[Opinion] USA bailout failure

[Morticia]

What are your views on the negative vote yesterday?

[Dave A]

I can't blame them. It was like cutting a blank cheque.

It doesn't mean they won't still do some select rescues, but this way the speculators (who arguably got everyone into this mess) can't count on anything.

My theory is every now and then the market needs a good bleed with a healthy side dish of burnt fingers. It keeps fingers where they should be.

[IanF]

Crisis explained simply

here is a link http://www.businesspundit.com/sub-prime/ which explains the crisis simply. What is going to happen to all the parties involved from banks, rating agencies, auditors, etc. They should all be held liable. The big question is will anything happen to them?

[Dave A]

Who would be left to screw us?

That was a bad assumption. We fucked up. Sorry

Classic!

[Dave A]

Even Nick Leeson (the reckless trader who collapsed Barings Bank) has got his say in. It's worth a read.

Two highlights:

The banking system in the United Kingdom is technically insolvent -- the value of outstanding mortgages and loans stands at £256-billion while the value of deposits is only £160-billion. A re-evaluation of the banks' property portfolios and likely bad debts would paint a bleaker picture still. Banks are not lending to one another and the daily operation of the system is reliant on handouts by central banks.
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Who is going to go after the individuals responsible for this financial catastrophe?

Apparently no one. Who is going to bail out the businesses and individuals who are struggling at the moment? The banks? Not a chance: self-preservation is the only thing on their minds at the moment. The rest of us will be left to our own devices.
full comment from M&G here

[derrickm]

Michael Moore has an interesting list of suggestions:

Here's How to Fix the Wall Street Mess ...from Michael Moore

Derrick Markotter
Get More Business From Your Website

[Dave A]

Michael Moore tends to have an interesting take on things. I particularly like the special prosecutor proposal, although I shudder at the thought of the legal fees to follow through. Each prosecution can probably expect some pretty stern defence.

The CEO/COO salary limit proposal is also pretty neat.

I'm just not sure it is the rich that are calling for the bailout though. They're not going to get hurt nearly as badly as the little guys.

[Morticia]

An example of why the USA economy is in sh*&

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/03/eviction.suicide.attempt/index.html

"There's a lot of people like Miss Polk right now. That's the sad thing about it," said Sommerville, who had met Polk before and rushed to the scene when contacted by police. "They might not be as old as her, some could be as old as her. This is just a major problem."

In 2004, Polk took out a 30-year, 6.375 percent mortgage for $45,620 with a Countrywide Home Loan office in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The same day, she also took out an $11,380 line of credit.

Over the next couple of years, Polk missed payments on the 101-year-old home that she and her late husband purchased in 1970. In 2007, Fannie Mae assumed the mortgage and later filed for foreclosure.

Forgive my ignorance, but who in his right mind grants a 30-year mortgage to a 90-year old biddy??? That is criminal behaviour and those bankers should be brought to justice.

[Dave A]

She was only 86 when they gave her the loans

The whole thing actually suggests there is merit in the reckless credit provisions of our NCA. However, as a property owner, she might well not have qualified for protection if it applied over there the same way as it does here.

[Dave A]

So Paulson's plan has failed to pass the House again!

It was a bad plan -- but it was a plan. The refusal of the United States House of Representatives to back Hank Paulson's bail out takes us into new territory.

Some horsetrading in Washington may yet produce a revised deal that would be acceptable to the politicians, but the banks know there will be no easy handouts: Main Street, for better or worse, wants to see Wall Street suffer. In an election year, voters get what they want.

What happens next? The immediate challenge for the central banks is simply to keep the banking system functioning -- ensuring that payments are processed and that companies can continue to pay everyday bills, such as wages. The Federal Reserve will flood the market with emergency funds. The sums were already staggering. Before the vote in the House this week the Fed (US central bank) released $620-billion. The number may get bigger in the next few days. It's a case of using "all tools available", as the treasury put it. These could also include emergency cuts in interest rates, as we saw after 9/11.

Even so, more bank collapses and takeovers look almost inevitable.
full story from M&G here

The Capitol fiddles away while Wall Street burns.

[Morticia]

Lehman Bros

Sorry it's in Afrikaans, couldn't find an English version, but sooooooo good for a giggle.

[Graeme]

Sub-prime mess

The whole sub-prime mess began back in President Clinton's time when he leaned on US banks to give the benefit of the doubt to people who wanted homes but could not get mortages because they were not terribly good credit risks. The banks found a way - they called it securitisation.

[Dave A]

It wasn't that long ago our government was leaning on our banks to extend loans to high credit risk folk. Imagine - we would have had our own homegrown "sub-prime" crisis too.

I bet gov is happy the banks resisted their advances now. In fact, the way they're going on about us not being vulnerable, you'd almost think they were trying to take the credit

[Alan]

Crisis hits Japan, the Origami Bank....has folded

The Sumo Bank has gone belly up and
Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will
likely go for a song while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended
after they nose-dived.

While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is
reported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that
there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that
staff may get a raw deal.

Stuff it, it's Friday and the sun is shinning!!

[Dave A]

Lovely one, Alan. The situation certainly needs some humour

For anyone in the mood to get serious for a moment, here is a great read - Surviving the hurricane. Too late this time around, but at least there is serious discussion about how to prevent/limit the effects in the future.

Leaning into the wind - seems to make sense to me.