Good Lord, it is all over you, Amurka! Clean yourselves up!
"Chief Says Fed Is Ready to Act on Credit Pinch" by Edmund L. Andrews and Jeremy W. Peters/New York Times September 1, 2007
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug. 31 — Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, declared on Friday that the central bank “stands ready to take additional actions as needed” to prevent the chaos in mortgage markets from derailing the broader economy.
Bernanke... acknowledged the dangers posed by the twin storms in housing and mortgage lending, adding that conditions are changing quickly enough that the Fed might act even before then if the next batch of economic data looks unfavorable.
Shortly after Mr. Bernanke spoke here, President Bush announced a series of moves in Washington aimed at helping a number of Americans with credit problems avoid losing their homes because of the sharply rising cost of their adjustable-rate mortgages.
Mr. Bush, stepping into the troubled mortgage arena for the first time:
“It’s not the government’s job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford.”
[No, unless you are bailing out some corporations, or the S & L's like your fucking father did, asshole!!!
But NOTHING for YOU, Amurka!
Hell, this is YOUR OWN FAULT, he is saying, so EAT SHIT!
Even if they lenders told you you could afford it!]
Despite the disclaimers about bailouts, Wall Street welcomed the prospect of help from Washington. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up 119 points, almost 1 percent, and the broader stock market indexes climbed by similar amounts.
Encouraged by the release of positive economic data in the morning, the stock market rallied, with the Dow Jones industrial average jumping as much as 140 points. Once Mr. Bernanke’s remarks were released at 10 a.m., investors gave up some of those gains, but the stock market closed solidly up.
The Dow added 119.01 points, to 13,357.74. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 1.12 percent, to close at 1,473.99; the Nasdaq composite closed at 2,596.36, up 1.21 percent.
Bernanke... made it clear that the Fed would not wait for undeniable signs of economic distress before acting. And he drew a tighter link between the Fed’s next move on interest rates and what happens to the housing market.
Mr. Bernanke, at the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium here in the Grand Tetons, told listeners:
“Obviously, if current conditions persist in mortgage markets, the demand for homes could weaken further, with possible implications for the rest of the economy. We are following these developments closely.”
Mr. Bernanke walked a very tight line between trying to reassure financial markets and locking the Fed into a rescue effort that could prove either unwarranted or unwise over the longer term:
“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions. But developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account when determining policy.”
[First off, I watched "Freedom to Fascism," and was that ever an eye-opener.
There shouldn't even be an income tax, the states never ratified the Sixteenth Amendment, and no government officer can point to the law saying their should be an income tax.
Besides, it is the Fed's policies that led us to this point!!!]
Investors around the world had awaited his speech with an almost obsessive fixation in recent days, as what began as a panic in subprime mortgages for people with weak credit continued to freeze up lending on scores of other fronts, from jumbo mortgages to borrowers with good credit to a growing number of billion-dollar leveraged buyouts.
In an added attempt to soothe investors, Mr. Bernanke also suggested that the central bank would focus less heavily than usual on incoming economic data, which have yet to signal a clear downturn:
“Economic data bearing on past months or quarters may be less useful than usual for our forecasts. As a result, we will pay particularly close attention to the timeliest indicators, as well as information gleaned from our business and banking contacts around the country.”
The stock market’s early-morning rally was fed in part by new data from the Commerce Department that showed encouraging news on inflation and consumer spending.
[Another lying government report that will be revised downward, no doubt!]
But Fed officials and most analysts say that consumer spending was already slowing before the credit squeeze became acute recently and is likely to be further dented by the increased difficulty and expense of obtaining credit.
Mr. Bernanke spoke little about concerns over volatility in the stock market and only fleetingly about the increasing difficulties that companies have had financing leveraged buyouts and corporate takeovers. But he acknowledged that the turmoil in mortgage markets could damage the fundamental economy.
Mr. Bernanke, referring to the original issue of subprime mortgages, remarked at one point:
“Global financial losses have far exceeded even the most pessimistic projections of credit losses on those loans.”
[Well, you guys gotta take off those rose-colored glasses!]
John H. Makin, a senior economist at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, said Mr. Bernanke’s message included “a bit of tough love” but made the broader point that the central bank has a keen awareness of events in financial markets and will know what to do if a further implosion becomes likely.
Mr. Makin: “The message was, I know as much about the financial markets as you do. I think he did himself a lot of good with this speech.”
[Then this economy is in BIG FUCKING TROUBLE!
Maybe this man will help:]
"Bush Plans a Limited Intervention on Mortgages" by Steven R. Weisman/New York Times September 1, 2007
Bush: “The government has got a role to play, but it is limited. A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem. It’s not the government’s job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford.”
[That's why your dad did it with the S & L's, right, shitter!
And look at this guy pin the blame on YOU, Amurka!!!
Yeah, he can't help you, but he can spend BILLIONS and BILLIONS for WARS!!!!
Telling you to EAT SHIT is what he's doing, Amurka!!!]
Bush’s statement reflected the president’s determination to oppose proposals for the federal government to help set up trust funds or use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored housing companies, to rescue families in danger of losing their homes.
The administration initiatives formally announced Friday included steps to make it easier for low-income homeowners to get federal mortgage insurance and plans for federal “jawboning” of private mortgage lenders to persuade them not to foreclose on homeowners without giving the borrowers a chance to renegotiate payments.
Several of the administration’s proposals were endorsements of existing Democratic measures.
[Oh, yeah, this guy is a MAJOR-LEAGUE ASSHOLE, right here!]
The administration says that it is one thing to help people caught between falling home prices and rising interest rates, and another to bail out speculators who find themselves unable to make a quick profit.
[While they just pay Halliburton, even after they have stolen money! Pffffftttt!!!]
An administration official who asked not to be identified said there would be no single solution for the problems facing lenders and borrowers. This official estimated that of the two million mortgage holders facing new interest rates, 500,000 are at risk of foreclosure because of missed payments.
The administration’s announcement Friday will affect only 80,000 homeowners.
[As usual, the fucking failing asshole is TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE!!!
It hasn't been bad for everyone, though, so take heart as you chew that shit, Amurka!]
"Pay at Investment Banks Eclipses All Private Jobs by a Factor of 10" by David Cay Johnston/New York Times September 1, 2007
Top money managers earn such huge incomes that even when their compensation is mixed with the much lower pay of clerks, secretaries and others, the average pay in investment banking is 10 times that of all private sector jobs, new government data shows.
Investment banking paid an average weekly wage of $8,367, compared with $841 for all private sector jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a routine report issued Thursday.
The report also showed how far ahead hedge fund managers are of other investment bankers in making money.
In Fairfield County, Conn., home to many hedge funds, the average pay was $23,846 a week.... Nationally, investment banking accounted for just 0.1 percent of all private sector jobs, but it accounts for 1.3 percent of all wages.
Almost 72 percent of all investment banking earnings were in just five counties: New York (Manhattan), Fairfield, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Cook County, Ill., which envelops Chicago.
[Talk about your concentration of wealth, huh?]
The report said: “With steady employment totals, very handsome bonuses, it would seem to be an understatement to say that investment banking was thriving.”
The bureau’s report comes amid widespread concern about years of lower or stagnant incomes and about the possible reversal of recent increases.
The Census Bureau reported on Wednesday that median household income grew modestly in 2006, rising by 0.7 percent. But is also found that average wages for men and women had declined for the third year in a row. Labor Department data shows that the average hourly wage has been slipping since February.
The Census Bureau said the median income — half of Americans earn more and half earn less — was up primarily because more people were working and they were working longer hours. It also reported that the only statistically significant increase was among white households, which for the first time since 1999 reported a real increase.
Data released last week by the Internal Revenue Service showed that in 2005 Americans reported more total income on their tax returns for the first time since 2000. Because the population grew, however, the average income was almost 1 percent lower per taxpayer and 2 percent lower per capita.
The average 2005 income was 4.2 percent more, in real terms, than in 2004. But this increase was almost entirely at the top.
One in 500 taxpayers makes more than $1 million, but those taxpayers reported 58 percent of the total income gain."
[It is as we all suspected.
Excuse me, reader, I forget my umbrella, so I got shat on, too!!!!
I better go clean up.
{_ :) ]
