I have been watching the Treasury Hearings, as many have been...90 Banks are in trouble , FDIC admits this, but for JoeQ.Public that is more than worrisome....But Bush wants the Banks Bailed out...Paulson keeps saying that he can be trusted, I am confused if he came from Goldman Sachs before he was appointed , shouldn't he have been astute enough to see the Titannical Implications of what has been going on for many many monthes with foreclosures of Homes and Businesse Real Estate holdings....WHO is being bailed out ? and are the Taxpayers going to foot the bill for this mess as well.....More to come...
22 comments:
Iraq War Effects Missing from Coverage of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
When soldiers are silent, we pack their goods in sacks and mail them home.
Bailed out of the raging quagmire they’re now free to move again,
yet not past our eyes or able to pull the chute.
PotertyMan::
I was going to blog more about the hearings...But there was so litle of Substance said by the Men in Suits...that I was stymied...
Alot of these Freddie and Fannie loans are for VETS and their homes....( atleast that is what has been happening here in Ohio....foreclosures are through the roof)...I live in a hood full of empty houses...and I go downtown and there are the homeless VETS wondering round between block after block of empty office buildings...
What if there is no Chute to pull...
we have to look out for each other....
Other thoughts...
Freddie Combined debt is 9 trillion.....that is a lot of money...
I think that is more than the War and Deficit Debt combined...( of course we don;t know the real Pentagon budget or monies spent or budgeted...)
WaMu Stock was over 33 $/share a year ago....right now...3 dollars a share....
I still think the Banks that had a Close relationship with Countrywide need to be watched...Wamu ? Bank of America ? I am not sure nationwide Which banks are all involved...but that is where Investigations should have led last spring during the Countrywide hearings...
( and Lehman Brothers has dropped more than 50% in 15 days....I have no idea what that means....)
My favorite foreclosure news is from a HuffPo article that covered a mansion owned by Countrywide Financial. But it wasn't just an mansion, it was a place where they had sex parties.
Whoo hooo.
Too bad the last comment on your post is *oh*so*true*.... More to come
Yes bankruptcies & failed banks.
A solid 5 years of tough times on the mortgage front AND they are making it HARDER to get a mortgage loan. Double whammy- a glut of foreclosed houses (remember when I met w realtors about selling my Mom's house & they showed 50 homes in foreclosure in a 1 mile radius?).
A glut of foreclosed houses, super tough & rstrictive lending practices, kicks the market when it is down.
I'm not saying they should approve mortgages for anyone with a pulse.... but they are punishing buyers for something the lenders did wrong.
Do I believe the FDIC can actually back a whole lot of cash if many more major banks go bankrupt or fail? No.
They will just shrug & say Oh well, we tried to do a heck of a job.
Bush has bankrupt the country.
Fran:::
He has Harkened us...( his ONLY business- Harken Energy- a total failure ) this is what he is good at it- Breaking anything within Reach...he has FEMA"d us....( which is really a term that means fucked)....I bet there were alot of foreclosed homes...I think there are alot here- I know there are - I walk around my hood- and there are so many empty houses....so Bush does not want all the banks to be stuck with them...I am still confused- WHY can't the bank rent out to people ?
I am watching the news...I did watch ALL of Bush's presser- that was the same time as Bernanke telling them that things are bad...while Bush was saying things are fine...people are working and the economy is fine..( that is NOT what Bernanke said..)and Daniel Mudd the Fannie Administrator even gave a press conference (cough)- trying to reassure....
yup Heckuva Job...
PooBah:::
Oh dear...that is interesting...and I am sure they were able to pay their mortgage on time...oh , wait...I just realized that I read somewhere that Business at the Bunny Ranch in Nevada is down...
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee seem to think putting protective measures in place is 'socialist'.
They fail to see, of course, that their own version of corporate welfare is also a form of socialism.
Bloody hell, I don't mind the name calling, but they could at least try and get it right.
Fortunately you still have the SEC who are busy putting a stop to short selling, and probably much of the largess being distributed by lobbyists.
Cart:::
hey there...I watched the Hearings and I have been trying to pay attention ( unlike the King...) but I am confused about the Shortselling - and CNBC ended up arguing about it too...hmm, try and get it right...well, that would be nice but I think it is too late ...
the Foreclosures and Bank Closings and financial stress have been onling for the last 2 years...Everything is MORE..and it is the stress of the war added to not enough monitoring and regulation ( oh dear I sould like such a socialist ;-)
Everything means food, water, fuel and energy ( for the home as well as transporation.) Beans, cereal grains and milk are up 50-70 % over last year....and gas, and electric are almost DOUBLE a year ago...add that up- families are stretched so thin....too thin...
AND then there is the jobless rate...and working poor...ie. in NY they decided that 26,000 is the poverty mark- well a lot of families live at that mark....( ahem -certain single moms..) But that state is the first state to look at the actual poverty as a real number- what families can and do live with...
Bush, and many in DC and MSM really need to take a Walk in their hood- and look around and talk to people at the grocery store....stand at a bustop...etc...
okay done rambling and grumbling....
Enigma, short selling has been a big issue here. Basically:
Short sellers borrow stock and sell it, betting the price will drop. If their bet is correct they can buy new shares later at a lower price, repay the borrowed stock, and pocket the difference between the sale price and the repurchase price.
naked shorting, is selling stock without actually having the shares in hand or located. Naked shorting already is illegal, but the rule against it hasn't been widely enforced.
While everyone is frothing at the mouth over the New Yorker cover this issue is far more important, in the US and internationally.
Cart:::
thanks for explaining that...appreciate that...and believe me- people are plenty worried here- see we are quite capable of frothing and worrying over MANY issues at one time- we have had to for 8 years....
See the thing is - the NY cover is a big deal- because we are still trying to eduicate people so that Obama will be elected- because McCain is illereate and inept- and dumber than Bush on Economics- so in some ways he is MORE dangerous than bush right now...
I think the fact that people are upset is good- because the MSM has been effin up for years- and it was about time that the people and readers and journalistic world said WHOA.....
also there is racism here, and hatemongering....we need Obama to make it alive to the Election- and I am sorry...we can not tolerate that kind of Hatemongering- it creates a dangerous environment for Obama at such a Historic time....
But don't worry- we can and are focused on ALL the trouble...( I just blog pieces of what I follow- I mean all of us are always tracking about 20 issues at at time from corporate crime to the Iraq Mess, to Pakistan to Afganistan, to Iran BS , to Iraq, to local disasters here, to Food worries, etc etc....AND last but now least the Economy...which has been on all of radars for a long time....too long...
and yes, many are worried for other countries and investors...I know how much money is invested here ( or I have researched some- I am sure there is more that I don't know)...
*******************
This weekend I had an Older Asian Couple offer to buy my rental house- I was out working in the yard- I about had a stroke...I don't even know if the landlord is trying to sell it...BUT apparently they are buying up houses in my neighorbood...and there are many to choose from.....good thing my landlord does not live on this street....
I can understand the anxiety, but would probably take a more positive approach. Obama has traction, momentum. McGramps is having trouble shifting his walking frame. Winners win and Dean and others are doing it right, portraying Obama as a winner. McGramps is left to do his own talking up, he is not even significantly supported on his own side because of the Bush legacy.
The point now is not positive or negative images but talking up Obama as a winner. Let the other side go on the attack and the defensive; let them talk themselves down.
I was impressed with Deans bus trip south. He says, rightly, Democrats haven’t been winning the south because they haven’t really been contesting it. Obama’s campaign is taking on the whole country, as any real campaign should.
There is a joke about Obama and supporters collecting names in a Chicago graveyard. One stone was worn and hard to read, but Obama (in the joke) insists it has the same right to vote as the rest.
Well if most of America are politically dead then the concept still holds, get out and sign them up. Maybe I can see the humour in it all because I can also see something incredible happening there. Obama is a winner!!!
Cart:::
thank you so much..you cheered me up...I am so used to media beating up Obama and their drooling worship man crushing mcsame that I did not really feel the Obamamentum any more....I think also I am just tired....
I still very much support him and the difference between him and Bush and McSame are so stunning...
the MSM here and their rigged polls make it hard to see if Something is Happening...
many hugs...thank you....
namaste...
The Obama speech today was a winner.
He did an excellent job of clarifying some of his earlier remarks.
And he addressed the energy problem as well, with out talking about drilling our way out of it. Unlike the Bush/McCain "solution".
I think Obama is starting to reach people that have been a little hesitant to trust, and bringing back into the fold some who expected him to be the second coming of Christ.
enigma
I have a video I want you to listen too and remember, not to worry. Remember the first title but listen to the second one and have a nice Day
Patriot:::
Well, I think you are trying to boost people- that is nice...
to be honest...I think we are in for some dark times...but I would rather have everyone just be honest about it...seeing Bush blister at the podium that it is not that bad?? whoa....he has broken us, and our infrastructure and our piggy bank- that is a fact...
you have a nice day too friend...
I watched the whole speech this am and reread the OPED piece...he did a good job...really laid it out and explained his positions....I have a hard time with some of it..and even afganistan....but I also know that there is more that we don't know..and when he tours over there he will look stronger and have a chance to redefine his positions and policy...
and on another level..
being strategic....
he has to be strong on some of these issues....or McCain and his ilk will pounce...
I finished putting it together. It is much worse than any of them realize but it is beyond our control so one must just deal with it and relax. We will persevere.
Bush blaming everything on Dems really peeves me and Obama is right and McCain is is a liar and dead wrong but...
You are funny! I remember you getting mad at me for saying how bad things were now... You just keep being caring loving you, keep up the good work, and keep a good soul no one can take that. Take care!
Patriot::
we all know it is bad....now we have to hang on for the ride....my thing is to just keep us all talking and working together...it is like Katrina...none of us will weather this alone and none of us will come trhough unscathed....the trick is to pull together and work together....and take care of each other...
********************
To the Person that left decorating ideas on a post about the housing crisis- you might want to return the MENSA invite.....you have been deleted as off topic ......obviously....
Right on Enigma! Like I always say to Betmo hunker down, be prepared, and together we will make it through this. Not because of the government despite it. We the people will get ourselves through this!
Jim:::
yup...let's hunker...no kidding...we will get through this....
We Aussies are delighted with Obama's focus on Afghanistan. The key is to stop calling it a war - start thinking about a social reconstruction, cleaning out the dangerous elements in the process.
The majority of Afghanis want to live in a safe stable country. The same can be said of Pakistan, and the extremists need to be isolated at the very least.
I believe styling it a war creates another unwinnable situation, but action is valid.
First Off::
Hey GRYPHEN!!!! somehow I left you a comment earlier it vanished...really pissed me off- because of course now I don't remember even what I said....darn....but good to see you....and I did watch his speech- he is so orderly and thoughtful and smart- it was refreshing- I watched it on video after watching Captain Idiot at the podium blathering about the economy...
Cart:::
really really good points - thank you....I do know that since day one- that whole mission has been poorly acknowledged and organized and basicaly neglected- and that was told to me by people that have been there....so I take it for that...they all said it has been undernumbered since day one...but I think since Obama mentioned it and focused on it- I realize that Bush or any of the neoconal thugs have not mentioned it in forever....I hate to say it but Pakistan is a problem ( we have talked about this....) and having things unstable so close is a problem as well...( I have different worries about there as opposed to Iraq...)....It was just nice to see and hear someone speak cogently about what to do about it......But really good to know Down Under that they are watching ...and worrying and rooting for Obama ;-)
Post a Comment