Rumpole

Goldman Sachs Replies to Taibbi

Just because a Senate committee recommends that these exemptions be discontinued doesn't mean it'll happen. So I think it a bit pre-mature to say that GS hasn't got its claws effectively into the senate.
and frankly I find it odd that GS would respond to such an article if it thinks it's so hysterical. What does GS care what a Rolling Stone editorial says!?

Matt Taibbi vs. Goldman Sachs

"...What a complete joke - and Obama either doesn't have the guts to do anything about the goldman state within the USA or he simply has no clue. ..."

It's not that Obama hasn't got a clue nor that he doesn't have the guts. He like many other politicians owes his very position and power to GS an the cabal of private bankers; bought and paid for.

There's really only one answer, Americans have to turn the tax money tap off.

The Debt Conundrum, Part 2

The author stated: "...The last three decades have not been normal. They’ve been Abby Normal. When a society chooses to spend more than it produces, the only people who get rich are the bankers lending out the money. ... Debt keeps Americans enslaved to the corrupt bankers and clueless government bureaucrats who run our fair country."

Unfortunately, I'd contend that the government bureaucrats are not at all clueless, they know exactly what's happening but because they are so political they simply follow the directives of the politicians, who are so obviously bought off.

There's only one real answer: REFUSE TO PAY YOUR TAXES!

Bankruptcy: Chrysler/Treasury's Strategic Nuclear Weapon

Perhaps in order to regain the upper hand the Administration needs to start sending a different message, namely that since cooperation is lacking, maybe it's now prepared to let the weak banks fail and assist the strong banks, weak and strong being relative concepts. Remember Lehmann, do the banks want a repeat of that? After all, the system can always be re-built even if there is some pain. but there's going to be pain no matter what happens, it just depends on how the pain is distributed.

Government's New Credit Approach: Does the End Justify the Means?

Since the secondary market has dried up and credit card companies have to keep the loans on their books, could someone please tell me why they can't secure them against a card holder's real estate or personal property using personal property security legislation? Granted, it's not a perfect solution, but the companies could at least do that much. but your larger point is correct, too much credit was issued on very loose terms and it's been abused by many of the people to whom it's been issued. Pain will ensue, it's inevitable.

A Closer Look at Banking Stress Test Methodology

It's great bureaucratese ... provide the conclusion and then write the report that justifies the conclusion. It's just another element in the confidence game all governments are playing.

What Would a More Stressful Test Tell Us?

When looking at the stress test model, a SA contributer noted that the test focused on the most recent types of problem areas like commercial and residential real estate securities. But much in this most recent crisis has focused on derivatives like CDSs. Does the stress test adequatly deal with the derivatives issue? It doesn't seem like it.

Most Banks Will Pass, But Does the Stress Test Fail?

"...the only alternative is for the government and banks to somehow "muddle through". This is the real purpose behind the Stress Tests, PPIP and the changes in the FASB rules and the hope is that with enough distractions and obfuscation the problem will heal itself."
Never a truer word written!
Tell me something, if instead of pumping trillions into the banks directly, if the government would have put it into the hands of home owners who were in trouble, wouldn't it have largely solved the problem from the outset? After all, the home owners would have used it to keep paying their mortgages and staying in their homes, the smaller banks and mortgage companies would still have money coming in and the mortgages they securitized would have kept their value better and the larger banks wouldn't have faced the crunch brought on by plummeting mortgage securities values?
Would have this approach been so bad in light of the current situation?

Goldman Sachs Datapoint of the Day

You know, one has to applaud GS for its ability to entwine itself so deeply into the highest levels of government. I mean, even here in Canada our central bank has a GS alumnist at its helm.

Stress Tests: Methodology Begs Essential Questions

it's a confidence game like obama has said and the government's doing evrything to try to instill that public confidence. Because those in the financial sector sure as hell don't have much confidence in it. Deceivers, all of them.

Demystifying the Stress Tests

The whole stress test thing is an exercise to try to instill confidence in the financial system. Like the Prez has been saying, it's about confidence. However, to the government it doesn't matter if that confidence is based on fiction.
It would be no disaster for the banks to fail. it would be a disaster for some, but for others it would be a tremendous opportunity. And it would allow a new system to be formed from the ashes that has a stronger basis. You know, like the proberbial phoenix rising.

Can the Stress Tests Breathe New Life into PPIP?

FD, you seem to suggest that hedge fund manipulations are somehow separate from banks. I'm not so sure about that. It's difficult for me to believe that the banks and hedge funds aren't related.
And frankly, I'm not sure why PPIP and the stress tests should be rehabilitated. The fact that they have to change should tell us that the banks are rather unhealthy and getting unhealthier, hence the need to keep changing like a chameleon.

A Third Way in the Current Inflation / Deflation Debate (But It's Even Scarier)

The hyper-inflation option certainly isn't new. It seems consistent with the prognostications of Elliot Wave International group, which seems to assert that we're heading into a full blown depression worse than the 1930s. As I understand it, EWI asserts that it'll hit in full force sometime around 2012-2014. So there's time for the hyper-inflation scenario to play out from that perspective.

BlackRock Hires Vice Chair of U.S. Treasury Committee: Public-Private Incest Continues

I like the analogy to incest. And what does incest breed? Idiots and mental defectives. And we're now seeing the results of such in-breeding, leadership whether governmental or corporate has been on a steady decline.
But how do we stop playing the game as another comment suggests?? My own view is that we've got to stop paying our taxes ... yes a good old tax revolt is in order.

Wells Fargo Inspires Hope with 'Surprise' Earnings

But no one has asked what effect the change to the M2M rules has had on WFC's stated earnings and these numbers. It smells ... and I imagine most of the earnings reports from the other big banks will be better than expected. And that will smell too.