Thought this was interesting. A glimpse into the not-too-distant future for urban mobility. Not bad for a prototype. 35 mph top speed and a 35 mile range between juice and a tag of $5,000.
Yes, we have a twitter account. We created it for the Daily Bail to broadcast our stories. Basically, I agree with NBC's Brian Williams that none of our lives are interesting enough for Twitter. And those of you who provide personal updates need to be aware that the rest of us make fun of you.
Besides, it's about Flutter now. Funny Twitter satire after the jump.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released mid-year deficit figures earlier this week. The numbers are shocking but not surprising given the estimates. We are well on our way to a $2 trillion deficit for this year. I suspect it will be closer to $2.5 trillion as I wrote 6 weeks ago. Perhaps the most interesting trend discernible from the CBO release was the dramatic slowdown in tax receipts. Down 15% from a year ago is somewhat unsettling and represents the largest year-over-year drop in more than 30 years.
After the jump, we have the detailed numbers from Reuters and another debt cartoon.
See also:
Bailout The United States Treasury
Land Of The Free And Home Of The Broke: The United States Of Insolvency
As you know, virtually all of the actual funding for Tim Geithner's $1 trillion bank bailout program (PPIP) comes from Treasury debt backed by the FDIC. It's a sneaky alternative to Obama and Geithner having to request the funds formally from Congress, which is not in the bailout mood at present.
The problem for Sheila and the FDIC is that means approximately $850 billion might need to be guaranteed. (It's actually likely to be much smaller because very few firms seem to be willing to play ball considering the future political risks of profits at the expense of taxpayers.)
Turns out there is a legal impediment that prevents the FDIC from making any obligations of any sort greater than $30 billion. So how do you get around such a law. Simple in Sheila's case. Have your lawyers make the determination that your guarantees of Treasury debt are actually guarantees of contingent liabilities. Then determine that these contingent liabilities have an expected loss of (hold for effect) ZERO.
My reaction: Sheila Bair is on acid and so are her lawyers. They are apparently looking for Ken Kesey's magic bus and band of Merry Pranksters.
We have the complete story from Andrew Sorkin after the jump.
We knew this was coming so it's no surprise, but the painful reality is good for another kick in the arse to taxpayers. The information was leaked by Treasury to the WSJ tonight and will not be made official for a few days. No skinny on who gets rescued and the cost of the bailout as of yet, but we can assume it's for the usual suspects. You know, the idiots who offerred GUARANTEED variable annuities. Hey, what could go wrong with that plan.
In an explosive piece by Glenn Greenwald published at Salon, the best-selling author and investigative journalist exposes Wall Street's ownership of our federal government.
The peculiar severity of our current banking crisis is due to three factors: 40:1 leverage, Henry Paulson as CEO of Goldman Sachs and his role in this 2004 decision by the SEC.
Ratigan understands and agrees. These 2 clips from Fast Money might even have gotten him fired.
See also:
We've all seen the faux Obama 'get tough with AIG' speech, when the administration knew about these bonuses since last Fall. It's Slick Willie, specious populism and extremely disconcerting for the sheeple paying attention (you and me). The transparent rub is talk a good game and then find a crafty manner of doing the opposite. Witness the following:
Whitney apparently scheduled today as media day. A stop in the morning for an interview with Steve Forbes then a few minutes before the close with Maria Bartiromo. We have video and transcripts from both appearances.
It takes 3 licks to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop and one question repeated 3 times to get through Tim Geithner's fast-talking wall of bullshit.
Let me repeat, cabinet members are not supposed to obfuscate. They exist to tell the truth and explain the obfuscation of their President. They are clarifiers of sorts. Geithner is a born muddler.
TARP Watchdog, Elizabeth Warren, making a hand gesture in reference to Tim Geithner. The cynical title aside, I'm a huge fan of Harvard's Elizabeth Warren and the work she is attempting to do as the head of the COP (Congressional Oversight Panel) for the first $700 billion of TARP bailouts.
In all fairness to the Obama administration, Black levels similar charges against Bob Rubin and Bill Clinton along with Hank Paulson and George W. Bush. The explosive interview was aired Friday night on Bill Moyers Journal.
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:08 PM
