March 2009

$180 billion taxpayer dollars for the bailout of AIG?   Small change compared to the huge and growing cost of crime and incarceration in America.   Lost in the talk over the billions in extra spending proposed in the President's 2010 budget to cover various programs is anything about lowering the costs of a true drag on this country: the cost of crime. According to the Justice ... read more

We finally get a viewpoint of one of those villified AIG employees.... Former AIG executive Jake DeSantis resigned from the company in a sharply worded email to CEO Ed Liddy that was published by the New York Times.  In the letter he describes how he cannot take the constant attacks by Washington and the lack of support by his own company. In the email he says: After 12 ... read more

Stories I'm reading Wednesday: A 'budget' implies you actually try to balance spending & income (Fox Business) The President favors more sympathetic media (Politico) Coming hedge fund withdrawals bad for the market? (Financial Times) Soros blames CDS failure on lack of regulation (Fox Business) World's airlines face nearly $5 billion dollar shortfall (New York ... read more

Interesting story in today's Wall Street Journal highlighting how the President has recently dialed back his aggressive language toward Wall Street.   Credit to Obama for softening his tone for a few reasons. First, the President is smart enough to know one cannot lump all of Wall Street into a single entity.   Wall Street is a term of art, with hundreds if not thousands of different roles, ... read more

Stories I'm watching this Tuesday: Will the stock rally last? (Fox Business) Obama dials down anti-Wall Street rhetoric (WSJ) We are suing the SEC for information (Fox Business) Just tough Chinese talk or real monetary threat? (FT) Some AIG employees have returned the money (WSJ) The recession's early winners (WSJ) More Madoff assets found (Reuters) Assessment of the ... read more

Stories I'm watching this Monday: Treasury goes begging to Wall Street for help in buying bad bank assets Exclusive AIG bonus documents revealed by Fox Business AIG bailout creating unfair market for insurance This analyst gets it: bonus tax will hurt those who need lending the most Even 'safe' credit unions not immune to failure Parts of California housing market heating ... read more

A quick exercise.  Close your eyes and envision the difference between $165 dollars and $180,000 dollars.  One is a nice meal for a family of four, the other may be the value of their house. Or how about this: You may give a panhandler on the street one dollar, but would you casually toss him $1,000 dollars?  How about $1,000,000 bucks?   Big difference, right? Yet this is the same ... read more

The scarlet letter-like hysteria over AIG continues, this time with the Connecticut state legislature seeking the political limelight by reportedly being ready to ask AIG workers to testify. From the Greenwich Time: The legislature's Banks Committee and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal are issuing subpoenas this afternoon to force state residents who received AIG bonuses to the ... read more

In a case of "our lawyers can beat up your lawyers," a unit of AIG today sued Countywide Financial (now owned by Bank of America) for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of loans it was making. From the AP story: United Guaranty Mortgage Indemnity Co. filed suit in U.S. District Court, accusing Countrywide of breach of contract, fraud, negligence, and unfair competition and business ... read more

Few more things that caught my attention this morning: "Liars Poker" author Michael Lewis has it right on the money in this op/ed (though he should've mentioned Fox Business in here as we were the media outlet that successfully sued the Treasury for TARP funding information) Outrage over AIG is fine, bus tours of AIG executives' homes is an invasion of ... read more