Entries by DailyBail (6219)
Apr 2, 2011 at 11:21 AMFed's Hoenig On QE2 End, Fed Document Dump
Video - April 1, 2011
(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig talks about the central bank's quantitative easing strategy. Hoenig, speaking in London with Maryam Nemazee on Bloomberg Television's "The Pulse," also discusses the Fed's lending during the financial crisis, the U.S. job market and banking regulations.
Bloomberg Editor In Chief Matthew Winkler On Federal Reserve Transparency, Mark Pittman And Our National History Of Fed Fighting
Outstanding discussion - watch at least the first few minutes of this.
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, talks about the Federal Reserve's release yesterday of thousands of pages of secret loan documents under court order, almost three years after Bloomberg LP first requested details of the central bank’s unprecedented support to banks during the financial crisis. Winkler speaks with Tom Keene.
Crisis Collateral: Fed Accepted $118 Billion In Defaulted Debt, Junk Bonds, Stocks In Exchange For Cash; Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch Were Huge Borrowers
At the height of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve allowed the world’s largest banks to turn more than $118 billion in junk bonds, defaulted debt, securities of unknown ratings and stocks into cash.
Collateral of those asset types made up 72 percent of the total $164.3 billion in market-rate securities pledged to the Fed on Sept. 29, 2008, two weeks after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to documents released yesterday. The collateral backed $155.7 billion in loans on the largest day of borrowing from the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, which was created in March 2008 to provide loans to brokers as Bear Stearns Cos. collapsed.
The cushion “was far too small for the risk of the underlying collateral,” Pirrong said. “Collateral that’s junk or defaulted debt and equities at a time when market volatility was huge is pretty eye opening.”
Morgan Stanley (MS) was the largest borrower on Sept. 29, 2008, totaling $61.3 billion, the data show. The New York-based firm pledged $66.5 billion in collateral, including $21.5 billion in equities, $19.4 billion in unknown rated securities and $6.7 billion in junk or defaulted debt.
Merrill Lynch was next, with a $36.3 billion loan. Its $39.1 billion in collateral included $23.3 billion in equities, $6.3 billion in unknown rated securities and $3 billion in junk or defaulted bonds.
Video: Brazilian Banker Plows Into Group Of Bikers
For anyone who missed this the first time around.
This is not easy to watch. It happens at the 1-minute mark. At high speed Neis hits more than 40 cyclists who are part of a Critical Mass bike ride.
Despite FCIC Testimony To The Contrary, Goldman Sachs Borrowed Heavily From Fed's Discount Window
Video - Bloomberg on Goldman and foreign bank borrowing - Mar. 31, 2011
Money For Nothing: Goldman Sachs Borrowed $24 Billion From Fed At 0.0078 Percent
Editor's Note: In light of the Goldman theft detailed in today's report, we are reposting this story from last month.
CHART: Federal Reserve FOIA Timeline
Bloomberg highlights the FOIA non-compliance, and lack of transparency.
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Mark Pittman Remembered: The Man Who Fought The Fed
Video - Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman was the first person to stand up and take on the Federal Reserve. He died Nov. 25, 2009, at the age of 52.
This seems an appropriate time to honor the man who started the effort.
