Discussing whether Bernanke should be reappointed as Fed chairman, with Alfred Broaddus, former Richmond Federal Reserve president; Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board; and David Min, Center for American Progress.
Pay attention to Stephen Moore in this clip. He tells the truth about Bernanke.
There is so much in this clip from Ron Paul's recent appearance on MSNBS's Morning Joe.
Pelosi, Fannie, Freddie, Clueless Keynesians, the Austrian School, Bubbles, More Bubbles, Re-Inflating the Bubble, the Collapse of the Dollar, Green Shoots, Yellow Weeds, Bad Economists, Generational Rape, the Incredibly Wasteful Stimulus, Cronyism, Big Government, the National Debt, Shrinking the Military, Overseas Spending, Keynes Was an Idiot, Cutting the Budget In Half...and more.
Honestly, I didn't mention everything. Watch it.
Brian Williams from October 5, 2008 (0:36). Since airing, the national debt has risen another $1.4 billion to $11.4 trillion. Welcome to my world of pain.
Filed Under: Are you freaking kidding me?
I covered these issues earlier today. It's a decent discussion from this evening on CNBC. For all the reasons why there will be huge PR problems for Blankfein's crew come bonus time, read this. TARP investment paid back, Goldman is still firmly on the government dole.
Though I used to work there, I rarely read CNN's financial reporting. The implied message is the correct message. They have the same problems as CNBC. In fact, they attempt to be CNBC, right down to the pneumatic reporters.
However, they have built a decent bailout tracker, which you can find HERE. It has more company-specific details than the report issued by the FDIC last week, yet it is slightly outdated compared to the same FDIC report. CNN's totals are $10.5 trillion in committed funds, where the most recent number is $13.9 trillion.
Flying Beer Bong Slam Dunk from a Skateboard (ouch!)
Goldman Treasury faces, from left: Steve Shafran, Kendrick Wilson III, Henry Paulson Jr., Edward Forst and Neel Kashkari .
Hey suckers (myself included) check out where our tax dollars are headed: Goldman Sachs to Make Record Bonus Payout.
Government Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year. Staff in London were briefed last week on the banking and securities company's prospects and told they could look forward to bumper bonuses if, as predicted, it completed its most profitable year ever.
In April, Goldman said it would set aside half of its £1.2bn first-quarter profit to reward staff, much of it in bonuses. It is believed to have paid 973 bankers $1m or more last year, while this year's payouts are on track to be the highest for most of the bank's 28,000 staff, including about 5,400 in London.
Why are they so profitable? Evaporating competition.
A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm.
And don't forget the highly-corrupted AIG payouts to counterparties at PAR, that were ordered by B-52 and the Federal Reserve. At least $13 billion of your tax dollars have gone directly to Goldman (not including TARP) via this AIG conduit. And the AIG story is not yet finished.
Also, the change to FASB 157 (mark-to-market- accounting) now allows them to fudge asset pricing on the balance sheet, thus eliminating pesky writedowns and improving earnings and therefore bonus payouts.
Then we have FDIC-backed debt issued by Goldman saving the company hundreds of millions in interest payments. Not to mention the TALF and the myriad other Fed and Treasury liquidity programs in which they participate. Have I forgotten anything? The list of taxpayer largesse is so long it's difficult to keep straight.
Jun 24, 2009 at 7:36 PM
