Gaucho

Credit Card Catastrophe: Congress Can't Help

"it was never card policies that put people in trouble -- it was their own stupidity, and we just can't seem to legislate that away."

OHH no it was not the additional fees nor the interest rates that went from 5% sucker rate to the 25% "your screwed" rate. As soo as those bloodsuckers get their hands on someone they squeeze and squeeze. The republicans lifted all restraints on those bastards and they went about raping the consumers. Then they closed the trap by modifying the BK laws for the small guy. The excuse was "restraining the ability for financial flexibility in the market will limit the full potential and availability of credit to the consumer". Does this sound familiar "no regulation of the derivative market because it limit creation of new financial devices depriving the capital markets of their full potential". Same BS from a bunch of Wall Street Thugs that led to the financial collapse of over 400 TRILLION in these new super duper AAA rated Guaranteed by complex mathematics (that no one understood) never to fail. I know lets blame it on the house buyer that we pressed to buy buy buy.
Now they lament that they are losing credit card money as they drive folks into bankruptcy that they sent 10 credit card offers per day.
STICK IT YOU JUST DO NOT GET IT OR YOU DO NOT GIVE A DAMN

Barron's Goes Bullish on Banks, Again

When Barrons is Pumping the big boys are dumping. This rally is caused by limited short selling. After the initial squeeze then you will see a return to the slide. The fundamentals have not changed.

WFC was mentioned as a great investment but looking at their financials you see that they CHANGED THEIR ACCOUNTING method for writing off loans delinquent from 90 days to 120 days. They would have missed earnings by 4 cents instead of beating by 8 without this trick. Another trick to raise share prices was to raise the dividend. For a company in financial distress this was a stupid posturing move. Watch the dog and pony show next quarter.

City Bank has 330 billion in off the books VIEs that when marked to market are worth about 1/3 that price. With just this one category they need to write off 210 billion and given that they have 90 billion in share holder equity they are sunk. Now add the SIVs and the CDOs and the XYZs etc and you get the picture.

Many banks have miraculously 'reduced their exposure' to this toxic crap. While doing so they have written down a small fraction of that amount. This is done by moving it off the books. Any one hear of a company called Enron.

Who is that man behind the curtain?? Now click you heels together three times and repeat the banks are screwed, the banks are screwed, the banks are screwed and come back to reality.