« Call The Treasury Secretary TODAY (phone numbers included): CNBC's Steve Liesman Interviews Tim Geithner. Broadcast March 25 »
This interview was shown on CNBC's Power Lunch about an hour ago. Liesman does a slightly better job than banking apologista Erin Burnett. Her on-camera gladfest earlier this week with Geithner was the high-school cheerleader interviewing the head of the Spanish club.
Yet Liesman whiffed just like Erin for failing to ask the most pertinent question of all. Why aren't bank debt holders being asked to absorb some of the banking losses? It's Bill Gross versus your family. Why do he and other bank bondholders come out whole and GM bonholders are asked to take massive hits?
Political influence of the largest banks. They own Geithner and it's disgusting.
If this makes you upset, call Treasury RIGHT NOW and tell them how you feel:
202-262-2960 and 202-262-2000
Video of Geithner interview is after the jump.
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 1:37PM
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Reader Comments (11)
As Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner orchestrated a plan to help the nation's largest banks purge themselves of toxic mortgage assets, Citigroup and Bank of America have been aggressively scooping up those same securities in the secondary market, sources told The Post.
Both Citi and BofA each have received $45 billion in federal rescue cash meant to help prop up the economy and jumpstart the housing market.
But the banks' purchase of so-called AAA-rated mortgage-backed securities, including some that use alt-A and option ARM as collateral, is raising eyebrows among even the most seasoned traders. Alt-A and option ARM loans have widely been seen as the next mortgage type to see increases in defaults.
One Wall Street trader told The Post that what's been most puzzling about the purchases is how aggressive both banks have been in their buying, sometimes paying higher prices than competing bidders are willing to pay.
Recently, securities rated AAA have changed hands for roughly 30 cents on the dollar, and most of the buyers have been hedge funds acting opportunistically on a bet that prices will rise over time. However, sources said Citi and BofA have trumped those bids.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03252009/business/double_dippers_161157.htm
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29863145
A top European Union politician on Wednesday slammed U.S. plans to spend its way out of recession as "a way to hell."
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, told the European Parliament that President Barack Obama's massive stimulus package and banking bailout "will undermine the stability of the global financial market."
A day after his government collapsed because of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, Topolanek took the EU presidency on a collision course with Washington over how to deal with the global economic recession.
Most European leaders favor tighter financial regulation, while the U.S. has been pushing for larger economic stimulus plans.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29874192
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government wants to clear as much as $1 trillion in soured loans and securities from bank balance sheets with its latest bailout plan.
That might prove a short-term respite. No sooner might the Treasury Department mop up those assets than $1 trillion or more in new ones spring up to take their place.
That is due to the potential return of assets held in so- called off-balance-sheet vehicles that banks may soon have to put back onto their books. The end result may be that banks are in no better shape to increase lending even after the government bailout.
So investors betting for quick solutions to the financial crisis could be disappointed. The tangled web that banks wove over the years will take a long time to undo.
At the end of 2008, for example, off-balance-sheet assets at just the four biggest U.S. banks -- Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. -- were about $5.2 trillion, according to their 2008 annual filings.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=akv_p6LBNIdw&refer=home
Sounds like more well-orchestrated PR to me. The bank CEOS called Geithner and said we will all make a bunch of noise about returning TARP funds and THEN you say it's not allowed.
It's a win-win for everything but the truth.
Fair enough, but immediately trading desks were wondering...will Geithner let them give the money back?
Geithner has said nothing, but it's surprising how many traders think the answer is "No, not now." The basic thrust seems to be that Geithner will argue that:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29879388
Strong dollar my ASS! Hell, I won't even buy US debt -- nevermind China. Where's Geithner been the last couple of weeks? Or maybe he's just using his all-powerful "will" to make up for his lack of "ability."
Evidence from dealbreaker that most hedge and PE funds want nothing to do with the Geithner plan. Read the comments.
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/03/why-does-john-paulson-hate-the.php#comments
Who could be surprised by anything less.
When will the nightmare end?
Liesman is still very easy on Geithner and Summers. I would still call him an apologist.
Take your fucking stupid signs and SMASH them over the heads of the people you're protesting, instead of waving them USELESSLY in the air.