Excellent Elizabeth Warren Clip from The Rachel Maddow show discussing credit-card reform. There is no other side to this issue. The reform's success or failure will be a test of the degree of Washington capture. Capital One received TARP funds. American Express did as well. Just level the playing field and give consumers a chance. Watch.
"Time to lower the flag on Bailout Nation and raise the flag for good old American Capitalism."
John Carney on CNBC from this morning discussing the potential bailout for small-business lender, CIT Group (not Citigroup). Kudlow and Carney are the winners in an IKO.
My commentary. Moral hazard tends to multiply. At this stage of the bailout cycle, the risk to the economy are greater from moral hazard than they are from the failure of CIT. American business leaders and especially financial CEOs need to re-learn the lessons of failure and success. We are rewarding the worst-managed companies while placing their better-managed competitors at a disadvantage. Take a look at Ford vs. GM and Chrysler.
This is ludicrous and smacks of politics. If Obama were not so concerned with popularity and re-election, he would accept the temporary dislocation from a CIT failure and teach the market a lesson. Yet, at this hour, the stock is halted pending an announcement from Treasury on a bailout.
Geithner. Listen to Sheila Bair. She wants no part of CIT, their brokered-deposit madness and their loan portfolio. Time to draw a line in the sand. CIT Group is not systematically important. Let their competitors enjoy the spoils of business victory. When will it fracking end?!!
Right at the onset, watch how Timmaaay leans way to his right almost out-of camera and flashes a clown's grin. Charming the Sherminator does not work. Sherman ("Capitalism Is Back!") has a simple question. Tim Geithner will not answer it. Geithner is hedging himself for future trouble. He doesn't want to make any categorical declarations about future bailouts (because he knows they're coming). It's the epitome of moral hazard.
Interview was broadcast Sunday (July 12). Zakaria is outstanding. This is so much better than Erin Burnett or Steve Liesman performed in their respective chances. Zakaria interrupts him; holds him to the question; controls the environment exactly as a competent journalist should. There's no glad-handing or nervous laughter. Geithner can talk a line of Bull Shite from here to Texas, in his fracking sleep no less. He's more talking point focused than anyone I've ever seen.
I've got a partial transcript inside.
Look at the date on this prescient cartoon: September 25th, 2002
So the greatest economic minds in the world didn't see the housing bubble as late as 2006 and this unknown cartoonist saw it clearly in 2002. Things that make you go hmm.
I didn't know how to title this. It will make sense once you see it working. The green bar represents income, the orange bars represent housing prices in selected cities. The graph starts to dance. Music is some kind of catchy jazz number with a sultry-throated chanteuse. Very well done. The creator is Nick Gogerty.
The date was not a typo. I wonder if Citigroup will be dealt with by then. Rubin's progeny will be running the show from an underground bunker near Davenport, Iowa. 25 links inside.
Commentary from James who is at work on his dissertation yet can not stop thinking about justice and revenge: More good stuff from Ritholtz on Citigroup and TBTF (too big to fail). Talks about one of my favorite topics -- pitchforks and torches. Also discusses clawing back fraudulently earned bonuses at Citi, Merrill and Countrywide. I rate this one 4 Tines.
Jul 15, 2009 at 11:18 PM
