I have a feeling Bernenke was just clueless about this. But if the Fed loses credibility on the credit worthiness of the debt they've taken on, bond yields could really take off. I hope they see this as a caution.
If the Fed. Reserve is on the hook as the senior creditor, as per the gov't-imposed, I mean endorsed, bankruptcy precedence with Chrysler and GM, then they're screwed, and the employees and junior equity partners become priority recipients, right?
"The hotel chain is now valued at $3.3 billion, according to its filing. That figure isn't even 60% of the buyout price and even lower than the amount of the first mortgage, $4.1 billion."
I suppose it's technically true, but $3.3 billion also isn't even 50% of the buyout price. Or 45%. Or 42%.
Who would pay $3.3 billion to buy a scattered, overpriced hotel chain that owes money on its light bill and probably its taxes and employee benefits, that has fired its maintenance staff, and is letting some of its buildings just go to weeds?
There are probably a few primo Extended Stay hotels worth a few million each. But nobody would want the whole thing at that price, in this market, except maybe Ben.
Add to the auto companies and hotel chain - they already have a railroad (Amtrack) all they need is an airline to round things out. And a rental car chain to sell all those cars to. And an amusement park. 6 Flags anyone?
Technical analyst Robert Prechter on Monday said he sees the United States losing its top AAA credit rating by the end of 2010, as he stuck by a deeply bearish outlook on the U.S. economy and stock market.
@Spaceman - funny you should mention the car rental thing. I was thinking that might be what Penske had in mind for Saturn to go side-by-side with their truck rentals.
I don't think they had any idea that the gold they collected from the crazy-eyes in the desert would turn to dust the next day.
And in the heat shimmer, they stared each way along the road, wondering which wrong turn had taken them there. In the distance the wind and the whip-o-wills seemed to be softly keening on the baked air ... "hoooocoodanoooode..."
"Many investors thought that Extended Stay wouldn't be able to file for bankruptcy because of a "bad boy" provision in the CMBS structure. According to the loan documents, Mr. Lichtenstein would become liable personally for $100 million if Extended Stay filed for Chapter 11 protection. But Mr. Lichtenstein reached a deal with secured lenders who have been negotiating a restructuring plan. Under that deal, lenders agreed to indemnify him as much as $100 million in exchange for him supporting the plan that would put the lenders in control of the hotel chain."
You don't think the secured lenders that are kind enough to indemnify Mr. Lichtenstein have CDSs on Extended Stay debt do you? And you don't think those CDSs would in any way be backed by the Fed, right?
The Bill is S604 ...
Here is the CSPAN Fed Representative Lookup by Zip Code ...
Put your Zip Code in their and it will give you your House and Senate Members ... C-SPAN | Capitol Hill, The White House and National Politics
Audit the Fed
Yes on S604 !
CR, I think you're right, they got it backwards. Too bad. Losing 60% is much worse than having 60% left. Especially, in this case, if you're a secured creditor.
TARP, the Penske thing makes no sense to me on any level. They are going to pay for the name, a factory, and current designs and engineering, and then import cars from Asia and brand them under Saturn?
I was thinking more along the lines of who other than the govt will buy GM and C cars unless a rental car bk takeover and subsequent ownership by said govt.
And let's not forget to add an insurance company in the mix. Since the govt owns AIG, they can insure the whole kit-n-kaboodle.
This should be a fun case in BK court. Does the gov't support taxpayers on the hook for whatever losses, or the 10,000 tax-paying employees who would likely, in a normal BK, get nothing.
What good would it do? Spend millions to tell us what we already know? Waste, mismanagement, misrepresentation (read "fraud"), corruption, cronyism, nepotism, yada yada...
I don't want to throw any more money down that hole.
"What good would it do? Spend millions to tell us what we already know? Waste, mismanagement, misrepresentation (read "fraud"), corruption, cronyism, nepotism, yada yada...
I don't want to throw any more money down that hole."
@Spaceman - the whole auto deal is going to pile up with unintended consequences. With all of these rebates and cash for clunkers, I haven't heard or seen any reports on what impact that will have on the 'nearly-new' used car re-sale business, or devaluing of newer cars in general. Who's going to buy a used C or GM if the courts validate that the new companies won't be responsible for warrantees, defects, etc. on cars made pre-BK? The gov't really has no clue where they've taken this.
When asked if bankers care about anything other than compensation, Mr. Geithner said, "That is a very interesting question. I'm not going to answer that question. I think it is hard to judge motivation on these things."
Did I hear today that the new Chrysler's first plant start-up is to make Vipers? First, that's oddly appropriate, and second, was that a part of the bailout? Free Vipers for senior gov't and banksters?
The next announcement is more "Buying".....the buy side is the enemy, including dollar denominated bonds...
perhaps its time to issue Yen denominated US bonds....that'll put a wrinkle in it. could be better than the man-made pandemic story, or the forged bonds...throw the tinfoil on,
. it came from outer space virtual holiday.........
pheww, just needed to get that out of my system.....
A sit-con set in the nation's capital. Each week you can follow the adventures of Beaver Geithner and the various Eddie Haskels that come with the territory.
Feckless - had seen that before. Probably won't work any better here, though my guess would be mostly because of insurance rate increases from old to new car. Heard comments about the clunkers needing to be licensed and insured for at least the past year too, though if that doesn't have to be licensed and insured by you, that could open up a new market scam between new car buyers and clunker sellers...
great movie. great soundtrack. i used to have a soundtrack cd in my car. you blast that when you are going somewhere and you are REALLY going somewhere
well, you do check your own bank, brokerage account, 401K, etc statements. When it comes to FED apparently they do not. We need transparency to make sure
1) assets are there
2) assets are what they supposed to be
3) FED does not exhibit preferential treatment to buying assets of company A to company B, because a guy A related to etc (fat chance...)
you can account for most of these bonds. many owned by public cos. the bear stuff was largely subordinate paper. so worth zero based on your/wsj's numbers.
"mmckinl: I don't get it, what good would that do?"
as per Comrade de Chaos
well, you do check your own bank, brokerage account, 401K, etc statements. When it comes to FED apparently they do not. We need transparency to make sure
1) assets are there
2) assets are what they supposed to be
3) FED does not exhibit preferential treatment to buying assets of company A to company B, because a guy A related to etc (fat chance...)
as per me
Account for the $9 TRILLION, as in dollars, they couldn't seem to account for ...
Next year is the quincentennial of the word "California" coming in to being. It was coined by a Spanish novelist that mostly got it right.
excerpt:
Know that on the right hand from the Indies exists an island called California very close to a side of the Earthly Paradise; and it was populated by black women, without any man existing there, because they lived in the way of the Amazons. They had beautiful and robust bodies, and were brave and very strong. Their island was the strongest of the World, with its cliffs and rocky shores. Their weapons were golden and so were the harnesses of the wild beasts that they were accustomed to domesticate and ride, because there was no other metal in the island than gold.
Thought about y'all several times over the past several days.
Enroute to Dulles International late Saturday night, was able to see all the lit see-through buildings on the Dulles Access Road. Quite notable to see all of the lit bulbs and no walls throughout.
Staying here at Orlando, passed by a deserted, weed-overgrown six story hotel slated to open Spring 2009 and obvious that it'll never see the opening. Also noted several closed restaurants in the area.
For tourist season here, found that the parking lots at Animal Kingdom and EPCOT aren't as full as I'd expect. At noon today, Disney AK had probably only half of the lot full. Appears to be lots of people inside, but the lot ain't as full as I'd expect.
Here on a timeshare promo plan and am gearing for my two hour "no" recital. Have a one-bedroom condo at Hilton for about $59/night and probably wouldn't be here otherwise.
This is beyond description! You do know that BlackRock, "which the Fed has hired to manage the collateral", are a division of Blackstone, who got the $8 billion dollars initially. They seem to have made out well on both ends.
Bear was effectively the dumping ground for Blackstone's debt deals. Bear took on way too much exposure for the size of their firm to service Blackstone - obviously an important client. ESA was sold by BX so they wanted it financed to the max so they could max sale price. others deals were buys. whatever bear couldnt sell ended up on their b/s and then the fed's/
Homedad: I've thought same driving along Dulles access or Rte 28. Have wanted to take some pictures of some of those empty Class A's, some for more than a year down
in Chantilly
Used to drive that road periodically when we lived outside of DC about a decade ago and was always noting the construction. Then saw the WaPo article about it and read about it here and was curious. Now I really get to see the effect of all of the overbuild.
Mebbe I can talk the wife into driving past that hotel again so I can stop and take a photo for the site.
"“entirely investment grade, entirely current and performing.”
Don't worry. It is all reated AAA.
Is AAA an abbrevaition of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
Is AAA an abbrevaition of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
Hey, I was only joking in an earlier thread about the gov't owning that debt!
Bernanke lost money like he said he wouldn't... ummmm, I'm gonna tell...
Borrowing 93% of the purchase price of a hotel chain in 2007...Simply unbelievable that this ended up in bankruptcy.
Great post, CR.
I have a feeling Bernenke was just clueless about this. But if the Fed loses credibility on the credit worthiness of the debt they've taken on, bond yields could really take off. I hope they see this as a caution.
Well, the gov't probably should have a hotel chain to go with the auto companies. They can give the Fiat managers a discount when they're over here.
tom, if that's the case then i'm AAA now. we really are all AAA now!
@Bob - it's a green shoot. It has to be.. doesn't it?
Old Mezzanine: Theatre Balcony
New Mezzanine: Debt Theatre
What is real right now, newswise?
I feel I'm in surreal-land and no one is helping me come back from that trip Counterpointer sent me on with the Dead Man video/song.
The canoe trip - it's a funeral service in Native American tradition, is it not?
Capitalist comes calling and the natives smoke him out.
Has it come to that?
If the Fed. Reserve is on the hook as the senior creditor, as per the gov't-imposed, I mean endorsed, bankruptcy precedence with Chrysler and GM, then they're screwed, and the employees and junior equity partners become priority recipients, right?
Am I reading something wrong in this sentance?
"The hotel chain is now valued at $3.3 billion, according to its filing. That figure isn't even 60% of the buyout price and even lower than the amount of the first mortgage, $4.1 billion."
I suppose it's technically true, but $3.3 billion also isn't even 50% of the buyout price. Or 45%. Or 42%.
Read to the end of the WSJ story.
Who would pay $3.3 billion to buy a scattered, overpriced hotel chain that owes money on its light bill and probably its taxes and employee benefits, that has fired its maintenance staff, and is letting some of its buildings just go to weeds?
There are probably a few primo Extended Stay hotels worth a few million each. But nobody would want the whole thing at that price, in this market, except maybe Ben.
Exactly why we need to audit the Fed ....
The House passed their bill ...
Time to put pressure on the Senate ...
The Bill is S604 ...
Here is the CSPAN Fed Representative Lookup by Zip Code ...
Put your Zip Code in their and it will give you your House and Senate Members ...
C-SPAN | Capitol Hill, The White House and National Politics
Audit the Fed
Yes on S604 !
What is real right now, newswise?
some sports team won some trophy or something. doesn't that make you happy?
Add to the auto companies and hotel chain - they already have a railroad (Amtrack) all they need is an airline to round things out. And a rental car chain to sell all those cars to. And an amusement park. 6 Flags anyone?
U.S. likely to lose AAA rating: Prechter
http://www.reuters.com/article/InvestmentOutlook09/idUSTRE55E6BM20090615
Technical analyst Robert Prechter on Monday said he sees the United States losing its top AAA credit rating by the end of 2010, as he stuck by a deeply bearish outlook on the U.S. economy and stock market.
On the MSM, everybody is huffin and puffin about "how long will this dollar rally last?"
Dollar rally??
There's no dollar rally. There's just manipulation, smoke and mirrors.
The dollar rally won't last 15 minutes.
I have made worse financial decisions than buying this chain.Or one anyway,my marriage.
We Loose Money the Old Fashoined Way.
We Print it.
We Whored Money the Old Fasioned Way.
We Skin Flint it.
If I were OJ's lawyer at the hearing: "If you cannot mint, you must not print."
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank US taxpayers for subsidizing my Montreal $89/night suite. Oh, and send up more towels.
All this tells me is that Blackrock needs a RICO indictment.
Your going to give me $15,000 to buy another home?
I'll bite....I see rental property in my future...
MBA Supports Proposal for $15,000 Tax Credit for All Homebuyers | RealEstateRama
It's like chess. One must stay five moves ahead should one wish to prevail.
I feel like I'm boxed in - oh, wait, I am! How do I get rid of this box?
srvbeach21, yes, that sentence is weird. I think they meant almost 60% off the buyout price. $3.3 billion is about 59% off of $8 billion
best wishes
@Spaceman - funny you should mention the car rental thing. I was thinking that might be what Penske had in mind for Saturn to go side-by-side with their truck rentals.
The fix is in. The grind goes on.
Where's the outrage?
And in the subject of CRE events:
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. Announces Pricing of $450 Million of Senior
Subordinated Notes
How can a company with no assets in the CRE business is able to issue debt that anyone buys?...
Where's the outrage?
Iran
There's no dollar rally. -rich
Will the dollar rally versus U.S. equities, in your opinion?
Well, it could be worse. The bad debt could be on JP Morgan's books now, which would be completely tragic.
If I agree to farm 160 acres on shares, will I ever get to Carnegie Hall?
I guess we know who the ultimate bagholder is!
Dead Fed Walking.
I don't think they had any idea that the gold they collected from the crazy-eyes in the desert would turn to dust the next day.
And in the heat shimmer, they stared each way along the road, wondering which wrong turn had taken them there. In the distance the wind and the whip-o-wills seemed to be softly keening on the baked air ... "hoooocoodanoooode..."
C
At least the Fed is independent.
I like this bit as well:
"Many investors thought that Extended Stay wouldn't be able to file for bankruptcy because of a "bad boy" provision in the CMBS structure. According to the loan documents, Mr. Lichtenstein would become liable personally for $100 million if Extended Stay filed for Chapter 11 protection. But Mr. Lichtenstein reached a deal with secured lenders who have been negotiating a restructuring plan. Under that deal, lenders agreed to indemnify him as much as $100 million in exchange for him supporting the plan that would put the lenders in control of the hotel chain."
You don't think the secured lenders that are kind enough to indemnify Mr. Lichtenstein have CDSs on Extended Stay debt do you? And you don't think those CDSs would in any way be backed by the Fed, right?
O.K.
How many of you emailed their Senator ?
Let's try this again ...
The Bill is S604 ...
Here is the CSPAN Fed Representative Lookup by Zip Code ...
Put your Zip Code in their and it will give you your House and Senate Members ...
C-SPAN | Capitol Hill, The White House and National Politics
Audit the Fed
Yes on S604 !
you too bond girl !
Bond Girl
"At least the Fed is independent."
~~~
The tax payer is on the hook for everything the Fed does ...
Full Faith and Credit ...
Pretty good deal for a privately owned and operated Private Bank !
Are we winning? A POTUS told me I like winning.
CR, I think you're right, they got it backwards. Too bad. Losing 60% is much worse than having 60% left. Especially, in this case, if you're a secured creditor.
TARP, the Penske thing makes no sense to me on any level. They are going to pay for the name, a factory, and current designs and engineering, and then import cars from Asia and brand them under Saturn?
I was thinking more along the lines of who other than the govt will buy GM and C cars unless a rental car bk takeover and subsequent ownership by said govt.
And let's not forget to add an insurance company in the mix. Since the govt owns AIG, they can insure the whole kit-n-kaboodle.
the post dovetails nicely with the zerohedge CB Richard Ellis on a note struture at 11.65%.
the cramdowns on the seconds are coming in at 12%. Its not rocket science....RATES ARE GONNA EXPLODE !!!!
as to when the "Safe Haven" "Dollar Rally"" panic ends, I cannot say.
just buy yerself some dollar bond digitalus....its virtual money. Better than a fake actually printed bind right? RIGHT?
This should be a fun case in BK court. Does the gov't support taxpayers on the hook for whatever losses, or the 10,000 tax-paying employees who would likely, in a normal BK, get nothing.
At least the extent of the Fed's impaired collateral holdings are contained to this one instance.
Audit the Fed
What good would it do? Spend millions to tell us what we already know? Waste, mismanagement, misrepresentation (read "fraud"), corruption, cronyism, nepotism, yada yada...
I don't want to throw any more money down that hole.
Did somebody already post on the plundering of AIG's pension fund by the former CEO? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked.
Feckless Ness
"What good would it do? Spend millions to tell us what we already know? Waste, mismanagement, misrepresentation (read "fraud"), corruption, cronyism, nepotism, yada yada...
I don't want to throw any more money down that hole."
~~~~
You think they're done ! LOL ...
It's such a huge mess you don't want to look ?
It's time for some facts !
Time to audit the Fed Mouseketeers !
@Spaceman - the whole auto deal is going to pile up with unintended consequences. With all of these rebates and cash for clunkers, I haven't heard or seen any reports on what impact that will have on the 'nearly-new' used car re-sale business, or devaluing of newer cars in general. Who's going to buy a used C or GM if the courts validate that the new companies won't be responsible for warrantees, defects, etc. on cars made pre-BK? The gov't really has no clue where they've taken this.
Audit the Fed
results: better than expected = 1k djia rally. meh, it's already priced in.
The extended-stay recession is going strong.
Little muckraking CR!
Appreciate the effort on this story!
FED - "Its not our money so why bother"
Audit the Fed
results: better than expected = 1k djia rally. meh, it's already priced in.
~~~~
Let the chips fall where they may ...
The casino needs an audit ...
When asked if bankers care about anything other than compensation, Mr. Geithner said, "That is a very interesting question. I'm not going to answer that question. I think it is hard to judge motivation on these things."
TARP and Spiff - Germany tried the cash for clunkers deal too. Talk about a car back-firing...
Germany's 'cash-for-clunkers' scheme fuels sales of foreign-made cars - Los Angeles Times
Did I hear today that the new Chrysler's first plant start-up is to make Vipers? First, that's oddly appropriate, and second, was that a part of the bailout? Free Vipers for senior gov't and banksters?
All this talk about an audit...
What are auditing? Ourselves?
Here's the AIG pension story:
Los Angeles Times -- Business, Technology, Real Estate, Hollywood, Economics, News - latimes.com
What show was Greenberg on recently - Charlie Rose? Anybody else catch that?
The Ecstacy of Gold...
YouTube -
C
Ben's doin it straight outa the playbook.
The next announcement is more "Buying".....the buy side is the enemy, including dollar denominated bonds...
perhaps its time to issue Yen denominated US bonds....that'll put a wrinkle in it. could be better than the man-made pandemic story, or the forged bonds...throw the tinfoil on,
. it came from outer space virtual holiday.........
pheww, just needed to get that out of my system.....
just wanted to join the edits
bobbi
"All this talk about an audit...
What are auditing? Ourselves?"
~~~~
Our grandchildrens' debt ...
Maybe we can prevent more of it ....
"What show was Greenberg on recently - Charlie Rose?"
~~~~
Charlie Rose : Card carrying Bilderberger ...
Last Known Meeting : Chantilly Virginia 2008
Leave it to Geithner
A sit-con set in the nation's capital. Each week you can follow the adventures of Beaver Geithner and the various Eddie Haskels that come with the territory.
Feckless - had seen that before. Probably won't work any better here, though my guess would be mostly because of insurance rate increases from old to new car. Heard comments about the clunkers needing to be licensed and insured for at least the past year too, though if that doesn't have to be licensed and insured by you, that could open up a new market scam between new car buyers and clunker sellers...
"Leave it to Geithner"
~~~~
Timothy Geithner : Card carrying Bilderberger
Last Known Meeting : Chantilly Virginia 2008
c
great movie. great soundtrack. i used to have a soundtrack cd in my car. you blast that when you are going somewhere and you are REALLY going somewhere
"What are auditing? Ourselves?"
well, you do check your own bank, brokerage account, 401K, etc statements. When it comes to FED apparently they do not. We need transparency to make sure
1) assets are there
2) assets are what they supposed to be
3) FED does not exhibit preferential treatment to buying assets of company A to company B, because a guy A related to etc (fat chance...)
mmckinl: I don't get it, what good would that do?
California to miss budget deadline, "meltdown" nears
Yahoo! 404 - Page Not Found
you can account for most of these bonds. many owned by public cos. the bear stuff was largely subordinate paper. so worth zero based on your/wsj's numbers.
JD - Wouldn't Beaver Ben or Beaver Bernanke have a better ring to it, marketing-wise?
Comrade: Would this exercise help? What would we learn? Why not short cut the process?
Comrade de Chaos
As I remember in House testimony they
( the Fed ) couldn't account for $9 TRILLION as in dollars !
bobbi
"mmckinl: I don't get it, what good would that do?"
as per Comrade de Chaos
well, you do check your own bank, brokerage account, 401K, etc statements. When it comes to FED apparently they do not. We need transparency to make sure
1) assets are there
2) assets are what they supposed to be
3) FED does not exhibit preferential treatment to buying assets of company A to company B, because a guy A related to etc (fat chance...)
as per me
Account for the $9 TRILLION, as in dollars, they couldn't seem to account for ...
Eli Wallach runs like a girl.
Time for a remake. Has Peter Schiff ever done any acting?
Tim, no worries - the gubbernator will sacrifice himself a la T2 at the last minute and save the day.
Cali deficit for the year - $25B
$25B in Fed. gov't deficit - 5-6 days.
9 trill, seems like a lot, more that I can imagine. Maybe that's the plan.
Has Peter Schiff ever done any acting?
If he runs for Dodd's seat he'll be stellar.
Feckless Ness
Have you heard about S604, the Senate Bill to audit the Fed ?
I'm hoping to discover the whereabouts of $9 Trillion of tax payer money ...
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote for S604 ...
Thanks in advance ... mmckinl
the gubbernator will sacrifice himself a la T2
Terminator's circuits were gold plated. Best we can hope for Ahnold is gold fillings.
Tim waiting for 2012 - who's this Miss Budget Deadline? Is she going to get fired too? Something about revenue and expenditure not cohabiting?
C
Next year is the quincentennial of the word "California" coming in to being. It was coined by a Spanish novelist that mostly got it right.
excerpt:
Know that on the right hand from the Indies exists an island called California very close to a side of the Earthly Paradise; and it was populated by black women, without any man existing there, because they lived in the way of the Amazons. They had beautiful and robust bodies, and were brave and very strong. Their island was the strongest of the World, with its cliffs and rocky shores. Their weapons were golden and so were the harnesses of the wild beasts that they were accustomed to domesticate and ride, because there was no other metal in the island than gold.
bobbi
YouTube - Federal Reserve Steals Over 9 Trillion Dollars
For your edumacation ...
If we expect our senators to do the right thing, even under pressure from the little people, why are bothering at all?
Thought about y'all several times over the past several days.
But had promised to bring the kids at some point.
I'm hoping to discover the whereabouts of $9 Trillion of tax payer money ...
Can't you guess? Do you really have to ask?
This is beyond description! You do know that BlackRock, "which the Fed has hired to manage the collateral", are a division of Blackstone, who got the $8 billion dollars initially. They seem to have made out well on both ends.
Feckless Ness
"I'm hoping to discover the whereabouts of $9 Trillion of tax payer money ...
Can't you guess? Do you really have to ask?"
~~~~
I want a receipt ...
An audit would be better ...
Aren't you even curious?
Be good for a laugh !
Fed should be aware that having intangible assets on its books is not acceptable.
Bear was effectively the dumping ground for Blackstone's debt deals. Bear took on way too much exposure for the size of their firm to service Blackstone - obviously an important client. ESA was sold by BX so they wanted it financed to the max so they could max sale price. others deals were buys. whatever bear couldnt sell ended up on their b/s and then the fed's/
bobbi the faux naif has really got you guys going.
someone please tell me this post is a joke. A spoof. Or something. I need to be able to sleep tonight.
Can't you guess? Do you really have to ask?
i'm pretty sure they put the 9 tril of cash into 55-gallon steel drums and dumped them into the ocean. that's my guess.
mmckinl -
If I want a laugh, I'll add Animal House to my Netflix queue. I don't think my body could withstand a $9 trillion bellylaugh.
Anak
"bobbi the faux naif has really got you guys going."
~~~~
bobbi the faux naif gives us an opportunity ...
If that was you Anak ... thanks !
Homedad: I've thought same driving along Dulles access or Rte 28. Have wanted to take some pictures of some of those empty Class A's, some for more than a year down
in Chantilly
TARP
"I know now why you cry..." Governator T5 Revolt of the Bondholders
Anak: you assume much, perhaps too much
i'm pretty sure they put the 9 tril of cash into 55-gallon steel drums and dumped them into the ocean. that's my guess.
Now, THAT's funny!
Feckless Ness
" If I want a laugh, I'll add Animal House to my Netflix queue. I don't think my body could withstand a $9 trillion bellylaugh."
~~~~
It's either laugh or cry ...
"I know now why you cry..." Governator T5 Revolt of the Bondholders
"And it's something I can never do." Terminator Geithner, ibid.
Used to drive that road periodically when we lived outside of DC about a decade ago and was always noting the construction. Then saw the WaPo article about it and read about it here and was curious. Now I really get to see the effect of all of the overbuild.
Mebbe I can talk the wife into driving past that hotel again so I can stop and take a photo for the site.
Mr. Bernanke is likely to have experience in very many businesses in the coming years. Hotels are as good an introduction as any.