ON AIR NOW
Click to Play
In his testimony, Greenspan put the blame for the subprime collapse on over-eager investors who did not properly take into account the threats that would be posed once home prices stopped surging upward.
We are, in effect, borrowing to pay interest. If you have ever tried to do this personally, you know that doing this almost always leads to bankruptcy.
To fund all that Congress, Paulson and Bernanke have in the pipe (you know, the TARP, the newly-minted SIV that Ben announced this morning to buy commercial paper, etc) the treasury issue requirements will be north of three trillion dollars in this f
In order to prevent the "Great Depression II", the Fed and the Treasury have embarked on a series of measures similar in nature to those that caused the great depression.
The Fed is tapping its Depression-era emergency powers and creating a new facility to buy a vast array of commercial paper from the funds. Money market mutual funds have been under pressure as skittish investors demand withdrawals.
Current estimates for FY08 (now) are that we will run well north of $1 trillion in budget deficit. FY09's estimates are now north of $2 trillion (!) from some sources, and nobody has a credible estimate under $1 trillion.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday that government purchases of stock in banks represent an investment that should eventually make money for the taxpayer.
Financiers enjoying a respite from the panic of the past few weeks should brace themselves for further mayhem tomorrow, the deadline for insurers of Lehman Brothers' debt to pay up on billions of dollars of policies.
"The problem with subprime assets is that nobody knows what they're worth. Friedman would have told you that bringing the government in wouldn't have helped that."
In fact, one wonders - if Ben was chosen for his expertise on The Depression, was (and is) his intent to cause the second one?
Only a few months were needed to create large emergent data networks and escape from any centralized commercial control, as well as from any physical frontier. Some people see in this, one of the next steps to freedom and democracy.
CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — European leaders are lobbying President Bush at the Camp David presidential retreat on Saturday to support a summit by year's end that would craft ways to reform the world financial system.
Mr. North translates Ben Bernanke's latest missive into a form that could well get him shoved incommunicado and without charge into a military prison as a detainee. Good stuff!
Banks and dealers' overall direct borrowings from the Fed averaged a record $437.53 billion per day in the week ended October 15, topping the previous week's $420.16 billion per day.
The deepening red ink underscores a crucial question about the government’s plan: Will lenders deploy their new-found capital quickly, as the Treasury hopes, and unlock the flow of credit through the economy? Or will they hoard the money to protect t
LEARNING FROM HISTORY: THE CAUSE OF AND SOLUTION TO THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CREDIT CRISIS
Introduction of the Federal Reserve in 1913 - In 1933, President Roosevelt made it illegal for US citizens to own gold - The Bretton Woods Agreement - Pres. Nixon reneged on the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 and "closed the gold window"
"Today the dollar is the currency of Bretton Woods, but now it could be that there will be other combinations," Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said.
The total potential cost of the financial bailout to the U.S. taxpayer is already rapidly approaching $5 trillion, over seven times as much as the meaningless $700 billion bailout bill figure.
I watched this 11 part series several months ago and I think it presents a very clear picture of the massive problems we face. The taxpayer bailout of insolvent banks is mentioned about 4 minutes and 45 seconds into the video...
``The truth of the matter is, they can't put a gun to their head and say you have to lend this money,'' said Charles Horn, a former official at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, part of the Treasury Department...
The proposed $250 billion infusion into financials is meaningless -- merely a drop of water on a hot stove, Faber, popularly known as Dr. Doom says. These measures do not address the fundamental problem.
But when the rest of the world has done it, you literally have no choice, unless you intend to be turned into an instantaneous credit island - an event that the United States would literally not survive.
Banks receiving government funds include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of New York Mellon.
In essence, money is taken from the poor (via taxes, printing, and weakening of the dollar) and given to the wealthy so the wealthy supposedly will have enough money to lend back (at interest) to those who have just been robbed.
On Friday, Morgan Stanley’s shares plummeted 25 per cent, taking the total drop to 60 per cent on the week, despite claims by its chief executive, John Mack, that the bank was not in trouble.
Federal regulators directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start purchasing $40 billion a month of underperforming mortgage bonds as the Bush administration expands its options to buy troubled financial assets and resuscitate the U.S. economy
Where's the market headed? The answer may surprise you.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson discusses the G7 plan to stabilize markets.
We'll get to that after some research and the posting of what he said. But for now,... What is that flag that was behind him? Anyone?... Please post what you know to the comments section on this article.
