Yet another Corus Line...

So a Thursday seize? Or just giving people time to run after all their buddies got the word last week?

Investors don't appear to be interested in buying the entire bank, but instead are looking at buying the bank's assets out of receivership if regulators take over.

Well, duh. Who'd want to buy liabilities, especially when you can dump them on the FDIC? And they said "good bank, bad bank" was dead.

Would You Like to Destroy this 6-Story Condo With an Earthquake?
Would You Like to Destroy this 6-Story Condo With an Earthquake? - Earthquake simulator - Gizmodo

...............Tomorrow you can tune in live to see how this building gets destroyed—or not—by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The 23-unit wooden condo will be tested on the largest shake table in the world, located in Miki, Japan. The massive hydraulic engines will reproduce the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake amplified 1.5 times..................

Seems like we've been talking about Corus forever. Just goes to show how incredibly long these things take.

Makes me think we'll still be here discussing bank failures a decade from now.

Bacon-wrapped comment from last thread:

So the question is where do you go and how do you 'get there'?

Yes! In that inimitable Dryfly style you have, this is the question. Isn't there someone in the yellowpages? Should I look under C for capital flight? I'm sure cerfified financial planner could help. /snark

Oh well. I guess I'll just ask Neil for some popcorn and watch the show. It's my kids that I worry about.

Fifteen banks could get seized tomorrow, but if GS beats big, every stock in the world will go up 3%.

Fifteen banks could get seized tomorrow, but if GS beats big, every stock in the world will go up 3%.

Only 3%? So you mean it is already priced in.

So, how is Cerebus doing?

He says they are "looking at many banks." That could be taken in so many different ways...

Very funny.

I have been using hsbc to open bank accounts throughot the world.

poic - you own any real assets overseas? If not ever been tempted to? I have friends who own land in Mexico - a villa on the Mayan Riviera - and it sounded like an interesting proposition... until I started reading about how the Brits are getting crushed in Spain. Now I'm not so sure its even remotely a good idea anywhere.

Any views on that angle.

nades,

I'd assume they would only take assets that receive "favorable financing" from the FDIC...

dryfly - its now difficult to own land in Mexico. You have to let the bank own the land and you lease it from them for 100 years. (Durations do vary) Its called a Fideicomiso as I understand it. I was in Costa Rica and the land was priced in USD. They wanted like 350K for a shanti... It was rampant, to me that means one would have to beat everyone to the land before it went up in value. Then you have to deal with poor property rights and dirty titles if they exist at all. I guess I'm like you, interested in it but not enough huevos to pull the trigger. (Financing would be my other issue! LOL!)

BG - Oh... Thanks, I figured they had to buy them outright at what ever percent of principal they could negotiate for. Say 40 cents on the dollar... I didnt know that the FDIC got involved that way.... Looks like i need to read a little more carefully.

nades,

To be fair, he just says that they "could benefit" from such financing. I read that as, give us this financing or else.

I'm sure the administration wants its very own Lehman

I'd like to thank the Academy and all the little people that made this moment possible.

from what i understand, the FDIC doesn't provide "financing" in terms of a loan, but rather as loss-sharing or discounted value. But then again, it's hard to keep track of Calvinball FDIC.

@dryfly

I was considering learning medical terminology in spanish to allow me to keep working in medicine. There are theoretical problems (like those mentioned on previous thread). I'm not rich enough to buy security. So in terms of safety, I thought I could buy safety by providing medical care. The spanish gives me options for staying in the Western hemisphere.

I don't have much knowledge about the geopolitical problems of Mexico and Central America. But global wage arbitrage coupled with present policy and unremitting emphasis on consumerism creates an unappealing way to retire here.

What am I gonna do? Go golfing everyday. Might just be able to really help someone who needs it. Just random thoughts, sorry.

NW - ten-4

I'd say give it 5 years...

NOW yr talkin.

nytol

C

dryfly - its now difficult to own land in Mexico. You have to let the bank own the land and you lease it from them for 100 years. (Durations do vary)

Nades, that only applies in the border areas and along the coast in Mexico. A foreigner can own land in the interior without the Fidecomiso. You just have to apply for a permit from the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. I am a US expat in Mexico, and I own my house here in Monterrey.

I am a US expat in Mexico, and I own my house here in Monterrey.

That's what you think.

CDaA - thanks for that. I was actually just reading about that on the internets. It sounds like its true for Cancun too...(?)

I'm envyous, sounds like you might have a good thing going... Internets and all! Are you at all worried about them changing the game later on? A Calvinball if you will? LOL! (Never used that one before!)

You're right broward, just like everywhere else in the world, the government and the bank are ahead of me.

I would argue the safest place to wait this out is in the most depressed parts of the rust belt.

Some of the podunk burgs in Pennsy are looking good. You can buy a house for the price of a car. Fix it yourself and just live quietly.

Lots of deer to eat, huntin and growing a bit o' corn.

I wonder if you can convert a pellet stove to run on anthracite?

I would not head south and put a target on your life. Mexico has been destabilizing, especially outside of the biggest cities.

Nothing like living small and quiet.

Someday this war's gonna end...

Hello CDA - my friend in Xcalak [little town southern QR near Belize] says US citizens can even own property on the coast in certain situations - not sure what they are as I didn't dig into it too deeply but says there are 'exceptions to every rule' including that one. I'm suspicious though as it looks to me like a dicey proposition given the past practice. He isn't known as a BSer and has lived there for over 20 years himself so something is up.

BTW he was the same guy who suggested I open a factory in Chetemal making furniture from 'renewable tropical hardwoods' & took me on a tour through a maquila down there then through U Quintana Roo. Fun time.

Civilization: a thin veneer over barbarianism. ~John M. Shanahan

"India prays for rain as water wars break out"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/12/india-water-supply-bhopal

Food and water. Amazing how fragile the systems we depend on are to deliver these necessities. California needs to worry more about it's drought and the fallow fields in Central Valley then the IOU's and political theater. Water by truck in LA to a million people. Would it even be doable?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/us/20fresno.html?ref=global-home

I'll never forget listening to an Enron trader call up a power station and ask if it could do some maintenance during peak demand and thus send the price of electricity shooting up. Water is as easily manipulated as any other resource.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A02E4D8103BF937A35751C0A9639C8B63

The entire UBS/IRS showdown among other actions by the IRS to crack down on offshore banking and tax havens has everything to do with controlling the capital outflows from this country. Take your money and run isn't going over well. Funny that when you want to hide money it is usually because it was illegally gained. The Bush years were great for a bunch of people.

"The dispute, in which the Internal Revenue Service, backed by the Justice Department, is trying to force UBS to hand over the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients suspected of tax evasion,"

I would argue the safest place to wait this out is in the most depressed parts of the rust belt.

I've thought a lot about leaving the U.S. over the past fifteen years, and I have applications right now for a couple of jobs in the Middle East. But the longer I watch this thing, the more I'm tempted to agree with Allen. I wouldn't want to be in a major city like SF or NYC but that leaves a lot of places that nobody cares about much. And there's something to be said for being a native, english-speaking local that's familiar to the surrounding people. There's far more paranoia in the air than most people will admit to themselves.

"California needs to worry more about it's drought"

it is my understanding that the farmers use almost all of it. as impressive as our cotton and rice industry is, i think it is pretty obvious what needs to be thrown off the truck first.

Cool...

....................

nytol.....

i think it is pretty obvious what needs to be thrown off the truck first.

Water for aging Boomers?

Water for aging Boomers?

lol!

NorkaWest, good point about keeping coal out of a wood stove.

Amazing how what you don't know can kill you.

Knew an oldtimer who burned a coke fire every winter, all winter. He had a huge amount of firebrick over battleship thick steel plate surrounded by a massive stone fireplace and chimney. Even then he watched the level of coke.

What's a coke fire? I have an unnamed relative who actually, and I'm not related by blood to this person, used gasoline to try to quick start his woodstove - it was a rental and he was new to woodstoves. The chimney blew off and landed somewhere in the neighborhood. He was lucky he wasn't killed.

be careful of burning coal in a wood stove, it burns a lot hotter than wood.

sisters still tease me about it.

I can see how that could happen - HOWEVER - a number of stoves have conversion kits that allow some conventional wood stoves to burn coal. It is a fairly common practice in rural Appalachia to this day.

I believe they have thicker refractory linings between the inside of the fire box and the metal walls much like a foundry cupola.

Hi dryfly, I'm sure that there are ways to get around details like that. Sometimes it's amazing what a little money in the right hands can do here. They may also use "prestanombres" - straw buyers. Actually, for the cost of the fidecomiso, it's not a bad way to go. The last time I looked, they cost about $5,000 USD to set up and about $500 USD per year to maintane.

My excuse is that I was in sixth grade at the time and I had never seen coal burn before. (found it in the coal bin in the basement; left over from when they put in the gas furnace twenty years before I was born.)

dryfly wrote

poic - you own any real assets overseas? If not ever been tempted to? I have friends who own land in Mexico - a villa on the Mayan Riviera - and it sounded like an interesting proposition... until I started reading about how the Brits are getting crushed in Spain. Now I'm not so sure its even remotely a good idea anywhere.

does anyone, not a mexican citizen really own real estate there???

a lawyer friend who "owns" property in the baja tells me you have to go thru an intermediary mexican corporation or individual

no gringos allowed to own mexican land??? am i wrong?

Wood stoves? Coal? Coke?

Is this Calculated Risk or Survivalist.com?

Mock, as I mentioned above, a gringo can own land more than 30 kilometers from the border or the coast. Closer to the coast or the border, you can set up a trust (usually through a bank) with a 100 year lease.

"no gringos allowed to own mexican land??? am i wrong? "

most foreign nationals have problems getting clear title on land anywhere in latin america.

surprised more econ junkies here in gringolandia don't mention the chilean inflation index that they use to price real estate. the fomento, i believe.

My description wouldn't be as good as what I could find:

Coke Fire

Thanks sportsfan - my son wants 'us' to build a forge in the backyard and I wondered where I was going to get the coke - now I know. Make my neighbors really happy.

Comrade Dazed and Amused

yes i note your post

might you be in error

Land Ownership by Foreigners in Mexico

"Where Foreigners Can Own Land in Mexico

Foreign individuals and companies may directly own land in Mexico, except in the restricted zone. The restricted zone is described by Article 27 of the Constitution as "lands or waters within a zone of one hundred kilometers along the borders and of fifty kilometers along the beaches of the country." Land in this zone must be acquired through a trust fund established for fifty years. In this kind of trust fund the bank retains the property title but the foreigner is the beneficiary and may use and enjoy such premises and may sell or even inherit the rights to it. The bank, however, must be notified of and approve all operations regarding the property. "

and also

"Land Ownership Rights of Foreigners in Mexico

Although Section I of this article grants the right to acquire the dominion of land and water only to Mexican individuals and companies, it also gives the State the power to grant the same right to foreigners, subject to the condition that these foreigners agree before the Ministry of Foreign Relations to consider themselves as Mexican nationals with respect to their ownership of the real estate, etc. If the covenant is breached, all rights to such property shall revert to the Nation."

am i wrong?

I just can't see moving to a place like Costa Rica or Nicaragua.

I don't get it.

after listening to Geithner's testimony the other day and Ben's various pronuncements
I think Eros's explanation of Solaranite in Plan 9 sound prescient...
here's a collection of best lines from that movie: YouTube - Plan 9 From Outer Space - Best Lines

mp-
charlie don't surf huh?

"Port au Prince, my retirement haven."

How many men in your private army?

I just can't see moving to a place like Costa Rica or Nicaragua.

I don't get it.

You saw the latest bit about forcing tax accountants to act as agents of the Treasury? Towards the end of Rome, the tax collectors where personally accountable for tax revenues and shortages were punishable by fines (or perhaps worse), so there was general exodus out towards the periphery of the Empire.

Costa Rica could be considered a periphery.
The last time I checked, it had a non-extradition treaty.

I bought it with some leftover voodoo economics for almost nothing.

surprised more econ junkies here in gringolandia don't mention the chilean inflation index that they use to price real estate. the fomento, i believe.

I think that is similar to the UDI that is used in Mexico. Basically, the principle is indexed to the CPI, so that the payment adjusts each month accordingly. The "interest rate" for the loan is actually only the intermediation interest. The inflation interest is built into the UDI.

Did you know Egypt's crime rate is something like 1/3rd of NYC?

How much do you trust their crime reporting?

Who knows when, Animal Spirits are at play. The Olympics have been priced into the market since they were announced. Shit is hitting the fan economically here now, however we still have open spiggots on 35 year amortizations, 5% downpayments, stated income and variable rate, so people are buying because they can 'afford' a house. Or more accurately afford to be foreclosed in three years time when their house value has gone down and interest rates have gone up.

BTW, I don't believe Costa Rica has a military either... which means check out the neighbors.

I talked to two people who'd done gigs in Saudi and Egypt.
They confirmed most of what I'd read online.

If you go to Saudi - leave the leather pants at home and be extra special careful to NOT look like you're hittin' on the babes... it ain't Idaho. Had many chem e buds who did time there... you better bring your squeeze with you or find 'other arrangements'.

Outsider - BTW, I don't believe Costa Rica has a military either... which means check out the neighbors.

They fall under the protective umbrella of the US, for how long that last is another question.

I got a cabin in Spitsbergen, it's fully stocked.

Did a remodel on a coal fired house, every day was a minstrel show when we knocked off. Coal dust everywhere; in the joists, behind the plaster, in my boots; had to change out filters on my mask every day.

Problem buying property in mexico is having clear title, all it takes is one member of a edijito to deny signing the agreement (even when witnessed and videotaped) and it's 5 years of legal fees.

costa rica has crime, petty theft, car break in's etc...no military....No issues..
Nicaragua is nice on pacific coast..no issues yet!

the people have always been poor in those 2 countries, they are happy though they are poor...if your not flashy, pura vida!

Mexico's law of foreign ownership is very similar to other countries I've looked at.
Effectively, you're leasing for 50 years and that is held in a land bank. There are ways
around this. Depends if Mexico allows you to buy land in a joint venture with Mexican
nationals.
(in Vietnam, the last time the 'Duchess' bought port frontage land 400 m. X 70 m.
the lease was for 50 years... she wanted to build a new living compound but Hanoi changed the
rules... unless you get a 99 year lease it's no good for a house, they are thinking of 3 generations out...
granted her 'land' has a certain national security element to it (try and Google Earth Con Dao and see
what images it returns... a blur)

"One of the keys to buying property in this country is to buy in an unincorporated area, then anything goes."

We live w/o any police presence in an unincorporated area, just like the bigger cities will be doing soon...

"Not to mention downright dangerous."

Staying in the USSA will soon be considered dangerous.

mp,

True enough...

We can do what we damn well please. And we are building an observatory this summer.

I have some friends that bought in Costa Rica about 10 years ago. Pity Dryfly isn't on here anymore....
one guy was a retired cop from MN, who was involved in a serial murder case in the late 80s... I think,
... it's been awhile since we spoke... having been hearing pretty good things about Nicaragua from
people who grew up there...

I mention the JV approach in Mexico if possible because it's a way for a farang to own land their
with the rights of a national...

"One of the keys to buying property in this country is to buy in an unincorporated area, then anything goes. "

Not in California. But, you knew that .

In my coastal California county, the got-mine crowd (I wouldn't call them liberals) put in place a draconian and labyrinthine planning process as a backdoor form of growth control in the unincorporated areas. Local contractors would much rather work in the cities.

Of course, in the back country out of plain sight, people do what they want. But things can catch up with them. We had a big fire up in the mountains last year, burned 20 houses; half of them illegal, won't be allowed to rebuild. Or the neighbor narcs you out if he gets pissed at your for some reason. Then it's either red-tagged or the county "allows" you to buy compliance for some tens of thousands. It's like a police state for houses.

Personally, I'm a townie. I'm not up for a 20-30 minute response time for emergency services. (Waiting for the first snark from some CalDoomer, "you won't have them in town, either!" We shall see.)

Agreed, especially if you are buying existing housing. Other problems could be liens, probate, multiple sales of the same property, falsified id of sellers, squaters, etc. There is no title insurance like in the US. Everything depends on the "escrituras" which are written by a "notario". Caveat emptor.

This is a big problem also in china so you bring someone with you to the bargaining table to make sure no one messes with you.  A bureaucrat, police, military.  No one messes with the military as they trump all else.

"I'm not up for a 20-30 minute response time for emergency services."

yeah, big basin is possibly the most beautiful place in the lower 48. but i could never live near the 17/35 juncture. too remote.

JD-
No walking debt here, they use bart....

The weather today made San Francisco easy on the eyes....I swear there are more good looking women here than anywhere I have traveled...just need the sun to bring them out...kind of like flowers...

They laid off a shitlode of police in Sacramento, but were an appropriate number of criminals laid off as well?

Get out of the big smoke, while you can still can...

The Coastal Commission is one hell of a moneysucker.

JD-you should deal with the cal. fish and game...
cousin had to pay for his commercial salmon license though no fishing this year...they told him if he didnt pay his chance of getting the license next year was nil...

"Daydreaming is sometimes good. But not by a US President who talks of hope and honesty in the middle of an economic depression. He is in the process of quadrupling the budget deficit following the rich and powerful oligarchs in America who have no place to hide now. They will hide behind Obama with a hope that Obama will talk it smooth and protect them from the reality exposure to American people."

IndiaDaily - Obama wants to halve budget deficit — is he dreaming in daylight? Halve or quadruple in two years?

Baksheeshdation = cousin had to pay for his commercial salmon license though no fishing this year...they told him if he didnt pay his chance of getting the license next year was nil...

Juvenal Delinquent,

In which state?

//Baksheeshdation//

cal. fish and game

Credit-Default Swaps Probed by Justice Department, Markit Says
Credit Swaps Investigated by U.S. Justice Department (Update3) - Bloomberg.com

By Matthew Leising

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the market for credit-default swaps, according to Markit Group Ltd., the data provider majority-owned by Wall Street’s largest banks. “Markit has been informed of an investigation by the Department of Justice into the credit-derivatives and related markets,” spokeswoman Teresa Chick said yesterday in an e- mailed statement in response to questions from Bloomberg News. She declined to comment on the nature of the investigation. “We will work with the Department to provide any information requested of us.”

unirealist (profile) wrote on Mon, 7/13/2009 - 10:28 pm

"Bear experts and pundits are one by one losing credibility.

Meredith Whitney has now joined Nouriel Roubini, Paul Krugman ...."

yes yes... we shall soon see who lies and who has been bought and sold

my belief... we are living in the land of smoke and mirrors

Duke of Con Dao,

The Goldman-Sachs bonuses are getting some attention on the Jon Stewart and Stephen Cobert show..

Is that not the very definition of a bizzaro world?

//Comedy central has become the last bastion of hard news and insightful political commentary. South Park and Colbert do a better job of analyzing current events than any of the mainstream networks. The faster those losers at the NYT et al go under, the better.//

Lucifer,
glad you pointed that out about Stewart/Colbert...
was surprized about Whitney's comments the other day, did she get body snatched?
or perhaps something far simpler...
... the way she talked about GS as if they were a gold plated bank beyond reproach,
hell, put on that cheerleader's outfit Meredith...

poic (profile) wrote on Tue, 7/14/2009 - 1:29 am
Agreed, especially if you are buying existing housing. Other problems could be liens, probate, multiple sales of the same property, falsified id of sellers, squaters, etc. There is no title insurance like in the US. Everything depends on the "escrituras" which are written by a "notario". Caveat emptor. This is a big problem also in china so you bring someone with you to the bargaining table to make sure no one messes with you. A bureaucrat, police, military. No one messes with the military as they trump all else.

In the US its the Real Estate Agent/Mortgage Broker. Same rules, if you dont know the inherent rules of the game you could be being taken to the cleaners . You can be from the same country/language group and it still can happen. Can argue that educated wont be taken, maybe but I doubt it. Hope springs eternal in the human breast they say, and so is a sucker born every minute.

After Success of Palin Porn, Flynt Set to Release Sotomayor Flick
After making headlines near the election last year with his fast-tracked release of 'Nailin' Paylin", adult movie, Larry Flynt is set to repeat his political-adult-movie crossover production with a new piece of art on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 'Sotomayor Does Oscarmayor' was filmed a month ago in the San Fernando Valley after ads appeared in craigslist for adult star lookalikes of Sotomayor as well as judiciary committee heads Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Whereas the plot of the Palin movie revolved around stranded Russians asking a Palin-like-figure for help after their car breaks down; the plot of the new movie was described as "a look at how a 'sexy Latina woman' advanced through the judicial branch", by Flynt spokesman Imma Jooker.

this bank is proof that investing in any bank right now is lunacy. the published results are pure fiction. even the vultures don't want the bank.

To atone for my low-brow Onion-like attempt at humor I will now provide a relevant link:
Economist: Return of the Grave Dancers (June 4, 2009)
Private equity has piles of unallocated capital, although it has become much more difficult to wrest undrawn funds from investors. It also has a lot more raw material to work with, as the pace of bank failures accelerates (see chart). Hundreds of lenders will need help to survive but most large banks are too capital-constrained to step in. Those that have raised fresh equity, such as JPMorgan Chase, will use it to repay taxpayers.
Hence the focus on private equity. The favoured strategy is to snap up a small bank, healthy or not, and turn it into a vehicle to scoop up failed local rivals. John Kanas, a veteran banker charged with reviving BankUnited, sees in it the foundation of a regional powerhouse. The Florida market is particularly attractive, he says, as many competitors there are shackled by regulatory or government restrictions.
Investing is still risky. Smaller banks are riddled with commercial-property loans, which are going bad at an alarming rate. American banks’ loan-loss reserves are falling ever further behind actual losses and now cover just 70% of the total, according to Moody’s, a rating agency. But buyers are growing cannier, pouncing only once a bank has been seized and insisting the government shoulders much of the downside in loss-sharing agreements.
The bigger problem for buy-out firms is posed by long-standing restrictions on bank takeovers by non-financial firms. Those unwilling to become bank-holding companies, with the extra regulation that entails, have to make do with a maximum stake of 33% (and voting rights of less than half that). Acquisitions are thus only possible via “club” deals, in which several buyers band together and regulators police the arrangement to ensure they are not acting in concert thereafter.

What could go wrong. However, the private equity firms remind me of people willing to take part in low-level scams; think people willing to trust someone who is going to help them steal cable. Can't come up with a better example at this hour, but like when someone is doing something crooked; and they offer another person to benefit from their crooked action; why trust the con-man?

Goood moorrrrning Marynam! Blue skies, java, slowly declining asset values. What a state.

Any news from the Front? Aha, Asia bouncing. ASX looks like a third-world exchange at 3%+ up. Do they have a new Glodman's office or something?

C

Morning all!
Looks like another beautiful day here in Scenic South Carolina!

Anyone besides gabyjan up for another BFF poll on Fri?

Something to watch while we wait for GS and other banks to report.

Remind me on Fri and I'll crank up the BFF poll then.

I can hear the early morning coyote choir tuning up...

Good morning~

Corus would be waaaay too big for the FDIC to shutter without having a buyer and buters of this type aren't waiting on a bus in very many places.

It's not about finding a buyer for Corus. It's about finding buyers for a bunch of 30-floor condos under construction, 18 floors of rusting steel and rotting drywall, for which there will not be a market for maybe 10 years.

That's mainly what Corus owns.

C: more like an organ grinder and a monkey with a tin cup?

a trained monkey who picks the pockets of the crowd

"One of the peskiest and easiest to solve problems, is how to go about blowing out the shorts..."

I suggest spicy Mexican food.

Spinach Cheese Dip!

Let 'er RIP!

Goldman knocks the cover off the ball.

Goldman Sachs Has Second-Quarter EPS of $4.93, Beating Estimates of $3.65

I would argue the safest place to wait this out is in the most depressed parts of the rust belt.

Let's see... reasonably intact, unstressed infrastructure (roads, bridges, canals). Small towns where they don't actually use strangers as sacrifices to the Corn God. Nearby midsized cities with decent hospitals, that never experienced the housing bubble. Streams and lakes to fish in, woods and mountains to hunt in. No hordes of rowdy day laborers hanging around (see again: no housing bubble). Oh, and they're losing population, so they WANT you to come.

Sounds a lot like Upstate NY... the alleged "ninth circle of hell"

So baseball fans, who's it going to be tonight?

AL or NL?

dont think cit will make it, not part of the gang. its lehmans for cit. got to be team player.

AL or NL?

I think "rain" is going to win.

U.S. June retail sales stronger than expected

U.S. retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in June, the best gain in five months, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday. Strong auto and gasoline sales offset weakness in many sectors. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for retail sales to rise 0.5%. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.3%. Wall Street had expected an increase of 0.7%. Excluding gasoline, sales increased 0.3%. Excluding both autos and gas, sales fell 0.2%, the fourth straight monthly decline.

Goldman Sachs = Walrus Carpenter ?

The Walrus and The Carpenter
How I wish Tanta were here to adapt this poem

Hi everyone, I'm back from a looong break, just in time to see GS profiting amid the ruins

Imagine if every Major League Baseball team were to be propped up in early September by the Feds, no matter what their record?

If a bottom-dweller in the standings had a 56-101 record, the Feds would simply let them turn it around, so they could get in the playoffs...

Thank Gawd, now the Cleveland Indians have a chance to make the play-offs!

"GO TRIBE!"

eric
gs has your pony.

yer pony runned off and jined the circus

Judging from my PnL yesterday (short stocks, long oil), it got sent to the glue factory.

Just reading over the comments from last night...about Costa Rica, they do have a military. Not a big one, but very well equipped. They try to recruit American officers all the time to come down and train their army, especially pilots. As to why people go down there, if you have never been (which by the way I haven't this is all second hand so anyone who has been feel free to correct me) the country is divided into sections. The tourists and expats live in a little city that is very much like a European coastal community. Lots of shops, restaurants and the like. You can get a house, and staff down there for fairly inexpensive although the price has gone up recently. Buying property is not hard, but it requires some hoop jumping and a demonstration of financial resources and if you don't live in the expat area, which you don't have to by any means, it can be cheaper. Over all Costa Rica has a very European feel to it. A person I know who visits often said it is because the European settlers who came exterminated all the locals. The 'natives' are actually all imported labor. Don't know how true that is but if it is then paradise again was built with blood. I am torn with trying to leave for somewhere new or staying and fighting. Having lived all over the world, people are people just different flavors for the most part...but America has always had a different feel from the rest of the world...I would call it hope...but that world evidently means something else these days.

I hope you got some well-deserved rest, Vonbek.

The Fed will find a way to bail out Corus.

There's no way to bail out Corus. There's nothing left there except mismanagement, theft and regulatory neglect.

It never was a real bank of any size or substance. It was just a way to funnel FDIC-insured depositors to speculative developers while enriching a few people at the top for awhile.

Now that the private equity vultures have been called in, I'm officially upping my forecast for FDIC-insured losses on Corus, from $5 billion to $6 billion. It is one of the biggest embarrassments in FDIC history.