yagij wrote:

Is there a secret Repo 105 version for credit card liabilities?

There was, but FAS 166/167 closed it.

Terry wrote:

There was, but FAS 166/167 closed it.

Fortunately FAS 169/170 reopened it, right?

adornosghost wrote:
And we're spending most of our mental energy gaping into the rear-view mirror, which is the last place to look for your destination.
Sometimes the past is all you have to look forward to.

It all began with a forgotten wallet…

It's 1949. Businessman Frank McNamara schedules dinner at Major's Cabin Grill, a New York City restaurant. Dinner over, Frank realizes he has left his wallet in his other suit. His wife rescues him and pays. He resolves never to face this embarrassment again.

February 1950. McNamara and his partner Ralph Schneider return to Major's Cabin Grill. When the bill comes, McNamara presents a small, cardboard card, a Diners Club Card, and signs for the purchase. In the credit card industry, this event is known as the First Supper…

Diners Club

- Company history of Diners Club

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Dinner over, Frank realizes he has left his wallet in his other suit. His wife rescues him and pays. He resolves never to face this embarrassment again.

February 1950. McNamara and his partner Ralph Schneider return to Major's Cabin Grill. When the bill comes, McNamara presents a small, cardboard card, a Diners Club Card, and signs for the purchase

How's he supposed to do that, if he forgets his wallet?

Lucky that we aren't seeing these same kinds of defaults on residential or commercial mortgages, because their outstanding balances dwarf credit cards.

Oh, wait...

Rob Dawg wrote:

accounting flexibility.

I soooo need to learn how to do that with my check book.

Rob Dawg wrote:
I'd be interested in how they handle portfolio sales to collection agencies. Lots of room for accounting flexibility.
You see, we divided this dog turd into tranches based on their relative levels of odiferousness...

Rob Dawg wrote:

I'd be interested in how they handle portfolio sales to collection agencies. Lots of room for accounting flexibility.

Not so sure - since these are charged off accounts to start with. Not a part of the card business I work with, though.

You see the snow kept people from buying stuff, which meant fewer Capital One defaults.
But the snow forced more people to buy heat and shovels, which caused more BofA defaults.

This is a fun game.

It's Monday, where is

Terry wrote:

Not so sure - since these are charged off accounts to start with. Not a part of the card business I work with, though.

Exactly. Package up a bundle of capped but performing cards in runoff mode and sell at 80¢ for fast cash or sell previously charged off accounts for pennies and subtract that back out of charge offs? Way too many ways to game the numbers. Lehmanomics writ larger.

TIC data came in at 19.1 bb vs 47.5 expected for January. rut-roh. Market yawns. Total NET TIC flows were NEGATIVE 33.4 vs positive 80/9 previous (which was revised down to 53.6).

AP Breaking News- Rats found running computers at largest trading firms to keep Hopium spirits high....Many rats interviewed stated that the cheese is getting boring and running 24/7 just to help promote recovery is starting to drive them crazy...They are asking for a 10% raise and more Gouda or will go on strike letting the fat cats take over....

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

slippery slope

Long time ago, my grandpa was talking about when Sears Roebuck started selling things on credit to farmers... he said that was the farmers downfall, spending money before the crop was in... He died in 1958 so he didnt really get a look at what credit could really destroy....

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

TIC data came in at 19.1 bb vs 47.5 expected for January. rut-roh

tg-587: Treasury International Capital Data For January

OT: What does PepsiCo know that I don't?
.
PepsiCo to buy back up to $15 billion in shares

The world's second-biggest soft drink seller -- whose brands include Gatorade, Quaker and Pepsi-Cola -- had said before that it was buying about $4.4 billion worth of its shares this year. Some of the buybacks will be made under a prior repurchase authorization from 2007, which had $6.4 billion remaining at the start of the year and expires in June.

ShadowInventory wrote:

spending money before the crop was in..

Now credit is used when the crop has failed.
People paying card debt so they will have "reserves" if they lose their jobs.
Not paying the mortgage because all their "savings" have evaporated.

Isn't it interesting how SS had to raid the kitty for $29 Billion, and we gave the Unabankers a lot more than that for richly deserved bonuses...

yagij wrote:

OT: What does PepsiCo know that I don't?

Like the rest of us, they probably can't find any safe place for their money with greater than 1/2% return, so they are going to extinguish shares instead.

adornosghost, my favorite period of reading him was during the presidential primary in 2008. He was very entertaining then. But I can only read his raving about tattooed and pierced yobbos a couple times and then I'm done. I find his disaster fantasy silly.

et tu, Bernanke?

Mr Slippery wrote:

Like the rest of us, they probably can't find any safe place for their money with greater than 1/2% return, so they are going to extinguish shares instead.

This is often suggested by those that have lots of stock options.

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

TIC data came in at 19.1 bb vs 47.5 expected for January. rut-roh. Market yawns. Total NET TIC flows were NEGATIVE 33.4 vs positive 80/9 previous (which was revised down to 53.6).

Capital Flight of the BumbleBen.

bumbleben tuna- We magically process out the mercury so you can eat more.....

creditcriminalslovetarp (profile) wrote (in reply to...) on Mon, 3/15/2010 - 11:04 am

Hemp produces the most ethanol with least amount of water....damn weed grows everywhere....
we could something like human Roundup to harvest it ....low impact, no chemical hippies....

You should note that hemp makes a very moisture resistant rope, and was the preferred rope by sailors in the past. This would indicate that there is a lot of fiber in it that is hard to break down, and thus hard to ferment into ethanol. It probably requires a secondary stage for bacteria, perhaps those such as termite have in the bellies, to break down the fibrous material into something that can then be fermented into ethanol. Note that this is just speculation on my part; I have not seen anything on the viability of hemp for ethanol.
BTW, I still think beets would be a good choice. They can actually use salty water for their growth, and thus might be able to use seawater directly or perhaps as an admixture with fresh water....

Three-Way Ballot: Democrats 36%, GOP 27%, Tea Party 21% - Rasmussen Reports™

I still think any Tea Party candidates will have trouble drawing votes, and those that do will hurt the Repubs more than the Dems.....

Capital One said the annualized net charge-off rate — debts the company believes it will never collect — for U.S. credit cards fell to 10.19 percent in February from 10.41 percent in January. ...

Money from not paying your mortgage makes an appearance.

http://www.hempcar.org/hempfacts.shtml

Farming 6% of the continental U.S. acreage with biomass crops would provide all of America's energy needs.

Hemp is Earth's number-one biomass resource; it is capable of producing 10 tons per acre in four months.

Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost comparable to petroleum, and hemp is much better for the environment. Pyrolysis (charcoalizing), or biochemical composting are two methods of turning hemp into fuel.

Hemp can produce 10 times more methanol than corn.

On Topic:

Is there any reason to think that this is the result of their strategy of raising their rates on some high risk cardholder to 79%, forcing these folks to move their balances to other CC issuers?

Cinco-X wrote:

Note that this is just speculation on my part; I have not seen anything on the viability of hemp for ethanol.

Here's a piece from Mish back in 2006:

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: The Politics of Ethanol

There's a long-ish snip from an MIT paper, but the link is dead.

Makes it sound as though it's the seeds that are used for oil.

The cellulose's big benefit is that it's not cotton.

flaminia wrote:

But I can only read his raving about tattooed and pierced yobbos a couple times and then I'm done. I find his disaster fantasy silly.

I think his commentary on the fashion and and tribal rituals of the proletariat funny and insightful, but, I agree, it only needs to be pointed out a few times.
Anyone paying attention during the current mass extinction better take the ever increasing instability in energy and life support systems seriously, as equilibrium is harder to maintain, and is the reason we are all here at this site.

Brazil produces cheap Ethanol out of sugar cane. We used to grow it why not now?

Cinco-X wrote:
Is there any reason to think that this is the result of their strategy of raising their rates on some high risk cardholder to 79%, forcing these folks to move their balances to other CC issuers?
This game of hot potato can only end one way. It's just a matter of who's holding it when the gameshow host yells 'stop'.

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

-http://www.hempcar.org/hempfacts.shtml
Farming 6% of the continental U.S. acreage with biomass crops would provide all of America's energy needs.
Hemp is Earth's number-one biomass resource; it is capable of producing 10 tons per acre in four months.
Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost comparable to petroleum, and hemp is much better for the environment. Pyrolysis (charcoalizing), or biochemical composting are two methods of turning hemp into fuel.
Hemp can produce 10 times more methanol than corn.

Methanol, not ethanol. While these can perform similar functions, methanol is much more dangerous than ethanol, and if I'm not mistake, has less energy per unit weight. I'm a fan of hemp, particularly regarding hemp fiber, but it'd be interesting to see a less biased analysis of the benefits of using it for fuel. I wonder if anyone's looked into using it's fiber for wood pellet stoves?

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:
Here's a piece from Mish back in 2006:
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: The Politics of Ethanol
There's a long-ish snip from an MIT paper, but the link is dead.
Thanks for the reminder of why I used to read Mish regularly rather than as a couple hours' worth of weekend diversion...

Good morning everyone. Boy did I have a weird dream early this morning. Was driving down a freeway...was detoured into a warehouse district. I was following behind two other cars. They turned into a fenced in section with lots of buildings, I thought they were taking a short cut to an on ramp...Anyway they sped up and turned a corner, I get there, have to slam on the brakes. More fence, cars are gone. A security car show up and as I am explaining to the guard what I am doing on private property, a man appears from a nearby building and gestures the guard away. Tall man, dressed in a black suit with a cane and a hat. No sense of the age of the man. He asks me what I am doing there, I tell him about the cars I was following. He says there were no other cars, but he believes I saw them. I ask him what that means. He walks over to the fence and runs his hand through it. A holographic fence. Explains how the illusion of the fence keeps the honest out. And a real fence wouldn't deter the dishonest or curious, so the illusion was as 'real' in purpose. I then realized the entire detour and other cars had been an illusion. I asked him if he was a magician. He said he preferred the term artist, and his meager gifts weren't magical, though magic did exist. Then I woke up. Very frustrating.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

Makes it sound as though it's the seeds that are used for oil.
The cellulose's big benefit is that it's not cotton.

It is the seeds, as cellulose into ethanol has proven impossible on a scale that makes sense to produce.
The seed oil is also high in omega3's, which has interesting implications.

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

We used to grow it why not now?

What do you mean used to? I live in the south and there are cane fields galore around here....

US per capita sugar consumption is about 60 - 65 pounds, I guess that's where it goes.

Methanol is the choice of alcohol for most drag racers.

Long time ago, my grandpa was talking about when Sears Roebuck started selling things on credit to farmers... he said that was the farmers downfall, spending money before the crop was in...

Ah... for the days when common sense ruled.

Once a nation loses its collective common sense, is it possible to regain it? Doesn't seem so. Like lost manufacturing skills, it would take tremendous effort to ramp back up - if ever.

What's a parking lot?

Not having a car isn't all that.

Cinco-X wrote:

Methanol, not ethanol. While the can perform similar functions, methanol is much more dangerous than ethanol, and if I'm not mistake, has less energy per unit weight

Correct- ethanol is more energy dense. I use ethanol for fuel is light weight stoves for backpacking.
Gasoline is even more energy dense, but the technology to use it is heaver, so there is a trade off.

Hawaii used to be big in sugar cane. Not much sugar beets either anymore.

Vonbek777 wrote:
Explains how the illusion of the fence keeps the honest out. And a real fence wouldn't deter the dishonest or curious, so the illusion was as 'real' in purpose. I then realized the entire detour and other cars had been an illusion. I asked him if he was a magician. He said he preferred the term artist, and his meager gifts weren't magical, though magic did exist.
"Dr. Bernanke, I presume?"

MS wrote:

Good question...most likely the "wrong" people profit from it..also we shut out Brazil in the export game and furthermore I think the climate plays a big part in our ability to produce enough domestically...but that doesn't explain why we can't import it.....somewhat stable gov't...plenty of supply...nuts really.

Cuba? Is Fidel dead yet?

Cinco-X wrote:
As an outside observer, this is true; however, if you're one of the folks tossing around the "hot potato", there are two very different potential outcomes.
Unless you're TBTF. Then the taxpayer has your back, man. It's a brave new world out there.

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

Methanol is the choice of alcohol for most drag racers.

It burns cool, which is important if you've removed the water pump in your Donovan Hemi to extract that last bit of horse power out of it....

MS wrote:

Overall the actualities of the decline have not taken place on his original timescale....that doesn't make the facts he presents any less true.

Sure it does.... at some point, the earth will crash into the sun. But calling for a zero on the market based on that isn't very helpful.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:
and they hung out until about noon on January 1st, in case Y2K reared it's ugly head....
Too bad they missed Y2-10K...

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Unless you're TBTF. Then the taxpayer has your back, man.

Damn! You're right again. I stand corrected.....

Eric wrote:

Sure it does.... at some point, the earth will crash into the sun. But calling for a zero on the market based on that isn't very helpful.

Go long (very very very long) dated puts, garunteed profit. Just have to sit back and wait for pure profit. Just make sure to stock up on the SPF 1.0E1000

Does anybody take Kunstler seriously? When I first read him a few years ago I found his prose entertaining. But eventually it becomes obvious that he's just a crabby old coot. An old vinyl record left spinning on the run-out groove.

I do. I enjoy his insights and writing.

Your comment shows age bias, so stop it.

I don't know Resistance. I think this was a warning. I have been doing a lot of thinking and writing on human consciousness, especially a trinity division, the model I have mentioned before. Reading Swedenborg, and his rejection of the holy trinity, which in my mind is also a model for human consciousness...perhaps the division is a form of marginalization that keeps a fourth aspect from emerging. This silly old bear needs to do some more thinking.

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

Henry Ford used as part of body of vehicle in 41, due to lack of metal...
YouTube - cannabis hemp dot info episode #2

I said it before; I'm a big fan of the fiber...

.....and it the truth be known, the buds, but that's a different story and a slightly different plant

Sow hemp like wildflowers along the border, enrich us all in more ways than one.

Guerilla planting !!!

I love it. Just try not to get arrested procuring the seeds.

Cinco-X wrote:

It burns cool, which is important if you've removed the water pump in your Donovan Hemi to extract that last bit of horse power out of it....

Lot have turned to it for stability at altitude being it has more oxygen content for consistency. Big NA motors (600+ ciu) and blower motors it works well.

no matter what, to dismiss something/anything that could help our energy costs and our oil imports is utterly ludicrous....it reduces our debt while increasing prosperity....

its like telling Halle Berry or Charlize Theron, whomever your choice, that you can't go home with her even though she is standing there naked hungry in lust, because your single and you dont want to miss work tomorrow....

Homeowners take ‘cash for keys’ to escape debt - Real estate- msnbc.com

poic wrote:

Hmm, moodys warning on us/uk aaa rating. Sabre rattling with China. Greece situation still not solved.
Which one explains the massive 35 point drop in the Dow?

I thought it was the saber rattling over:
With Financial Reform Bill, a Test for Congress - Yahoo! Finance

U.S. suffers net capital outflow in January
| Reuters

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

Lot have turned to it for stability at altitude being it has more oxygen content for consistency. Big NA motors (600+ ciu) and blower motors it works well.

They're not using nitrous?

Comrade Janošik wrote:

I checked my CC statement to see if it reflected the now required payoff estimation information.

Is it required now, or later this year?

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

to dismiss something/anything that could help our energy costs

That is the key, as the ability to provide lower cost energy at the scale needed (even with lots of conservation, which should be the first order of business - none of the alternatives can provide the cost benefit that simpy being smarter about energy use would provide).

Be among the first to experience HCN TNG! While supplies last! Contact me for details.

Eric wrote:

Is it required now, or later this year?

Actually not sure, but my statement reflects the new rules now...maybe Chase is ahead of the game.
But why?

Comrade Janošik wrote:

But why?

Just curious as to when the new rules actually come into play..... much like healthcare reform, I expect many of them don't actually kick in for some time.

From Rosenberg today:

THE TRUTH ON RETAIL SALES
“It’s always best to look at what consumers do rather than what they think or say. They’re spending — that's the main thing”. That goes down as the glib remark of the weekend — front page of the Investors Business Daily (Shoppers Perk Up, Lifting Retail Sales, By A Surprise 0.3%). Another pundit said pretty well the same thing in Barron’s and following the data on Friday there was an economist on CNBC who said that you never win by betting against the U.S. consumer.

What a load of you-know-what.

Let’s more closely examine that retail sales report.

First, the raw data actually showed that sales fell 1.6% MoM in February. Now it would be meaningful if February was usually a weak month for sales compared to January so that it would make perfect sense for the seasonal adjustment factor to give the raw data an upward skew. But in fact, retail sales rise over half the time in February. And while, on average, the not seasonally adjusted retail sales data are down 0.4% in each February over the past decade, the reality is that this past February was four times as bad as the norm — not to mention tied for the third worst February since 1998. Really good result, eh?

Second, here we have the greatest stimulus experience in seven decades and retail sales are still down 5% from the pre-recession peak and on a per capital basis are down 8%. Sales are actually lower today than they were in January 2006 — four years ago — even though the population has risen 4.3% over this time. And on a per capita basis, retail sales are no higher today than they were back in July 2005. Then adjust for inflation and draw the picture of real retail sales on a per capita basis (see below) and you shall see that they are down to 1996 levels. Don’t bet against the U.S. consumer? Sure thing.

We bought some stuff on our credit card, and my most recent statement says it will take me 29 years to pay it off by sending in the minimum payment...

The algo program bots are fighting each other.

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:
its like telling Halle Berry or Charlize Theron, whomever your choice, that you can't go home with her even though she is standing there naked hungry in lust, because your single and you dont want to miss work tomorrow....
Not really - it's passing on a second date with the smart and reasonably attractive young law associate you met at the coffee shop to hook up with the slut you took home from the bar you hit afterward that same night. You aren't ignorant of the opportunity for long-term benefit, just looking for the easiest option and hoping no one notices.

lol funny but true....

Looks like the bulk of US produced sucrose comes from beets.

BRAZIL
Exports: 6 million tons
Production: 14.5 million tons
Population: 167 million
Per Capita Consumption: 48 kg

USA American Flag
Exports: nil
Production: 6.5 million tons
Population: 269 million
Per Capita Consumption: 30 kg

As an obsessive foodie, the sugar tariff pisses me off to no end. One day someone is going to stand up to the sugar lobby. Right after they stand up to the corn lobby, I suppose.

Mel wrote:

Did the change in the bankruptcy law fuel the bubble and/or this crisis?

It was kind of a no-op.

"Capital One's credit card annualized net charge-off rate is now at 10.19% - down slightly from January, but still above that spike in 2005!"

......More telling is the chart. Seems the charge-off rate hovered around 3 - 3.75% or so until the wheels fell off the party wagon late in 2007, and then it has continued to "sky" to present day. Obviously, to cover collection and charge-off costs, credit charges are increasing as are credit customer qualifications. It sure points out the magnitude of people living outside their means.

......One of our cows eats like it's always her last meal - we call her "Pig-Cow".....wonder what the 2-legged variety might be termed?

Black Star Ranch wrote:

.One of our cows eats like it's always her last meal - we call her "Pig-Cow".....wonder what the 2-legged variety might be termed?

'Merican?

BK reform was done in 2005. They attached that little gem at the end of it that allowed for CDS contracts to be paid out prior to the actual BK in court. This way they don't have to bother with silly things like Judges before getting their loot.

LOL

Comrade Kristina wrote:
They attached that little gem at the end of it that allowed for CDS contracts to be paid out prior to the actual BK in court. This way they don't have to bother with silly things like Judges before getting their loot.
Hey, Mac, sorry your house burned down... Here's your $120,000 to cover it. So we're square now, right? Yeah, and if you ever have another house you want to not burn down, gimme a call.

Is Another Market Pullback Near? - Streetwise - M. Santoli - Barrons.com

Rise Of The Bubbleheads - Forbes.com

JP wrote:

OT: I've been waiting for the return of dividends. Eventually, somebody is going to figure out that leaving money with management is asking for trouble:

From my observation, stock buybacks have sort of replaced dividends in many shareholders eyes, despite not encouraging the same long term loyalty.

Cinco X,

Most use Nitrous. We do but small block 406" on race gas. We are faster at high altitude then most at sea level.

gabyjan wrote:

FOXNews.com - Social Security to Start Cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs

I love the end of this piece:

The national debt — the amount of money the government owes its creditors — is about $12.5 trillion, or nearly $42,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. About $8 trillion has been borrowed in public debt markets, much of it from foreign creditors. The rest came from various government trust funds, including retirement funds for civil servants and the military. About $2.5 trillion is owed to Social Security.
Good luck to the politician who reneges on that debt, said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who is now president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
"Those bonds are protected by the full faith and credit of the United States of America," Kennelly said. "They're as solid as what we owe China and Japan."

Rut-roh shaggy!

"Social Security is projected to drain its trust funds by 2037 unless Congress acts, and there's concern that the looming crisis will lead to reduced benefits."

EXCEPT, that the monies from the "trust fund" weren't put in the sock drawer - it was spent! The Account is ALREADY DRAINED!.........sorry to sound like KD, but wording means a lot.......unless you're a 21st century journalist.

CaptainMorgan wrote:

stock buybacks have sort of replaced dividends in many shareholders eyes...

Well that is what management is trying to sell. Of course the main reason they like buybacks, is that their compensation is tied to share price more so than profitability. If management's compensation was metered to dividends, that is what you'd get more of.

.....geeze......please, give it a rest, Slimedog.......actually, the message (food/water/cash) storage is a good one......sorry for the rebuke.

So it looks like America is going into the money rehab league, AA.

I'm not buying it, but ask the average shareholder or worker at those companies and a typical response is that stock buybacks are good.

It is very hard to come up with a reward metric that can't be gamed, and not all people are motivated in the same way, especially at lower levels.

You know what I despise about politicians of both stripes nowadays?

The propensity of them to tell of how their constituents Jenny Smith or Fred Jones are effected by the financial climate, it sounds so very hokey as all of them do it now...

Slumdog wrote:

Boys, this is not a joke.

Unintentional comedy meter just red-lined.

NAHB Builder Confidence declines in March

Slumdog wrote:

OT: H1N1 Flu Pandemic.

Is Henry Niman looking for money again?

edit: the link

Swine To Swine Transmission of Pandemic H1N1 In MN IL IA

I think I just found the problem with AIG ...

"In addition to these traditional actuarial methods, AIG’s actuaries utilize ground-up claim projections provided
by AIG claims staff as a benchmark for determining the indicated ultimate losses for all accident years other than the
most recent accident year."

http://www.aigcorporate.com/investors/2654275_15501T04_CNB.pdf

Obviously, when grinding up meat which is tainted, one needs to clean the grinder from time to time, and hence AIG actuaries were sloppy and screwed up their internal benchmarks and lost sight of WTF they were doing -- and all these butchers need to be in prison for fraud!

Sacred cows make the best hamburger -- Mark Twain