DavyJ

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

"With the financial industry stabilized, and many banks having or about to repay the government's aid with interest, the government is in talks with lawmakers to use unspent TARP money to offset jobs spending and aid the long-term unemployed."

Yep, once the money is out there, there is no getting it back. $200 billion at 3.5% (~ten year bond rate) interest is $70 billion over ten years that is automatically added to the deficit with no accountability.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Exactly who would take the loss on the toxic assets the Federal Reserve holds should the worst happen?

Who would reap the rewards if the best happens?

Do the profits or losses just stay there forever?

Could the Federal Reserve go into conservatorship?

$33 Billion in Taxpayer Money Subsidized Wall Street Bonuses

Just for the record, Goldman Sachs converted from an investment bank to a traditional bank in order to receive TARP funds. That hardly seems that they "were forced into it".

It seems to me they saw the huge one time investment opportunity using taxpayer money and couldn't resist.


On Jul 31 05:31 PM homogenik wrote:

> You are right for the most part however goldman and jpm didnt need
> the bailout but were forced into it. ...

Geithner's Plan for Bad Assets: Part of a Master Program

As if Social Security didn't have enough trouble, we get suggestions like this:

"Galbraith proposes a payroll tax holiday: "This is a particularly potent suggestion, because it is large and immediate," and puts income in the pockets of working families, he says. For me a key to recession-busting as it also is for development aid to poor developing countries, how to productively put money into the pockets of the poor, including poor pensioners especially, who all have the virtue that they spend what they get."

Well read this news from yesterday's Market Currents:

"Monday, March 30, 2009 12:40 PM
This While Americans were busy yelling about outrageous bonus payments and federal bailouts, the Social Security surplus quietly slipped away."

www.bloomberg.com/apps...

Last Thursday Was the Bottom - It's Time to Get Back in

Why is it that in a bear market, so many try to call the bottom?

Yet in a bull market, so few try to call the top?

One of life's mysteries, I guess.