Goldman's Disappearing Competition & Bonus Backlash With Kudlow And Gasparino (CNBC Video)

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.

Comments

[DailyBail]

AIG Trading Partners Squeeze Insurer Before Bailout

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atPG852RVX3Y

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA extracted about $11.4 billion from American International Group Inc. before the insurer’s collapse as the firms demanded to hold cash against losses on mortgage-linked securities, according to regulatory filings.

Goldman Sachs got $5.9 billion and Societe Generale received $5.5 billion of about $18.5 billion in collateral paid by AIG in the 15 months before the September bailout. The payments helped settle AIG’s obligations on $62.1 billion of credit-default swaps that the Federal Reserve later removed from the New York-based insurer as part of the rescue. Officials at AIG, Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale declined to comment.

“When counterparties see trouble coming, they’ll do everything they can to get their money back, even if it means the death of the other firm,” said William Cohan, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment banker and author of “House of Cards,” about the financial crisis.

[DailyBail]

Bonus Lust Isn’t Dead Yet at Banks on the Dole

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aq8UxikD4l5s

[DailyBail]

Wall Street names that have been among the most buffeted in recent months – Merrill Lynch, UBS and Citigroup – are hiking pay for their top investment bankers in an attempt to stop an exodus of talent.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1d532086-5e9b-11de-91ad-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss

[DailyBail]

Quick history of bond counterfeiting.

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2009/06/italys-1345-billion-us-federal-bond-train-caper-think-134-billion-is-big-try-25-trillion/

[DailyBail]

Homes Still Cost Too Much

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/140744?ref=patrick.net

[DailyBail]

The American Empire Is Bankrupt

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090614_the_american_empire_is_bankrupt/

[DailyBail]

June 17 2009: 40 ways to lose your future

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-17-2009-40-ways-to-lose-your.html

[James H]

Gasparino: "They got bailed out by the Feds who bailed out AIG.... I know maybe a little too much about this, but if AIG isn't bailed out, right,... there's a good chance Goldman goes under.... And they'll tell you it was "non-material" by the way, just so you know that."

Nice job, Gasparino. Let us give three hearty cheers for egomaniacal loose cannons.

[Charles]

My concern to these high income folks is: 1. some 20 plus years ago the Fed's set up IRA and other programs for us to better our future individual retirement. It was set up first with stocks only. 2. that has given an enormus amout of money to these so call banks to use while we hard working Amercians try to save for a rainey day, and it's almost like they just play with our money.

[DailyBail]

"They got bailed out by the Feds who bailed out AIG.... I know maybe a little too much about this, but if AIG isn't bailed out, right,... there's a good chance Goldman goes under.... And they'll tell you it was "non-material" by the way, just so you know that."

Exactly.

Gasparino actually does tell the truth sometimes and we should applaud him for it.