November 13, 2008
Two months before Washington Mutual failed, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned then-CEO Kerry Killinger that he ought to sell the Seattle-based thrift before it deteriorated further.
“Paulson said, ‘You should have sold to JPMorgan Chase in the spring, and you should do so now. Things could get a lot more difficult for you,’ ” said one of several current and former high-ranking WaMu executives familiar with details of the call.
It looks like when Secretary Paulson gives you a warning, you better take it to the bank! The above quotation is from Sunday’s Seattle Times. (read the article here)
I disagreed with the bailout when it was proposed which of course, puts me in the conehead category but this, this makes me wonder how much of the original problem was contrived. When I read the morning WSJ that told of the purchase of WAMU by Chase for the fire sale price of 1.9 billion dollars in the dead of night I just knew Killinger was ground sluiced. Rami Grunbaum’s piece in the Seattle Times is proof to me that Killinger was not allowed to do his job.
There is a short piece written by a WAMU employee on a website called I-Newswire. It seems anyone can post a press release there but I found this while doing some keyword searching on Google. The story is titiled Goldman Sachs’ Alumni and JP Morgan Potentially Conspire to Bring Down Washington Mutual is written by a WAMU empolyee and gives a little more detail on what Killinger and WAMU were doing to raise capital and what happened a couple days before the seizure. Give it a look.
Secretary Paulson will be at the Reagan Library and is scheduled to discuss our economic future for the annual Reagan Lecture on November 20th. I just called and there hasn’t been a cancellation.
October 28, 2008
This morning’s Wall Street Journal has the following:
NEW YORK — U.S. consumer confidence fell to an all-time low in October, after a slight rise a month earlier, and expectations are even bleaker, a report released Tuesday said.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence for October dropped to 38.0, compared with a revised reading of 61.4 in September. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a reading of 51.5.
The consumer expectations index for the state of economic activity over the next six months declined to 35.5 in October from 61.5 in September.
“The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers’ confidence,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Their earnings outlook, as well as inflation outlook, is also more pessimistic, and this news does not bode well for retailers who are already bracing for what is shaping up to be a very challenging holiday season.”
The present situation index, a gauge of consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions, fell to 41.9 from 61.1 in the prior month.
Since 60 percent of the CCI is weighted by consumer’s expectations of the future with the election only 7 days away, I am assuming there is a real fear that Obama will win the election.
Thinking people understand that the MSM are in the tank for Obama and manipulate their polling data giving Obama the advantage. However, the CCI could show an actual landslide for McCain on voting day. It can be a real buzz kill when people are worried about their future and the Democrat candidate is talking “spread the wealth around”. By landslide I mean 5 to 8 points. “Change” just might not cut it. Real fear could rule the day on the 4th and give McCain the edge he needs.
October 25, 2008
On SouthCoasttoday.com there is a news story quoting Barney Frank as saying “There is money to lend and projects worth borrowing money to do. But people are afraid to lend. That’s what we’re trying to unfreeze.”
Democrats and Republicans decided the way to do this is to take 250 billion dollars of tax payer money and give it to banks. (I guess banks are people) And, right now, banks are so afraid to lend money that they are seriously considering using borrowed money to buy, uhm, more banks that are afraid to lend money. This of course gives the acquiring banks more deposits (also knows as assets) with which to lend, (oops, I mean) buy more banks.
While President Bush uses his radio time this morning to assure us there is reason for optimism about the country’s economic outlook, the government is actually making it more difficult to get out of this hole. The odds are the most radical lefty the country has produced will be in the White House with the added bonus of a super majority in Congress. They are already planning their second economic stimulus package and according to Steve Urbon of the Standard-Times, Barney Frank may use a 25 percent cut in the military budget to help finance it.
The military budget is just a tad complicated but the OMB says the 2009 proposed budget was 594.5 billion dollars. And that is just the base spending to keep us in military readiness. You also have to add in money for Homeland Security and supplemental spending for the War on Terror. This probably adds up to what we just gave our financial institutions to-un screw their screwup. So, Barney Frank wants 25 percent of this plus more so we can pay for other people’s health care expenses, food stamps, extended unemployment and so on. Are these entitlements really more important than our national security?
It seems to me you can only do this once. After spending, then taxing, then spending, on the scale we are spending now and taxing in the future, you are done! What well do you go to that isn’t already dried up? Small business across the country will have laid off and cut margins to the bone just to stay viable. Just where is all this money coming from? Who will Congress rob next? As Ray Charles would say, “somebody help me with this song”.
March 28, 2008
Bill Gertz has a followup on yesterday’s story on the GPO subcontracting the printing of U.S. passports overseas.
Asked about the overcharges and outsourcing of computer chips, Miss Rice quipped, “I was glad to learn that” from The Times report. Security officials at the State Department assured her that the production process is protected, she said.
Wheeeew! I was worried for a while that we had a national security problem handing over a computer chip used in a U.S. passport to a manufacturer in Thailand for the installation of an RFID chip.
We have absolutely no clue how national security is compromised daily by the bureaucrats in the State Department.
March 26, 2008
Bill Gertz and The Washington Times has posted the first of 3 articles on the Government Printing Office outsourcing the printing of U.S. passports to Europe where they are then subcontracted to a facility in Thailand for the installation of a RFID antenna.
So, the government is now subbing out our passports and risking national security and making a profit. Is there a name for that?
Are our tax dollars are making a profit for someone’s Canary Island bank account? Is there any other reason for risking national security AND a Bill Gertz rectal exam?
March 20, 2008
John Dingell, D-Mich. He’s just one Congressman (and already a documented knucklehead) but AFTER the election, if the Democrats gain seats and win the White House, they will think they have a mandate to do this. Of course, during the fall elections gas will already be over 4.00 bucks a gallon. Discretionary income will be going down for many Americans, fuel surcharges will start it’s climb to the roof and prices to the consumer on most goods will go up to cover costs.
Michigan congressman wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline