Anonymous writes:
me?

Second-home sales nationally took a big hit last year as speculators disappeared from the market in the face of tightening credit, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday.

Vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent in 2007, to 740,000 from a record 1.07 million in 2006, while sales of investment properties fell 18.1 percent, to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006.

At the same time, sales of primary residences were off 10 percent, to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006, the NAR reported.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the decline had been expected because "second homes are discretionary purchases, and there is a natural tendency to pull back from big-ticket items in periods of uncertainty."

Credit tightening, especially during 2007, made lots of buyers take a wait-and-see attitude, he said.

Investors "are being wrung out of the market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com in West Chester.

"The housing market has gone from boom to bust as the investor frenzy has flamed out," he said. "Both flippers and long-term investors have fled the market. The long-term investors will eventually come back, but the flippers won't be back in our lifetime."
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 6:56 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
In general, hedge funds do seem to gather around pirate islands like Cayman and bermuda, thus these types of tax-evading yield-enhancing entities will give a crap about Paulson, SIFMA, Bush, American's or new dumbass regulations that are written to be window dressing for political fallout.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 6:59 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Mr. Paulson is clearly taking a stand against critics who support even stricter regulations, while rejecting any notion that the crisis in financial markets or the collapse of Bear Stearns can be laid at the administration’s doorstep. In a draft of a speech to be delivered Monday, he declares: “I do not believe it is fair or accurate to blame our regulatory structure for the current turmoil.”

“The Fed oversaw this meltdown,” said Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland who was a senior official of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Clinton administration. “This is the equivalent of the builders of the Maginot line giving lessons on defense.”
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 7:03 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Got a friend that is a Vietnam vet and on his shoulder is tattooed: Don't Mean Noth'en. Think it fits here as well this is going to be dead meat, a lot of smoke, mirrors and BS in an election year as money is deposited in campaign coffer threw the back door.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 7:05 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
When Mr. Frank asked why Citigroup had kept billions of dollars in “structured investment vehicles” off the firm’s balance sheet, he recalled, Mr. Prince responded that Citigroup, as a bank holding company, would have been at a disadvantage because investment firms can operate with higher debt and lower capital reserves.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, has taken a similar stance.

“Commercial banks continue to be supervised closely, and are subject to a host of rules meant to limit systemic risk,” Mr. Schumer wrote in an op-ed article on Friday in The Wall Street Journal. “But many other financial institutions, including investment banks and hedge funds, are regulated lightly, if at all, even though they act in many ways like banks.”
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 7:08 pm | #

Nemo writes:
Hey CR --

Maybe you should just auto-delete any comment longer than four lines.
Nemo | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 7:13 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
We already have laws regarding fraud, theft by deception, and racketeering and organized crime.

At the risk of pissing Tanta off: The time for and usefulness of oversight has passed. This is now a matter for law enforcement.

We should follow the lead of our MFN trading partner, China, and institute some draconian and ghastly penalties for those involved in the criminality. A few heads hanging from posts on Wall Street would clear this situation up in a matter of days, and it would be a looooong time before someone tried anything like it again.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 7:15 pm | #

my time of the month writes:
Re: At the risk of pissing Tanta off

Does Tanta get pissed off? How can you tell?
my time of the month | 03.29.08 - 7:19 pm | #

Average Citizen writes:
It amazes me daily that someone's head is not on a platter...
Average Citizen | 03.29.08 - 7:19 pm | #

my time of the month writes:
Re:

Maybe
you
should
just
aut
o-delete
any comment longer than four lines?

What are you the police?
my time of the month | 03.29.08 - 7:20 pm | #

Anon writes:
"A few heads hanging from posts on Wall Street"

Paulson's would look neat in the corner of Pearl.
Anon | 03.29.08 - 7:21 pm | #

Joe Klein's conscience writes:
I don't know about anyone else but I think Shakespeare had this regulatory plan by Paulson down flat. "All sound and fury signifying nothing". The plan doesn't sound in any way like it will prevent future messes like the one we have now. Heck, all the hedge fund another other business interest groups think this plan is a swell idea. Talk about learning nothing.
Joe Klein's conscience | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 7:24 pm | #

rich writes:
Modern securities regulation is based on the principle of full disclosure for publicly sold securities.

The biggest single problem and danger in modern securities markets is excessive, opaque leverage.

What's wrong with the idea of requiring all entities that engage in leveraged transactions (of any type) to disclose it?

Instantly, the amount of leverage would decline, because disclosure would enable vulnerable over-leveraged entities to become targets.

Oh, I forgot. You can't do that, because it would mean that the PPT's minions would have to disclose their leveraged trading activities.

And the only real thing propping up the U.S. stock market, with or without the PPT, is excessive leverage.

Back to the drawing board.
rich | 03.29.08 - 7:49 pm | #

bobn writes:
I caught Obama on CNN's "Ballot Bowl", stating that this was inadequate because it didn't provide enough regulation of the new entities being granted access to the Fed's lending - whcih I thought was amazing, in that he or someone near him actually understands soe of this.
bobn | 03.29.08 - 7:54 pm | #

Taylor writes:
Obama is smart, but he has strong ties to Bob Rubin. Not all his money came in $5 internet donations.
Taylor | 03.29.08 - 7:55 pm | #

bzb writes:
Meanwhile they seem to be relaxing regulations and allowing mark-to-phantasy:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2...ge-mark- to.html

http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/...ow-ignore-them/
bzb | 03.29.08 - 7:58 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
Taylor writes:
Obama is smart, but he has strong ties to Bob Rubin. Not all his money came in $5 internet donations.

Taylor | 03.29.08 - 7:55 pm

_______

Guess we'll have to elect McCain. Or maybe Nader.

Oy.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 7:59 pm | #

Topher writes:
How about Paulson’s head on one horn of the bull and BB’s on the other.
Topher | 03.29.08 - 8:03 pm | #

Jim3 writes:
It seems to me that the key to gaining control over this situation is to control who can create the money of the US, and how much is created.

The Constitution grants that power to the Congress exclusively.

What has happened is that every imaginable sort of financial construct (the "Shadow Bankers") has been used to get around the legitimate restrictions on the creation of money.

Whatever it's called, the upshot is that trillions of dollars in credit and other money substitutes have enter the commerce stream, but there isn't enough underlying value to support it.

I'd like for members of Congress stand up for the public and the Constitution here before more of this junk is dumped onto the public account.
Jim3 | 03.29.08 - 8:05 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Paulson needs to go the route of Hoffa
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:06 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Re: I'd like for members of Congress stand up for the public and the Constitution here before more of this junk is dumped onto the public account.

Approval ratings for President Bush have dropped to 31.3 percent according to a pollester.com poll. That's a 5 percent drop since the beginning of 2008, and a 20 percent drop since his second term started in 2005.

Congressional approval ratings have also fallen from 32 percent after the election in 2006 to 23.5 percent last month.

These low approval ratings may help the upcoming presidential candidates while foreshadowing poor voter turn out as disgruntled citizens resort to political apathy.

These crooks don't stand up, they sit around waiting for lobby money and bribes, or scripts from SIFMA and NAR!
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:08 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Today, according to Pew Center polls, 70 per cent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Eight-one per cent believes economic conditions are "fair or poor." New, depressing economic news arrives almost daily. President George W. Bush's approval rating stands at 33 per cent; that of the Democratic-controlled Congress at 21 per cent.

A staggering 80 per cent say they want "change." This share of voters far eclipses the share who wanted change after eight years each of presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:12 pm | #

bobn writes:
Or maybe Nader.

SCREW NADER!!! he helped guarantee this mess by throwing the 2000 election to Bush. Nader should be ashamed to come out in public.
bobn | 03.29.08 - 8:13 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
Paulson and Greenspan. BB is trapped in a web weaved by others. His end - the infamy of fecklessness - will be bad enough.

The punishment should never be worth the crime (for instance, would you risk a 3 year prison term for a million dollars? How about $5 million?). The penalty should be sufficient to make any person of reasonable intelligence - regardless of character - afraid to suffer the same fate.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 8:17 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
"I'd like for members of Congress stand up for the public and the Constitution here before more of this junk is dumped onto the public account."


Get real.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:18 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
OT, but related to The Bush economy:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the state of Illinois will turn off lights in its Chicago buildings tonight for one hour ..
http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x...age/ x1670188989


Business owners and residents are also urged to turn off their lights from 8 to 9 p.m. to help send a message that everyone is concerned about and wants to find ways to combat global climate change.

Skylines around the world went dim Saturday night, as if someone had flicked a giant switch, in celebration of Earth Hour, a symbolic hour of darkness to remind people of the need to combat global warming.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp...ml? hpid=topnews

"The main point is not to make a significant dent in climate change, but to demonstrate the need for people to take leadership on their own to address this problem," said Richard Moss, the fund's vice president for climate change. "It's not about sitting in the dark, it's about making a serious commitment over the next year and beyond over how we contribute to climate change."
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:18 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
Anonymous:

Are you the Anonymous that always posts here?
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 8:19 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Not always
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:22 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
my time of the month writes:
Re: At the risk of pissing Tanta off

Does Tanta get pissed off? How can you tell?

my time of the month | 03.29.08 - 7:19 pm

______

Maybe it's guilt. I could be projecting.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 8:22 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Hey,

I'm anon that always posts here:

“The week ahead will be spent trying to determine whether we are experiencing a bear market rally or if the market has been setting us up for a cruel April fool’s prank,” said analysts at Wachovia Securities in a research note. Sal Guatieri at BMO Capital Markets said a recovery in the economy and markets needs more time.

Guatieri said despite the Fed’s “heroics to save the financial system,” the latest data showing a fragile US housing market “provided a stark reminder that policymakers, while treating the symptoms, have not yet cured the disease — which is the cancer in housing markets.”

Donald Ratajczak, economist at Morgan Keegan, also worries that the worst may not yet be over even though stocks have been hammered in the first weeks of 2008.

“Are we in a dead cat bounce or the end of the the market contraction? One of my concerns has not been resolved. Earnings projections remain too high,” Ratajczak said.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:30 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
OT?

J.C. Penney Co. slashed its first-quarter sales and earnings guidance Friday, expects only temporary relief at best from tax rebates and said it’s reviewing ways to cut costs.

Sales through the Easter holiday were well below expectations..

“Consumer confidence is at a multi-year low,” said Mike Ullman, Penney’s chairman and chief executive officer.

2. "As we look forward to 2008, current trends indicate that we'll be operating in one of the most challenging economic environments we've seen in many years," Chief Executive Howard Lester said on a conference call.
He said it was probably the worst time he'd seen in the 30 years he has been in the business.
"And," Lester said, "we believe there are circumstances under which it could get progressively worse, particularly if we find ourselves in a protracted recession."
Higher gasoline and food prices, resetting mortgage rates, a credit crunch and the U.S. housing decline have hurt all retailers.
But chains that specialize in home goods, like Williams-Sonoma, Pier 1 Imports Inc and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc, have been especially affected because of significantly weaker demand for furniture and decor.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 8:34 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
I'm still hoarding sugar.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 8:38 pm | #

lawyerliz writes:
Actually there have been studies about the effectiveness of punishments, which we totally ignore in the US. Punishments are most effective, not when they are Draconian, (or, Marcus Aurelian), but when they are swift and sure. When they are swift and sure, you don't have to punish so harshly. So, if you could send a good fraction of the evil doers to a Martha Stewart type jail and sentence within the next 3 months, . . or 6 months, then it just might be the people would be inhibited from doing the bad stuff. I doubt Martha would ever take some inside info advice and buy or sell shares ever again.

Alas, neither swift and sure, nor harsh penalties are gonna happen. These guys are too rich to get put away en masse. And you would have to put away a fairly large number so the rest of them would get the idea it's not such a good idea to do this bad financial stuff.
lawyerliz | 03.29.08 - 8:44 pm | #

dr strangemoney writes:
Touchdown!

*does end-zone dance*

As much as government and regulation sucks, as long as you have a government guarantee, you must have strict regulation because most people can't simply be trusted to do the right thing. While it is sad that this will eventually lead down the road to serfdom, it is better than sweeping it under the rug and letting the bandits do it to us again. Hopefully, they will be smart in attempting to refactor the regulatory framework. I won't be surprised if the bandits have a field day with a giant new set of loopholes.

ps To all you cheaters out there, Fuck You.
dr strangemoney | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 8:45 pm | #

scotty low on sugar writes:
Industry representatives say Penneys won't be an isolated case -- given the way the economy is going -- and that there is no immediate relief in site.

Goldman Sachs cut its Q1 EPS forecast for Bank of America by 62% to 35 cents
scotty low on sugar | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 8:46 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
lawyerliz,

They might be too numerous and wealthy to put away in large numbers, but we should give it the old college try. It is incumbent on us to protect ourselves. Not that I think law enforcement will lift a finger. It's that bad.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 8:51 pm | #

njdoc writes:
All of this talk of government oversight is BullSh**t. Losing money is the great market regulator. By using taxpayer money as a Stop-Loss or Put for the Wall Street leveraged oligarchs, any an all regulation is only good for wall paper. The SEC has become a neutered body, a regulatory eunuch. Paulson's plan for the Fed to do the bulk of Wall Street's regulation is both bizarre and amusing. Didn't the Fed have regulatory authority over the mortgage market? It amounts to a long document with lots of words that essentially tries to sweep the problem under the rug. As long as there are LTCMs and Bear Strearns, all the market participants will take away the lesson of the continuation of the Greenspan Put, regardless of Paulson's blatherings.
njdoc | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 8:55 pm | #

lawyerliz writes:
Maybe all this is just a bit of empire building for the Fed pooh-bahs.
lawyerliz | 03.29.08 - 8:56 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
lawyerliz

"Empire building" in the bureaucratic or in the larger governmental sense?
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 9:03 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
Remember when this was called "the sub-prime crisis"? Seems like it was only a few months ago...
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 9:04 pm | #

El Cliffo writes:
Now it's called the Credit Crunch, which is also a delicious breakfast cereal:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/i...8/01/ credit.jpg
El Cliffo | 03.29.08 - 9:11 pm | #

AllenM writes:
Paulson is starting to remind me of Col. Kilgore- tear assing around causing a lot of damage and doing nothing to solve the real problems.

What a joke. No power to limit the foolishness before real damage starts.

I vote to implement this and let a bunch of firms go broke.

Serve those folks who want limited government right- they also are probably big investors in auction rate securities;-}

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder...we are slowly going up the river, I feel like we are about at the Do Long Bridge.

Remember, the highway is open every day, and every night Charlie blows it up again.

Someday this war's gonna end...
AllenM | 03.29.08 - 9:20 pm | #

scotty low on sugar writes:
1. Merrill's chief executive, has privately drawn up plans to reduce the number of investment bankers by as much as 15 per cent, or around 300 heads. The troubled banking group employs some 2,100 bankers worldwide.

The cuts are expected to be announced at the beginning of April as Merrill gears up to announce another disappointing set of financial results for the first quarter, which ended on Friday.

Analysts are forecasting that the group will reveal another large write-down in the value of assets related to the sub-prime crisis. Predictions range between about $4.5bn of write-downs and as much as $8bn.

2. Despite a strong balance sheet, in our view, with $1.3 billion in cash, we are concerned about KBH's exposure to Arizona and California markets. Using 0.75 times our $20 book value estimate, near other large builders, we keep our $15 target price

3. For every cent that the dollar drops against the euro, Sanofi's euro reported earnings per share (EPS) are expected to decline by half a percentage point, according to the company's latest press release on its 2008 earnings forecast.

4. The decline in the dollar filters through the economy in many ways. The earnings of multinationals go up -- as those firms translate foreign earnings back into devalued dollars. For instance, United Technologies Corp., a global producer of aerospace equipment, elevators and air conditioners based in Hartford, Conn., calculates that for every penny the euro increases against the dollar, the company records an additional $10 million in annual profit. Weaker greenbacks also make its helicopters and escalators seem cheaper to overseas buyers, boosting competitiveness, says Greg Hayes, the company's vice president of accounting and finance.

5. Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota Motor, said Monday that he would take steps to respond to the strength of the yen against the dollar. He added that in the long term, the best solution for a company the size of Toyota was to have production facilities in its major markets.

6. he euro zone's biggest companies, and some mid-sized ones, too, all practice currency hedging, which entails purchasing financial contracts to lock in exchange rates to avoid pitfalls in the event of big swings.

Chief financial officer Michael Ganal said that BMW had already started moving to hedge its exposure to currency fluctuations in 2009.

BMW is also taking advantage of the weak dollar by expanding production at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with plans to spend US$750 million (€476 million) on facilities for its X5 sport utility vehicle and the new generation of its X3 SUV, expanding production from its current 160,000 a year to 240,000 cars annually by 2012.

... Meanwhile,

The last employment report before the April 30 FOMC meeting will provide a stronger read on the size of a decline in policy rates. Funds futures currently price in full expectations for a 25 basis point ease as a 50 basis point cut carries just shy of even odds.

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped the most against the euro in more than two years as traders increased bets the Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs further to avoid a recession while the European Central Bank holds rates steady.

The currency came within a cent of the all-time low this week before a Labor Department report on April 4 forecast to show U.S. employers cut jobs for a third straight month. The pound declined to a record versus the euro as March consumer confidence in the U.K. slumped to a 15-year low.

``Numbers from the U.S. show the economy is worse than most people expected...

That concludes this emergency public service announcement....
scotty low on sugar | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 9:24 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 9:24 pm | #

Carl Somers writes:
If the Fed knows the true values of the hedgies and dark pools but does not inform the public markets, then things are worse. The Fed's balance sheet, while incomprehensible to most market participants, is public and can be found with a bit of work to anyone with a working browser and internet connection. If the shadow banking system is exposed in such a way, either confidence will be restored and the crisis ended, or the ponzi-like scheme revealed and the system collapse. Does anyone think the Fed will disseminate the information they collect?
If the Fed is allowed/commanded to collect the information, but never reveals the raw data instead being allowed to assert on their own rep whether the systems are sound and being managed correctly, then we all will be totally reliant on the Fed's judgment and exactly who is to watch the Fed for manipulation of the markets?
And has been alluded to above, exactly how is the Fed going to get good info from the Cayman Islands, etc., all of whom are beyond U.S. jurisdiction? Even the U.K. and German banks haven't given us (or their own regulators, for that matter) good info on their situations.
Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that banking systems that got their start in the world laundering drug money are going to be honest about the operations of their SIV's. This whole system was designed to evade U.S. law and regulatory oversight. That's its reason for existence. I don't see how you are going to fix that by giving the Fed some additional information about how it works. You fix that by outlawing it outright. You make it illegal to put any asset or liability off balance sheet. You enforce that law with draconian penalties for those who dare to evade it and you demand full compliance with the laws and regulations that now exist and maybe add back a few that were repealed in the 80's and 90's if you have to.
We need to make banking a dangerous occupation for those who would flout the reg's and a safe and respected profession for those who conduct their business within the rules, just as it used to be within the living memory of many who frequent this blog.

Marcus Aurelius- Hyperbole not withstanding, you have hit the nail on the head. In this country, we do not actually mount heads on pikes, but we have an excellent substitute in the VERY long prison terms that we reserve for the most egregious of the financial criminals among us. Often they serve longer terms than murderers or common thieves. The fact that too many have gotten away with their crimes recently HAS encouraged this bad run of misbehavior among our current crop of mega-thieves. Club Fed is a mythical place that was abolished some years ago, most financial criminals are really dismayed to discover that they are very likely to be sent to really tough federal prisons or (horrors!) work camps where they may well be expected to do manual labor. Imagine that.
Carl Somers | 03.29.08 - 9:33 pm | #

beachblvd writes:
I don't trust government, but I trust the private sector even less. Much less.
beachblvd | 03.29.08 - 10:00 pm | #

barely writes:
The best defense is a strong offense. This manuever is nothing more than an attempt to fend off real law based regulation, that the Fed already had responsibility to enforce.

I think the BIG news is still the brokerages election to now share the losses with their clients. They can't absort the losses on their own. When GE closed out their fund they did their clients a big favor. I can only imagine the redemptions and outflows. Brokers will be left with a tiny fraction of their assets under management once the realization hits that this is only round 1. No one will want to stick around for round2.

Where does the money go?
barely | 03.29.08 - 10:00 pm | #

unirealist writes:
Where does the money go?

Uhh, glod?
unirealist | 03.29.08 - 10:12 pm | #

unirealist writes:
As this debacle unfolds, it gains such incredible momentum that nothing can stop it.

Which is why, ultimately, fiat money and fractional reserve banking will be swept away as flimsy obstacles in the path of the avalanche.

No, dryfly, probably not forever. But I do think that if and when they are revived, it will be in much more constrained form.
unirealist | 03.29.08 - 10:16 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Moody's working on new Subprime Supermodel for Bush/Paulson/McCain:

Petascale project moves ahead. Trustees approved designs and awarded the first contract for the $72.5 million Petascale Computing Facility, which will house the world's most powerful supercomputer for open scientific research when it comes online in 2011. The Blue Waters supercomputer will sustain more than 1 quadrillion calculations, allowing scientists to model the weather or the movement of pandemic disease across a continent.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:17 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
Where does the money go?

barely | 03.29.08 - 10:00 pm

________

The smart money buys a farm in a remote location (and holds any residual value in gold and silver).
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 10:21 pm | #

Octavio Richetta writes:
"Weaker greenbacks also make its helicopters and escalators seem cheaper to overseas buyers, boosting competitiveness, says Greg Hayes, the company's vice president of accounting and finance."

Betcha these chepo copters are da' ones Benny will use to sprinkle some weakned dough upon us.
Octavio Richetta | 03.29.08 - 10:22 pm | #

Circling the Drain writes:
Quasi-OT:

John Mauldin's writeup on continuing mortgage and housing trouble.

http://tinyurl.com/yqenfg

cd
Circling the Drain | 03.29.08 - 10:24 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Warsh To Store Brain On Computer Chip:

* Most obviously, it’s another endorsement for “cloud computing,” an emerging model where businesses store their data on equipment owned and operated by outside companies and access them over the Internet. Many pundits believe that cloud computing is the tech industry’s evolutionary next step...

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/200...al/? mod=WSJBlog
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:25 pm | #

Marcus Aurelius writes:
The market for helicopters and escalators never goes down. You'd better get in now, or be priced out forever.
Marcus Aurelius | 03.29.08 - 10:29 pm | #

transient writes:
BMW is also taking advantage of the weak dollar by expanding production at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with plans to spend US$750 million (€476 million) on facilities for its X5 sport utility vehicle and the new generation of its X3 SUV, expanding production from its current 160,000 a year to 240,000 cars annually by 2012.

Is it just me, or does this seem like stupidity? Oil is going through the roof, so let's build more SUV's!
transient | 03.29.08 - 10:34 pm | #

Brian writes:
These are some darn interesting comments. I am quite interested to see you angle on the President's new "vision" of the FED's role in economics. Would these be a case of the fox watching the hen house?

Please stop by and visit my bolg when you get a chance.www.usmegatrends.blogspot.com
We have many similar sentiments about the markets.
Brian | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 10:35 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
The smart money buys a farm in a remote location (and holds any residual value in gold and silver).

I'm in.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:38 pm | #

FT Woods writes:
SEC: Countrywide execs to get millions in stock

Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo is set to receive $10 million in stock, and President David Sambol will get about $9 million, according to documents Bank of America filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FT Woods | 03.29.08 - 10:39 pm | #

Michael McKinlay writes:
Paulson's Plan : Hello Disaster Capitalism !

"That same Fed is set to take over control of even more aspects of the US economy. And no matter how you see the calls for more government involvement, it should be clear that the Fed is not the government.

America is about to hand over even the last few bits of control over its wallet to a group of private bankers. As usual, this happens under the cloak of a crisis; the 1907 crash led to the call for a strong central bank. 100 years later, democratic oversight of the nation's finances is about to vanish in its entirety."

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

Here we go folks, the people that brought you this current catastrophy, the privately owned and operated Federal Reserve controlled by it owners, the member banks, are about to control our entire regulatory structure of the financial system.

Hello Disaster Capitalism !
Michael McKinlay | 03.29.08 - 10:41 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
http://stochastix.wordpress.com/...the-phynancier/

The computer revolution is speeding from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, and if David Shaw gets his wish, many of the fat-cat employees at America’s major stock exchanges will soon be out of work.
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:43 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
"privately owned and operated Federal Reserve controlled by it owners, the member banks, are about to control our entire regulatory structure of the financial system."

There are other markets in the world, move your money if you don't like it. It's called capital flight that's what I did screw'em
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:45 pm | #

Broker writes:
" If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around (the banks) will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
Thomas Jefferson
PS. I don`t think Jefferson is one of uncle Ben`s all time favorites.
Broker | 03.29.08 - 10:58 pm | #

Neal writes:
Let me relate a big suspicion related to this proposal from Paulsen--it says this is not new, he has been working on it from early last year.

The war against Iraq was a plan that has been worked on before 9/11.

The idea of the "unitary executive" had been conceived before 9/11.

Increased domestic spying was a plan that had been conceived before 9/11.

And so on..

This administration has done very well at pushing forward self-serving agendas at the time of crisis when people were willing to swallow any sort of BS in the hopes of addressing the crisis.

It is clear that their agenda and the interests of the people of the United States and the Constitution as a governing document are often at odds when the plan is executed and the details are apparent.

Watch out, that's all I'm saying. We are ending up with a very different version of America at the end of these 8 years than we had at the beginning.
Neal | 03.29.08 - 11:03 pm | #

Michael McKinlay writes:
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 10:45 pm

All the worlds' banks use fractional reserve banking, at least 95% of them, there are a few exceptions but they are small and few.

In any case why should I give up my rights as a citizen to these parasites?

Time to Fire the Federal Reserve, Past Time!
Michael McKinlay | 03.29.08 - 11:03 pm | #

Keep It Simple, I'm Stupid writes:
Approval ratings for President Bush have dropped to 31.3 percent according to a pollester.com poll.

It's pollster.com, and, to give a shout out to a personal friend, they don't take any polls themselves. The 31.3 percent is what Charles Franklin came up with when he did local regression on the wide varieties of publicly available polls. It's a neat technique.

As long as I'm off-topic, I'm going to hope dryfly comes on. That was a tough way to end a season, but you can't fault the Gophers for a lack of effort. I'm really pleased with how they played the last three weekends.
Keep It Simple, I'm Stupid | Homepage | 03.29.08 - 11:03 pm | #

Michael McKinlay writes:
"The money power preys on the nation in
times of peace, and conspires against it
in times of adversity. It is more despotic
than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy,
more sel sh than bureaucracy. It denounces,
as public enemies, all who question
its methods or throw light upon its crimes."


~Abraham Lincoln
Michael McKinlay | 03.29.08 - 11:11 pm | #

AllenM writes:
FT Woods, that is *today's* value for that stock.

Next month it might be $0.21- after all this is the era of whocoodanode?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6...h? v=6NeQ1h6lzLI

Music of foreboding.

The crisis is not yet upon us, the crisis is just beginning. More and more I have begun to believe we start the first hundred days of the new administration like march 1933...

The ways of the world have been upset, and now a new order will be established in international finance.

One that will eventually not center on New York.

Our sunset is somebody else's dawn.

Someday this war's gonna end...
AllenM | 03.29.08 - 11:13 pm | #

Neal writes:
From Bnet: 2002...

(quote)
What emerges from the laundry list is an unprecedented expansion of the exercise of executive branch authority with diminished opportunity for independent oversight, and little or no provision for accountability. The key seems to be speed, mixed with a bit of gravitas: new policies are unilaterally adopted almost daily, giving those of us in the position of debating them little or no chance to attract the scrutiny of Congress before the next outrage is perpetrated.

By doing so, and by labeling each unilateral move a blow for motherhood and apple pie and any critic of it a traitor, this presidency is warping the institutional checks and balances that took the nation decades to create. Because it seems easier, because it is more efficient, this administration is turning its cumulative back on the experience on which that balance was based.
(end quote)

Different crisis, same tactic.
Neal | 03.29.08 - 11:30 pm | #

Tennis_8 writes:
We're ALL Anonymous now ;~)
Tennis_8 | 03.29.08 - 11:37 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
XXX
Anonymous | 03.29.08 - 11:40 pm | #

plschwartz writes:
Yves Smith on Paulson background
"..Paulson has long had a taste for the dark side. He was John Erlichman's assistant 1972-1973. As you no doubt know, Erlichman was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury for his role in the Watergate scandal. Paulson previously worked as a staffer at the Pentagon during Vietnam. another dubious undertaking (1970-1972, by then pretty much the entire country was against the war)."

None of this came up at his confirmation hearing Senate Finance Committee. There was just some little chatter when he confessed being arrested for trespassing public swimming pool. Though it was still under GOP control Dems of course had a right to question. They included John Kerry and Charles Schumer. Approved by committee unanimously by voice vote and by full Senate also voice vote.
plschwartz | 03.30.08 - 12:00 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Dr Strangemoney,if you do decide to "f" some of these cheaters,wear protection,you don't want to end up SIV positive...
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 12:13 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Though the Constitution was drafted in a way that was somewhat ambiguous as to the balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently took the side of greater federal power at the expense of states. Thus, as Secretary of the Treasury, he established—against the intense opposition of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson—the country's first national bank. Hamilton justified the creation of this bank, and other increased federal powers, on Congress's constitutional powers to issue currency, to regulate interstate commerce, and anything else that would be "necessary and proper." Jefferson, on the other hand, took a stricter view of the Constitution: parsing the text carefully, he found no specific authorization for a national bank. This controversy was eventually settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in McCulloch v. Maryland, which in essence adopted Hamilton's view, granting the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers, specifically the doctrine of implied powers.

>> Hamilton argued that the sovereign duties of a government implied the right to use means adequate to its ends. Although the United States government was sovereign only as to certain objects, it was impossible to define all the means which it should use, because it was impossible for the founders to anticipate all future exigencies. Hamilton noted that the "general welfare clause" and the "necessary and proper" clause gave elasticity to the constitution. Hamilton won the argument with Washington, who signed his Bank Bill into law.

>> CONCLUSION::::

Section 8 of the Constitution provides that: "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States." Madison and Hamilton read this passage differently. Hamilton's view was that it empowered Congress to tax and spend for any project that in its judgment promoted the general welfare, provided only that the expenditure be for a national, as distinct from a local purpose.

Madison's view was that: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined" (emphasis added). In fact, the defined powers are specifically enumerated in Section 8 immediately following the reference to the general Welfare. Among them are the power to borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and declare war. Thus, in Madison's view, Congress could not tax and spend for purposes not specifically enumerated.

In United States v. Butler, the Supreme Court resolved the Hamilton-Madison dispute by finding that Hamilton's reading of the welfare clause was the correct one. Five months later the Court applied the Hamilton construction of the welfare clause in Helvering v. Davis, a case in which the constitutionality of the old-age benefits provisions of the Social Security Act were challenged.1 The Court found that taxing one group of citizens to provide benefits for another group was within the congressional power to promote the general welfare. And the Court added: "The line must still be drawn between one welfare and another, between particular and general." But "the discretion . . . is not confided to the courts. The discretion belongs to Congress . . ."

Congress needs to get off its ass and take control of America and uphold The Constitution!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 12:44 am | #

rich writes:
Five or six days ago, nobody in the U.S. except a few fatcats cared about financial regulation.

Today, it's a new political battleground, and by tomorrow it may be the most important battleground of all.

Bush-Paulson made a huge mistake by splashing this so loudly. It woke up the Democrats.

There is NO WAY the Democrats will let ANY financial regulation reform through before the November elections. It will become an even bigger election issue.

If the Democrats win, the comprehensive financial regulation they will pass looks nothing like what Bush-Paulson want. It will shackle Wall Street speculators and hedge funds with a new equivalent of the Thirty Four Act and the Forty Act, only aimed at all the leveraged greed instruments of today.
rich | 03.30.08 - 12:47 am | #

Jesse writes:
This has been part of an ongoing plan by the Bush Administration to centralize regulation and oversight. Even after the Republicans are swept in the next elections, they can still maintain more control from the Supreme court and from the Fed than they can from the states and the Congress. This is like a bad rerun of the 1930's.

Remember this?

http:// jessescrossroadscafe.blog...washington.html
Jesse | 03.30.08 - 12:57 am | #

RE writes:
Great to see you hear Jesse. I've visited your site many times over past few years. Always good stuff.
RE | 03.30.08 - 1:53 am | #

Francois writes:
The MSM has taken a very sanguine view of this "proposal". For a more unvarnished, no BS take on Paulson's non-proposal, Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism pulls no punches:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2...- financial.html

"Why is it that the media feels compelled to take pronouncements from government officials more or less at face value? By now, they ought to know that if someone from the Bush Administration is moving his lips, odds are it's a lie.

Today's object lesson is the so-called financial services regulatory reform plan announced by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Both the Journal and Times treat his proposals as significant. Their headlines, respectively: "Sweeping Changes in Paulson Plan," and "Treasury’s Plan Would Give Fed Wide New Power."

There is less here than meets the eye, and what is here is guaranteed not to be implemented during the remaining months of the Bush presidency. And that of course is precisely the point of this exercise. Appear to be doing something and dump the mess in the lap of your successor."

The remainder of the post is quite instructive, IMO.
Francois | 03.30.08 - 2:04 am | #

FFDIC writes:
Floyd Norris/NY Times
If Market Prices Are Too Low Ignore Them (per SEC)
http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/...ow-ignore-them/
Mish's Blog:
SEC Openly Invites Corporations To Lie
http://globaleconomicanalysis.bl...s.blogspot.com/
SEC Gives Permission to Fudge Mark-to-Market
"The US is acting more and more like a banana republic with every passing day. One of the characteristics of a banana republic is that it puts out flattering-to-the-point-of-being-unreliable data about its economy and important institutions."
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2...ge-mark- to.html

SEC Sample Letter Sent to Public Companies on MD&A Disclosure Regarding the Application of SFAS 157 (Fair Value Measurements)
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/ cor...alueltr0308.htm
FFDIC | 03.30.08 - 2:08 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Re: Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism pulls no punches:


WHY, is the media pulling punches and NOT seeing the battle here? I think CR/Tanta left this blog up, and simplified the issue very clearly:

Re: "The plan hands vast new authority to the Federal Reserve, essentially formalizing what has been an improvised process over the last three weeks."

THIS is a Constitutional battle of EPIC proportion -- IF Congress does its JOB to stop the mafia/cartel/SIFMA from taking over America in one fast pen stroke! This should be a fight, but if our elected representatives are busy taking bribes and having lunch with SIFMA -- America will be a third world trash pit without law. I have serious doubts that anyone will stand up to this and I think Bush and Paulson will take away what ever power remains in this nation. I fully expect people like Dodd to read a script from SIFMA and hand the keys to The US Treasury to Paulson, without a whimper -- because he is a first class slob and pussy!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 2:50 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Wow, look at what a Senator can do:

Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he personally called the CEO of the Pepsi Bottling Group in the Town of Somers to urge the company to remain in northern Westchester County. The Pepsi Bottling Group is currently considering vacating its home in the Town of Somers and relocating to Danbury, Connecticut. Schumer today stressed that it’s vital for the company to remain in Westchester County, where it employs approximately 845 employees and provides crucial economic support to the region.
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 3:08 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Anyone want a preview of what Dodd will say when Paulson asks for all the keys to The US Treasury?

Here Hank, we made copies and extra sets, take all you need!

Re: March 19, 2008

“This is a balanced agreement because it allows Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to play an immediate role in restoring liquidity and confidence to the mortgage markets, while ensuring they will be able to sustain the effort in the longer run by requiring them to raise additional capital. I expect the two companies to use the capital not only to help the markets generally, but also to help subprime borrowers in a much more focused manner.”
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 3:13 am | #

Anonymous writes:
March 25, 2008,
Housing Crisis? The H.U.D. Secretary is a Little Distracted Right Now

http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.co...d-right-now/? hp

Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shocked an audience of business leaders two years ago when he told of denying a government contract solely because the head of the bidding company spoke ill of President Bush.

“Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president?’’ Mr. Jackson asked with bare-knuckled glee. After the ensuing controversy, he claimed his comments were merely “anecdotal,” and insisted he did not believe in such punishment.
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 3:16 am | #

Anonymous writes:
The Democrates have zero power!

Democrats have raised allegations about potential improper political interference at HUD, particularly regarding to the use of contracts and federal spending. Mr. Jackson has consistently denied wrongdoing. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) and Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that controls HUD's appropriations, sent a letter to President George W. Bush on Friday calling for Mr. Jackson's removal.
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 3:18 am | #

waitinginPNW writes:
Topher- "How about Paulsons head on one horn of the bull and BB's on the other?"

This mess is bringing out a gory side of myself that I never knew I had.

I really like that image! I mean, I really, really , like that image!
waitinginPNW | 03.30.08 - 3:27 am | #

Anonymous writes:
I do like the interplay between Dodd and Paulson, e.g, Dodd, apparently pissed at The Bear Fiasco, sent this arrow in the air:

"Finally, given the exposure of public funds as a source of financing in support of the JPMorgan Chase-Bear Stearns transaction, we would welcome your views regarding the implications of these actions on the American taxpayer, and what possible changes these actions may or should herald for the Federal Reserve in its role as a lender of last resort and for the regulation of financial institutions."

>> Re: "we would welcome your views regarding the implications....

"changes these >> actions>> This is serious stuff, because Dodd and his pals control the purse strings for this "bail out" and it will be interesting to see how fast Dodd gives in, or if he will play a leadership role here!!

Then, alsong comes the total bullshit one upmanship from Bush/Paulson with Brother Ben in the background being coached IMHO, by SIFMA lawyers, as this hype is tossed out in reply to Dodd:

The Bush administration is proposing the broadest overhaul of Wall Street regulation since the Great Depression. But the plan, to be unveiled on Monday, has its genesis in a yearlong effort to limit Washington’s role in the market.

The plan hands vast new authority to the Federal Reserve, essentially formalizing what has been an improvised process over the last three weeks. But some fear that the central bank’s role in creating the current mess will undercut its ability to clean it up.

>> Should be a fight next week, but with Dodd about to be dumped by voters, he will be in a unique place to make history and stand up to this coup, or to fade away like an old meaningless fart.

My money is on the mafia and SIFMA!!! Greed is more powerful than any crooked Senator!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 3:52 am | #

Anonymous writes:
One last thing:

Re: "The plan hands vast new authority to the Federal Reserve"

This Bush/Paulson "Plan" does seem to usurp authority from The Banking Committee Chairman.

Re: See: Usurp >> to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.

I mean, come on, these crooks have a plan to take over The Treasury and to bypass a public process? You see this type of bullying with a walmart in a small town, when a bunch of experienced lawyers and planners ramrod projects down inexperienced taxpayers throats, but this deal, this plan, smells like Bush/Paulson are getting way ahead of due process and re-inventing The Constitution on-the-fly and bypassing a few steps. Probably no big deal and I assume Dodd was just curious about this new authority The Fed and treasury granted themselves, but.... should be interesting to see where this ends up!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 4:00 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Ok, ok, one final thing relating to "The Plan".

This was posted earlier and seems to indicate that Congress perhaps might or should, even may be involved in restructuring government:

"The Court found that taxing one group of citizens to provide benefits for another group was within the congressional power to promote the a general welfare. And the Court added: "The line must still be drawn between one welfare and another, between particular and general." But "the discretion . . . is not confided to the courts. The discretion belongs to Congress . . ."

That suggestion that Congress has discretionary power also suggests that there might be something related to a balance of power, and I fail to see where The President has total control (in regard to this issue). However, the amazing amount of absurd lawless collusion and corruption during the last 7 years may impact the nature of constitutional interpretations? It's a dang shame we don't have a DOJ anymore! However, as I recall, Congress can form a committee to investigate "stuff", but for 7 years they have appeared to be unwilling to do anything at all, so I guess I'm just using my right to free speech, before they take it away!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 4:11 am | #

Anonymous writes:
One last thing:

Research time; this is state based law, but what about Fed laws and emergency-like usurping of authority:

1. A mere declaration by the legislature that an act is an emergency measure does not make it so.

2. it will defer to the assertion of an emergency as long as the facts relied upon by the Legislature in declaring an emergency are not "'obviously false and a palpable attempt at dissimulation.'

3. Were it the case that courts must defer to a declaration of emergency itself, courts would never need to discuss the factual bases for legislation absent allegations of legislative deceit.

4. legislative declarations of emergency are "conclusive" unless "obviously false and a palpable attempt at dissimulation. There have been some vigorous judicial dissents to such deference, the most notable in an amusing case in which a city declared an emergency need for a new sports stadium...
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 4:45 am | #

Anonymous writes:
The home mortgage crisis that has Wall Street and consumers worried about an economic meltdown is prompting many in the U.S. Congress to come to the rescue of hard-hit states that just happen to be crucial to their own election-year success.

Florida, Ohio, Michigan and California have some of the highest concentrations of home foreclosures. They also are vote-rich states that congressional and presidential candidates need to win in November's elections.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ b...843835220080330

Truth is the media for a change gotta buy them votes.
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 8:59 am | #

Sunday Morning writes:
I'd like for members of Congress stand up for the public and the Constitution here before more of this junk is dumped onto the public account.

Jim3, good luck with that! It has worked out quite well re: signing statements, war on Iraq, etc. The "imperial presidency" is simply using this crisis to grab additional power away from Congress and their sorry attempts at Congressional oversight. We haven't been a democracy since, oh, about 2000.
Sunday Morning | 03.30.08 - 9:00 am | #

Sunday Morning writes:
Michael McKinlay writes: America is about to hand over even the last few bits of control over its wallet to a group of private bankers. As usual, this happens under the cloak of a crisis; the 1907 crash led to the call for a strong central bank. 100 years later, democratic oversight of the nation's finances is about to vanish in its entirety.

Not to worry, Michael, America is about to vanish in its entirety, too.
Sunday Morning | 03.30.08 - 9:14 am | #

Sunday Morning writes:
Watch out, that's all I'm saying. We are ending up with a very different version of America at the end of these 8 years than we had at the beginning.

Neal, if the torture photos from Abu Ghraib didn't wake up the sheeple, they can be counted on to sleep through this crisis as well.

Of course, when the roof over your head disappears ...
Sunday Morning | 03.30.08 - 9:19 am | #

Anonymous writes:
Two weeks after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, masterminded the purchase of Bear by JP Morgan Chase, one thing is crystal clear: JPMorgan shareholders are richer to the tune of $24 billion, Bear shareholders are several billion dollars better off than if the firm went totally bust, and American taxpayers are potentially on the hook for $29 billion.

Yes, $29 billion!

That's a nice round number to ponder, but not as nice as $66 billion. That's the record amount of money Wall Street's top five firms - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns - paid out in compensation and bonuses last year to their 186,000 employees.

Bear, the smallest of the five, saw $3.5 billion in precious capital go out the door in salary and bonuses even as it hobbled on its last legs.

At Merrill Lynch, they paid out $15.9 billion in compensation last year just weeks before the firm went hat-in-hand to secure a $6 billion lifeline investment.

Yes, that's right. The very same Wall Street that has borrowed upwards of $60 billion since Bernanke opened up the taxpayer-financed window at the Fed (estimates go as high as the $100 billion range - but who's counting?) had all that money in its pocket just a few short months ago and paid it out to the supposed geniuses who got us into this terrifying mess in the first place.

Sure the rank and file at Bear - like those at Enron and Drexel before them - got hosed, but the top guns? C'mon.

"How will you make me whole?" one Bear exec demanded of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon last week, clearly suffering from a chronic case of "entitle-itis."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/ 0330...lout_104130.htm

This whole damn country has entitle-itis
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 9:29 am | #

Sunday Morning writes:
JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon sits on the New York Federal Reserve Board:

http://www.ny.frb.org/ aboutthefe...ydirectors.html

Oh, so does Lehman Chairman/CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr.

Wild! Do we hear about this at all? I guess that means when the Fed has information about Bear Stearns, Jamie Dimon would have that information, too. Talk about your level playing fields!
Sunday Morning | 03.30.08 - 9:41 am | #

Watson writes:
Our predicament is largely ideological.

We are like members of a religion who have accepted the teaching that drugs and surgery are misguided and wicked methods of dealing with illness.

Our economic pastors preach maximum privatization and minimum government action, although they clearly believe that government intervention is indicated when they have a problem.
Watson | 03.30.08 - 9:43 am | #

Sunday Morning writes:
Watson, drugs and surgery can be misguided at times, but I get your point. (See, for example, predatory drug company advertising/propaganda, erroneous and/or unnecessary surgery, for-profit hospitals.)

It really should be called the "military industrial congressional pharmaceutical" complex. Take our drugs, please! Are you sure you don't have to pee at night? And go shopping, for God's sake (the war effort, you know)!
Sunday Morning | 03.30.08 - 9:52 am | #

Ella writes:
How is it possible that giving the FED more authority will solve the problems?

Was it not the FED Chair Greenspan who failed to use his regulatory authority in the first place. The same authority that probably would have diminished the size of the current mess?

Who will oversee the FED? Who will regulate the FED?

How can the FED be allowed to use the taxpayer funded public purse without public oversight?

How can the government of this country or the people of this country trust the FED?
Ella | 03.30.08 - 10:03 am | #

BreakOut writes:
Terry Keenan, you rock.
BreakOut | 03.30.08 - 10:07 am | #

Shylock writes:
It's official. The head of the foxes union is now doorman at the henhouse. Does this qualify as a mangled metaphor?
Shylock | 03.30.08 - 12:34 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
If Robert E. Rubin doesn't spend his retirement in prison, then justice has not been served.

Case closed.
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 1:01 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
"Topher- "How about Paulsons head on one horn of the bull and BB's on the other?"

This mess is bringing out a gory side of myself that I never knew I had.

I really like that image! I mean, I really, really , like that image!
waitinginPNW"

Okay, so those 2 get the horns...what I want to know is who gets to be the big pile of bull shit.

W? Cheney? Snow? Cox?

All of them together?
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 1:40 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
legislative declarations of emergency are "conclusive" unless "obviously false and a palpable attempt at dissimulation."

There have been some vigorous judicial dissents to such deference, the most notable in an amusing case in which a city declared an emergency need for a new sports stadium...

The Bush Paulson Emergency, is an emergency bailout for banker friends! Banks that made risky bad bets need to fail and become examples to other banks, versus bailing them out with taxpayer capital. America can not afford to bail out crooks and let this coup expand!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 1:51 pm | #

KRISHNAN writes:
Fed. has hired Blackrock to manage the mortgage backed securities it holds.Strange?!!!
KRISHNAN | 03.30.08 - 3:00 pm | #

DC in LBV writes:
It looks like Paulson is trying to create an illusionary regulation over all his old friends at the IBs and hedgies so that the Fed can claim it has the authority to bail them out when they do more stupid things without being able to actual tell them to stop. Just what we need, these idiots working with even higher margins, and more ignored risks, with an assumed Fed protection.
DC in LBV | 03.30.08 - 3:48 pm | #

Michael McKinlay writes:
MAKE NO MISTAKE ...

This is an effort to privatize financial regulation under the privately owned and operated Federal Reserve. Having caused this crisis the private bankers now want control of the regulation.

"The money power preys on the nation in
times of peace, and conspires against it
in times of adversity. It is more despotic
than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy,
more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces,
as public enemies, all who question
its methods or throw light upon its crimes."

~Abraham Lincoln

It's the fox guarding the henhouse.Don't be fooled the stakes couldn't be higher...
Michael McKinlay | 03.30.08 - 4:42 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Re: Fed. has hired Blackrock to manage the mortgage backed securities it holds.Strange?!!

Not as strange as SIFMA taking over The Treasury, and no one caring!
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 4:52 pm | #

Anonymous writes:
Fed. has hired Blackrock

Is that a mafia joke?
Anonymous | 03.30.08 - 7:26 pm | #

KRISHNAN writes:
No joke about Blackrock and the Fed. Go to nibururesearch.com and look at the latest article(3/30)
KRISHNAN | 03.30.08 - 8:07 pm | #

Brownsville Boy writes:
"Neal, if the torture photos from Abu Ghraib didn't wake up the sheeple, they can be counted on to sleep through this crisis as well."


Yeah, cos the two are comparable...
Get a grip.
Brownsville Boy | 03.30.08 - 9:51 pm | #

Zarley writes:
Can anyone explain to me the principles of "fractional reserve banking"?

A lot of populist conspiracy theories in regard to the Federal Reserve Bank but I put forth another opinion.

If someone can convince me that these things are true, I will change my position which is as follows:
Most people do not understand banking and when they encounter financial trouble and/or economic hard times, they blame "the bankers". Few people really admit that the choices they have made in life are the true reason they have either a) failed in life b) can't acquire the things they want to acquire.

Anybody?
Zarley | 03.31.08 - 11:01 pm | #

Michael McKinlay writes:
Zarley | 03.31.08 - 11:01 pm |



For a good money primer watch Money as Debt on you tube .... about 3 or 4 times . There is enough material there for a semester of college.

http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=v...feature=related

There are I believe 5 parts, about an hours worth.
Michael McKinlay | 04.01.08 - 2:46 am | #