eddie6442

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

TARP money was gained by false pretenses initially. Half has been used for purposes "other than" those designated when "America needed it this weekend to avoid financial collapse".
Now the remaining $350 BILLION won't be used/needed so Paulson is leaving it for the new admin...........TO SPEND AS THEY SEE FIT!!!!!!

NOVEL IDEA: RETURN TO TAXPAYER..........UNSP...

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

A month ago, we were told the economy would collapse if Congress didn't pass a $700B [$850B PORKMARKED] within days........ Since our corrupt and self serving government still can't agree what to commit the funds for!
America has been CONNED again...........all while our savings & retirements have been descimated $3 Trillion!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems like there is no limit to the amount of dung Americans are willing to swallow..................
GREED & DESCEPTION AT ITS BEST!!!!!!!!!
IMHO

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

America is clearly FOR SALE, and we will be very fortunate if foreign Countries/Companies don't end up owning our precious jewels --- our TECHNOLOGY industry. China and Japan & Korea all want to become world leaders in the numerous segments of the technology world. Now they can BUY "on-the-cheap" what they may never be able to DEVELOP competitively for 20 years..........
What's our CORRUPT CONGRESS going to say........ NO?????????

The Bottom's Within Sight - Barron's

Wish this was one of the rare times Barrons was right. Unfortunately there is "no history" for what America is experiencing now! Wall Street has created 50-100 of TRILLIONS OF $$$$$$$$$$ of phoney trading instruments called Credit Default Swaps and Derivatives......... Stocks, Bonds, Options and Futures weren't enough for the GREEDY firms and exchanges needing "trading volumes" to satisfy their thirst for GROWTH! Creating these instruments was risky enough, but using 5% margins and/or 40-1 debt/capital ratios was insanity...........
Exploiting the Sub-Prime MORTGAGE ALBATROSS WITH GSE's and accommadative LEGISLATION, SEC "non-enforcement", Congressional "protection" was the perfect brew for these
ROBBER BARRONS!!!!!!!!!
Americans have lost ~$7 Trillion recently, yet nobody is questioning WHO GAINED THAT AMOUNT"????????
America is "bankrupt" and the taxpayers [we who lost] are on-the-hook for another $$$$$TRILLION or so......... Interestingly, those who got the TRILLIONS were seemingly protected from the funding of the BAILOUT.......... HMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
America is no longer credit worthy, as France and Germany and China are telling us. So who will buy our debt????????
America is now hostage to oil producing "not-so-friendly" countries who can drive a massive nail in our coffin by simply reducing oil production by 20%.......... See, we can't drill here!!!!!!!!!!!!
America's political system is "corrupt" at best and looking like the tsunami is dead ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Barrons, these circumstances never existed in our "history" and we are in totally uncharted waters, alone with our mess, with no ports in reach or large enough to dock our MASSIVE DEBT LADEN SHIP!!!!!!
IMHO

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

I'm so relieved the FED policy was to attack priority #1 INFLATION!!!!!!!!!
Where did Bernanke get his education on priorities and proactive policy decisions -- FEMA?????
When is the last policy decision our government made that was proactive and successful????????

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

I am a small investor, having made 199 trades this year. The only trades I will "ever" make in the future are SELLS of my existing stocks. All proceeds will go into CD's.
WHY?
Because the SEC allows NAKED SHORT SALES!!!!!!!!!
Gone for good...........

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

The financial meltdown we are facing has been largely the result of government legislation and initiatives. Start with the massive over spending to weaken our nations financial position. Add the $700BB annual outflow of money for oil because of a failed energy policy for 35 years. Recently, Sarbanes/Oxley, as the typical overreaction to Enrons/Worldcoms, made Officers/Directors "personnally" liable for financial misstatements. Stir in the subprime mess, created by the governments desire to provide the American Dream [a house] even to those who couldn't afford it. Defaults and foreclosures start to permeate markets [SURPRISE] as government oversight and policy agencies [THE FED] allowed these specious bank lending practices. Now faced with ASSETS MARKED TO MARKET, [when there is no market], creates a precipitous slide in valuations of financial institutions. Fold in the RATINGS AGENCYS "downgrades" causing stress on all types of financial firms liquidity and borrowing. Then have the government [SEC] eliminate the UPTICK RULE and the requirement to BORROW SHARES FIRST, so HEDGE FUNDS could SHORT stocks into oblivion. Merrill Lynch's acquisition by B of A for a 70% "premium" confirms that assets are overall more valuable than current writedown levels. And the government is scrambling by deleting our Treasury and twisting laws to increase the FED'S charter/involvement for both funding and oversight. And what single characteristic was at the heart of this financial massacre -- GREED!!!
IMHO