years has already put America on sale for half-price. The solution to continuing and staggering deficits is not a further
discount on our already low prices. The solution is for this Nation to make itself a trading nation--we are not that today.
Mr. Speaker, we should be about the business of becoming a trade nation in the future. We must emphasize exports.
- Tom Ridge!
every time i hear about the banks having to accept these billions... I don't buy it. seems just a ploy to get the heat off the banks. ever since that Frontline documentary about the first TARP... like a weak attempt to direct the public bailout rage away from banks and towards an ex secretary of treasury that will never ever be indicted for anything.
Rep Danneymeyer, July 30, 1990 Mr. Speaker, the public debt outstanding as of June 30, 1990, was $3.144 trillion, an increase of $344 billion in one year. This is the true
measure of the budget deficit, not the phony figures which use trust fund surpluses to offset general fund losses.
At an average rate of 8.5 percent, we are paying about $265 billion in interest on this debt this year. We are blessed with a budget summit which is nothing
more than a sound room in which it is hoped the decibel level can be ascertained as to the tolerability of tax increases by a howling public.
We are confronted by pronouncements that we will face a sequester in the range of $100 billion--though even that amount may be too low. Some wily
protectors of the status quo have even hoodwinked the President into opening the door on taxes. And, of course, one body of thought in this body would love
to take the entire amount out of defense, rendering us helpless in the world in the process.
We go through this charade every year. And every year we hear the same excuse: We will do something meaningful next year. Well, this is next year and we
still are not taking productive steps to halt the hemorrhaging of our national finances. Let's tackle the issue of the $265 billion we are throwing away on
interest payments instead of stealing more money from the taxpayers of this Nation. We have a golden opportunity to once again convert the dollar to gold
and reduce interest rates for all of us. Vote down this cowardly cop-out and, instead, really do something about the deficit.
I will submit one more transmission from Congress' past... a real doozy...
Reading through some of the Savings and Loan debates back then... came across this great discussion (yes, it's a bit edited)
Moreover, it was during the Carter administration when deposit insurance and the contingent liability to the American taxpayers was raised from
$40,000 to $100,000 per account. This historically significant and particularly damaging rise in Federal deposit insurance agreed to and raised in the
dead of the night without congressional hearings opened the doors of savings and loans to fast and loose money brokers, rogues, and just outright
swindlers.
Raising the deposit insured to this limit allowed high flyers to gamble with $100,000 blocks of federally insurance funds, which resulted in a slogan
which would epitomize the looting of the thrift industry, and that slogan was, `Heads I win, tails the FSLIC, the Savings and Loan Insurance
Corporation, loses.'
...
History Rhymes, no?
Out of 3,741 thrifts in existence in 1981, 110 had already been declared insolvent. By the end of 1982, that number had increased by a factor of four
to 415 institutions insolvent. According to some estimates at that time, two-thirds of the savings and loan industry was either insolvent, at a dangerously low net worth, and facing
imminemt insolvency. According to the Office of Thrift Supervision, nearly all thrifts were losing money in 1982. The net income of the savings and loan industry dropped from a positive $3.6 billion in 1979 to a negative $4.6 billion in 1981.
Some may ask why is it important to attempt to save the thrift industry? Why, what action was taken by the Congress during the early 1980's to do
just that? And the answer is very simple. In the early 1980's the savings and loan industry was an important contributor to the American economy
and to communities and to families as well. In fact, savings and loans were the only financial institutions specifically chartered with the intent of
providing first-time homebuyers with the financial wherewithal to realize the American dream and purchase their own home
... Mr. HILER. Could the gentleman tell me what shape was FSLIC in, the insurance corporation itself, at that point?
Mr. PARRIS. If memory serves, at that time Mr. Gray, who was the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which administers, or is the
Agency that administers all of this, testified before the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs that at that time there was about $3.3 billion
unobligated in the insurance fund insuring 1 trillion dollars' worth of assets.
What's funny about all those guys back then:
a) There was considerable outrage when the FDIC insurance limit was raised. I don't think there was much opposition today.
b) Fretting over $264B in interest payments...
c) Was there a time when an American car cost was 1/4th that of a German car? Now that would be value that makes sense...
Many of us who were concerned about the waste in the defense budget, concerned about weapons that did not work despite the fact that large amounts of money were invested in those weapons; we were concerned about having too many weapons. Although we recognized the need for an adequate defense, we knew we were paying too much. But even at the worst when you had a Sergeant York gun, a gun in which the American voters were forced to invest tremendous amounts of money to develop, when you had a conclusion reached that that gun was no longer of any use, at least you had a pile of scrap metal that could be melted down and put to some purpose. The S&L's give us nothing, absolutely nothing to show for the billions of dollars that have gone down the drain. But since they are guaranteed by the American taxpayers, we now have to fill up that great hole.
mozilo .... like madoff... will be sentenced to the cayman islands corporate prison. they only get a two bedroom though. no penthouse loft for either of them!
Nearly 200 Members of Congress sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting, demanding more vigorous prosecution of those who have abused the power and stolen the taxpayers' money in the savings and loan association. One of the great problems has been a refusal to prosecute vigorously. One of the great problems has been an Attorney General who seems to have no backbone for dealing with this massive white-collar crime. The Attorney General talks as if it is too big, too complicated. Crime does pay in this case. If the crime is complicated enough, it takes large numbers of bookkeepers and accountants and analysts to unravel the crime, they can go ahead, be a criminal, and get away with it. It is too complicated. Some have made statements that the banks are too big to allow to fail, and we have no choice but to take care of their dirt and clean it up. I do not know in any laws in the United States, is the Federal Government, the Justice Department, the FBI, let off the hook and told that it is quite all right not to deal with crime when it becomes too complicated or too big.
Last night's marathon on crime was conducted by a number of Members of Congress who pride themselves on being great conservatives. What I have not been able to understand is the silence in this Congress of the conservatives. The conservatives have always insisted that Government should stay out of the private industry, and private industry is private to Government when it comes to management, specifically business matters. In business matters there is no place for Government. Yet we have a massive intervention, a massive intervention by the Federal Government into the banking business, the savings and loan associaton cleanup by the Federal Government has led to the Government not only guaranteeing deposits, we are now the owners of large amounts of assets, land, paintings, silver and gold, jewelry. All kinds of things that have been purchased by the bank are now being managed under the control of the Federal Government. We are in the banking business. We have socialized banking through the back door. Socialism has been introduced into this economy. Massive amounts of Government money and effort go into the managing of these failed savings and loan associations, and there is a rumor that soon it will go beyond the savings and loan association, and the commercial banks as well in large numbers--some very large banks are on the verge of collapse.
In Savings & Loan 2.0 all we got are these worthless bits and pieces of paper called MBS's!
I've been offline for several days and just perused several posts. From the BKUNA post on Tuesday:
"...insufficient complement of personnel with a level of accounting knowledge, experience and training in the application of generally accepted accounting principles..."
Taking us to new lows in fiduciary malfeasance: a bank that can't produce financial reports because its employees don't know the basic principles of accounting.
"Strange vibes out there this week. I've been getting a lot of calls from random characters in my past in these last two days. People who I haven't spoken to for two years or more are calling me up to talk to me."
Getting a couple phone calls in before they ask for money. I can't remember if I read it here or on Mish's blog but someone said "in tough times it's not the market that will make you broke, it's your family and friends."
Hoops I haven't had a law job for 12 years. I don't miss it, but I don't regret my education and experience. Can't see going back, since I don't expect a call about the Supreme Court job..
I have become an unofficial economist, as people ask me that I am doing. I say as little as possible, and only when asked directly..I'm in cash, and have a small short position, to pay some billls. Other than that, they can't handle the truth. Most are wainting for a second half recovery, and then everything is green for them. We shall see..
Gubmint cheese, thanks for the zerohedge link. Absolutely stunning; words cannot describe the outrage I feel.
This seems like clear evidence Hank used Nixonian tactics to strong arm the banks into taking TARP money. Since taking the money implies ceding control of publicly held corporations to the government, we may have illegal takings here under some part of the constitution. Threatening private citizens with regulatory action is not very different from Nixon's threatening to use the IRS on his enemies, or Hillary for that matter.
Looks like my insane rants to Congress calling for impeachment weren't so far off the mark. Somebody in Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Paulson, Geithner and maybe Bair as well.
Liddy hearing. At 2:04 Rep. Turner asks if anyone questioned whether there was fraud in the underlying loans pooled into the MBS which AIG insured.
Liddy said they relied on AAA rating. So why don't they fucking sue the raters? When there's a life insurance claim you can bet they comb the application for all manner of fraud.
Leftys Liquors Lubricants and Tarp and Bank: Been talking to an insurance man. His specialty is and always has been selling annuities to seniors. We talked a couple years ago about where things were going and what I was doing with what little I have. He was rolling big time. Now he owns no less than four Florida condos, one an ocean view one bedder that he's in at close to 1,000,000. He fondly recalls the realtor lady pointing at the window and saying, "That's what you're paying for."
I asked if he would walk. He said, I'm trying not to.
He complained bitterly about association fees skyrocketing with special assessments, etc. I suggested he hadn't seen anything yet, wait til the association goes BK and the new guys really sock it to you. The look on his face that started deep within his eyes was priceless.
I told him to close his mouth and handed him a napkin. Poor guy.
It dawned on me this morning that most people I know have the same world view as my 17 year old daughter. She understands there are problems in the world; she worries about her future sometimes; yet she it has not changed her behavior as far as spending my money.
Why? I think for many white people from a working class or above background any real material loss has always been taken care of by a bandaid from someone. It is hard to starve or freeze to death in this country. The iron rod of death wacking you upside the head which created behaviors, proverbs, and cultures is absent in western society.
A huge majority, at a gut level, never learned the screwing up has a price.
central scrutinizer writes: "This seems like clear evidence Hank used Nixonian tactics to strong arm the banks into taking TARP money. Since taking the money implies ceding control of publicly held corporations to the government, we may have illegal takings here under some part of the constitution. Threatening private citizens with regulatory action is not very different from Nixon's threatening to use the IRS on his enemies, or Hillary for that matter.
Looks like my insane rants to Congress calling for impeachment weren't so far off the mark. Somebody in Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Paulson, Geithner and maybe Bair as well."
It's a real insult to Nixon to engage his name as metaphor. Besides, as long as they have hollow little powerless spews like yours, they have nothing--nothing whatsoever--to fear.
It's like I have said before, you peoproles have no idea what's required to get the change you say you want. No idea at all. And, I don't think you or any of you other paper tigers have what it takes.
Rant on to your congresspeople. How's that going? Get mad, wave your arms, raise your voice, invoke expletives, it looks pathetic. It is pathetic.
" she it has not changed her behavior as far as spending my money. "
Neither have you, evidently. Time to take away the punch. Nothing beats spending self-earned money. 17 year-olds don't need to spend too much to enjoy life.
Remember when I said Califonia was preparing to punish residents for refusing to vote more taxes? Arnold will hold a conference today proposing to sell the Del Mar (San Diego), Orange and Ventura County Fairgrounds. The State has also formally applied for TARP funds.
"a) There was considerable outrage when the FDIC insurance limit was raised.[in 1980]I don't think there was much opposition today."
Although the percentage change of the raises was the same, 250%, short term interest rates went to 15% in 1980. Seems like in 1980 the raise was more likely to protect depositors. This time clearly to protect the banks. Either way it's a gift to banks, and how they can complain about compensation and dividend limits when they're getting this welfare is beyond me.
The governor also proposes selling the Coliseum and San Quentin prison. If you buy the latter, does the state deliver the prison empty, or do they throw the prisoners in as a perk?
.......wal-mart said profit was $3.02 billion, or 77 cents per share, in the first quarter ended April 30, compared $3.02 billion, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.........
"There are thousands of buildings and land parcels throughout California that represent billions of dollars of equity," the plan says. "California's current fiscal crisis has prompted new ways of thinking about how the state can unlock some of this value.""
Fire sale at the Temple of Mammon! Soon coming..Rent-A-Cop and Rent-A-Judge. USA is degrading faster and faster down to 3rd world or worse. Well, at least future argeologists will have tons of shit to dig out.
I think this will backfire on the governator. He's already got the votes of the 40% of people who don't pay taxes at all (if they get their fat, sorry asses off the couch to vote), but every tax payer i know is voting no on everything, and this will just infuriate them more.
If I had a homey in prison, I'd also vote no and bake a welcome home cake.
"The iron rod of death wacking you upside the head which created behaviors, proverbs, and cultures is absent in western society. A huge majority, at a gut level, never learned the screwing up has a price. "
YLSP (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/14/2009 - 7:21 am
I have a late-night treat. Been doing some browsing of the old Congressional Record online. Stumbled upon debate in the 101st Congress regarding raising of the debt ceiling from $3.1T to $3.5T. My general impression is that our Congress back then (1989-1990) were a whole lot more fiscally conservative. Now they don't even pretend.
Achieving even moderate (relative) fiscal restraint was a long slog through Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Concord Coalition, and Gringrich's Contract with America.
Something strange happened in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
timmyone (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/14/2009 - 12:03 pm
"There are thousands of buildings and land parcels throughout California that represent billions of dollars of equity," the plan says. "California's current fiscal crisis has prompted new ways of thinking about how the state can unlock some of this value.""
I see CA still follows the Soviet playbook (1990s Russia).
"The one bright spot was government hiring, with public payrolls soaring by 72,000 after the U.S. Census Bureau began hiring 140,000 temporary workers last month to produce the population count that comes once every 10 years. It will hire more than 1.4 million people to conduct the survey over the next year."
Probably doesn't count all the people needed to count the Census workers.
4 wk moving avg of new claims up 6000, key green shoot looks like it needs some watering since it is wilting, y/y change in PPI -3.7% lowest since 1950, not a lot of inflation yet
Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 9 totaled 637,000, which exceeded the 610,000 initial claims that were expected. Initial claims for the prior week were revised modestly higher to 605,000. Continuing claims climbed to 6.56 million, which is greater than the consensus estimate of 6.40 million continuing claims. The latest level of continuing claims marks a record high, which marks a serious impediment to consumer spending and economic growth. Meanwhile, last week's continuing claims reading was revised modestly higher to 6.36 million. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for April increased 0.3% month-over-month, but declined 3.7% year-over-year. That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline. Core PPI increased 0.1% month-over-month, and increased 3.4% year-over-year. Core PPI was spot on with expectations.
Don't understand why so many people don't see that homophobia is now tied to class resentments.
Gay activists in America are usually of the professional class, if not actually conspicuously wealthy. If gay activists would just tone down the flaunting of their class status markers, they might be able to make their points better to the blue-collar and blue-collar-origin voters.
(Never mind, of course, that there are plenty of blue-collar gay folks - they're just in hiding.)
Continuing jobless claims (drawn by workers collecting
benefits for more than one week) rose 202,000 in the week ended May 2 to
6.56M, continuing a streak of pressing to the highest level since the
government started keeping track in 1967.
"That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline.That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline."
Paulson Told Bankers to Take U.S. Taxpayer Aid or Be ‘Exposed’
Paulson Memo Warned Banks to Take Aid or Be ‘Exposed’ (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
Personally, I would have preferred the 'exposed' option...
I liked the X-Files Cancer Man better. Real life never lives up to expectations from fiction
O/T: World of sport
$1.1bn Dallas Cowboys stadium gives up on finding a sponsor, to be known as "Cowboys Stadium"
EvilHenryPaulson, that was a nod to Tanta - she always called him the "Tan Man"
From What Is "Subprime"?
"Exhibit A, our favorite Tan Man, whose transformation from “I got into this business to help poor brown people” in the 90s to “those brown people made me do it” is nothing short of nauseating."
And here is a Tanta quip:
"I've fought harder to log into Blogger this morning than Mr. Tan Man has to liquidate his shares."
That one seems relevant to the possible SEC charges!
best to all
cont.:
Towns--"Do you honestly believe that you can keep information on AIG from Congress?"
Liddy--"I can give you the broad brush strokes but not details..."
(Agreed to provide it to select members subject to confidentiality)
Beats the Mets' Shitifield.
"$1.1bn Dallas Cowboys stadium gives up on finding a sponsor, to be known as "Cowboys Stadium""
I'm sure they weren't depending on that revenue...
EvilHenryPaulson (profile) wrote on Wed, 5/13/2009 - 9:31 pm reply Ignore user
O/T: World of sport
$1.1bn Dallas Cowboys stadium gives up on finding a sponsor, to be known as "Cowboys Stadium"
Hardly off topic. Half the NBA teams are insolvent. Maybe a quarter of the MLB teams will be in trouble by the end of the season. Don't even bother with hockey.
I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up.
Strange vibes out there this week. I've been getting a lot of calls from random characters in my past in these last two days. People who I haven't spoken to for two years or more are calling me up to talk to me. It's to the point where my phone is ringing constantly in the evening - I don't have enough time to talk to all of these people and call them back. I'll be talking to one, and another will call and leave a message while I'm on the phone. I am not accustomed to receiving many calls outside my work, certainly not more than one a week. Something is definitely up.
On the plus side, I gave notice on Monday, and I'll be out of a job at the end of this month.
If I can see Mozilo do the perp walk I will begin to believe in justice again.
Liddy: all the way down to 1.5 trillion in exposure to trades.
This post from Zero Hedge is unreal - will be interesting to see the fallout.
Zero Hedge: FOIA Disclosure Busts Paulson, Geithner And Bair
hoopajoops, maybe all your friends are calling you because the word is out about your quitting, and they are curious and concerned.
paulson said that the government regulator could have required the banks to raise capital, which is technically true. But, the regulators couldn't have required government capital. Also, i'm not sure of my timeline, but were MER, MS, and GS banks during that meeting? If not, then they would have been subject to the prudential requirements.
Rob Dawg,
Hockey has a few exceptional problem franchises, and I don't want to thread jack because the history can become quite involved, but suffice it to say the league is in the best shape going forward
Hoopajoops LTD (homepage, profile) wrote on Wed, 5/13/2009 - 9:35 pm reply Ignore user
I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up.
You need to distinguish between a dream and precognition. 500 points (Dow) down from here is an eye blink.
A scapegoat in the private sector. I would like to see some "elected officials" do the perpwalk as well......Christopher Cox, Peolsi, Alan Greenspan to name a few.....
Why isn't Mozilo in jail in the first 100 days?
best of luck hoops, nice to see you around.
I still think that derivatives merely spread / propagate problems through the system. Our biggest problem was the housing bubble, and the biggest single factor was low downpayment requirements. Far from eliminating the problem, our government is nourishing it, through the FHA and tax credits etc. I have to conclude the derivative fix, whilst a good idea, is being executed as a way to distract us, and to prove to the gullible public that our politicians are "doing something". Strict old-fashioned minimums on downpayments, 20% or more for some homes, would do a lot more to fix the real underlying problems we have than almost any other action being taken. But I can guarantee it will never happen, because the real goal is to keep home prices as high as possible.
"On the plus side, I gave notice on Monday, and I'll be out of a job at the end of this month." -- Hoops
Nostalgia. I quit my job last year. Gave 'em two weeks notice and said sayonara. They tried hard to convince me to stay, however, and offered me a raise to boot. I ended up not leaving.
I dunno, maybe some would think I just didn't have the "hoops" to follow through.
the cali situation could be a trigger for a big down day.
i expect that the same kind of snowballing we have seen from short covering will occur to the downside if there is an 8% down day or perhaps three 4% or two 6% consecutive down days. there has been a very concerted effort to bring it down slowly. anything unexpected could sideswipe the market and derail the managed descent. the trading arm of the government knows where stops are set and will buy buy buy to avoid tripping them, however, they have a lot of balls in the air and the recently uncooperative bond market has been showing they are not all powerful.
Rob Dawg, Hoops, you do realize that too much anticipation of a market drop is just going to prolong the rally, right? Dow won't drop a stink-bomb until most people are expecting flowers and sunshine.
Mozillo is probably off in West Africa or Eastern Europe by now. Good luck getting him back.
from the consumer side, there was a housing bubble. The consumer purchased the house with a mortgage attached to it.
from the lender/investor side, there was a debt bubble. They purchased the debt with a mortgage attached to it.
Weather Helm
Sentiment is as high as it was in 2007. This decline will be slow and prolonged. see you in six months.
Basel most of that debt was tied to home mortgages. Most economic activity was tied to rising real estate values. Home prices are the key and until the fundamentals change down we go.
one disturbing stat i read here a few hours ago was that retail investors poured the more money into stock and bond mutual funds last week than they have since feb 2007.
a sad, and contrary indicator.
+1 heard the same thing do you have a link? Whatever you name is...
you can call me code otis
i just heard it from a screen name i recognized, no link yet.
2012, here's one
http://www.pionline.com/article/20090506/DAILYREG/905069977
PatientRenter - you are so right. If Obama was serious about fixing the root problem and making sure it never happens again, he would regulate the mortgage market. 20% down on everything. No exceptions.
But he continues to avoid making the hard choices.
I actually think what the Tan Man did, selling his shares in fully-disclosed transactions, is much more honorable than what the govt is currently doing with all its private, backdoor deals (AIG CDS settlements, etc). He filed SEC reports for all his sales, if you as a shareholder didn't like it, you could have sold too (or better yet, shorted).
Blaming Mozilo for this whole mess is like blaming CRA, or Barney Frank, or the Rating Agencies. They all played their part, but ultimately it was the American culture that is to blame. This senseless belief that "homeownership = American dream" is (or was) so ingrained into American culture that people would stop at nothing to get a house.
The only thing that changed in recent years, really, is technology allowed subprime and other toxic loans to be extended even farther throughout the system. You know how hard it would have been to service a $50B portfolio of Option ARMs in 1995, with the servicing systems available at the time?
"I had a dream last night that we'll be seeing a ~6.25% down day coming up."
Funny, I swear, I usually don't even think about the stock market at night, but I had a dream that the S&P hit 529. I remember that number clearly - 529. Spooky weird.
ghostfaceinvestah, I don't mean to freak you out, but in my dream it hit exactly 524.
hoops, what are you doing in the interim? i remember you were talking med school, but that's off the table?
"PatientRenter - you are so right. If Obama was serious about fixing the root problem and making sure it never happens again, he would regulate the mortgage market. 20% down on everything. No exceptions."
You mean, like other countries do?
or more accurately, in other countries banks usually hold mortgages on their balance sheets, and get govt coverage for the over 75s or 80s (sort of like non-securitized FHA).
I totally agree, as I have said earlier, we are never going to get out of this current mess unless and until we fix the mortgage finance system in our country.
As a start I would nationalize Fannie and Freddie, and merge them with the FHA. That would be a good start.
Then work on some covered bond type thing where Fannie/Freddie/FHA take "top cover" risk, or quota share risk, and the banks hold the mortgages on balance sheet and take remaining credit risk, funded by covered bonds (maybe purchased by the FHLBs or the Fed - BB is buying every mortgage originated anyway).
This whole messed up system of banks essentially acting as brokers, the GSEs buying, guaranteeing, pooling, and securitizing mortgages, buying some of their own MBS for their portfolio, selling most to the Fed, requiring banks to keep repurchase rights, involving a private MI industry to take over-80 risk, the MIs denying coverage on any claim with a hint of fraud, ... Totally ridiculous.
And as the govt is realizing, it is so impossible to pin down ownership of a mortgage, forget about doing modifications.
"ghostfaceinvestah, I don't mean to freak you out, but in my dream it hit exactly 524. "
Man, I will not sleep well tonight. I swear, no lie, the number was 529, I remember it clearly.
Maybe 524 is the intraday low. LOL!!!
ned davis research has this chart which asserts a possible impending value of 108 for the SPX based on 83.2 year average PE of 16.3 multiplied by their twelve month trailing earnings estimate of $6.66 for quarter ending 3-31-09.
http://comstockfunds.com/files/NLPP00000/414.pdf
one oh eight
Basel Too, I decided that medical school would be unwise at this point, because I anticipate a change to the current structure of medical education in the US (indentured debt servitude for all doctors, yay!) and I would be a sucker to get in before the 80% off sale subsidized by the government.
Right now, I'm getting classes in the basic sciences, with a mind towards doing agricultural sciences or perhaps other cellular level biological sciences.
I have no idea why this is the mental image I get when I think of Mozilo being charged
If he needs to earn some extra scratch it could work.
Oompa Loompa doompety doo
I've got a perfect mortgage for you
Oompa Loompa doompety dee
If you are wise you'll short CFC
more idiocy coming out of the White House.
Yahoo! 404 - Page Not Found
I have a better plan: let's just speed up foreclosures and get the problem over with as quickly as possible. Those moratoriums were an awful idea.
Code Otis
Thanks for the link walked away for a few minutes.
Ghostface Hoopajoops
I see 629 in my dreams. I don't know why. Never remember my dream
Actually I support that plan for more effecient short sales or deed in lieu. It gets the property on the market and that is all that matters. The sitting around waiting to foreclose is in nobodys best interest. Move the weak out and get the strong in. A plan to facilitate short sales and deed in lieu isn't a bad thing at all.
I also didn't note anywhere in the article where is said anything about a moratorium. I do agree those are a bad idea and do nothing to resolve the problem.
20 day SMA is 880 today. May get a short bounce off of that or not.
hoops.
good luck with that, i'm sure you'll do extremely well. interesting that i went the reverse route. got my degree in biochemistry and physics, then went legal.
Basel / Hoops - the grass is always greener...
Best to both of you
Basel have a safe trip
Damn Biochemistry/physics what did you originally want to do?
i did the whole pre-med route, but was always too interested in health policy, especially the economics.
Basel
I think you made the right choice. You're a big picture guy probably do more good fixing the system rather than patient by patient. Again safe trip & report back on RE OK
Tim out...
thanks, tim. later.
Blaming Mozilo for this whole mess is like blaming CRA, or Barney Frank, or the Rating Agencies.
No, we're just blaming him for his part in the mess, not the whole thing. Let's start with the easy ones first.
BTW- 524/529 is that the bottom,...or just a stop on the way lower? Inquiring minds want to know. Wish I had the guts to invest on someone else's dreams and hunches!
IF he's convicted and gets a real sentence then I'll believe....
-splat
Where in the world is Paul Krugman? Every recent article that mentions him refers to a "forum in Shanghai" or "conference in Shanghai." There is indeed a conference going on over there (just finished). Interesting lineup of attendees:
Shanghai Forum
Reuben Jeffrey, a Yalie, just like James Kwak over at Baseline Scenario. Goldman Sachs, of course, London & Paris offices, and the State Department. Chairman of the Commidity Futures Trading Commission.
Reuben Jeffery III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This fellow teaches at Berkeley and is particularly interested in: " the integration of real estate, mortgage and financial markets; urban labor markets; housing; spatial economics; and local public finance." Hmmm.....
John M. Quigley
And finally, the only other westerner with a western name in the list "Johannes Pflug," who is from the Council of Europe.
I have a late-night treat. Been doing some browsing of the old Congressional Record online. Stumbled upon debate in the 101st Congress regarding raising of the debt ceiling from $3.1T to $3.5T. My general impression is that our Congress back then (1989-1990) were a whole lot more fiscally conservative. Now they don't even pretend.
Here is a speech given by SC Representative Tallon, entitled "The Big Picture" on April 26, 1989.
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk today about foreign and defense policy and what impact they have on our Federal budget deficits. First, the very big picture: The cold war is over, suggest many economists, and we have won. But what has this got to do with our money?
Everything. If true it means, for starters, that we may be able to shrink the deficit without big tax hikes. It means the 1987 stock market crash may not have signaled a looming economic collapse. It means both sides can shift military resources to more productive
things.
After all, the goal of the Reagan military buildup wasn't to become so strong that we could take over the world. The Japanese--in part because they don't
spend much on the military--are already taking over the world. Rather, it was to become strong enough to make the Soviets see the futility of the competition
and then, from that position of strength, to negotiate meaningful reductions. Say what you will about Ronald Reagan's budget deficits, the strategy seems to
have worked.
Freer markets and greater personal incentives are busting out all over--in Russia--perestroika; in China--the Chinese are launching a stock market; in the
historic United States-Canada Free Trade pact; in Europe's move toward economic unification; in lower personal income-tax rates--most recently in Japan.
Free trade and low tax rates are the stuff of economic growth. Combined with today's awesome pace of technological progress, they add up to what could be a
very bright future.
Of course there are a few problems: the greenhouse effect, melting icecaps that may sink my coastal congressional district, drugs and crime, debt piled upon
debt, terrorism; the prospect that some crazed 14-year-old with an Apple II GS might wipe out a million bank accounts. As always, there is lots to lose sleep
over. As always, we are dancing across the high wire. But we have made some encouraging progress.
Now for the pretty big picture.
For years, we've been consuming more than we've been producing. Given the first law of economics--that there's no free lunch--you have to wonder how
we've pulled this off. We've done it by saving next to nothing, which imperils our future, and by going deep into hock, which imperils it further. We've been
importing VCR's and, to pay for them, selling real estate and major corporations. After 5 or 10 years, when the VCR's break down, we won't get the buildings
or businesses back. We'll just have to sell others.
We've been saying that it's better to borrow the money to buy a $45,000 German car than to buy a $12,000 American car and invest the remaining $33,000
in our future.
Sooner or later, to get things back in balance, America will have to consume less and/or produce more. Consuming less won't necessarily lead to recession, as
it might have in the old days. With the dollar so low, and with the Japanese and others so flush, we'll be busily employed making things for them. Until we do
consumer less or produce more, our wealth and competitive strength will just continue to drain off, like a big swimming pool with a slow leak.
How will America ever balance its budget? Continued economic growth, combined with modest revenue enhancement, modest cuts in the $300 billion defense
budget, would head us in the right direction.
As for all those suddenly unemployed military men and women, redeploying 100,000 of them to civilian duty as high school teachers might help to get our
toughest inner-city kids off crack and onto reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Actually, it's not necessary to try to wipe out the deficit entirely--at least not right away. The trick is to keep it trending down and keep the economy growing.
Right now, our $2.5 trillion national debt equals 50 percent of our $5 trillion gross national product. At the end of World War II, our deficit was 127 percent of
the GNP. If the economy should continue to expand at 7 percent a year, through real growth and inflation, it would reach $10 trillion in 1999. If, over that
same decade, we ran annual $100 billion deficits, the total debt would have grown to $3.5 trillion--but it would have shrunk to just 35 percent of the GNP.
Maybe with a little common sacrifice and common sense we can get our fiscal house in order.
Think he was a member of the GOP? Guess again...
Another treat... this one is more funny on who is quoted, but also spot on.
America on Sale for Half Price - House of Representatives, October 18, 1989
Mr. Speaker, we are once again treated to a good deal of hand-wringing in this morning's papers following yesterday's release of the merchandise
trade figures for August. Our trade defict surged to the largest deficit of any 1 month this year and for the second month in row U.S. exports have dropped.
The numbers appear to signal that the easy improvements in the trade deficit have been made and that perhaps our export drive has run out of steam.
Equally expected was the hue and cry from some corners that we need to reduce the value of the dollar if we are to make any substantial progress toward
driving this deficit down. My colleagues, be aware, this is a wrong-headed and dangerous strategy. Dollar devaluation is no panacea to our trade and
competitiveness problems.
And for those who need persuading, I would call their attention to the words of Bear Stearns' chief economist Lawrence Kudlow who was quoted recently as
stating that, `were it true that a weak currency paves the way for trade surpluses, then presumably Argentina would be the center of today's global economy.'
The drop in the dollar over the past few years has already put America on sale for half-price. The solution to continuing and staggering deficits is not a further
discount on our already low prices. The solution is for this Nation to make itself a trading nation--we are not that today.
Mr. Speaker, we should be about the business of becoming a trade nation in the future. We must emphasize exports.
- Tom Ridge!
every time i hear about the banks having to accept these billions... I don't buy it. seems just a ploy to get the heat off the banks. ever since that Frontline documentary about the first TARP... like a weak attempt to direct the public bailout rage away from banks and towards an ex secretary of treasury that will never ever be indicted for anything.
Rep Danneymeyer, July 30, 1990
Mr. Speaker, the public debt outstanding as of June 30, 1990, was $3.144 trillion, an increase of $344 billion in one year. This is the true
measure of the budget deficit, not the phony figures which use trust fund surpluses to offset general fund losses.
At an average rate of 8.5 percent, we are paying about $265 billion in interest on this debt this year. We are blessed with a budget summit which is nothing
more than a sound room in which it is hoped the decibel level can be ascertained as to the tolerability of tax increases by a howling public.
We are confronted by pronouncements that we will face a sequester in the range of $100 billion--though even that amount may be too low. Some wily
protectors of the status quo have even hoodwinked the President into opening the door on taxes. And, of course, one body of thought in this body would love
to take the entire amount out of defense, rendering us helpless in the world in the process.
We go through this charade every year. And every year we hear the same excuse: We will do something meaningful next year. Well, this is next year and we
still are not taking productive steps to halt the hemorrhaging of our national finances. Let's tackle the issue of the $265 billion we are throwing away on
interest payments instead of stealing more money from the taxpayers of this Nation. We have a golden opportunity to once again convert the dollar to gold
and reduce interest rates for all of us. Vote down this cowardly cop-out and, instead, really do something about the deficit.
I will submit one more transmission from Congress' past... a real doozy...
Reading through some of the Savings and Loan debates back then... came across this great discussion (yes, it's a bit edited)
Moreover, it was during the Carter administration when deposit insurance and the contingent liability to the American taxpayers was raised from
$40,000 to $100,000 per account. This historically significant and particularly damaging rise in Federal deposit insurance agreed to and raised in the
dead of the night without congressional hearings opened the doors of savings and loans to fast and loose money brokers, rogues, and just outright
swindlers.
Raising the deposit insured to this limit allowed high flyers to gamble with $100,000 blocks of federally insurance funds, which resulted in a slogan
which would epitomize the looting of the thrift industry, and that slogan was, `Heads I win, tails the FSLIC, the Savings and Loan Insurance
Corporation, loses.'
...
History Rhymes, no?
Out of 3,741 thrifts in existence in 1981, 110 had already been declared insolvent. By the end of 1982, that number had increased by a factor of four
to 415 institutions insolvent. According to some estimates at that time, two-thirds of the savings and loan industry was either insolvent, at a dangerously low net worth, and facing
imminemt insolvency. According to the Office of Thrift Supervision, nearly all thrifts were losing money in 1982. The net income of the savings and loan industry dropped from a positive $3.6 billion in 1979 to a negative $4.6 billion in 1981.
Some may ask why is it important to attempt to save the thrift industry? Why, what action was taken by the Congress during the early 1980's to do
just that? And the answer is very simple. In the early 1980's the savings and loan industry was an important contributor to the American economy
and to communities and to families as well. In fact, savings and loans were the only financial institutions specifically chartered with the intent of
providing first-time homebuyers with the financial wherewithal to realize the American dream and purchase their own home
...
Mr. HILER. Could the gentleman tell me what shape was FSLIC in, the insurance corporation itself, at that point?
Mr. PARRIS. If memory serves, at that time Mr. Gray, who was the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which administers, or is the
Agency that administers all of this, testified before the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs that at that time there was about $3.3 billion
unobligated in the insurance fund insuring 1 trillion dollars' worth of assets.
What's funny about all those guys back then:
a) There was considerable outrage when the FDIC insurance limit was raised. I don't think there was much opposition today.
b) Fretting over $264B in interest payments...
c) Was there a time when an American car cost was 1/4th that of a German car? Now that would be value that makes sense...
And holy cow... the honesty!
Many of us who were concerned about the waste in the defense budget, concerned about weapons that did not work despite the fact that large amounts of money were invested in those weapons; we were concerned about having too many weapons. Although we recognized the need for an adequate defense, we knew we were paying too much. But even at the worst when you had a Sergeant York gun, a gun in which the American voters were forced to invest tremendous amounts of money to develop, when you had a conclusion reached that that gun was no longer of any use, at least you had a pile of scrap metal that could be melted down and put to some purpose. The S&L's give us nothing, absolutely nothing to show for the billions of dollars that have gone down the drain. But since they are guaranteed by the American taxpayers, we now have to fill up that great hole.
mozilo .... like madoff... will be sentenced to the cayman islands corporate prison. they only get a two bedroom though. no penthouse loft for either of them!
More... sorry... damn interesting...
Nearly 200 Members of Congress sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting, demanding more vigorous prosecution of those who have abused the power and stolen the taxpayers' money in the savings and loan association. One of the great problems has been a refusal to prosecute vigorously. One of the great problems has been an Attorney General who seems to have no backbone for dealing with this massive white-collar crime. The Attorney General talks as if it is too big, too complicated. Crime does pay in this case. If the crime is complicated enough, it takes large numbers of bookkeepers and accountants and analysts to unravel the crime, they can go ahead, be a criminal, and get away with it. It is too complicated. Some have made statements that the banks are too big to allow to fail, and we have no choice but to take care of their dirt and clean it up. I do not know in any laws in the United States, is the Federal Government, the Justice Department, the FBI, let off the hook and told that it is quite all right not to deal with crime when it becomes too complicated or too big.
Last night's marathon on crime was conducted by a number of Members of Congress who pride themselves on being great conservatives. What I have not been able to understand is the silence in this Congress of the conservatives. The conservatives have always insisted that Government should stay out of the private industry, and private industry is private to Government when it comes to management, specifically business matters. In business matters there is no place for Government. Yet we have a massive intervention, a massive intervention by the Federal Government into the banking business, the savings and loan associaton cleanup by the Federal Government has led to the Government not only guaranteeing deposits, we are now the owners of large amounts of assets, land, paintings, silver and gold, jewelry. All kinds of things that have been purchased by the bank are now being managed under the control of the Federal Government. We are in the banking business. We have socialized banking through the back door. Socialism has been introduced into this economy. Massive amounts of Government money and effort go into the managing of these failed savings and loan associations, and there is a rumor that soon it will go beyond the savings and loan association, and the commercial banks as well in large numbers--some very large banks are on the verge of collapse.
In Savings & Loan 2.0 all we got are these worthless bits and pieces of paper called MBS's!
I've been offline for several days and just perused several posts. From the BKUNA post on Tuesday:
"...insufficient complement of personnel with a level of accounting knowledge, experience and training in the application of generally accepted accounting principles..."
Taking us to new lows in fiduciary malfeasance: a bank that can't produce financial reports because its employees don't know the basic principles of accounting.
"Strange vibes out there this week. I've been getting a lot of calls from random characters in my past in these last two days. People who I haven't spoken to for two years or more are calling me up to talk to me."
Getting a couple phone calls in before they ask for money. I can't remember if I read it here or on Mish's blog but someone said "in tough times it's not the market that will make you broke, it's your family and friends."
Getting a couple phone calls in before they ask for money.
I've often thought winning the lottery would be a colossal pain in the ass because all my deadbeat relatives would start turning up.
Hoops I haven't had a law job for 12 years. I don't miss it, but I don't regret my education and experience. Can't see going back, since I don't expect a call about the Supreme Court job..
patientrenter (profile) wrote on Wed, 5/13/2009 - 10:11 pm
*
I still think that derivatives merely spread / propagate problems through the system.
Then you're not really thinking at all.
Yes the taxpayer pays AIG a few hundred billion. AIG pays banks a few hundred billion. Just spreading the wealth...
hoopajoops writes: "ghostfaceinvestah, I don't mean to freak you out, but in my dream it hit exactly 524"
That won't be the bottom. Dream on fellows, I'm sticking with 145.
Spreading and propagating, if you're referring to risk, mean almost opposite things.
i currency now-yogi writes: "...I haven't had a law job for 12 years."
I had to read this more than once, eyes playing tricks.
I have become an unofficial economist, as people ask me that I am doing. I say as little as possible, and only when asked directly..I'm in cash, and have a small short position, to pay some billls. Other than that, they can't handle the truth. Most are wainting for a second half recovery, and then everything is green for them. We shall see..
I have had other jobs, have no fear.
Gubmint cheese, thanks for the zerohedge link. Absolutely stunning; words cannot describe the outrage I feel.
This seems like clear evidence Hank used Nixonian tactics to strong arm the banks into taking TARP money. Since taking the money implies ceding control of publicly held corporations to the government, we may have illegal takings here under some part of the constitution. Threatening private citizens with regulatory action is not very different from Nixon's threatening to use the IRS on his enemies, or Hillary for that matter.
Looks like my insane rants to Congress calling for impeachment weren't so far off the mark. Somebody in Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Paulson, Geithner and maybe Bair as well.
C-SPAN Video Player - House Oversight and Government Reform Cmte. Hearing on AIG
Liddy hearing. At 2:04 Rep. Turner asks if anyone questioned whether there was fraud in the underlying loans pooled into the MBS which AIG insured.
Liddy said they relied on AAA rating. So why don't they fucking sue the raters? When there's a life insurance claim you can bet they comb the application for all manner of fraud.
Leftys Liquors Lubricants and Tarp and Bank: Been talking to an insurance man. His specialty is and always has been selling annuities to seniors. We talked a couple years ago about where things were going and what I was doing with what little I have. He was rolling big time. Now he owns no less than four Florida condos, one an ocean view one bedder that he's in at close to 1,000,000. He fondly recalls the realtor lady pointing at the window and saying, "That's what you're paying for."
I asked if he would walk. He said, I'm trying not to.
He complained bitterly about association fees skyrocketing with special assessments, etc. I suggested he hadn't seen anything yet, wait til the association goes BK and the new guys really sock it to you. The look on his face that started deep within his eyes was priceless.
I told him to close his mouth and handed him a napkin. Poor guy.
He suffers.
It dawned on me this morning that most people I know have the same world view as my 17 year old daughter. She understands there are problems in the world; she worries about her future sometimes; yet she it has not changed her behavior as far as spending my money.
Why? I think for many white people from a working class or above background any real material loss has always been taken care of by a bandaid from someone. It is hard to starve or freeze to death in this country. The iron rod of death wacking you upside the head which created behaviors, proverbs, and cultures is absent in western society.
A huge majority, at a gut level, never learned the screwing up has a price.
"I have had other jobs, have no fear."
By men, women or both?
central scrutinizer writes: "This seems like clear evidence Hank used Nixonian tactics to strong arm the banks into taking TARP money. Since taking the money implies ceding control of publicly held corporations to the government, we may have illegal takings here under some part of the constitution. Threatening private citizens with regulatory action is not very different from Nixon's threatening to use the IRS on his enemies, or Hillary for that matter.
Looks like my insane rants to Congress calling for impeachment weren't so far off the mark. Somebody in Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Paulson, Geithner and maybe Bair as well."
It's a real insult to Nixon to engage his name as metaphor. Besides, as long as they have hollow little powerless spews like yours, they have nothing--nothing whatsoever--to fear.
It's like I have said before, you peoproles have no idea what's required to get the change you say you want. No idea at all. And, I don't think you or any of you other paper tigers have what it takes.
Rant on to your congresspeople. How's that going? Get mad, wave your arms, raise your voice, invoke expletives, it looks pathetic. It is pathetic.
broward: just because you live in Seattle is no reason to demonstrate your tolerance for the rainbow.
teabags for everybody, that'll show the fuckers
" she it has not changed her behavior as far as spending my money. "
Neither have you, evidently. Time to take away the punch. Nothing beats spending self-earned money. 17 year-olds don't need to spend too much to enjoy life.
"your tolerance for the rainbow."
It's not an issue of tolerance but of energy.
It always seemed like so much work to hate somebody for being gay.
Or for being a democrat.
Seattle is dark and depressing.
Grimy and green.
It grows on you.
Usually as a mold at first.
Women, not that there's anything wrong with...as we lib's are quick to add.
Thought you were in Idaho.
Remember when I said Califonia was preparing to punish residents for refusing to vote more taxes? Arnold will hold a conference today proposing to sell the Del Mar (San Diego), Orange and Ventura County Fairgrounds. The State has also formally applied for TARP funds.
"a) There was considerable outrage when the FDIC insurance limit was raised.[in 1980]I don't think there was much opposition today."
Although the percentage change of the raises was the same, 250%, short term interest rates went to 15% in 1980. Seems like in 1980 the raise was more likely to protect depositors. This time clearly to protect the banks. Either way it's a gift to banks, and how they can complain about compensation and dividend limits when they're getting this welfare is beyond me.
The governor also proposes selling the Coliseum and San Quentin prison. If you buy the latter, does the state deliver the prison empty, or do they throw the prisoners in as a perk?
Gov. proposes selling L.A. Coliseum, other properties to raise cash - Los Angeles Times
Can he sell land without legislative/referendum approval?
Maybe he's thinking of relocating the prisoners several feet under the Coliseum.
.......wal-mart said profit was $3.02 billion, or 77 cents per share, in the first quarter ended April 30, compared $3.02 billion, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.........
Wal-Mart posts flat net, forecasts in-line results
| Reuters
Scratch your head over this:
Headline: "Riverside man allegedly booby-traps foreclosed home"
Article: " four counts of assembling or possessing a facsimile explosive, officials said."
If fake bombs are illegal, is every toy store and every 10-year-old boy a criminal?
Riverside man allegedly booby-traps foreclosed home | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
"The Ronald Reagan building in downtown Los Angeles is on a list of such sites in the proposal,"
Now that would be delicious. Sell his name back to his big business handlers. Better get cash, Ahhnold.
Dig a little deeper America. California needs $21.3 billion. It's okay, with this years cuts we now spend less on University than we do prisons.
University is (debt) prison without bars for the middle class.
"There are thousands of buildings and land parcels throughout California that represent billions of dollars of equity," the plan says. "California's current fiscal crisis has prompted new ways of thinking about how the state can unlock some of this value.""
Fire sale at the Temple of Mammon! Soon coming..Rent-A-Cop and Rent-A-Judge. USA is degrading faster and faster down to 3rd world or worse. Well, at least future argeologists will have tons of shit to dig out.
Does anyone know if "Conjure" will be at the Bilderberg Group meeting today in Athens?
I think this will backfire on the governator. He's already got the votes of the 40% of people who don't pay taxes at all (if they get their fat, sorry asses off the couch to vote), but every tax payer i know is voting no on everything, and this will just infuriate them more.
If I had a homey in prison, I'd also vote no and bake a welcome home cake.
"The iron rod of death wacking you upside the head which created behaviors, proverbs, and cultures is absent in western society. A huge majority, at a gut level, never learned the screwing up has a price. "
Don't you worry, they have awakened The Kraken.
Tax Credit as Mortgage Down Payment Now Official Federal Government Policy
ForexHound.com the Forex Trading Portal: Tax Credit as Mortgage Down Payment Now Official Federal Government Policy
YLSP (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/14/2009 - 7:21 am
I have a late-night treat. Been doing some browsing of the old Congressional Record online. Stumbled upon debate in the 101st Congress regarding raising of the debt ceiling from $3.1T to $3.5T. My general impression is that our Congress back then (1989-1990) were a whole lot more fiscally conservative. Now they don't even pretend.
Achieving even moderate (relative) fiscal restraint was a long slog through Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Concord Coalition, and Gringrich's Contract with America.
Something strange happened in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
Dick Cheney says deficits don't matter.
Okay, CR has his finger poised over the post button. Place your bets. 585k. Very low.
timmyone (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/14/2009 - 12:03 pm
"There are thousands of buildings and land parcels throughout California that represent billions of dollars of equity," the plan says. "California's current fiscal crisis has prompted new ways of thinking about how the state can unlock some of this value.""
I see CA still follows the Soviet playbook (1990s Russia).
Why does no one ever mention Mexico? They have oil, and probably also remember the Alamo.
Think Chrysler: 700k.
Think Class of 2009: 750k
"The one bright spot was government hiring, with public payrolls soaring by 72,000 after the U.S. Census Bureau began hiring 140,000 temporary workers last month to produce the population count that comes once every 10 years. It will hire more than 1.4 million people to conduct the survey over the next year."
Probably doesn't count all the people needed to count the Census workers.
610k
A huge majority, at a gut level, never learned the screwing up has a price.
Participation trophies don't help either...
4 wk moving avg of new claims up 6000, key green shoot looks like it needs some watering since it is wilting, y/y change in PPI -3.7% lowest since 1950, not a lot of inflation yet
U.S. weekly jobless claims up 32,000 to 637,000
8:32am
U.S. April PPI up 0.3% as expected
8:32am
What do I win?
Start the pool on revised:
665
1 currency now -yogi (profile) wrote on Thu, 5/14/2009 - 12:29 pm
Probably doesn't count all the people needed to count the Census workers.
Think of all the people they hire to count the people who count the people who count the people.
Can you feel the prosperity?
PPI: Actual 0.3%, consensus 0.1%, prior -1.2%
Core PPI: Actual 0.1%, consensus 0.1%, prior 0.0%
Initial jobless claims: Actual 637K, consensus 610K, prior 605 (revised from 601K)
Briefing.com: Bond Market Update
Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 9 totaled 637,000, which exceeded the 610,000 initial claims that were expected. Initial claims for the prior week were revised modestly higher to 605,000. Continuing claims climbed to 6.56 million, which is greater than the consensus estimate of 6.40 million continuing claims. The latest level of continuing claims marks a record high, which marks a serious impediment to consumer spending and economic growth. Meanwhile, last week's continuing claims reading was revised modestly higher to 6.36 million. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for April increased 0.3% month-over-month, but declined 3.7% year-over-year. That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline. Core PPI increased 0.1% month-over-month, and increased 3.4% year-over-year. Core PPI was spot on with expectations.
Briefing.com: Stock Market Update
Don't understand why so many people don't see that homophobia is now tied to class resentments.
Gay activists in America are usually of the professional class, if not actually conspicuously wealthy. If gay activists would just tone down the flaunting of their class status markers, they might be able to make their points better to the blue-collar and blue-collar-origin voters.
(Never mind, of course, that there are plenty of blue-collar gay folks - they're just in hiding.)
Continuing jobless claims (drawn by workers collecting
benefits for more than one week) rose 202,000 in the week ended May 2 to
6.56M, continuing a streak of pressing to the highest level since the
government started keeping track in 1967.
Mal WTF are you on this morning?...take the Gay shit else where no one care especially me.
And for the record you sound a little repressed yourself.
"That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline.That was essentially in step with expectations since the consensus called for a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 3.7% year-over-year decline."
Someone missed a beat.
Looking at the markets simplistically, every index has broken a multimonth trendline.
I lost all my energy positions to trailing stops the last two days.
Some foreign golds are the best charts I see on the long side, but I'm only really interested in one of those (BVN, already have it on).
A couple of bad days from now, could get a primo entry short TLT around that 100 resistance.
Another benefit of outsourcing!