provencapital

Goldman Sachs: Buffett's the Milkman and He Always Delivers

And by the way, Berkshire B shares do not pay a dividend that you 'love'.

Paulson/Bernanke: $700 Billion at 'Hold to Maturity' Pricing

Lets be real here.

1.Mortgages that default are not worth zero.
2.Mortgages that pay are not worth 'par'.
3.There is no real market for these mortgages.
4.Just because there is no market (today) does not make the assets valueless.
5.Mark to market pricing is a disaster. Your house is not always worth what you could get if YOU HAD to sell your house in 24 hours.
6. epeat - some of these morgages have no real maket - period.
7.Yes, the taxpayers will take a hit. Some % of the bailout will not be recovered.
8.If 1/3 to 1/2 the financial institutions in America go insolvent, and business lending and consumer lending grinds to a halt, the tax payers will take a hit as well.
9.The plan is not perfect, but the alternative is mighty scary!