American Madness

Jason Flores-Williams at The Nation:

Investment bankers are some people’s ideal New Yorkers. They work twelve to fourteen hours a day. Their lives are completely centered around work. They rarely engage in political dissent, don’t raise hell and question very little, unless it affects their money. They earn on average $280,000 a year, so they can buy the townhouses and pay the punishing rents that force virtually everyone else out. They support expensive restaurants, bars, clothing stores, pet grooming and poop pick-up services that have turned once-unique New York neighborhoods into a soulless, upscale pukefest. These are the people who are happy to live in the Matrix and go along with the plan.

Love it. Read the rest.

Stocks Surge as U.S. Acts to Shore Up Money Funds and Limits Short Selling

If the government is going to bailout the private banks without taking them over, this is the greatest departure from capitalism the country has ever seen. The government has been lauding the virtues of unfettered capitalism for about 30 years now, but when the crunch has finally come the same government is now acting to protect the big companies. The people being saved are the same ones who have bought and paid for this favor over the past 8 years.

There is selective favoritism in action here. The snake oil salesmen are being rescued and the little guy who bought their products is being allowed to die. People are defaulting on mortgages all over the country and we are going to rescue the perpetrators by taking their bad assets off their hands and leaving them everything else in their businesses. This is inequitable in the extreme, but it is characteristic of this administration. It is also a complete abandonment of their principals. Of course they never had any real principals, they only had greed.

We will be saddled with the debt from this for a generation. The Savings & Loan debacle cost the American Taxpayer 4% of GDP and resulted in numerous tax increases under GHW Bush and Bill Clinton. This rescue may cost 7% of GDP according to some experts.

Doesn’t it get your dander up to see how truly disingenuous the current Republican leaders of our country really are.?

(via Matt)

With markets this crazy, you’ve got to take it where you can get it. I keep reading that collateralized NAMBLAs are the next to go.

McCain gets confused.

(via AmericaBlog)
(Spanish visitors here)

QUESTION: Senator, finally, let’s talk about Spain. If you’re elected president, would you be willing to invite President Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero to the White House to meet with you?

MCCAIN: I would be willing meet, uh, with those leaders who our friends [sic] and want to work with us in a cooperative fashion, and by the way, President Calderon of Mexico is fighting a very very tough fight against the drug cartels. I’m glad we are now working in cooperation with the Mexican government on the Merida plan. I intend to move forward with relations, and invite as many of them as I can, those leaders, to the White House.

QUESTION: Would that invitation be extended to the Zapatero government, to the president itself?

MCCAIN: I don’t, you know, honestly I have to look at relations and the situations and the priorities, but I can assure you I will establish closer relations with our friends and I will stand up to those who want to do harm to the United States of America.

QUESTION: So you have to wait and see if he’s willing to meet with you, or you’ll be able to do it in the White House?

MCCAIN: Well again I don’t, all I can tell you is that I have a clear record of working with leaders in the hemisphere that are friends with us, and standing up to those who are not, and that’s judged on the basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America, and the entire region.

QUESTION: Okay. What about you Europe? I’m talking about the President of Spain.

MCCAIN: What about me what?

QUESTION: Okay… are you willing to meet with him if you are elected president?

MCCAIN: I am willing to meet with any leader who is dedicated to the same principles and philosophy that we are for human rights, democracy and freedom, and I will stand up to those that do not.

I assume Josh sent this one to me because I am his “ethnic Italian” friend, you can tell because my name ends in a vowel. Although I have attached the full text after the jump, I’ll sum it up here:

The American Italian Pasta Company is being charged with fraud, well at least the CEO and CFO are, other top execs are facing other charges. Basically the SEC is claiming that the heads of AIPC mislead investors and doctored their books in order to increase stock prices.

That’s the bare-bones-basics right there. As if there wasn’t enough financial news today we can tack that on as well. Now some might be outraged by this, question the ethics of these shady business men. Personally I take issue with some other points in the article.

1. American Italian Pasta Company is located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Doesn’t exactly strike me as a city with a dense community of Italians or Italian-Americans, but what do I know, right? I mean a Pasta company being charged with Fraud, this has mob written all over it…

Which brings us to issue #2

2. The CEO of American Italian Pasta Company is Timothy Webster.
Okay, not the most Italian of names, but you fiugre there has to be organized crime in there somewhere right? So we look at the others being charged: Warren B. Schmidgall, David E. Watson, Mark Peterson and Stephanie Ruskey. How is it that no one associated with the American Italian Pasta Company is actually Italian? Personally I think the folks in charge of AIPC got a little too wrapped up in the idea that they were an “Italian” company and felt they had to go ahead and act as if they were part of organized crime.

Lastly, I am going to take issue with their name-
Besides the fact that it is made in America and doesn’t appear to have a single Italian associated with how the company is run (which, in light of recent events, is probably a good thing), what the hell is an American Italian? I mean an Italian American is some one whose family is originally from Italy, but was born here. Does that mean that an American Italian is from a family that is originally American, but was born in Italy? Or maybe, after Sept. 11th, when there was such a backlash against non-US companies they thought it would be wise to toss the American in before the Italian? Though if you look at the product lines they produce for, like Pennsylvania Dutch and Heartland, you’ve got to kind of wonder if they even need the Italian at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Another one for this year’s Follies show, now that “Fuld’s Still Standing” no longer works.

You got to know when to Fuld ‘em

On a warm Sunday night, as we neared the election
Bernanke met with Paulson. They were both too screwed to sleep.
So they took turns a starin’ back in history’s direction
The horror overtook them, and Ben began to speak

He said, Hank I’ve made a life out of studyin’ the depression
And knowin’ that the bank runs put breadlines in the streets
But if you don’t mind me sayin’, though I see we’re in recession,
I’m concerned we better chill it, and stop givin’ bankers treats

So Hank nodded and he shuffled and he gave a half-heart smile
Then he texted Dubya, and we walked into the night
When we gave the news to Lehman, we could see they weren’t happy
We said you losers can’t treat bailouts like they’re a corporate human right

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to Fuld ‘em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You got your big fat bonus takin’ risks that weren’t stable
So you can’t expect the public, to protect you when you’re done

Now every trader knows that the secret to survivin’
Is knowin’ when to short a stock or buy it on the cheap
’cause every stock’s a winner and every stock’s a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to shear all the sheep

So when Fuld finished squawkin, he turned back towards the boardroom
Packed up a cardboard box and wobbled down the Street
And somewhere in the darkness, old Adam Smith got even
The Keynesians had lost one, and the bankers took the heat

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to Fuld ‘em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You got your big fat bonus takin’ risks that weren’t stable
So you can’t expect the public, to protect you when you’re done

It’s certainly not fair, as this gentleman (in a great interview) shies away from saying.

BSC: $10
ML: $29
Leh: $0 ???

AIG is at the discount window.

Will Goldman and Morgan survive? Are we looking towards a future of all bank-owned brokerages and some boutiques? It certainly looks that way.

Wall Street, especially in recent years, had a very odd business model: borrow for the short term and lend against illiquid assets for the long term. The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent, goes the saying.

Some perspective on the awfulness that our brothers and sisters on Wall Street will soon be feeling:

Relax, everyone has kids with tuition. What makes this situation different than when the Ford or GM guys have to take a buyout and get screwed? Nothing, except GM / Ford guys they don’t have a media sector devoted to them. When the auto industry or textile industry people lose jobs, all us finance people call it “free trade”. This is the “free trade” of capitalism, too, except it hits closer to home.

- Wise comment on Dealbreaker.com

Hmm… The following just showed up in my inbox this morning.

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL REQUEST TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE

Greetings to you and your Family, Hope you all are Fine and Healthy. May the Peace of God Almighty be with you all.

Please I want to use this opportunity to introduce myself well to you, I am BARACK OBAMA JUNIOR, The SON OF the former late BARACK OBAMA of KENYA. I am a BARRISTER, registered in the prefect of IL-L-NOIS. I found your e-mail through a reliable contact here in the government for which I am employed and in honorable standing.

You will no doubt be surprised to hear from me, having never been contacted in such a manner before. But I approach you with the utmost respect and honor for a business proposal for which both parties stand to benefit. Recently, I was in contact with TONY REZKO, a national of your most HONORABLE country, who has now mysteriously ceased all communication with my offices. Despite numerous attempts to re-establish a dialogue with MR. REZKO, I fear the worst may have befallen this most HONORABLE individual.

Read the rest of this entry »

It is about time the Obama Camp went on the attack

Economists Warn Anti-Bush Merchandise Market Close To Collapse