huskerbob

TARP Watch: Riskier, Less Transparent and More Corrupt

So what member of our government is to be held responsible? Looking back through the long history of government blundering, the answer will be: no one.
Whatever. I doubt Treasury's negotiations with GS were too stressful.

Something's Afoot in CDS: The Merrill - Bank of America Decompression Trade

I think he's saying that the shareholders didn't seem to mind the deal as the stock was rising, but now complain about that Lewis abrogated his responsibility, therefore they need to vote him out or shut up.
In defense of the complainers, he did have an obligation to pass on the deal or present an accurate picture of the deal to the shareholders.

Paulson Changes His Tune on BofA and Merrill

Excellent comment by Mr. Cowie. "I did as I was told" is not a defense for anyone, even those directly employed by the government.
Our current predicament is possible because so many were afraid to speak out on abuses occurring around them. Although looking at what happened to people like Eliot Spitzer and Catherine Austin Fitts, I can't say I don't sympathize.

Exclusive: Big Banks' Recent Profitability Due to AIG Scam?

Was this all a scam from the start? Certainly GS and friends weren't dumb enough to think that AIG had enough assets to cover all the protection they were selling, or would be able to honor a fraction of it without going under. So where did they expect the money to come from?

Turning Toxic Assets into Gold

Whoops! You forgot to mention that Mike also owns a condo in Miami, 4 in Phoenix, and 12 in Las Vegas (stated income loans don't you know).
He stopped paying on 5 of them 4 years ago, but these mortgages can be resurrected for sale, along with any other non performing junk the banks can dig up.
It seems highly unlikely that the US government is the only entity to correctly see the value of these products. The whole point of this exercise is to overpay for the assets. Private investors will buy on their own for the right price, but why should the banks take a big loss? The only loser should be the middle class, so that's what we're gonna do.
I guess the value is such a slam dunk, we are going to make no recourse loans with the taxpayer's money!
These assets aren't toxic, just overpriced.
Why not just do the same thing for homeowners? Let the government use your tax dollars to help investors buy your neighbor's house at 2006 prices. It's just as stupid, and it will buy a lot of votes.