Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis says he will "prove cynics and critics wrong" by "making it through this downturn on our own," this after shares slid 3.5% Friday to $3.79, while rival Citigroup (C) plunged 22.3% to $1.91 on mounting concerns of nationalization. [View news story]
I have heard different versions of what that "payment" really was and would be interested if someone knows the real scoop. Was it truly a repayment? Or was it merely a required dividend payment and they will get well more than $400m back in more govt assistance? So far I get the impression it's really more of the latter. But thanks in advance to anyone with more insights on this.
On Feb 22 02:25 PM User 362036 wrote:
> Bank of America just repaid over $400,000,000 of the original Tarp > back to the fed's, they must be doing something right..............
I don't disagree with you generally, HiSpeed. But I'd love to see that chart pegged to incomes or other measures of affordability. I'm not so sure that we need to get all the way down to 100 on this chart -- as currently constructed -- to be at the "appropriate mean"?
> This could be the least intelligent article I have ever read. The > government printing money means that the economy is recovering! That > was easy...
I agree with much of what Spartacuss said. Additionally, I fear several more potential triggers for another wave of financial panic beyond what he mentioned. The short list includes European banks, entire Eastern European countries (which we will bail out via the IMF), and corporate debt defaults. I don't think the world is going to end, but I think there are too many large potential triggers to keep things unpleasant for a while.
Indeed, the headlines never talk about how the housing crisis is highly regionalized. Last I saw in a real estate trade mag one month ago, nearly all parts of Texas are doing fine -- falling a tad in the worst case, many cities still rising. We didn't have the silly run-up that CA, SoFL, Vegas, et al had. I have a friend who is home builder. He tells me that it's certainly tougher to get loans for development, but he is getting them done -- thru the community bankers who didn't participate in the mania and therefore didn't get hurt.
On Feb 19 10:09 AM TN SEYMOUR wrote:
> The contractor I bought my new house from last Sept. has sold 6 of > the 7 houses he has built in the last approx.16 mos. all approx.$300k > to 350k here in east TN.and has just started another in the same > neighborhood.He doesn't know there is a problem out there.Well built > and priced right.
Market Currents Poll: Should the U.S. give automakers the extra aid they're asking for or push for bankruptcy? Speak up in comments. [View news story]
I agree with everything in this post except that the time period "n" will not be measured in years, but rather months or even weeks.
On Feb 18 11:14 AM Consider_this wrote:
> Let them bankrupt. The company is the pinnacle of a dysfunctional > company and must be allowed to die. The management, the unions, the > retirees, and investors and the debtors are collectively created > such a monster that it cannot compete and produce. Keep feeding it > and it'll come back again in n years, and then again. Until we ourselves > go bankrupt. > > Help the successful business expand, drop the unsuccessful ones quickly. > That's the path to permanent recovery.
Mel Karmazin Gives Away the Farm, Saves Job [View article]
John Malone is justly famous for his capability to structure highly complex deals that end up giving him a lot more control than the other party ever realized when the deal closed. No doubt, a desperate counterparty makes for an even riper situation in that regard.
I was never high on SIRI, and certainly won't be buying any now.
Is Barron's Right, Have We Entered a Golden Age of Activist Investing? [View article]
The biggest problem with corporate governance is that the boards are dominated by the company's senior management, as well as CEO's and ex-CEO's of other companies. The outsiders don't function as outsiders, because they are protecting their position as insiders at their own companies. The 'outsiders'' top interests is fostering a general environment of massive pay and non-active oversight, so they can pillage their own kingdom without fear of "activist outsiders" questioning them.
Foreclosure Moratoriums: It's Time to Get Real [View article]
> I don't fully understand the reasoning behind the objections here. > Who is going to buy the house in foreclosure?
Someone who can afford it.
What of the family > that lives there? They should find something they can afford, not have ME subsidize their bad decisions when I deliberately turned down offers of bigger house/mortgate in order to force myself into something I can afford.
> These families had to live somewhere and most picked the option that best suited their financial and familial needs. It was hard to foresee the mess that came.
No, they didn't HAVE to have that house, they PREFERRED that house to the other more affordable alternatives
> Does a mistake or a miscalculation or a decision made of necessity remove their right to a little help now to survive the storm so that we don't have to deal with the fallout later when the market turns around?
See above. People should live with their bad decisions, not force me to subsidize them and essentially penalize me for being responsible. I am LITERALLY going to be subsidizing profligate neighbors -- I will live in a lesser house AND help them pay for a better house... because I made good decisions and they made bad ones. That is NOT FAIR.
Are Uninsured Bank Depositors in Danger? [View article]
I certainly don't "know" but I have to guess that the feds will protect even uninsured depositors as long as possible, otherwise we'd have big electronic runs on the banks. If the feds stepped in to support money market funds which never had FDIC insurance, they'll step in on these too.
Hey, it's just money, we can always just print more ;-)
Overall, very good list. Glad it wasn't 100% US centric. Very just to see Franklin Raines on there. Would have liked to see some of his congressional protectors on there, like Barney Frank (you know him, he's the self righteous guy who led the grilling yesterday)
Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis says he will "prove cynics and critics wrong" by "making it through this downturn on our own," this after shares slid 3.5% Friday to $3.79, while rival Citigroup (C) plunged 22.3% to $1.91 on mounting concerns of nationalization. [View news story]
On Feb 22 02:25 PM User 362036 wrote:
> Bank of America just repaid over $400,000,000 of the original Tarp
> back to the fed's, they must be doing something right..............
U.S. housing prices: a reality check. [View news story]
Some strategists say the steep five-month rise in U.S. money supply is a sign a recovery is slowly but surely getting under way. "Monetary policy is pretty easy and the economy may pick up before the consensus expects it," economist Paul Kasriel says. [View news story]
On Feb 19 05:29 PM Shimmers wrote:
> This could be the least intelligent article I have ever read. The
> government printing money means that the economy is recovering! That
> was easy...
Cramer: Ten stupid assumptions people make about today's market. And by the way, it's not too late to buy gold. [View news story]
Cramer's Mad Money - 10 Stupid Assumptions About the Market (2/18/09) [View article]
21 Reasons to Be Bullish [View article]
Housing Starts Not Far from Zero [View article]
On Feb 19 10:09 AM TN SEYMOUR wrote:
> The contractor I bought my new house from last Sept. has sold 6 of
> the 7 houses he has built in the last approx.16 mos. all approx.$300k
> to 350k here in east TN.and has just started another in the same
> neighborhood.He doesn't know there is a problem out there.Well built
> and priced right.
Four Asian Economies in a World of Pain [View article]
Market Currents Poll: Should the U.S. give automakers the extra aid they're asking for or push for bankruptcy? Speak up in comments. [View news story]
On Feb 18 11:14 AM Consider_this wrote:
> Let them bankrupt. The company is the pinnacle of a dysfunctional
> company and must be allowed to die. The management, the unions, the
> retirees, and investors and the debtors are collectively created
> such a monster that it cannot compete and produce. Keep feeding it
> and it'll come back again in n years, and then again. Until we ourselves
> go bankrupt.
>
> Help the successful business expand, drop the unsuccessful ones quickly.
> That's the path to permanent recovery.
Mel Karmazin Gives Away the Farm, Saves Job [View article]
I was never high on SIRI, and certainly won't be buying any now.
Disclosure -- never long or short on SIRI
Is Barron's Right, Have We Entered a Golden Age of Activist Investing? [View article]
Foreclosure Moratoriums: It's Time to Get Real [View article]
> Who is going to buy the house in foreclosure?
Someone who can afford it.
What of the family
> that lives there?
They should find something they can afford, not have ME subsidize their bad decisions when I deliberately turned down offers of bigger house/mortgate in order to force myself into something I can afford.
> These families had to live somewhere and most picked the option that best suited their financial and familial needs. It was hard to foresee
the mess that came.
No, they didn't HAVE to have that house, they PREFERRED that house to the other more affordable alternatives
> Does a mistake or a miscalculation or a decision made of necessity remove their right to a little help now to survive the storm so that we don't have to deal with the fallout later when the market turns around?
See above. People should live with their bad decisions, not force me to subsidize them and essentially penalize me for being responsible. I am LITERALLY going to be subsidizing profligate neighbors -- I will live in a lesser house AND help them pay for a better house... because I made good decisions and they made bad ones. That is NOT FAIR.
Are Uninsured Bank Depositors in Danger? [View article]
Hey, it's just money, we can always just print more ;-)
Time's 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis [View news story]
Should we be rooting for higher oil prices? [View news story]