Author Topic: Another government bailout  (Read 12723 times)

LAK

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 915
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #50 on: March 18, 2008, 03:16:37 AM »
Oh, just another day in "the business cycle."

longeyes

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,405
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #51 on: March 18, 2008, 11:53:46 AM »
More cheap credit.  And another huge sucker rally.
"Domari nolo."

Thug: What you lookin' at old man?
Walt Kowalski: Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have messed with? That's me.

Molon Labe.

Paddy

  • Guest
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #52 on: March 20, 2008, 02:34:41 PM »
Yep, looks like $2 a share for Bear Sterns.  Three days ago they were trading at $60 a share.  A month ago it was $90 a share.

Bear's chairman, James Cayne, owns 5,600,000 shares.  He lost $500,000,, half a billion dollars, of his own personal wealth.

Bear's CEO, Alan Schwartz, owns a bit more than 1,000,000 shares, so he "only" lost ninety million dollars personally.

Some "bailed out", eh?  So much for the government serving their corporate overlords.

I can't wait to see what the market does tomorrow morning.

 AP
Investment Firms Tap Fed for Billions
Thursday March 20, 5:03 pm ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Investment Houses Borrow Billions From Fed's Emergency Lending Program

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank reported Thursday.

The lending is part of a major effort by the Fed to help a financial system in danger of freezing.

ADVERTISEMENT
Those large firms averaged $13.4 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending facility. The report does not identify the borrowers.

The Fed, in a bold move Sunday, agreed for the first time to let big investment houses get emergency loans directly from the central bank. This mechanism, similar to one available for commercial banks for years, got under way Monday and will continue for at least six months. It was the broadest use of the Fed's lending authority since the 1930s.

Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley said Wednesday they had begun to test the new lending mechanism.

On Wednesday alone, lending reached $28.8 billion, according to the Fed report.

The Fed created a way for financially strapped investment firms to have regular access to a source of short-term cash. This lending facility is seen as similar to the Fed's "discount window" for banks. Commercial banks and investment companies pay 2.5 percent in interest for overnight loans from the Fed.

Investment houses can put up a range of collateral, including investment-grade mortgage backed securities.

The Fed, in another rare move last Friday, agreed to let JP Morgan Chase secure emergency financing from the central bank to rescue the venerable Wall Street firm Bear Stearns from collapse. Two days later, the Fed back a deal for JP Morgan to take over Bear Stearns.

Thursday's report offered insight on how much credit was extended to Bear Stearns via JP Morgan through the transaction the Fed approved last Friday. Average daily borrowing came to $5.5 billion for the week ending Wednesday.

Separately, the Fed said it will make $75 billion of Treasury securities available to big investment firms next week. Investment houses can bid on a slice of the securities at a Fed auction next Thursday; a second is set for April 3.

The Fed will allow investment firms to borrow up to $200 billion in safe Treasury securities by using some of their more risky investments as collateral.

By allowing this, the Fed is hoping to take pressure off financial companies and make them more inclined to lend to people and businesses.

The housing collapse and credit crunch have led to record-high home foreclosures and forced financial companies to rack up multibillion losses in complex mortgage investments that turned sour.

In the past day and weeks, the Fed has taken extraordinary moves aimed at making sure that problems in credit and financial markets do not sink the economy.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080320/fed_credit_crisis.html?.v=6

 laugh

Waitone

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,133
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #53 on: March 20, 2008, 06:26:22 PM »
Next up--Lehman Bros.

Followed by--Goldman

If the patterns continues we'll see greater consolidation in financial services.  Not really sure that is a good idea.  Banks in general may well be too big to fail, but that does not absolve the player of criminal actions.  I want to see some personal responsibility assigned to what could easily described as fraudulent actions.  Right wing talk radio is bleating about how congress strong armed banks into making marginal loans.  They did and now a lot of people from around the world will pay a terrible price.
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds. It will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
- Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, circa 1841

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it." - John Lennon

Paddy

  • Guest
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #54 on: March 20, 2008, 06:38:41 PM »
Quote
Right wing talk radio is bleating about how congress strong armed banks into making marginal loans.

Every time big bidness gets its tit in the wringer or gets caught lying/cheating/stealing it's ALWAYS 'gubmint's' fault.  Yet they're always lecturing the rest of us about 'personal responsibility'  rolleyes

Manedwolf

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,516
Re: Another government bailout
« Reply #55 on: March 21, 2008, 05:42:06 AM »
Next up--Lehman Bros.

Followed by--Goldman

If the patterns continues we'll see greater consolidation in financial services.  Not really sure that is a good idea.  Banks in general may well be too big to fail, but that does not absolve the player of criminal actions.  I want to see some personal responsibility assigned to what could easily described as fraudulent actions.  Right wing talk radio is bleating about how congress strong armed banks into making marginal loans.  They did and now a lot of people from around the world will pay a terrible price.

Credit Suisse is in trouble, too. And yes, that affects other banks globally.

Seems a bunch of people got greedy and tried to engage in rumor-and-shortsell plays against various banks as well. THAT deserves serious jail time.