Under pressure, AIG revealed what it did with the bailout money. It came as no shock to us to discover Goldman Sachs at the top of the list of recipients. Goldman’s main man was in the room with the feds – the only representative of Wall Street – when the decision was made to rescue AIG. What’s more, the feds’ main man at the time – Hank Paulson – also used to be the top honcho at Goldman.
March 18th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "bailout"
Downfall of the American Consumer
Not surprisingly, consumers are in trouble…so are the banks than lent them money…and so are the countries where they live. Nine of these nations – an Eastern European bloc – got together and asked the European governing council for help. They said they needed $380 billion to get through this crisis. Angela Merkel, speaking for the French and Germans, said no.
March 5th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 3 comments | Continued
Fire Chief Bernanke
The Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Ben Bernanke, called out all the fire trucks and opened up all the hoses. Rates were cut to zero…and the Fed expanded its balance sheet – increasing the amount of credit available to the banking system – by nearly $1 trillion.
March 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 4 comments | Continued
Don’t Pay Your Debt: A Page from the Fed’s Playbook
Perhaps I am just a stupid guy who cannot see that he is being handed a terrific opportunity, as Ms. Dungan agrees, “Finally something that we can all get behind: Don’t pay your bills. It’s not my idea, although it has appeal. It’s the Fed’s and it’s the cornerstone of the new Homeownership Preservation Policy”…
February 11th, 2009 | Mogambo Guru | 0 comments | Continued
Bad News for Bond Prices
The big news yesterday was the sell-off in the bond market. “All eyes on sudden spike in US Treasury yields,” says the headline in the Financial Times. The yield on the U.S. 10-year note rose above 3% for the first time in three months. The two-year note, meanwhile, moved above 1% yield. What does it mean? We are bearish on U.S. government paper – in all its forms…
February 11th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 8 comments | Continued
A Country of Madoffs
This week began with a squabble. John Thain was sacked as head of Merrill Lynch after giving out $4 billion in bonuses – just before announcing $15 billion in losses for the 4th quarter of ‘08. (…)Then Citigroup announced that it had bought a new corporate jet for $50 million. Seemed a bit rich for a company that had just lost $8.3 billion. What sort of devilry is this? Where can you can lose billions…take billions in handouts from taxpayers… and still coddle executives with new planes and million-dollar ‘bonuses?’ Penalties would seem to be more appropriate…
January 30th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Return to Magic Mountain
“It’s worse, quite frankly…than everyone thought it was…and it’s getting worse every day,” says America’s new Vice President, Joe Biden. Mr. Biden is talking about something he knows nothing about – the worldwide financial crisis. And this week, a large group of people who know nothing about it are going to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to talk about the financial crisis…
January 27th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Wall Street Snubs Obama
The man who got the warmest welcome ever from the press and the public got the rudest brush off from Wall Street. It was the worst sell-off for an Inauguration Day in history. The Dow fell 332 points. Oil traded around $40. The dollar strengthened…to $1.28 per euro. O! Bama! Where is thy bounce? Perhaps it is already over…
January 22nd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 4 comments | Continued
Ask Not What Your Banks Can Do For You…
Everyone believes the banks need more money. Obama is likely to give them more. How? Using the “quantitative easing” technique…otherwise known as printing up money. The banks, of course, will not lend…and people will not borrow. They’re not fools. So, then, the Obama administration will begin pumping harder…like they do in Zimbabwe…
January 21st, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
The Permanent Portfolio
Today’s Daily Reckoning begins with an outsider’s look at the Australian banking sector. Then we’ll take a Prime Ministerial look. And finally, a Gallic technical trader’s look. All three perspectives suggest that Australia’s banking sector is a lot less insulated from the global crisis than its advocates have suggested. But don’t take our word for it…
January 21st, 2009 | Dan Denning | 17 comments | Continued