Financial Rescue Plan

Despite being widely hated, ridiculed and otherwise smacked down by the public, the $700 billion dollar TARP program may turn out to be the best investment the taxpayer made all year. The folks over at Bianco Research (run by Jim Bianco, one of the smartest and most respected bond analysts in America) published a note today called "Tracking the Trust Cost of the TARP."  This is their ... read more

Change is upon us.   Now the work begins. America starts its real new year Wednesday with a curious cocktail blend of hope and anxiety, chased with long-term optimism.   The beautiful festivities in Washington provided a brief cover from a fit of negative economic news, but the tarp comes off Wednesday.   Lost in the confetti Tuesday was massive declines by many large cap banks.    ... read more

Hypothetical... A salesman for Company X - which makes widgets - has a quota of $1 million in sales per year.   His compensation is $50,000 per year base salary plus 10% of everything he makes over quota.   The salesman busts his rear all year, working the phones and hopping on airplanes.   He does well, bringing in $2 million in sales, doubling his quota.   His compensation is ... read more

President Obama named the members of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board charged to oversee the $925 billion dollar spending package (interesting that the board was named even before the measure has passed Congress).   The list contains some known names, some new ones, some good picks and a few that are riddled with conflicts.   It also includes a few that gave or helped raise hundreds of ... read more

Stories I'm watching on this busy Tuesday, one which could go down as the most important in American financial history: Ladies and Gentlemen we have hit the "T" (trillion) word in the bank bailout We are actually going over $2 trillion announced today and details are still sketchy All that money and the stock market still isn't rising Don't forget the stimulus plan, which passed ... read more

In the face of a nearly daily barrage of bad news, new lows and low spirits, perhaps it is important to smash the news cycle and find a few reasons to be more upbeat regarding the economy and markets. With that in mind, here are four reasons to be long-term optimistic: 1. Everybody is so negative.   Right now it's practically in vogue to see who can be the most pessimistic, and that ... read more

The top story in the Wall Street Journal tonight is that the Treasury plans to extend TARP funding to certain life insurance companies whose capital has been hit hard. From the Journal: The Treasury Department plans to extend the Troubled Asset Relief Program to certain eligible life insurers, according to people familiar with the matter. Several life insurers have been burdened lately by ... read more

The government just announced it is "allowing" 10 banks to repay $68 billion in TARP funds.   It was also noted that the banks involved have paid approximately $4.5 billion in dividends on the preferred shares to date.  This will no doubt be spun in Washington as "the taxpayer is being repaid" to the tune of $72.5 billion bucks and we should all be happy. In 2007 there were about 139 million ... read more

Try starting your work day like this (looks like he did it on purpose, doesn't it?) Courtesy: Failblog Stories I'm reading this Wednesday: On again, off again Chrysler / Fiat deal is on again Michigan workers try to reinvent themselves Stocks set to rise on positive economic data out of China Home Depot also helps the market by raising its ... read more

Oh!  What a tangled web we weave ... Here are some of what I believe to be the key points in the series of emails going back and forth among Fed officials regarding the Bank of America / Merrill Lynch deal. Though the emails are incomplete and a bit confusing, I have put them in chronological order to better detail the progression of events. While a bit convoluted, the bits selected and ... read more