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Carlos Lam » Comments » AIG

  • The Top 12 Brands Likely to Disappear [View article]
    #4 - My understanding is that Roger Penske is buying the Saturn name and will continue manufacturing the vehicles.

    #8 - Chrysler is now going to have a stake owned by the government & UAW. No matter how poorly it performs, it'll get bailed out...AGAIN. It's not going anywhere.

    #9 - Good call Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy this week. Wish I'd shorted it!
    Jun 19 07:12 am |Rating: 0 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Why This Rally Is Unsustainable [View article]
    On May 02 02:01 PM Smackdown wrote:

    > I am referring to the Feb/March downdraft. After the stimulus was
    > signed. Dow went down like 1500 points concurrent with all the
    > Republicans dissenting with the package. Rush blathering. Governors
    > refusing funds. That dissent caused the biggest breakdown of confidence
    > I have ever seen.

    Maybe, just maybe, the breakdown of confidence was warranted. After all, why be confident when the federal government is borrowing an extra $1 trillion to add to its already staggering debtload? BTW, how is refusing the funding "treasonous?" The States have every right to run their own affairs when it comes to taking federal funds or not.
    May 02 23:14 pm |Rating: +3 -2 |Link to Comment
  • The Microwave Society's Answer to the Economy Is Half Baked  [View article]
    The underlying assets that are currently impairing the CDOs' values are simply worth less than what the banks thought they were. The banks assumed that real estate prices would continue to trend upward, but they didn't. Any real speculator would accept that his assumption was incorrect, sell the underlying assets at their fair value, take the losses, and go on.

    The banks, though, don't want to face the consequences of their actions, and they are sure that they won't have to do so because of the "Greenspan put." They remember that 10 years ago the government didn't let Long Term Capital Management go under and instead bailed it out. They bet that -- in the end -- they will continue to get bailed out. So far, they are right!

    The banks don't want to sell their "legacy assets" (if that's not Orwellian, I don't know what is) at their fair market value because they simply don't want to take the losses. Until either (a) the banks man up & take losses (highly unlikely) or (b) the taxpayer foots the bill (very likely), these assets will continue on the banks' books.
    Mar 27 11:43 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
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