cbc

Hedge funds that viewed the safety of euro-zone sovereign debt with skepticism are starting to see their bets pay off, after a welter of warnings this week about government borrowings from Dubai to Greece and the U.K. rattled markets around the world. While such bets were costly over the past year, they're now proving prescient.

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The government is in talks with lawmakers to use unspent TARP money to offset jobs spending and aid the long-term unemployed. According to the Treasury, the $700B bailout fund created in October 2008 already has a balance exceeding $200B. In testimony Wednesday, Geithner warned against shuttering TARP, but said much of the money would not be needed.

Government in talks with lawmakers? Government is the lawmakers and the lawmakers are the government. Does this mean our government is talking to itself? Crazy? Goofy headline!

Michelle Leder looks through the employment contract of new Freddie Mac (FRE) CFO Ross Kari and finds perks including a (taxpayer-funded) $1.95M signing bonus - just about 20 times the one he got for signing with Fifth Third Bancorp last November.

Hey watch it now. I resemble that remark about the average American.


On Sep 25 02:17 PM Archman Investor wrote:

> I will stop them, I will!!!
>
> Just not this week because I have all my new fall shows to watch,
> so maybe next week, or month, or year.
>
> Love,
>
> The average American idiot.

Michelle Leder looks through the employment contract of new Freddie Mac (FRE) CFO Ross Kari and finds perks including a (taxpayer-funded) $1.95M signing bonus - just about 20 times the one he got for signing with Fifth Third Bancorp last November.

Let's just hope that is enough to stop him committing suicide. Un$$$$$$$believable.

August New Home Sales (.pdf): 429K, up 0.7% from revised July sales of 426K, vs. consensus of 445K. The figure is -3.4% from a year ago. Median price was $195,200, down from July's $210,100. Inventory dipped slightly to a 7.3-month supply from July's 7.5 months.

This is not good news. The average homeowner just lost 15k in equity on their home. Of course people are buying. Once again, they think prices will never be lower than NOW! More homeowners under water. Less equity to borrow with for those who might still have equity. Less loan profits from the banks and less investment by homeowners. Not good at all.

July's positive credit-card charge-off data may have provided a false sense of security, as Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) customers defaulted at recession-high rates in August. BofA's charge-off rate rose to 14.54% from 13.81%, and Citigroup's to 12.14% from 10.03%. American Express' (AXP) default rate declined to 8.5% from 8.9%.

One has to wonder. Why do we (taxpayers) pay people to provide these statistics so that they can be used to seesaw the markets to the benefit of those who manipulate the statistics and the markets.

The rich get poorer: Wealthy individuals' Chapter 11 filings jumped 73% in Q2 from a year ago. They typically have large homes, two cars, and kids in private schools. "You're living on the edge, you're juggling those financial balls," one strategist said. "When one ball goes, they all fall down."

Not the wealthy get poorer, but the overleveraged and stupid get poorer.

Closing Update for Thursday, Sept. 3: Market Modesty

"Big concerns about job losses and the weakness of labor markets will determine this month market direction."

No, wrong! Concerns of job losses and weakness in labor markets may determine one or two of the next days of this month's market direction but no more. This market is like a blade of grass in the wind. Schizophrenic at worst and manic depressive at best.

And sorry to say you are confusing "market" with "economy". Two, almost completely different entities. So, the jobs market can stink and so can the economy but the market is something altogether separate.

I think maybe English is your second language so maybe you have difficulty expressing yourself adequately in English.

What I think you are generally saying is correct but maybe my differences are only a matter of second language semantics. If you know what I mean. English is my first language and I still do not know what i am saying half the time.

I gave your post a thumbs up!


On Sep 03 05:31 PM OceanTiger wrote:

> Friday unemployment report is most important report. Big concerns
> about job losses and the weakness of labor markets will determine
> this month market direction. 298,000 private jobs were lost last
> month. Some fields such as manufacture, house building , unemployment
> rate is over 40%. Giant state like CA unemployment rate is about
> 13%. Actual unemployment rate include part-time is about 16%. Job
> market is only thing decides if recession is over. If more people
> get jobs , they will buy more, more GDP, more car and house buy.
> But now the problem is absent of industrial leaders, who will hire
> more peoples? Good to Hold education stocks such as APOL, ESI...
> see Trade4Rich.com

August 2009 Same-Store Sales: Not Good, But 'Less Worse'

Nice article, facts with no spin. Not a really pretty picture considering back to school and tax holidays in 15 states. On the tax holiday note, not pretty for state revenues either.

The Fed's been slacking in regulating the banks, says economist Henry Kaufman. Bernanke didn't recognize the crisis, but if government didn't act with the force it did, "We would be beyond the recession today ... We would probably be in a depression."

Please make it stop. I can take this line no longer. I cannot hear how Bernanke saved us one more time. This guy is leading us to the greatest depression of all time. Every one is entitled to there opinion but we have to stop letting these MORONS say it the main stream media. We might as well let Joe the plumber and his cronies run the fed and deliver the news to us. At least it would be more amusing and very likely they could do a better job. If not for SA I would being leading the next revolution and I am not even sufering, just sick to death of this PURE MIERDA>

Accumulators are making a comeback, despite an infamous reputation as a destroyer of Asian wealth. The sale of these investments by firms like Citigroup (C), UBS (UBS) and HSBC (HBC) highlights just how quickly global risk appetite has returned.

coming soon to your world economy "Boom and Bust part ?"

TARP Repayments: Media Continues to Trumpet Unjustified Positive Economic Spin

This barely deserves a response except what a crock. The author offered a solution. Maybe it was too simple for you sacandaga.

The governments were not throwing billions of $'s at the problem when shotgun marriages and failures were taking place. So if taxpayer bailout of failing businesses is your idea of "arguably far ahead" don't mention the word drivel in your critique of others. You win the award for drivel!


On Sep 01 10:58 AM Sacandaga wrote:

>
> "Lest someone accuse me of whining without solutions..."
>
> No one has to accuse you.
> You confessed and convicted yourself in a mere 550 words of drivel.
>
>
> No one is fooling anyone (except the conspirators leading you astray)
> on TARP or anything else. We are arguably far ahead of where we were
> a year ago, with weekly failures and shotgun marriages of major financial
> institutions. We are a long way from a sound, fully solvent financial
> system. The TARP repayment coverage claims nothing more.

Investment advisers and state regulators have already begun lobbying over Obama's proposal to hold brokers to a higher fiduciary duty, a change requiring them to act in clients' best interests rather than just avoiding putting clients in inappropriate investments.

Pot calls kettle black!

As demand falls, bottled-water makers like PepsiCo (PEP) are slashing prices to the point where it's no longer clear they're making a profit. Coke (KO), which has held firm on its pricing, saw U.S. sales volume drop nearly 26% in the twelve weeks to Aug. 8.

When demand for water is declining it is very hard to believe that the economy is growing. Are people not drinking water so they can save that money for the newest iphone?

Four Reasons We're Headed Even Higher

Jason,
Are you holding to your convictions with AIG down 9% and C down 5%. BAC not hammered too bad though.