I suspect that anyone who can leave banks with TARP money will head out the door as fast as possible, leaving the scrubs/bench warmers to manage our institutions.
2 years ago
It only took 6 months but the Treasury department is finally making progress towards its original goal. And the markets reacted as if Bernanke proclaimed an end to the recession, and Obama announced plans to pave the way for a new era of free market capitalism. Both the DOW and S&P finished the day up approximately 7%. I guess the markets are white hot … for now.
2 years agoIt looks like american and french youths share a similarly morbid sense of humor. The WSJ ran an article this weekend detailing an immensely popular french website - viedemerde.fr. If you don’t have access to the wsj and aren’t fluent in french, this probably won’t help you out much … F My Life is the american counterpart to vie de merde. These two sites specialize in “true” tales of everyday embarrassment and self-deprecation.
2 years agoLarry Flynt and Joe Francis, equipped with an army of lobbyists, are heading to DC to claim their portion of Obama’s bailout funds. Seems logical enough … they want $5 billion to prevent any future financial upheaval. Just think about what the porn industry could do with $5 billion … that’s scary. Or worse yet, think about all those poor struggling actors and actresses who could lose their creative outlet if Larry and Joe went out of business. California could be in big trouble. Full article here
2 years agoThere appears to be a new trend in TV advertisement - take 30 seconds and let really smart (douchy) people talk about really complex things. IBM and Exxon are the masters of this ad campaign. IBM has a commercial about the Petaflop and the Petaflop barrier. Thanks IBM, i feel enlightened. But i still dont want to buy whatever you’re selling … in fact, i dont even know what you’re selling. Does anyone?
Exxon similarly showcases foreign people with intelligent sounding accents and lets them talk about how they are saving the world. I’m no marketing guru, but im pretty sure this is a PR campaign. I dont think Exxon is the next Captain Planet by any means.
These commercials leave me thoroughly confused.
At least they aren’t creepy like the Enterprise car rental commercials. Or horrific like the one above.
2 years agoSo eloquent. The recession has now hit sports … its not just a wall street problem any more.
2 years agoWhy settle for 40% of Citi when you can have it all? The first $45 billion is looking like a good investment … at least its not as bad as AIG.
2 years agois a good thing? Too much debt on the books of poor credit quality businesses and individuals is one of the main reasons for our current economic black hole. So, here is how we get out of the recession, its easy … just lend more money to the lowest quality of the low quality home buyers. Makes sense right?
The government can go find those individuals who purchased homes they couldn’t afford … they can go find the individuals who most irresponsibly handled their finances … and award them with more money and government assistance. Funding failure will correct our economic failure. Make sense?
Not to me, especially when you look at the facts. According to the December report by the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, “The number of loans modified in the first quarter that were 30 or more days delinquent was 37% after 3 months and 55% after 6 months. The number of loans modified in the first quarter that were 60 or more days delinquent was 19% at 3 months and nearly 37% after 6 months.” Basically, the interest rates and underwater mortgages are not the major problem, it’s the people.
Many individuals clearly cannot afford to live this lifestyle. The government must let these foreclosures occur and individual consumption and debt levels reset. The government needs to stop believing that the 2006 lifestyle is supportable. Not everyone can have a 5 story, 10 bedroom, mini-mansion on the water; some people can’t even afford a 1 bedroom condo in ohio. Live with it.
2 years ago
“California now has the worst credit rating in the nation — worse even than Louisiana’s” (Today’s WSJ). How does that make you feel Louisiana? Ecstatic that you’re no longer the worst? Probably not, but apparently Louisiana is refusing to accept bailout money. That bodes well for the state’s current budget planners; apparently they have been through a Billy Madison-style book camp and can now add and subtract. If only we could say the same for California. CA is withholding tax returns, halting construction projects, raising every tax imaginable and laying off government workers. I guess that’s what you need to do when you’ve run a $40 billion budget deficit.
California’s neighbors are throwing out a John Malone-esq helping hand. Colorado has reportedly started advertising in CA, asking citizens to move to its state. Advertising tactics include: billboards, flying banners over rush hour traffic, mass letters to business owners and general trash talking. The West Coast is taking off the gloves; i guess not everyone over there can be a prius-driving, sandal-wearing, hippie.
Sucks to be Arnold right now.
2 years ago
The recession has been technically in effect for a little over a year. Thousands of people have been laid off, countless companies have gone bankrupt, hedge funds have been imploding by the second and the US has started subsidizing the doublewide trailer industry… however, none of this has hit close to home. Why not? Maybe its because I work in finance and everything is business as usual (joke).
Today, the recession finally got to me. As part of today’s reorganization plan, Chrysler has announced that it will stop production of the PT Cruiser. (I know … i cried too.)
Here’s the rest of the plan.
2 years ago