That's the reality of the financial industry's pay practices. Why is AIG not in bankruptcy now? Are they not simply looting from the taxpayer now? That would prevent further "bonuses" for the "financial products group". Why is that group not in liquidation? One has to be delusional to think such a group can have any existence beyond orderly liquidation. One simply needs clerks to liquidation, not highly paid traders.
Timmy Geitner is all alone in his sandbox with no staff, so he's being scammed by the sharks on the Street. Wonderful.
Obama talks more & more, but can't or won't fill the positions at Treasury. His chief of staff is a politico. Does no one in the Obama administration know how to run an operation ?
Credit Default Swaps
For this CDS clearing house that is being created, I hope that strict position limits and collateral requirements are being imposed. Otherwise, it's a giant pitfall that can bring down all participants in some future severe recession.
Markets
Amazing to see AA at $5/share. I'm wary of its perennially poor management, but I think I'll look at its balance sheet to see if an Obama Fund investment in it might be a reasonable risk-reward opportunity.
The GE investment by Obama Fund has worked well, so far.
PS: Doing AA work, it's sickening to see that stupid management spent billions buying back stock in 2007 at high prices. I can see why they are doing that stock offering and convert, as they have excess short term liabilities and too few truly liquid current assets. More management stupidity: as cyclical company running on little net working capital and even too much of that in inventories.
Word of the Day
"Purulent" - adjective [$10]
Purulent means 1. consisting of or containing pus; 2. discharging pus.
Sentence: Is it not now obvious that AIG is a purulent wound in the financial markets that needs to be cauterized?
Le Mot du Jour
"Épreuve" - noun, feminine
Épreuve means 1. test; 2. ordeal, trial, hardship.
La Phrase: L'administration Obama est mise à l'épreuve de AIG
Sentence: The Obama administration is put to the test by AIG.
About Me
- Bunkerman
- I have a pioneer mentality. My wife & I live in the woods - neighbors aren't visible except slightly in winter. Our "bunker" - hehe, really a fine home & barn - has plenty of security. We have four dogs: Krypto (age 9, Kelpie), Ava (age 13, Rat Terrier), Sky (Kelpie, age 5) and Lucky Star (age 1, kelpie). I don't take crap from anyone anymore, having enough resources & gear stocked up to survive in any circumstance. I have three degrees from Harvard including a Ph. D. in a physical science, and an MS in Management from MIT. I worked as an investment banker for about 25 years, mainly in secured finance, at three major Wall Street firms and for the last 17 years with my partners at our own firm. I'm semi-retired now, managing some private corporations and business interests and doing my own trading & investing. This is not to boast, but to give you an idea I know a little about some subjects from experience. The photo is my 1943 M16 half-track which I am restoring. These armored vehicles were ubiquitous in the US Army in World War II and Korea. It's driveable.
46 comments:
Bman i hope you agree with me that this outrage and furor over the 165m in bonuses is way overblown and bogus
165m ?? huh ?? AIG has been given 160 BILIION and counting
obama telling geithner 'make sure you get the 165m back from AIG'..........and oh by the way.......tell AIG another check for 25B is on the way
this populism fueled by washington and the main stream media will have devastating impacts on our country
'bread and circuses'
PS.......does that saying apply here Bman ??
chuck grassley to AIG
resign or commit suicide
that is despicable......you know what chuck......i wish you would just go away
PS........does grassley want AIG execs to do a Saipan ???
trivia......what is saipan ???
This is often how the public's mind and attitude crystalizes opinion. Their ability to understand the more complex, big story doesn't exist. So a simple, clear example does it. I don't see a problem here.
This $165 million is not that different from the rest of the sleaze in AIG and so many other companies: Merrill Lynch, State Street Citibank (esp. under Chuckie), nd on and on.
Big changes are coming to executive pay everywhere.
This is really needed to give the stockholders a better return on capital.
still no 'ops expo open interest spreadsheet'
aren't we friends no more bob ???
jeez Bud, you think I would not know that?
The Saipan suicide analogy (innocent civilians scared by the Japs to jump off a cliff rather than surrender to Americans) don't apply. A better analogy is Goering or Himmler taking poisen.
I have no problem with what Grassley said. It made the point.
Everyone is too quick to nitpik statemetns - that leads to whitewashed, PC speech.
This blog supports saying freely whatever fits or might fit or even could fit or even might be thought to fit as situation , whether literally or figuratively.
Amazing levels of stupidity on Wall Street:
NY Times reports the co got its bailout. Now some of its bankers, those aristocrats of Wall Street, apparently need a bit of a bailout too. Goldman is offering to lend money to more than 1,000 employees who have been squeezed by the financial crisis. The loans, offered via e-mail last week, could range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands. Working at Goldman has long been regarded as a sure path to riches. But Goldman's employees are losing money on their personal investments — particularly in Goldman's own elite investment funds, which have been considered one of the perks of working at the bank. Now these funds have stumbled, and some Goldman employees who financed their gilded lifestyles by borrowing in good times are suddenly short on cash needed to meet commitments to their personal investments in the funds.
I remember being told early on - never spend next year's bonus. Always with until the check clears.
well..............i thought i'd trump you
ya goehring and himmler fit better
Bman did you think there was some sort of 'smoking gun' in the AIG counterparty list ?? i did not
for months the conspiracy theorists were asking for it......now that i see it......we could have all guessed it
AIG did business with everyone in the world...........banks brokers states municipalities etc.....
no smoking gun ... it explains why the gov't took them over - it's really a backdoor way to funnel money to banks.
I do wonder if the gov't is making right decisions in paying off the CDS at 100%. Why not post the collateral andwait for the actual defaults? But not enough details are being released.
This does show that entire CDS market needs to be shut down.
btw, if AIG had gone BK, those bonuses whould have not been paid.
Makes one wonder ...
I have no problem with the origanal AIG bailout, maybe not even the second one, but after that, seems like a BK was needed.
meredith whitney for an hour today??? sweeeet......that made my day
she's the best !!!
Meredith is so beautiful and smart....no wonder she is married to a wrestler
Ahhh ... life is so sweet with no Babblevision
btw, I wonder if looking closely at Molotova, one can discern small fangs ?
or little horns ?
;)
I wonder if I should email Kernan to keep any matches out of reach?
grassley, now that is funny!
lol!
cheney worried about the govt getting too big........
snipe list crystalizing
1. cheney
2. rush
3. middle east
4. lurie
5. hell bitch
hey now, its saint pattys day.
ive got beer in fridge.
and i just sneezed.
guess i better call out sick, again.
Lucky stars above you,
Sunshine on your way,
Many friends to love you,
Joy in work and play-
Laughter to outweigh each care,
In your heart a song-
And gladness waiting everywhere
All your whole life long!
lol mern...won't Lumberg get concerned if you call out sick again?
TO not on the snipe list ???
I'll wait on AA; I still dislike management and their cluster stupidity.
small adds X, MT, EEFT for Obama
Hey, you, Obama ... put in some orders for steel ! Now !
"Hey you Obama"
why not just call him "boy" Bunkerman?
lol ... not the same.
what sector has the highest weighting in the Obama Fund Bunkerman?
FCX is biggest position
lol some weightings have changed a lot ... mostly lower
feel sorry for TO, given his childhood, and he blew up the cowboyz!
crames is definitely 6th.
if one has two weeks left to work and 20 something days of vacation/sick days.
has he worked his last day?
;-)
I have a good bit of retail, too.
heavy equipment
shoes
And now steel.
there's about 50 stocks in two accounts - it's hard for me to group by sector.
none is over about 8%
"The Obama administration is considering making veterans use private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries. The plan would be an about-face on what veterans believe is a longstanding pledge by the government to pay for health care costs that result from their military service. But in a White House meeting Monday, veterans groups apparently failed to persuade President Barack Obama to take the plan off the table. ... 'It became apparent during our discussion today that the president intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,' said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. 'He says he is looking to generate $540 million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.' "
nice vote mern...real nice
Bunky you heros are breaking orbit...oh well, fuckem'...soldiers have a pay check and recieve combat pay...loss of a limb over rated, pussies.
To think, I thought old Mern was a sick mf.
McBama "Economy,fundamentals sound"
how many times did mern and the Jon Stewart koolaid drinkers bust big Johns sack on that one??...pffftttt never-----mind
McBama...
lmaoooooooooooooooooooooo
Obama is going to get his teeth knocked in with that idea ... but he does need a lesson
that could be the excuse the on the fence merny-type follow the leader dems need to say...that mofoscraazzy!!
I like that McBama ... but it does perhaps put a slur of incomptence on a fine company and sandwiches.
;)
McD does walk the talk, as for Obama, so far he's moslty talk.
if one has two weeks left to work and 20 something days of vacation/sick days.
has he worked his last day?
looool
Private email so hot this week I've melted a couple keyboards...is someone jealous?
I think so
'private email so hot'
GIVE ME A F'NG BREAK !!!!
PS......SKF queen short at 150.49 ???......of course......pfffffffffffft
"MS catch up day"....UBS redux indeed...LONG LIVE THE SKF KING
jimmie with a major GOOG pump off the jefferies upgrade....we will here that agian today sometime me thinks...lol...eom
Date: 3/17/2009 1:43:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
GOOG 326.7...tight leash...won't fall behind
Date: 3/17/2009 1:47:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Bob..whats your GOOG at???
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
another bowl of loudmuth soup Bud???
Now that is nice looking Half Track and thought I would see hello.Enjoy the commentary and glad to see Krypto has a gr8 blog.
thanks, teja.
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