Warm_Paw

When Obama Told Fat Cats to Start Lending He Forgot Samuelson

The banks have caused Obama to lose face.
He isn't that important.
They used the govt thanks to Paulson and Obama was handed the situation like being handed the bag outside the robbed bank.
Now he's the fool...
Time for Obama to become truly transparent and bring back accounting rules which show exactly where the toxic assets are on the bank balance sheets.
Time to pare off a few banks and get this mess out of the way so employment CAN surge.
Time for Obama to pull a few strings (if he has any) and show the banks who wears the pants.
Not a good thing for a president of the United States of America to treated like a bitch.

U.S. Handling of Financial Crisis - A Less Optimistic View

I for one am not blaming Obama for this mess. It began in 1999 2000.
The problem is, Obama's been handed the problem and is listening to the people who created this problem and are lining their pockets on his presidency. Half of the bailout money was handed out pre Obama leaving Obama holding the bag in handing out the other half.
There's no way one wins a presidential election and can be up to speed with the finances of the country.
Bush handed Obama a time bomb.
The problem I have is that Obama continues down the path of his own destruction by not getting his own people, or even expert advice on what is occurring. He's relying on the crooks who did this to inform him. A fox watching the henhouse.
Even yet the people who are responsible for this systemic risk, fight regulation. Guess why that is?
Obama should let whatever institution that took the risk, fail.
Strong institutions are there to pickup business from the risk takers.
No one knows what the result would have been had these institutions had not been bailed out.
They've been bailed out and the average citizen is not enjoying any signifigant change because of that. Just the banks are enjoying survival at the expense of the tax payer.
A naive president believes everything everyone tells him when it offends the senses.
The emporer is wearing no clothes.

Goldman, Buffett Deal with Fannie Mae Inked a Month Ago

What can the taxpayer do about it.
A movement should be started confining the president to one term if he blatantly stands by while Goldman and Buffet profit from the tax payer subsidizing losses to the banks.
This can't be legal?!?!?!
Aren't their people handling tax dollars who are accountable to the public?
What prevents anyone from lining his pockets through this kind of action?

How Much Did Goldman Know?

The Untouchables...
How do you go about changing the existing situation when companies like Goldman blatantly rip the govt off yet do it inside the law?
If it's legal, there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Goldman knows that and THAT'S why it's blatant.
Now GS friends in Washington will create law if need be, that can be exploited.
The masses can act with their money - spend your money on main street, not wall street.

The Secret to the Banking Sector's Success

When the greenback becomes the peso, I buy property.
By the time the greenback's on par with the yen , CEO's will be demanding their bonuses in euros.

Geithner to Blame for Outrageous Goldman Bonuses

Goldman claiming they're a bank when they're not a bank, isn't that fraud?

The Secret Paulson-Goldman Meeting

And if Paulson telling Goldman at a meeting in Moscow which would surely be disinformation, that all will be wonderful in America and that it should be fixed within a year, the Russian's now know it's worse than they thought and that the US is vulnerable.
How do we put such dim witted people into such positions of authority?!

The Secret Paulson-Goldman Meeting

Why would Goldman Sachs want to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev?
And who at Goldman Sachs wanted to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev?
And if Paulson and Goldman felt they could offer the russians disinformation, because the entire country is bugged, did they think the russians were that naive to believe everything they said at a meeting in Moscow?
The disinformation would be information to the russians.
I've heard grade school children with more sophisticated plot lines.

Goldman Sachs: 'A Hybrid Hedge Fund and Bookie'

It was all bullshit from the get go.
Paulson should be brought up to discuss his obvious conflict of interest. His selling of shares right before the bailout was actually humorous.
Goldman saw a loss coming and FASB suspending mark to market rules put a finger in the dyke.
It's just a finger. Gave Goldman time to avoid a loss.
Warren Buffet wasn't long snapping up distressed GS shares.
Doubled his money in less than a year.
These kids are playing behind the curtain long before the investing public knows what hit them.
But is it legal for the Fed to just arbitrarily bail these banks out using tax payer dollars?
There was never any systemic risk.
Companies boom or fail - it's the way of true market capitalism.
Now we have systemic risk - a trillion dollar deficit owed by people without jobs and foreclosing on their homes.
And a president fiddling with healthcare while the country picks up the tab on the biggest scam in history.
It's a farce!
The global businessmen probably think we need more muzzled grizzly bears wearing tutu's for our circus.
From Bush to Obama, one forgot and the other never knew....

Where Is the Line Between Conventional Banking and Pure Trading?

It appears the plan where the Fed dumps money into the financial system - while investors like Goldman Sachs reap the benefits of the stimulus, still aren't enough to get the banks to a state where they can unwind these toxic assets once and for all.
I doubt the toxic assets have even been dented.
Goldman has discussed purchasing these assets yet anyone stricken with them does not want to sell them at firesale prices for fear of the damage to the balance sheet and the mad scramble to increase reserves. Now if Goldman believes it can purchase mortgages on pennies to the dollar and that the real estate market will just jump back to the 2005 era, they're delusional.
Unemployment, govt defecit and the loss of billions of dollars of market value are going to keep that from happening.
The pre 2005 easy money era was stoked by crazy lending practices and if we repeat that mistake again the next hit will be hell to pay. The govt is creating legislation to make lending practices accountable.
The govt should never have bailed out anyone and let a free market system correct itself. The destruction of what doesn't work into the rebuilding of that which is more efficient and stronger.
Because the govt has subsidized the crooks going against logic and the natural order of such events in financial systems, the economy is going to hang in limbo, on life support, until a time when the next waves of destruction reset the financial system to a base level which is then ready to build itslef up from the ashes.
It's inevitable.

Why Did Meredith Whitney Downgrade Goldman Sachs?

Why did Meredith Whitney downgrade Goldman Sachs?
My guess is that so Goldman can short itself and make even more profit.
If they were to downgrade themselves, it would look too obvious.
And then once they've taken a hit for a strike date or two, why they could cover puts against themselves and as their share price once again climbs, they could pocket the premiums.
Did Meredith Whitney actuall say "why be greedy"???
This is investing - if one were not greedy, one would use their money to feed the homeless.

Are Banks As Good as Goldman?

The United States of Goldman Sachs.

Paulson Was Willling to Consider Anything to Save Goldman

If the Federal Reserve is now in bed with Wall Street - investing is not such a good idea and we're in worse financial straits than we know.
I blame Greenspan for what is happening - back to politics.
Is there an agency that is objective and can maintain focus on it's charter as opposed to caving in to influence by those who employ them?

Are Banks Being Naughty Again with Derivatives? Could Be Good

AIG reports earnings in Oct. If the Fed doesn't continue to prop them up the next bank that leans on them for insurance on a CDS is going to find out the CDS wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
AIG could see a loss of -$3 to -$20 a share.
Intrinsic value is probably in the negatives already.
I can only wonder who is purchasing their shares?
The banks don't have a choice on trying to earn their way out of this.
That's what's occurring. Money's being dumped in to create value to mitigate losses.
That means that once money starts to flow, it will be removed from the markets where it can. That means sideways if not stagnant recovery.
My question is, if each individual on the planet is balance their books and be fiscally responsible, why can't governments do it?
Or is capitalism one big defecit to bankruptcy, only to start again once prices inflate?

CDS Curves Moving to Pre-Crisis 'Normal'

Hey
I'll be so happy to get back into Credit Default Swaps.
I know how safe I am now that the Fed is the ultimate insurer.
I can't lose.
I could speculate in pure garbage and the taxpayer will expense my stupidity.
Problem is, I'm not sure if the insurance companies are going to be around long enough for the govt to continue bailing out.
If that wasn't an issue - hey CDS' are a great investment!!!