TARP
Have you seen us in…
Signs of the Recession: We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ TARP Money!
In the Gem State, they’re proud not to be using billions in taxpayer dollars to fix their financial bunglings. What a concept. A couple of weeks ago, Tim Oren spotted this ad in Pocatello, Idaho, and posted it on his Due Diligence blog…
Recession Briefing 4.10
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The economy appears to be leveling off, with retail sales slowing their decline, the stock market up, and credit markets loosening. But the recession’s not over yet… (AP)
Slowly but surely, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—better known as the economic stimulus package—is beginning to percolate nationwide, six weeks after President Obama signed the legislation.(Washington Post)
It’s a renter’s market around the country, which means landlords are getting more creative (and desperate) to hold down vacancies and prevent turnover. (BusinessWeek)
President Barack Obama yesterday touted the economic benefits of refinancing, but he should keep the 30-year mortgage on his Chicago spread, a broker says. (Chicago Tribune)
Alice in Numberland
There are days when the downturn feels curiously like we’re Alice in Wonderland, falling down the rabbit hole, with numbers swirling dizzyingly about.
From the largest Ponzi scheme ever, to taxpayer bailouts of countless irresponsible companies, to mind-boggling bank losses, to ludicrous bonuses paid to undeserving executives, we are barraged by figure after staggering figure. What’s more, there is no end in sight to this numerical syndrome…
Out on the Street: Anger is Bad Policy
Each week, “Joe the Trader” chronicles his experiences with life after Wall Street.
Joe the Trader is angry.
I’m angry at AIG, Merrill, and all the companies that are being propped up by the government and still paying people as if it were 2007. In January, I asked a good friend, Colin, who is employed by a troubled bank, how big a hit his bonus payment took.
“It really wasn’t all that bad,” he said. “I was paid down only 40%, but I don’t know how that’s possible—without the government we would be bankrupt.”
Your Money, Their Rules?
In my early 20s, I spent a bunch of months figuring out what I wanted to “do with my life.” My family was helping me out—and not surprisingly, they had lots of opinions about how I spent my time, not to mention their money. It didn’t take me long to get sick of the grilling, and to realize that I could only make my own choices if I made my own way. I stopped taking checks and started scraping together a living.
What does that have to do with the news? Rumor has it that two former Merrill Lynch stars are leaving Bank of America—because they feared that compensation restrictions on banks that accept TARP money would affect their wallets.
Recovery Applies to AIG Stock, Too
The top executives of embattled insurance giant AIG are getting grilled this morning in Washington. And apparently, the market thinks that’s a good thing. U.S. stocks opened down this morning—at last check the Dow had declined 1.3 percent. But at last check (11:45) AIG’s stock had bounced up nearly 44 percent.
What gives? We know Barney Frank is planning to ask for the names of employees who received $165 million in bonuses…
Recession Briefing 2.19
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Keep your money under the mattress (The Deal)
One company has created a mattress with a built-in safe to help you sleep easier.
Do you qualify for a mortgage bailout? (Business Week)
If your total monthly home payments (interest, principal and taxes) are greater than 31% of your monthly, pre-tax income you may qualify for help under the president’s $275 billion plan. Meanwhile, Portfolio.com’s Felix Salmon likes what he sees in the plan. (Market Movers)
Paid Testimony: Update
Yesterday, I estimated how much the eight bank C.E.O.s who testified in Congress were making for the day, using what I thought were the latest numbers. Turns out, I missed them being asked about their 2008 pay during the seven hours of questioning. (See video at The Business Insider.) So here’s an update.
Recession Briefing 2.12
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The Recession. Isn’t It Romantic? (NY Times)
Online and offline matchmakers are reporting that dating interest is up, way up. Match.com, for instance, had its strongest fourth quarter in the last seven years.
Lawmakers Pull Few Punches With Bank Executives (WSJ)
Chief executives at eight banks and securities firms that have gotten $165 billion in federal aid were barraged by U.S. lawmakers, who showed little patience for a charm offensive aimed at defusing ire over pay and lending.
The Fools on the Hill (Daily Beast)
The CEOs of the major banks may not have looked like captains of the universe yesterday, but the House committee was a major embarrassment as well. Does anyone actually want to solve this crisis?
Paid Testimony
What’s a day’s pay for being spanked by Barney Frank? If you’re Lloyd Blankfein, about $250,000.
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