Headlines, Headlines, Headlines – 22 April 2009

April 22nd, 2009 by stacyherbert

Stacy Summary:  Way back in 2008, Darling & Brown bought several banks on behalf of the frightened taxpayer.  They assured us there would probably be profits.  Who coulda known that there would not, in fact, be any profit for the taxpayer but massive and increasing losses?

Tags:   · · · · · · 11 Comments

11 responses so far ↓

  • sharon
    Apr 22, 2009 at 2:49 am

    Hello Max and Stacy,
    Re: IMF saying UK in worse position.
    Well, I started to read this article in the Telegraph but when I came across the sentence describing the IMF as….”The respected international body” I gave up – the article lost any credibility in my view.

  • Barnet Burns
    Apr 22, 2009 at 3:52 am

    <!– @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>
    That celebrated stalwart of the Guardian comment boards, whom has been beating a very similar drum to M&S over the past months, Golem IV (http://www.guardian.co.uk/users/golemxiv/comments) firstly has cast aspersions on Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, writing that “according to someone who I have found well informed on these matters, Mr Evans-Pritchard is one of those journalists retained by the security services to place its messages. Thus I tend to take a cautious view of anything Mr E-P writes.”.
    Secondly he has unearthed some pretty scary, although unverified, info on the “stress test” results…
     
    “This was posted today on a traders board. No one knows if it’s ‘true’ but Turner Radio isn’t a bit player.
    If it’s only half true …
    ” The Turner Radio Network has obtained “stress test” results for the top 19 Banks in the USA.
    The stress tests were conducted to determine how well, if at all, the top 19 banks in the USA could withstand further or future economic hardship.
    When the tests were completed, regulators within the Treasury and inside the Federal Reserve began bickering with each other as to whether or not the test results should be made public. That bickering continues to this very day.
    The Turner Radio Network has obtained the stress test results. They are very bad. The most salient points from the stress tests appear below.
    1) Of the top nineteen (19) banks in the nation, sixteen (16) are already technically insolvent.
    2) Of the 16 banks that are already technically insolvent, not even one can withstand any disruption of cash flow at all or any further deterioration in non-paying loans.
    3) If any two of the 16 insolvent banks go under, they will totally wipe out all remaining FDIC insurance funding.
    4) Of the top 19 banks in the nation, the top five (5) largest banks are under capitalized so dangerously, there is serious doubt about their ability to continue as ongoing businesses.
    5) Five large U.S. banks have credit exposure related to their derivatives trading that exceeds their capital, with four in particular – JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank America and Citibank – taking especially large risks.
    6) Bank of America`s total credit exposure to derivatives was 179 percent of its risk-based capital; Citibank`s was 278 percent; JPMorgan Chase`s, 382 percent; and HSBC America`s, 550 percent. It gets even worse: Goldman Sachs began reporting as a commercial bank, revealing an alarming total credit exposure of 1,056 percent, or more than ten times its capital!
    7) Not only are there serious questions about whether or not JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs,Citibank, Wells Fargo, Sun Trust Bank, HSBC Bank USA, can continue in business, more than 1,800 regional and smaller institutions are at risk of failure despite government bailouts!
    The debt crisis is much greater than the government has reported. The FDIC`s “Problem List” of troubled banks includes 252 institutions with assets of $159 billion. 1,816 banks and thrifts are at risk of failure, with total assets of $4.67 trillion, compared to 1,568 institutions, with $2.32 trillion in total assets in prior quarter.
    Put bluntly, the entire US Banking System is in complete and total failure.””

  • Network (movie)
    Apr 22, 2009 at 5:35 am

    Yesterday the American markets was incredible.  Sec. Tim G made one statement about the “majority” (only 51% right?) of banks being well capitalized and everyone instantly bought.  Who are these people/institutions?  That’s the real question.  We’ve heard nothing but bold faced lies about this crisis since it started and people/institutions still listen?  It doesn’t make any sense unless you consider that there must be some sort of buy trigger which is pulled when a gov’t official speaks.  This was very clear to me when Bush gave that speech at the end of last year – you know the really “patriotic one” and the market went to it like a kid to candy.  Thoughts?

  • mike from boston
    Apr 22, 2009 at 7:29 am

    hey stacy, you should make it so that when you click the links, they open in a new tab in firefox… would save a us a few extra clicks. cheers! -mike

  • Mike/Liverpool
    Apr 22, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Stacy
    Is there any chance of Max making a statment ref the UK Budget???????
    Mike

  • Rich
    Apr 22, 2009 at 9:43 am

    @sharon:

    When reading articles like the one in the Telegraph, to make it intellectually palatable, I imagine ’Winston Smith’ (from George Orwell’s 1984) wrote it. Then I am able to get something out of it, besides nausea.

  • Chris
    Apr 22, 2009 at 10:02 am

    That headline is wrong.  It should say UK yearly DEFICIT is $L  90 billion.  The UK ‘s DEBT according to the article is over 700 billion pounds.

    Of course that’s chump change compared to the US’s $12 trillion DEBT.

  • Dustin
    Apr 22, 2009 at 10:59 am

    Looks to me that countrys are getting so into debt that they wont have any choice but to join a new one world goverment start over system.
     Not long for the globalist cabal to spring the trap. fuckers.

    Max and Stacey, thanks for all the info since  2006 iirc when i first started learning about real finance. keep it up.

  • Veritas
    Apr 22, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    A new Internet game:
    Look at these pictures.
    http://www.foundshit.com/dubai-construction-leak/

    Then, say this ten times fast:
    Dubai Doom, Dubai Doom, Dubai Doom…

  • Ben
    Apr 23, 2009 at 2:23 am

    Hi Max and Stacy,
    I dont know it this stuff is true but take a look at this !!  Its Chilling !!! 

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/14227076/Behind-the-Curtain4909

    and this

    PAUL B. FARRELL
    Jack Bauer can’t stop ‘The Goldman Conspiracy’
    10 reasons why Wall Street has absolute power over America’s democracy