Saturday, February 14, 2009
EATED
Missed a few on Friday.
Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, FL gets EATED.
Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, Pittsfield, IL gets EATED
Pinnacle Bank of Oregon, Beaverton, OR gets EATED.
We have a very hungry FDIC!
Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, FL gets EATED.
Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, Pittsfield, IL gets EATED
Pinnacle Bank of Oregon, Beaverton, OR gets EATED.
We have a very hungry FDIC!
Disconnect
I really do wonder what it would take for the Villagers to realize people don't like Republicans and their stupid shit anymore.
But That's Fine!
I don't have a problem with Republicans who, on balance, wanted the bill to pass but still voted against it. I don't really think it's "cowardice" or whatever, they're simply making it clear that they're the opposition party. And that's a good thing! It's only in bizarro Broderville, combined with the annoying supermajority bits of the Senate, that anyone really thinks differently.
...to be clear, I don't think the opposition party should always oppose everything. But this was a lot of money. A Republican bill would have been very different! There's nothing wrong with making that point.
...to be clear, I don't think the opposition party should always oppose everything. But this was a lot of money. A Republican bill would have been very different! There's nothing wrong with making that point.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Unquestioned Value
Uncle Alan:
Well, I question it. I have nothing against homeownership, but it isn't right for everyone. Obviously it isn't right for people who can't afford their mortgages after the teaser rate expires. It isn't right for people who need more geographic mobility due to the nature of their jobs or other reasons. It isn't right for people who don't want to invest time in being the "super" of their own building; houses require significant upkeep to main a roughly constant level of quality.
As for Greenspan's ability to anything... if nothing else he shouldn't have encouraged lenders to provide "greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage. "
(ht reader a)
- While Mr. Greenspan acknowledges that he could have done something to avert the housing crisis, he contends his hands were tied.
“If we tried to suppress the expansion of the subprime market, do you think that would have gone over very well with the Congress?” Mr. Greenspan said. “When it looked as though we were dealing with a major increase in home ownership, which is of unquestioned value to this society — would we have been able to do that? I doubt it.”
Well, I question it. I have nothing against homeownership, but it isn't right for everyone. Obviously it isn't right for people who can't afford their mortgages after the teaser rate expires. It isn't right for people who need more geographic mobility due to the nature of their jobs or other reasons. It isn't right for people who don't want to invest time in being the "super" of their own building; houses require significant upkeep to main a roughly constant level of quality.
As for Greenspan's ability to anything... if nothing else he shouldn't have encouraged lenders to provide "greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage. "
(ht reader a)
Critics Question
The AP could basically just re-write this article for every line in the stimulus bill.
Bipartisanship And Comity
You'd think in that backslapping love nest known as the US Senate, a Republican or two might tell Sherrod Brown that he doesn't have to rush back from his mother's funeral.
Is It A Problem?
What do you, readers, think about requiring an 80% LTV (20% downpayment) on primary residence mortgages? Don't think about it terms how it would impact the current crisis if a policy were implemented, whether it's a good idea right now, but if it were to happen in more "normal" times.
Discuss.
Discuss.
Deep Thought From Austan Goolsbee
Paraphrased:
Who had the crazy idea to create mortgage products for people who are in the habit of not paying their bills.
So What If He Did?
HSR between LA and Las Vegas makes sense. It's the right distance, there's a lot of traffic between the two, and right-of-way assembly is presumably (this is just a blog post) easier than it would be between a lot of places.
That Sounded Pretty Interesting
Email subject line read:
But email program had just cut off:
White House to Host Media Conference Call with Secret
But email program had just cut off:
ary of Education Arne Duncan
Meanwhile
Over there.
BAGHDAD — A female suicide bomber with explosives hidden under flowing black garments blew herself up in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims including many women and children south of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens more, according to initial reports from Iraqi security officials.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
They Have Conferences
Atrios doesn't get to go to the really entertaining conferences.
Cutting. Edge. Stuff.
Visionary thinkers discuss New Media Empowering Conservative Messages:
Mary Katherine Ham, writer, Weekly Standard (invited)
Alfonzo Rachel, advocate of right-minded ideas on new media
Patrick Ruffini, online and new media strategist (invited)
with moderator Bill Whittle, PJTV
Cutting. Edge. Stuff.
Falling
Haven't reached the bottom yet.
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices dropped the most on record in the fourth quarter as foreclosures dragged down values and the recession pushed buyers out of the market.
The median price of a U.S. home declined 12 percent to $180,100 from a year earlier and sales of properties with mortgages in default accounted for 45 percent of all transactions, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said today. Prices declined in almost nine out of every 10 cities.
Crunch Time
My guess is Republican solidarity against the stimulus bill mostly holds up. As it should! They're the opposition party. It isn't their bill.
We don't have to live in David Broder's world.
We don't have to live in David Broder's world.
Pretty Absurd
If NPR doesn't want to be associated with Juan Williams, they shouldn't, you know, associate with him. Reducing transparency doesn't really seem to conform to any journalistic ideal I'm aware of.
People In Suits
I'm at NYU for this conference which I'll be covering for The Next American City over here. Never quite got into the whole liveblogging thing, but hopefully the conference be interesting and I will have interesting things to say about it.
So, posting, cross-posting, linking, blogging will be happening shortly.
So, posting, cross-posting, linking, blogging will be happening shortly.
"Service Extension In The Urban Core"
While I'm certainly for building supertrains everywhere in an abstract sense, given limited resources it makes sense to improve transit in places which already have "transit oriented development" but maybe not quite as much transit as they should. Or, thinking about it from the other direction, a lot of improvements in "transit" can actually be achieved through improvements in land use, by creating transit oriented development around places which are actually well-served by mass transit, but don't have the appropriate density around the stations.
The point is that there are places which have high density and walkability but don't have as good mass transit access as they should, and places which have pretty good transit but don't have the appropriate level of density.
The point is that there are places which have high density and walkability but don't have as good mass transit access as they should, and places which have pretty good transit but don't have the appropriate level of density.
I believe this is what we in the professional blogging biz call "trolling," but I'll bite. The Left, including yours truly, will create an epic 360 degree shitstorm if Obama and the Dems decide that cutting Social Security benefits is a good idea.
Straightforward
Indeed it is. The FDIC is EATING (in various ways) 3 banks per week. People know how to do this.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Cleaning Up The Banking System
It's true that this is necessary, but simply giving them more money and hoping for the best won't do it. Instead of allocating capital efficiently as a good banking system is supposed to do, they decided to put it all down on Big Shitpile. That didn't work out so well. And the idiots are still in charge.
I Try To Love My Local Transit Authority
But they do make it so hard sometimes.
Though, credit where credit is due, $9 all day travel good for all trains/buses/trolleys is a pretty good deal.
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia's largest transit agency is embarrassed about a pass it sold that features a picture of the New York City skyline.
The pass marked with the Philly Beer Week logo is sold to discourage people from driving from one event to another during the beer festival.
Though, credit where credit is due, $9 all day travel good for all trains/buses/trolleys is a pretty good deal.
Stay Outta Da Burbs
It's dangerous out there.
A Bucks County lawyer was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant this morning as he arrived for work at his office in Northampton Township.
Eric Birnbaum, 51, a divorced father of two, was shot once in the back of the head at point-blank range, and was pronounced dead at St. Mary Medical Center, officials said.
Deep Thought
A bit weird telling the operator that the company sponsoring the conference call I'm trying to get on is "The White House."
Looks Like A Win
Haven't gotten all the details yet, and it certainly isn't perfect, but it is pretty much what Obama wanted.
A Bit Better
It's smaller, but it looks like they're adding at least some of the smart stuff (school funds, state aid) and taking out at least a bit of the dumb stuff (at least reducing tax breaks for home and car purchases).
Hope...Not A Plan
The hope isn't simply that "vultures" will buy up big shitpile, the hope is that vultures will buy up big shitpile at high enough prices that it won't force an appraisal of bank assets that will show that they're insolvent.
Some sort of nationalization is inevitable. Why the Obama team thinks it's a good idea to light a pile of money on fire first is beyond me.
With its plan to shore up banks that was announced on Tuesday, the Obama administration hopes to entice investors like Mr. Marks, who has $55 billion at his command, to buy troubled assets from the nation’s banks and enable them to make the loans needed to jump-start the economy.
The administration hopes, in short, to counterbalance some of the fear gripping the financial world with a bit of old-fashioned greed.
To combat the bust, Washington wants to marshal some of the same financiers who grew rich during the boom: hedge fund managers and corporate buyout specialists.
Some sort of nationalization is inevitable. Why the Obama team thinks it's a good idea to light a pile of money on fire first is beyond me.
Entitled
If Ana Marie Cox's twitters are to be believed, many in the elite press corps were horrified that Sam Stein was allowed to ask Obama a question. This has nothing to do with whether it was a good or interesting question, but simply about where in the pecking order he's supposed to be.
Already Insolvent
There are various ways to tell this story, but the punchline is always the same. The financial institutions are insolvent. For some time many of the people in them perhaps honestly believed that it was a temporary liquidity issue, that the assets were worth more than they could sell them for. That time has long passed. They bet it all on Big Shitpile and lost. And they know it.
Keep shoveling!
Keep shoveling!
Corridors
I don't know if it's the future of suburbs everywhere, but it's basically what my cunning plan to make you all live in Manhattan is like. Walkable areas around transit stations, walkable corridors between transit stations, and your basic suburbs surrounding them.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Fed has decided it can do whatever it wants. Just in case you didn't know.
Yes, it can do that.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
WASHINGTON — The White House plan to rescue the nation’s financial system, announced on Tuesday by Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, is far bigger than anyone predicted and envisions a far greater government role in markets and banks than at any time since the 1930s.
Administration officials committed to flood the financial system with as much as $2.5 trillion — $350 billion of that coming from the bailout fund and the rest from private investors and the Federal Reserve, making use of its ability to print money.
Yes, it can do that.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Nationalize Them
So sez Roubini (can click through to watch video).
Or we can just light a pile of money on fire and then... nationalize them.
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University, talks with Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays about the banking industry and housing market.
Roubini, who forecast the U.S. recession two years ago, says the U.S. government will have to nationalize some of the biggest banks because they are now "effectively insolvent." (Source: Bloomberg)
Or we can just light a pile of money on fire and then... nationalize them.
Confrontation From The Left
It is what is almost entirely missing from our political discourse. Poor Ben Nelson (don't really pity him) just had no idea how to deal with Rachel Maddow because he never gets questions from that direction.
If You're Wondering Why The Market Is Tanking
It's basically this.
It was expected that even if they came up with a shitty plan, they'd at least look like they knew what they were doing. They have no idea.
Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room.
The laughter was at its height when Obama officials explained that the White House planned to guarantee a wide swath of toxic assets -- which they referred to as "legacy assets" -- but wouldn't be asking Congress for money. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a bailout opponent in the fall, asked the officials to give Congress the total dollar figure for which they were on the hook. The officials said that they couldn't provide a number, a response met by chuckling that was bipartisan, but tilted toward the GOP side. By guaranteeing the assets, Geithner hopes he can persuade the private sector to purchase a portion of them.
It was expected that even if they came up with a shitty plan, they'd at least look like they knew what they were doing. They have no idea.
Cunning Plan
This seem to be the key new bit.
They're going to subsidize leveraged bets on leveraged bets. High comedy!
“Together with the Fed, FDIC and private sector, we will establish a Public Private Investment Fund. This program will provide government capital and government financing to help leverage private capital to help get private markets working again for the legacy loans and assets that are now burdening the entire financial system.”
“By providing the financing the private markets cannot now provide, this will help start a process of providing a market for the real estate related assets that are at the center of the this crisis. Our objective is to use private capital and private asset managers to help provide a market mechanism for valuing the assets.”
They're going to subsidize leveraged bets on leveraged bets. High comedy!
On A Slightly More Serious Note
I do miss the days when we'd sanctimoniously lecture Japan and other countries about how horrible they were for propping up their failing financial institutions. We'd never do anything that stupid!
Fiasco
Aside from the fact that it's all about bailing out Tim's friends, it's pretty clear that they still have no idea what they're doing. It's just throwing good money after bad. Should've just left Paulson in charge.
2012
Can't wait.
If Joe Lieberman decides to run for a fifth term in 2012, a new Quinnipiac poll suggests that it may be a lost cause.
The new poll tests Lieberman as an independent against Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The numbers: Blumenthal 58%, Lieberman 30%. Yikes.
Saving Tim's Friends
This is bullshit.
Call the White House.
Comments: 202-456-1111
WASHINGTON— The Obama administration’s new plan to bail out the nation’s banks was fashioned after a spirited internal debate that pitted the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, against some of the president’s top political hands.
In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.
Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday morning, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.
Call the White House.
Comments: 202-456-1111
Monday, February 09, 2009
Funny
Warning: lots of bad words.
Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work
(ht baratunde)
Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work
(ht baratunde)
Super Shitpile Fails Again
Good news, though it's a bit sad that it took them this long to figure out that maybe:
1) Buy a bunch of shitpile at inflated prices
2) ...
3) Profit!
wasn't such a hot idea.
1) Buy a bunch of shitpile at inflated prices
2) ...
3) Profit!
wasn't such a hot idea.
The Awesomeness Of Norm
That's a mighty odd supreme deity you've got there, Norm.
When asked about the recount and how it is affecting him personally, Coleman said he starts every day with a prayer and that he knows “God wants me to serve.”
Please Stop It
I actually think it's kind of important that people have some general level of respect for government and the people who run it, though of course that respect needs to be earned. A tremendous barrier to that is, well, the idiotic ways that senators behave. This isn't just about the general high wankery level of Joe Lieberman, it's about people who spend all day praising each other for their awesomeness. They do it in the media, they do it on the Senate floor, they do it in committee meetings, they do it when giving other sorts of presentations. Really, just stop it.
Civility
I don't know how old this guy is, but I've long been amused by the number of people who, unlike me, actually lived through the 60s and still imagine that our politics is somehow extra nasty because lots of people say mean things on the internets now.
Bankruptcy Cramdowns
I actually don't remember if Obama had come out for this before, but in any case it was good to hear today.
It really is the best, cleanest, fairest, most common sense way to deal with the foreclosure crisis, ensuring that the Wanker Caucus in the Senate won't let it happen.
President Barak Obama said on Monday that he supported changing the rules to let judges modify first mortgages to prevent home foreclosures. Obama told a townhall meeting in Elkhart Indiana, as he campaigned for an $800 billion economic stimulus package being debated by lawmakers.
"If you are like most people, including me, and you've got one house ... it turns out that under current law you can't modify that mortgage if you are in bankruptcy," Obama told a townhall meeting as he campaigned for an $800 billion economic stimulus package being debated by lawmakers.
It really is the best, cleanest, fairest, most common sense way to deal with the foreclosure crisis, ensuring that the Wanker Caucus in the Senate won't let it happen.
Schadenfreude
Remember how Bush would go on the teevee for some dumb speech or fake town hall every day and the cable nets would show the whole thing live and it would drive us liberals crazy?
Welcome to our (previous) world, conservatives.
Welcome to our (previous) world, conservatives.
SUPERTRAINS
And, yes, there are plenty of places in the US where distances between cities are appropriate for similar lines.
Barcelona to Madrid, nonstop trains go 386 miles in 2:38. You can board at a station right by the Sagrada Familia.
This shift is the consequence of an ambitious programme for high-speed rail. The streamlined AVE trains, with their sleek corridors, work tables and spectacular views, are stealing the show. Those used to the tedious taxi rides, security checks and crowded shuttle flights traditionally endured by Spanish businessmen will not be surprised. The opening of the Barcelona-Madrid line a year ago marked the beginning of the end of airlines’ dominance. In its first ten months it carried 2m passengers; in 2008 its share of the total market rose from 28% to 38%. Josep Valls, of the ESADE business school, predicts that trains will carry most long-distance travellers within two years.
Spain’s high-speed network is still in its infancy. Another 9,000km of lines are planned over the next decade. The aim is to create Europe’s most extensive high-speed network, with 90% of Spaniards living within 50km of a station.
Barcelona to Madrid, nonstop trains go 386 miles in 2:38. You can board at a station right by the Sagrada Familia.
Losing
The Villagers, unsurprisingly, have decided that the Republicans have won and Obama has lost the argument. The fact that the American public do not agree matters little.
"Reparations"
Classy.
There really isn't any point in engaging conservatives/glibertarians on anything substantive these days.
There really isn't any point in engaging conservatives/glibertarians on anything substantive these days.
No Self-Awareness
TNR really shouldn't be spamming me articles by Leon Wieseltier complaining about platitudinous, propaganda-ridden spam.
Senators Are Ridiculous
Just caught a few seconds of Nelson and Collins talking about how awesome they are.
Moments like that make me ashamed of paying any attention to this stuff at all.
Moments like that make me ashamed of paying any attention to this stuff at all.
Unequipped
Our political/media system is apparently completely unequipped to deal with politicians who simply flat out lie.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Likely
This Bloomberg builds a narrative around one guy's opinion, so I'm not really sure it should be taken seriously, but....WHEEEEEEEEEEE
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s struggle to push an economic stimulus bill through Congress may seem easy compared to what he’ll encounter when he returns to Capitol Hill for additional funds to rescue the banking system.
Obama will likely need to ask Congress for more money to recapitalize banks, as much as $1 trillion on top of the roughly $300 billion remaining in the current Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to an estimate by former Federal Reserve economist Ward McCarthy. That will be an even tougher sell for the new president than the stimulus plan, which is headed for a Senate vote this week after passing the House with no Republican support.
Seen in Philly
Classic South Philly scene: small coffee shop, old Italian guys playing cards under Godfather movie posters, smoking cigarettes under no smoking signs.
Which Is It?
Were cuts to important and effective parts of the stimulus bill supported by her because Claire McCaskill agreed with the Republicans that such programs were "silly," or did she support cuts simply as a pragmatic step in order to get the bill passed?
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.
ABC's "This Week" — Lawrence Summers, director of National Economic Council; Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Christina Romer, head of the Council of Economic Advisers; Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; and Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Barney Frank, D-Mass.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
"Fox News Sunday" _ Summers; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
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