Comments for "Cajas: The Pain in Spain"
Nemo says:
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Nemo Sun Mar 29 19:37:45 2009 CDT #
CRbot says:
This comment thread has been HALO-IZED by CRbot.
http://realize.org/cr/halokit.php?halourl=http://www.haloscan.com/comments/calculatedrisk/8155481268543508768
CRbot Sun Mar 29 19:40:05 2009 CDT #
Max says:
I dont practice santeria
I aint got no crystal ball.
I had a million dollars but I'd,
I'd spend it all.
If I could find that heina and that sancho that she's found,
Well I'd pop a cap in sancho and I'd slap her down.
Max Sun Mar 29 19:41:00 2009 CDT #
RayOnTheFarm says:
"who is on the board of this company?" The entire list is here... http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=GM.N&WTmodLOC=C4-Officers-5
RayOnTheFarm Sun Mar 29 19:42:14 2009 CDT #
lama says:
I guess the English can only afford the beaches at Great Yarmouth (North Sea) now. That kicks another leg out of the economic stool for Spain.
lama Sun Mar 29 19:42:20 2009 CDT #
lama says:
BTW, these Spanish banks sound like they would be good wines if they were wines.
lama Sun Mar 29 19:43:24 2009 CDT #
Pavel says:
"I guess the English can only afford the beaches at Great Yarmouth (North Sea) now. That kicks another leg out of the economic stool for Spain."
Poor Benidorm.
Pavel Sun Mar 29 19:44:40 2009 CDT #
reptillian says:
How do they say "Jingle Mail" in Spain?
reptillian Sun Mar 29 19:44:58 2009 CDT #
Br\'er Dawg says:
Is "Cajas" Spanish for "Countrywide?"
S'Okay. It isn't like Spain is really part of the EU. More like that cousin that is always asking to spend the weekend on the sofa.
Br\'er Dawg Sun Mar 29 19:46:25 2009 CDT #
Hal says:
The average wage in Spain is about 118% or more of the EC average, and as Krugman has pointed out, since Spain doesn't have a national currency it can't devalue its way out. How about an 18% drop in the standard of living? Another Spanish revolution in the offing?
Hal Sun Mar 29 19:47:38 2009 CDT #
Bond Girl says:
Amongst our weapons are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency.... and nice red uniforms.
Bond Girl Sun Mar 29 19:48:32 2009 CDT #
Hal says:
Vast stretches of the ruined coastline of Spain are filled with empty apartments and houses being abandoned. No pretty picture there anymore. When the pound's value collapsed vs the Euro the English ex-pats fled.
Hal Sun Mar 29 19:49:58 2009 CDT #
Max says:
The average wage in Spain is about 118% or more of the EC average, and as Krugman has pointed out, since Spain doesn't have a national currency it can't devalue its way out. How about an 18% drop in the standard of living? Another Spanish revolution in the offing?
Oh, the German taxpayers will save the day. Can't let the EU fall apart over a misunderstanding about some bad mortgages. Werner?
Max Sun Mar 29 19:50:31 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
http://market-ticker.org/
OMG, this is just sick. latest from Denninger.
everyone needs to spread this latest AIG scam revelation all over the Internet and fast!!!
Guest Sun Mar 29 19:52:11 2009 CDT #
Hal says:
Germans bail out the Spainiards. That's hilarious. Merkel won't even bail out Germans.
Hal Sun Mar 29 19:52:40 2009 CDT #
nova says:
from eurowatchblog who has a post up almost the same as CR's with a little more detail. Below is from his previous post at the same site
The average interest rate charged by Spanish banks for new mortgages in January 2009 was 5.64%, meaning that the average cost of a new mortgage had gone up by 10.2% over January 2008 (when the rate was 5.1%), and by 1.1% when compared with December 2008. Meanwhile the Euribor reference rate looks set to close this month at all time record lows of 1.91%. In January - the last month for which we have data on mortgage lending - the Euribor rate was 2.27%.
The reasons lying behind this upward movement in Spanish mortgages are twofold. On the one hand the Spanish banks are having increasing difficulty raising finance due to their perceived risk level, and on the other they themselves have have been forced to raise the risk premium they charge to clients due to the rising levels of non performing mortgages they have on their books.
Basically what this means is that the ECB policy isn't working in Spain, and that despite the massive quantities of liquidity provided, the monetary conditions continue to tighten, and doubly so give that the real value of the rates charged (ie the inflation adjusted value) keeps rising automatically as inflation falls.
nova Sun Mar 29 19:53:19 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
Reuters
Obama stirs anxiety in Europe before visit
"But the first months of Obama's presidency have also raised anxiety levels in parts of Europe -- particularly in Berlin and eastern European capitals."
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52S0PK20090329
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 19:53:30 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
if this claim about Geithner and AIG is true regarding closing out CDS portfolios at intentional losses to benefit banks just prior to asking for more taxpayer bailouts proves true, he needs to be imprisoned immediately.
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/03/exclusive-aig-was-responsible-for-banks.html
Guest Sun Mar 29 19:57:06 2009 CDT #
Pavel says:
"Vast stretches of the ruined coastline of Spain are filled with empty apartments and houses being abandoned. No pretty picture there anymore. When the pound's value collapsed vs the Euro the English ex-pats fled."
My mother, God bless her soul, had a little apartment overlooking the sea in Cullera. There were numerous British retirees nearby, and some people of other nationalities, including Americans. She left in the early 90s.
Pavel Sun Mar 29 20:02:43 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Santeria is a Cuban/African religion, which has nothing to do with Spain.
Caja means box, and 'cash box', as in cash register.
Those interest rates are higher, but they aren't high.
Spain is dry in a lot of places right? So maybe the houses will rot slower than here.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:04:11 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Spain is dry in a lot of places right? So maybe the houses will rot slower than here.
Or burn.
Parent Post
dryfly Sun Mar 29 20:34:11 2009 CDT #
Jas says:
--
One of the Housing Bubble contries along with Ireland.
Jas
Jas Sun Mar 29 20:05:23 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
So all the furriners that are supposed to save the empty Miami Beach/downtown Miami condo towers aren't even buying in Europe anymore!
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:06:21 2009 CDT #
reptillian says:
Spain is dry in a lot of places right?"
The rain falls mainly on the plain.
reptillian Sun Mar 29 20:06:43 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
But Nemo was first, so all's right with the world.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:06:53 2009 CDT #
Pavel says:
"But the first months of Obama's presidency have also raised anxiety levels in parts of Europe -- particularly in Berlin and eastern European capitals."
In my reading of the article it seems to imply that the Germans would like to maintain tensions with Russia. I find that hard to believe.
Pavel Sun Mar 29 20:06:59 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
'In my reading of the article it seems to imply that the Germans would like to maintain tensions with Russia. I find that hard to believe.'
It is not only hard to believe, it isn't accurate.
And I know, at least from my Czech source, that the missile defense system was thought as moronic by just about everyone, especially in the justification - to protect Europe from Iranian missiles.
Americans have begun to be become about as protective as the old Soviet Union, which was always eager to protect such countries as East Germany (1953), Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968) from external dangers which only the Soviet leadership was fully aware of.
It is becoming impossible to overlook that Americans are especially insistent that the rest of the world needs American protection, or bad things will happen.
Sometimes, I wonder what America would be like if even just 50% of Americans had passports, and spent a month in another country. Different is always my conclusion, which may explain why Americans with passports are about 1/5 of the population.
Parent Post
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 23:10:51 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
By George she's got it!!
Dah duh, da-da da da-da-da da da dahh!
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:09:30 2009 CDT #
Max says:
Caja Goo Goo?
Too shy to ask for a bailout?
Max Sun Mar 29 20:12:44 2009 CDT #
CRbot says:
The Latest from Mish:
GM CEO Wagoner, a Visionless Dinosaur, Forced Out
CRbot Sun Mar 29 20:13:16 2009 CDT #
popeye says:
nytol ...... really bad cold
popeye Sun Mar 29 20:14:17 2009 CDT #
Mike in Long Island says:
@Max,
Good tune - great band...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrLJ6Saq7u4
Mike in Long Island Sun Mar 29 20:15:27 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
I read that thing about AIG, and I don't understand it.
I am perfectly willing to be outraged, but it just seems that the banks got handed more money in a slightly different way.
It also seems that they got to say (falsely) that the made a profit, instead of being handed money on a silver platter, but I never believed that any such profit was more than a meaningless blip anyway.
Plz somebody explain to me why I should be outraged.
I guess people who are, errrr, dopey enough to believe that the profit was real were being bamboozled.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:18:01 2009 CDT #
Black Star Ranch says:
"Mr. John H. Bryan has been a member of Board of Directors of General Motors Corporation since February 1993. From 1976 to 2000, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Corporation, and as Chairman until 2001. He is currently a director of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc."
Black Star Ranch Sun Mar 29 20:18:23 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
The Week That Was (Not As The Market And Media Will Have You Believe)
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/03/week-that-was-not-as-market-and-media.html
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 20:18:59 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Hope you feel better popeye. Have some chicken soup along with the spinach.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:19:08 2009 CDT #
Basel Too says:
Plz somebody explain to me why I should be outraged.
Because they knew that they had a government backstop, they intentionally lost money for the sake of their counterparties.
Basel Too Sun Mar 29 20:20:02 2009 CDT #
Bond Girl says:
I know nothing about it, but that AIG piece seems pretty fishy to me. Mainly because the person supposedly telling the story would be taking a supreme amount of personal risk to tell it, if it were true.
Bank analysts' commentary should get pretty interesting soon, however.
Bond Girl Sun Mar 29 20:22:30 2009 CDT #
Bailout Maniax says:
we're in your banks, we're on your tv screens,
you'll see us in your nightmares,
you'll see us in your dreams,
we appear out of nowhere, 'cause we aint what we seem
Bailout Maniax Sun Mar 29 20:24:25 2009 CDT #
ATM card and $19 in the bank says:
Re: Denninger and Zero Hedge
This AIG fiasco has prompted me to look up the Teapot Dome scandal more than once. Still not quite the same set of facts. But with so many firms outside the government getting swiftly and surreptitiously enriched by the Treasury Department's handling of AIG, all it's going to take is for a bribe or an illicit quid pro quo to surface and --*voila*-- once again history rhymes.
ATM card and $19 in the bank Sun Mar 29 20:26:25 2009 CDT #
Hal says:
Geithner should never have been hired. He's a clone of Paulson, one of the Wall Street crowd obedient to the plutocracy. Obama is too cowardly to crush the plutocracy; he's a closet Wall Street reactionary. Read the piece in the Atlantic about it all by the former IMF economist. If US statistics were presented to him without identifying the country he said he would think they pertained to a "banana republic" in typical melt down. He talks of the strangle hold the plutocracy has over the government in these countries and now also in the US, so the proper solutions can't be used. The plutocracy makes sure the "solutions" benefit THEM.
Hal Sun Mar 29 20:27:59 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Maybe individuals are just getting so sick of observing fraud, that they aren't gonna take it anymore. Maybe "Lou" thinks that he will be blamed, if he doesn't speak up.
I just don't quite get the fraud part. I guess I don't understand these transactions. Losing money is remarkably easy to do, I know. I never thought that what amounted to insurance without reserves was anything other than fraudulent anyway. Is this fraud squared? Is this essentially the same scam as the Producers?
So now all we have to do is make something so exotic that nobody understands it, and all is ok.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:29:16 2009 CDT #
scone says:
Lots more to this-- corruption, land grabs, environmental damage, it's a total mess. Eu is not amused:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7965912.stm
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_20639.shtml
scone Sun Mar 29 20:29:20 2009 CDT #
Br\'er Dawg says:
I gotta tell you. This stuff used to piss me off but ever since I stopped paying taxes it has become something more of an observer sport where i have no interest in the outcome.
Br\'er Dawg Sun Mar 29 20:33:57 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Sounds like people are also selling property they didn't own? Scone?
It happens in south Florida, but actually, not very often, and the title companies get really touchy about that sort of thing.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:34:24 2009 CDT #
anon says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal
anon Sun Mar 29 20:35:17 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
lawyerliz,
the reason i think the AIG CDS giveaway to the banks is particularly egregious is that it allowed those 2 bozos, Lewis and Pandit, to come out and say Jan and Feb were profitable thus sucking in billions of dollars into the stock market in what may turn out to be the selling opportunity of a lifetime for Lewis who had, just a month or so earlier, sparked another rally by announcing he had bought BAC stock at $5 or so per share. don't forget the last 2 wks or so has been labelled the biggest stock mkt rally since 1938!!
Guest Sun Mar 29 20:36:07 2009 CDT #
Br\'er Dawg says:
Spain is dry in a lot of places right? So maybe the houses will rot slower than here. -1
Or burn. - Dryfly
Think Phoenix but with fewer Spanish speaking residents.
Br\'er Dawg Sun Mar 29 20:37:13 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
the reason i think the zerohedge anonymous email is credible is due to the complex description of the CDS market. weak i know, but assuming the worst over the last 2 yrs has served me well.
Guest Sun Mar 29 20:38:15 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Oh, I thought those run-ups were ridiculous, so I didn't follow them.
So the CEO dopes got to make some money off of fools. Which they shouldn't have oughta done.
Perp walk time finally?
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:38:31 2009 CDT #
Nemo says:
Caja? More like Caca.
Zing!
Nemo Sun Mar 29 20:38:54 2009 CDT #
anon says:
http://www.sinclairoil.com/history/history_p28.htm
history written by the winners.
but hey, sinclair gave us 'little america'!
anon Sun Mar 29 20:39:14 2009 CDT #
ATM card and $19 in the bank says:
Lawyerliz: "I just don't get the fraud part."
Trying to translate my visceral reaction into something actionable: AIG is a publicly-traded company. They don't get to voluntarily enrich other firms at the expense of their own shareholders. But wait, the government owns roughly 80% of AIG and the gov't said it's okay... there's my visceral reaction in a nutshell: the government has no right to take a majority stake in a company and use it for clandestine policy operations. That starts to sound like a phony business that provides cover for the CIA; is that the model the government is willing to follow just so Goldman Sachs employees can remain rich during a severe recession?
ATM card and $19 in the bank Sun Mar 29 20:41:33 2009 CDT #
wunsacon says:
>> the government has no right to take a majority stake in a company and use it for clandestine policy operations.
What was "clandestine"? When you give billions to a financial company (insurance and CDO underwriting) reporting billions in losses, who would benefit if not the company's trading partners? I expected this to be for the benefit of counterparties from the start. So, I guess that's why I'm not surprised.
And I'm not outraged either. Most people in DC and New York think they had to give AIG the money to honor its contractual obligations or else too many other firms would fail all at once. Why is that important? Not only do we have a "too big to fail" problem. We have a "too many to fail" problem. The entire system (with the exception of a few firms like Hudson City Savings) is insolvent. There aren't enough bankruptcy judges, lawyers, and support staff to handle everything quickly enough to avoid cascading failures and a systemic freeze.
By December, the flow of agricultural goods -- food -- was being affected by uncertainty over letters of credit. For any of those in the "no bailout" camp, extrapolate from there to learn what your outrage would have led to.
I'm not happy about aspects of the bailout. But, the time for people to pay attention and get angry was years ago when Wall Street lobbyists succeeded in rolling back regulation after regulation.
Parent Post
wunsacon Mon Mar 30 11:17:59 2009 CDT #
bearly says:
Fuchahs lookin' a little droopy.
bearly Sun Mar 29 20:42:50 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/03/exclusive-aig-was-responsible-for-banks.html
read this and puke
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 20:43:22 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
I find that hard to believe.
------------------------------------
Yes, interesting country, not exactly western or eastern. Interesting history
=======================
same scam as the Producers?
=======================
Actually it is starting to look like Clue, maybe we could choose from several different endings.
Guest Sun Mar 29 20:43:41 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Thanks for posting the Teapot Dome thing, anon. I didn't understand it in high school.
But it doesn't seem to be the same.
Unless someone was bribed?
And I agree, Guest. It seemed that the person who was describing what happened actually understood it. But realized that others wouldn't understand and tried to dumb it down. But not dumb enuf for me to understand.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:44:18 2009 CDT #
scone says:
Sounds like people are also selling property they didn't own? Scone?
.
I haven't read the whole report, but just scanning the news items the whole system was screwed up and corrupt-- not just title, but land court, planning departments, building officials, banks, etc. So, people were not just selling land they didn't own, they were selling land that was not 'zoned' for residential at all, like environmentally sensitive areas. That pesky 'rule of law' thing went out the window. Lots of baksheesh, I suspect.
scone Sun Mar 29 20:46:09 2009 CDT #
teacher says:
Lawyerliz,
The argument that this is a fraud is that AIG is intentionally losing money to GS et al. If a person comes in to buy or sell a $20 stock on an exchange, unless something newsworthy happened, any trades that happen 10% or more away from $20 would be broken. Trades get broken often when they occur away from the market. Because CDS are OTC and the regulator, ISDA, doesn't care, trades are never too far away from the market to be broken or illegal.
teacher Sun Mar 29 20:50:28 2009 CDT #
anon says:
My WAG is Waggoner told Team O he was preparing BK too - union contracts be damned - and he wanted gov guarenteed DIP to facilitate. Team O said 'no' and demanded he step down. He said 'Fine. I wash my hands of this'.
I have no inside info or even rumors - but my guess is wagonner can read a balance sheet & income statment as well as any and that is probably the only 'option' left.
Does this poster have a Monopoly on common sense?
anon Sun Mar 29 20:52:07 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Hmmm, ATM, were they perhaps offering these favorable trades only to certain favored corporations?
And we have all that stuff in South Florida, but the sellers generally do actually own the land. Also, not the environmentally sensitive lands thing, because the gov't has discovered it can make more money by being honest.
Example. Developer client bought some rare acreage, and somebody had
dug out some holes in preparation for development that never happened. Then, the holes got water and the water attracted water plants, and so now you have a valuable swamp!! Can't fill in swamp!! So he had to pay to purchase some threatened swamp elsewhere at great expense. We are talking about average house sized holes, 3 of them, as I recall.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:52:39 2009 CDT #
anon says:
ll. i beiefly remembered the TD scandal from reading about it in 'the prize'
needed some freshening up....But hey, it was small time...only $100k bribes!
anon Sun Mar 29 20:54:19 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Broken means the trades were undone, reversed?
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:55:19 2009 CDT #
Bond Girl says:
Like everyone else, I doubt that the banks were actually profitable. But think for a second about how many times you have heard traders talking about their clients' unfavorable trades in a public forum.
I guess we will find out.
Bond Girl Sun Mar 29 20:55:56 2009 CDT #
rich says:
Caja = box in Spanish. As in "strong box."
You know, if you could be transported to either Madrid or Barcelona tonight, or if you could have visited Valencia last week for Las Falles (one of the greatest regional festivals in the world) you would probably see few signs of recession.The traditional costumes for Las Falles start at $5,000 each, and that's for kids.
But these are Spain's three largest cities, where the party always goes on.
Elsewhere in Spain, it's different.
rich Sun Mar 29 20:55:58 2009 CDT #
CRbot says:
The Latest from Mish:
G-20 Targets Hedge Funds, Ignoring Everything Worth Discussing
CRbot Sun Mar 29 20:56:15 2009 CDT #
bcg says:
gotta start somewhere-
Parent Post
bcg Sun Mar 29 21:08:17 2009 CDT #
scone says:
@lawyerliz
Here in Portland, we've been building marshes as sewer alternatives. It actually seems to work, as long as we don't get cholera bugs jumping in the pool. ;)
scone Sun Mar 29 20:57:34 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Yeah, the state was planning to buy a bunch of land from the sugar interests, and now it is buying less, 'cause of the lack of money, but the purpose is to restore the Everglades, that is, turn it back into a swamp.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 20:59:25 2009 CDT #
anon says:
yes ll, a trade break is one where the other side to the transaction 'does'nt know'DK the trade.hence, it's a break, or agreed to be broken.
anon Sun Mar 29 21:00:11 2009 CDT #
Lawyerliz says:
Nitey-nite.
Lawyerliz Sun Mar 29 21:01:40 2009 CDT #
teacher says:
"Broken means the trades were undone, reversed?"
Undone. Sometimes in a stock when someone fat fingers a trade (accidentally puts in the wrong order size) or enters an order in the wrong symbol, and the order is way too big, the stock will move 10,15,20%. Sometimes stocks trade at $9999, more often than you might think. The trades get broken, undone. When this happens the exchanges have a certain time period to make a decision. For a $20 stock that suddenly trades to $23, they might come out and say every trade that occured above $21.70 is broken. Sometimes it seems arbitrary. All trades that happen above the break price are no good. All the ones below stand as good trades. Most trades that get broken are one time trades. No one else in the market will get the price. AIG is basically closing out trades away from the market price, and they are probably playing favorites.
teacher Sun Mar 29 21:02:47 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Here in Portland, we've been building marshes as sewer alternatives. It actually seems to work, as long as we don't get cholera bugs jumping in the pool.
I studied that 30 years ago in college [chem engineering w/ biochem & bioprocesses emphasis]... it is old technology and proven... you don't even have to worry about pathogens if it is after primary & secondary treatment - minimal bare bones sewer plant effluent. Works slick. We'll see A LOT of this once water gets scarce.
dryfly Sun Mar 29 21:05:06 2009 CDT #
ATM card and $19 in the bank says:
Re: Teapot Dome
The connection I am trying to make is that Obama is about a half a wrong move away from the same sort of scandal that got the Harding administration into the history books. He's already started down that path by asserting that what happened on Wall Street was perfectly legal; so were the single bidder oil leases involved in Teapot Dome. (Notice the high potential for abuse there, just like the Sunday afternoon shotgun weddings on Wall Street last fall.) Similarly, Harding's cabinet featured cronies who allegedly robbed the government, while Obama has Geithner, Summers, and Bernanke "robbing" the taxpayer to bail out the wealthy. So what's missing? A bribe. An illicit quid pro quo. And maybe it never happens or, at least, never comes to light. But overall, I think these continuing bailouts and the ugly details about how they work put Obama in a situation that is quite reminscent of Harding.
ATM card and $19 in the bank Sun Mar 29 21:05:40 2009 CDT #
REBear says:
The Obama administration is giving General Motors 60 days worth of financing for restructuring, according to senior administration officials.
REBear Sun Mar 29 21:05:55 2009 CDT #
zendiet says:
Lawyerliz:
Were you named after liz taylor?
As the story goes Timmy let AIG launder US money on its way to the BIG BOYS.
Not only as mentioned above did it allow CITI BoA to have a profit, but there was a charade called a stress test
which this money would help them pass I think.
There is a certain smell about maybe Iran-Contra.
We have met the enemy and it is us.
Isn't it time Walt Kelley got beatified
zendiet Sun Mar 29 21:06:12 2009 CDT #
EvilHenryPaulson says:
equivalent to the German Landesbanks?
Are there comparable institutions in other european countries? Government banks to promote regional economic development that is, export development banks are another matter
learn something every day.
EvilHenryPaulson Sun Mar 29 21:08:59 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
And the Landesbanken in Germany are hurting - unfortunately, they are pretty heavily invested in worthless securities from certain partners whose names are too well known here. Never forget that part of the unstated but critical roles of the TARP is just to keep everyone in the world interested in buying more American debt - because at this point, the only thing supporting American debt is debt.
And yes, this will not go on forever. But 'not on my watch' is the current American government excuse for actions that its citizens aren't even really aware of .
Parent Post
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 23:25:01 2009 CDT #
anon says:
ohhhh goddddddd...
Dry and his tupperware toilet story!
anon Sun Mar 29 21:10:00 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
i smell a market dump.
Guest Sun Mar 29 21:15:32 2009 CDT #
Joe Dirt says:
"i smell a market dump."
You sniff dumps? Business or pleasure?
Joe Dirt Sun Mar 29 21:19:24 2009 CDT #
NateTG says:
But it's a stinky market, so it's dumps smell like roses, right?
NateTG Sun Mar 29 21:20:38 2009 CDT #
ATM card and $19 in the bank says:
<h1>
</h1>
<h1>
</h1>
Sources: Obama to give GM 2 months to restructure; Chrysler to get 30 days to finish Fiat deal
The money quote, IMO: "The officials said the administration did not view Chrysler to be viable as a standalone company"
http://www.startribune.com/nation/42079207.html?page=1&c=y
ATM card and $19 in the bank Sun Mar 29 21:23:44 2009 CDT #
vikas says:
From comments at London Banker's bog last fall:
From Wayne Madsen Report
September 18, 2008 -- AIG is "special case"
The U.S. government's bail out of insurance giant American International Group (AIG) comes as no surprise to intelligence community insiders. In fact, AIG has been at the center of a number of CIA operations for decades. The federal government's $85 billion "bridge" loan to AIG essentially makes the United States government an 80 percent stakeholder in AIG, a move that will prevent external players from peering into AIG's myriad intelligence operations on behalf of the CIA, according to an insider who has followed AIG's overseas operations for a number of years.
As Attorney General of New York state and as Governor, Eliot Spitzer made AIG a prime target for his investigations. That ended when Spitzer was brought down in a sex scandal involving a prostitution ring.
AIG's chairman, before he was forced to resign amid scandal, was Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. In 1962, Greenberg was hired by AIG's founder, Cornelius Vander Starr, the uncle of President Bill Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr, as the chief of AIG's North American operations. Greenberg eventually took over as AIG's chairman, as well as assuming the Chairmanship and CEO position of Starr's other firm, C. V. Starr and Company. Greenberg retained control of C. V. Starr and Company after having stepped down as AIG's chairman in 2005.
Greenberg, a close friend of Henry Kissinger, was considered a potential CIA director in 1995 after James Woolsey resigned. Perhaps it was Greenberg's past connections to Whitewater Independent Counsel Starr's uncle Cornelius that dissuaded Clinton from giving Greenberg the keys to Langley's top executive washroom.
vikas Sun Mar 29 21:31:19 2009 CDT #
km4 says:
The riain in Spain falls gently on the plain... Yeah right :(
km4 Sun Mar 29 21:31:28 2009 CDT #
Comrade De Chaos says:
So, some of banks (C & Co) were profitable in Jan - Feb, weren't they?
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/03/exclusive-aig-was-responsible-for-banks.html
(maybe , all hail the rally, load & roll :) ;)
Comrade De Chaos Sun Mar 29 21:32:49 2009 CDT #
ATM card and $19 in the bank says:
Vikas,
So the CIA loaned AIG to Treasury to carry out what Paulson/Geitner needed done.
Hope my previous comments didn't rub anyone at the CIA the wrong way. O:-)
ATM card and $19 in the bank Sun Mar 29 21:36:33 2009 CDT #
Hackman says:
People believe what they want to believe when it makes no sense at all.
Hackman Sun Mar 29 21:39:33 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
ohhhh goddddddd...
Dry and his tupperware toilet story!
I must have never outgrown the 'toilet obsession' most toddlers outgrow - what can I say?
dryfly Sun Mar 29 21:40:27 2009 CDT #
scone says:
Hope my previous comments didn't rub anyone at the CIA the wrong way.
.
If they did, you won't have to worry about it for long. =-X
scone Sun Mar 29 21:41:10 2009 CDT #
Hackman says:
And especially so when it appeals to their ego or perpetuates their illusion.
Hackman Sun Mar 29 21:42:00 2009 CDT #
Hackman says:
Layoff Dryfly. He is why I keep coming back here. He takes the macro and applies it micro. And he does this very, very well. Also, I love to fly fish.
Hackman Sun Mar 29 21:44:10 2009 CDT #
anon says:
your story cracks me up everytime you reference it. :-D
anon Sun Mar 29 21:44:11 2009 CDT #
Hackman says:
Though I am not good enough to use dry flies well.
Hackman Sun Mar 29 21:44:52 2009 CDT #
Basel Too says:
The Obama administration plans to give General Motors Corp. enough government aid to restructure over the next 60 days, while Chrysler LLC is being told it must complete a deal with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, according to a government official.
Basel Too Sun Mar 29 21:46:32 2009 CDT #
Hackman says:
Chrysler = Studebaker?
Hackman Sun Mar 29 21:49:54 2009 CDT #
anon says:
BO give Gm 2months? just like wagoner's pension, the rope is let out in perpetuity
anon Sun Mar 29 21:51:01 2009 CDT #
bearly says:
Sittin' on a Q1 81 SPY put position, cheap. Got in Thurs & Fri. Total crap shoot. Anything can happen but I got the sense the rally was sputtering and seriously overbought. We'll see...
bearly Sun Mar 29 21:52:51 2009 CDT #
hong konger says:
Wake me when the "AIG Papers" hits the WaPo.
hong konger Sun Mar 29 21:58:20 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Though I am not good enough to use dry flies well.
On the right water [bright clear little streams like I fish] they are really easy to use - fun too. It is more about short casts with clean presentation and 'light leaders' and less with 'muscle casting' like out on big western water.
And I'm perfectly okay about folks harassing me over the 'sewer' stuff - I even laugh - ever since a small kid I LOVED swamps, sloughs, backwaters and sewers. I still do. Maybe that's why I love to find an 'acceptable' excuse to wade around in streams - picking through stones & mud to see what lives there [cool bugs!]...
dryfly Sun Mar 29 22:00:09 2009 CDT #
cd says:
the fiat-chrysler deal is interesting on its own...since we are on the hook for bridge loan to chrysler..how this plays out will be on my radar with the tentacles of cerberus wrapped around its corpse..
cd Sun Mar 29 22:02:03 2009 CDT #
hong konger says:
Good bonds, those sewer bonds. Jam packed with useful insights, they are.
hong konger Sun Mar 29 22:04:49 2009 CDT #
Outsider says:
I don't think there's a dryfly story I haven't learned from.
Speaking of which, what does WAG mean? I can't figure that one out.
Outsider Sun Mar 29 22:05:01 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Speaking of which, what does WAG mean? I can't figure that one out.
Wild Ass Guess...
Parent Post
dryfly Sun Mar 29 22:07:07 2009 CDT #
Outsider says:
"Wild Ass Guess" No, I never would have figured that one out. I even googled it.
Parent Post
Outsider Sun Mar 29 22:10:43 2009 CDT #
Tom Stone says:
Dryfly,I know some good water in cali if you ever make it out this way.And speaking of bugs my BIL has a motorcycle machine works and is making noises about trying to pick up a more modern tool or two.His Bridgeport Mill is a lend lease WW2 baby.works fine,but cnc is SOOO sweet.Any ideas of where to look? Lathes too...
Parent Post
Tom Stone Sun Mar 29 22:18:13 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Dryfly,I know some good water in cali if you ever make it out this way.And speaking of bugs my BIL has a motorcycle machine works and is making noises about trying to pick up a more modern tool or two.His Bridgeport Mill is a lend lease WW2 baby.works fine,but cnc is SOOO sweet.Any ideas of where to look? Lathes too...
I haven't priced any in a long time - I don't have the space for them so am not 100% current. HOWEVER - my understanding is liquidators have tons of that kind of stuff. If I were looking for one - I'd call a commercial bankruptcy law office and ask for names of local liquidators. They should know of somebody.
There is also Ebay - no joke - I knew legit for profit businesses who were buying all kinds of stuff like that on Ebay.
But I think finding a local liquidator would be best - they buy up a whole shop when they BK if the stuff won't sell at auction. I think mp's son is in that biz if my memory serves me.
Parent Post
dryfly Sun Mar 29 22:28:42 2009 CDT #
scone says:
@ dryfly
Here's some pics of the Deschutes River-- if you haven't been there, I think you'd love it.
http://images.google.com/images?q=deschutes%20river&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
scone Sun Mar 29 22:08:51 2009 CDT #
dryfly says:
Here's some pics of the Deschutes River-- if you haven't been there, I think you'd love it.
Know about it but never fished it - it is one of the quintessential big western waters. World famous. Waters I fish are more like this... not world famous but lots of wild trout.
Parent Post
dryfly Sun Mar 29 22:19:20 2009 CDT #
MrM says:
Speaking of which, what does WAG mean?
You have never taken a SWAG? :D
MrM Sun Mar 29 22:14:51 2009 CDT #
Outsider says:
Google says that's scientific wild ass guess?
Parent Post
Outsider Sun Mar 29 22:16:37 2009 CDT #
Tom Stone says:
WAGS and SWAGS are very different,SWAGS are SCIENTIFIC! and make a different sound when pulled out of your butt...kind of sonorous actually.
Tom Stone Sun Mar 29 22:21:05 2009 CDT #
Tom Stone says:
A pretty spot,Dryfly,reminds me a bit of early intake.
Tom Stone Sun Mar 29 22:22:29 2009 CDT #
scone says:
@ dryfly - that's purty! :)
scone Sun Mar 29 22:22:49 2009 CDT #
Broward Horne says:
"since I stopped paying taxes it has become something more of an observer sport where i have no interest in the outcome"
-----
I'm in the same frame of mind. It makes it easier to see past the Bush/Obama rhetoric that so many seem trapped in. I had dinner with a ex-Air Force couple last night and they reminded me of my VA benefits, so it looks like I may be able to get my prescriptions and health care for free. I'll find out tomorrow!
Broward Horne Sun Mar 29 22:23:39 2009 CDT #
Tom Stone says:
For those intersted in Sonoma County A couple of Brokers I know and trust have confirmed that we have "a LOT" and "A tremendous" amount of shadow inventory here and some indications it will be hitting the market this year.One is in Santa Rosa,one Sebastopol.It ticks me that even if you are a Broker and belong to the MLS you can NOT get good numbers.That needs to change.
Tom Stone Sun Mar 29 22:27:53 2009 CDT #
ChangeYourDogCanRollIn says:
Poor Harding, his name mentioned in the same sentence as ......... Obama.
ChangeYourDogCanRollIn Sun Mar 29 22:52:34 2009 CDT #
Broward Horne says:
I'm a litle teapot (dome)
Short and stout
Let me fail
So they can bail me out!
Tonight's South Park was hilarious. The kid wanted to return his MargaritaVille blender to the store, but it was financed by a company that securitzed the payments so he went to Wall Street, etc, etc, unti he ended up in the Secret Broker's room. They valued the blender at $92 trillion but couldn't pay him the money and then cut the head off a chicken, tossed it on a big Wheel-Of-Fortune Ouija board and played a harominca while it danced around different scenarios and finally died on the "Bailout" selection.
It was so so right. The deal has become so incredible ludicrious that I can't believe anyone is still discussing it rationally. Now AIG is purposely losing trades? OMG.
Broward Horne Sun Mar 29 23:01:04 2009 CDT #
anon says:
oh my word...tiger won!
this guy needs to be at the G20.
anon Sun Mar 29 23:14:04 2009 CDT #
Anonymous says:
Tom,
thanks for the update on SoCo. I'd be interested to know brokers that gave you the info, particularly the one in Sebastopol. I tried to leave a private message for you a while back, but don't know how JS-Kit does it.
Anonymous Sun Mar 29 23:39:55 2009 CDT #
Guest says:
i've seen a lot of prior news that UK residents bought a lot of second homes in Spain. I wonder how much of this was via MEW from their own over inflated UK homes? Second, I wonder if non Spanish residents can get mortgages through a Caja and if so how many of these are second homes that will be "let go" in the crisis?
Guest Mon Mar 30 03:01:33 2009 CDT #
Jamie says:
Mostly the deposits were MEWed but the bulk of mortgages would be Euro based. I'm not 100% certain on Caja's lending criteria but I would be very surprised if they were allowed to say its for Spaniards only. In fact I'd be even more surprised if they would have wanted that limitation themselves..think of all that building and all that mortgage business...Rememeber it used to be cool to lend.... so no one wants to miss a good business opportunity...UK folks selling Euro based property might still make a profit given effective 30% devaluation of the GBP
Parent Post
Jamie Mon Mar 30 03:46:01 2009 CDT #
TopHatFox says:
I can't believe nobody's noticed the obvious pun yet, so here goes.
Since this is Caja Castilla-La Mancha that's asking for a bailout, does that mean that they're tilting at windfalls?
TopHatFox Mon Mar 30 07:00:00 2009 CDT #
Spaniard says:
The Cajas are politically controlled and that is at the heart of their problem. While society complained housing prices were skyroketing the cajas were fuelling a big chunk of the bubble. On the one hand they were making loans for highly speculative real statete projects for the "politically connected" and on the other hand making 50 year mortgage loans to home buyers for 100% of the house price or even 120%. Thus politicians are at the heart of the HUGE housing bubble in Spain.
Spaniard Mon Mar 30 09:34:11 2009 CDT #
dUCKdUCKgOOSE says:
Spain should let in some more Muslims. That'll fix their problems.
dUCKdUCKgOOSE Mon Mar 30 09:41:39 2009 CDT #
END