Geithner Housing Plan Explained
- Thread starter yubrew
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I'm not your typical Peter Schiff apologist, and I pretty much disagree on every issue, but TALF has got to be the biggest scam ever pulled. It is a giant scheme to transfer the losses off of the banks balance sheet and have the public pay for it in a few years. The whole "plan" is riddled with loopholes and logic errors, and the only way it would work is in a perfect world where everything is peachy. As it is, there is no reason why the banks wouldn't take the government for everything they can, I know I would if presented with such an opportunity to turn my junk into gold.
I love the blue, green, yellow and purple squiggly lines he drew. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.... On a different note, MTM (marketing to market) assets is partly what got us here in the first place. Any gov't policy that doesn't handle this is woefully inept...
lmao.
Mark to market is a normal, intelligent accounting process. It has exposed those firms who used trash as reserves to pyramid debt. This is a good thing because it creates transparency. Without a mechanism like mark to market, you could be investing in an insolvent investment bank (outside FDIC) and not know it. Their balance sheet would be legally conforming, but it would not accurately portray the position of the company. It's the anti-Madoff accounting method.
I suspect the notion is that "if only banks don't have to show the market, through mark to market, that their reserves are worthless, then maybe people will trust them again".
Seems like another example where Washington thinks it can legislate prosperity and truth. If people think this was caused crisis was caused by an accounting technique, rather than massive fraud ....
You gotta give it to the boys on Capitol Hill. There is pretty much no problem they won't try to paper over or lie about rather than fix the real issue.
Thanks. I saw the mistake later glad you corrected...
Dunno if you're interested but if you ever have trouble explaining "how we got into this mess" to your grandmother, your kid or even a mathematician, one best of the explanations I've ever heard of the risks involved with CMOs, MBSs, debt securitization and the house of cards also known as credit default risk, was done by a free lecture given by John Caskey (my former research advisor, shout out to Swat!!! Haverford is a safety school and they know it!!!....I digress...lol) which you can find here: Swarthmore College Faculty Lectures Blog Archive Why credit markets are “frozen,” and what the “bailout” will do
The guy is an expert on sub prime debt, worked at the Fed, Harvard undegrad, Stanford Grad. He was talking about the dangers in the sub prime market eons ago. Did anyone listen to him?....
Perhaps the one good thing that can come out of this crisis is that people will take the time to understand what's going on in the boardroom and in the back halls of the Capital which can affect them. With a clearer understanding of just rudementary principles, people can be empowered to make better financial decisions, more prudent political votes and the like (off my soap box). Lastly, IMHO, the bulge brackets need to revamp their bonus structures and internal oversight and they effing know it. The chinese wall is a freakin' joke and they know it. Anyone who listens to sell side research needs to have their head examined. You're got one side slicing and dicing P and I's in the name of "innovation" and pushing crappy products to buy side managers all of whom thought 50+% returns could be had without risk. The whole culture of the Street changed for the worse over the past 10 years. Prudent CEOs like Ace Greenberg are a rarity nowadays. I never forgot the story of how he wrote a memo to an assistant telling everyone to reuse those yellowish long envelops to save money - that's a long way from $25,000 trash cans. I don't mind if you want to spend $10M on your office - just wait 'til December and use your own bloody bonus money and not the shareholders'.
Metcalfe, obviously those guys are funnin' around, but notice the one question they never touch on, in fact no one touches on, is...
Where did all of this money come from to give mortgages for too much, to unqualified lenders? Who was so foolish to make the initial loans that the banks extended as mortgages?
And the answer is...
Where did all of this money come from to give mortgages for too much, to unqualified lenders? Who was so foolish to make the initial loans that the banks extended as mortgages?
And the answer is...
@metacalfe. I'm curious to know your opinion on the Aussies' take on how Americans are dealing with the current financial crises. Do they feel the gov't is doing too much? Too little? How are policy makers dealing with these issues in your country? Don't know much about the Australian economy. The last time I read anything meaningful was about 10 years ago when George Soros' currency trading bets (along with others) reaked havoc on the asian currencies. Oh by the way you said something a while back that I didn't take kindly to - so I have some pics for you to print out and paste on your wall:
:xmas-smiley-016::food-smiley-010:
HAHA....j/k mate....
:xmas-smiley-016::food-smiley-010:
HAHA....j/k mate....
Get your geek on with some Free Yale Econ Lectures
ECON 252 - Lecture 12 - Prof. Robert Shiller
http://oyc.yale.edu/economics/financial-markets/content/resources/Lecture12.pdf
ECON 252 - Lecture 12 - Prof. Robert Shiller
http://oyc.yale.edu/economics/financial-markets/content/resources/Lecture12.pdf
Ace seems like a cool guy. Well, at least the coolest guy out of all the guys who remind me of uncle fester. But you know a lot of these old guys are sitting back miserable thinking, what the fuck did these kids(loosely) do to my company?
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