...and just to change topics and reflect on a previous post last week wishing that gold would stabilize at 925, it's there now. Now let's see if it can stabilize.
I grew up in the oil fields, I know his Breed! It is now or never! They could also us solar panels to back up the non windy days on those Wind Farms...there are many ways to do it...Yes the inital cost would be high but isn't the price of building an infastructure in any form expensive ? If it is an alturnitive to the problem, don't you think in time it would pay for itself 10 fold! I DO!
<< <i>People like T. Boone are the last of a dying breed, most of them are gone so enjoy the last of them, there won't be another group like this ever. >>
<< <i>So when T. Boone tells ya' that he's 80 years old and has 4 Billion dollars and doesn't need the money, believe it and listen to what he tells you because he is no fool and he has no game and that's not just an attitude, that's his life. >>
"Bongo drive 1984 Lincoln that looks like old coin dug from ground."
so basically all the gold bug email and websites will be quiet a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains 9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold here we come!".
guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish.
I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years.
just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards gold.
<< <i>so basically all the gold bug email and websites will be quiet a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains 9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold here we come!".
guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish.
I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years.
just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards gold. >>
A lot of smart people would agree with you.
But none of the major trends has reversed. There's less oil and more money in the orld than there was yesterday. Demand for commodities is still contin- uing to increase.
Something could snap and cause a recession but until it affects the emerging economies I'll be watching for more pressure on the dollar.
Today is mostly just a relief rally caused by the drop in oil prices. This is being caused largely because everyone was sure oil was going higher so it has to drop to the $95 area. It won't stay there. One day people will wake up and it will be cold and they'll remember winter comes very year and oil will come right back up. I have a hunch that we are starting to see some real conservation imposed by the high prices as well.
We can easily achieve a 15% reduction without even cutting into the 40% was- tage built into the system. But much of the world is growing at 7% and this re- duction here won't help for long. There isn't a lot of waste built into other econ- omies.
Look for a little uptick in oil production the next time oil heads higher too. This is unlikely to be significant for four of five years and by time traditional oil sources will be falling more precipitously.
I think the best bet is the the tug of war will continue and inflation will win.
so basically all the gold bug email and websites will be quiet a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains 9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold here we come!". Guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish. I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years. just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards
We all place our bets and hope for the best.
Imo $1500 gold is a lock within 3 years. $1200 by next year. Gold will plow through $1000 this year. The gain will be multiples more than 9%. So far everyone keeps calling for the death of gold and they've been wrong since $400/oz. When several things in the economy have been fixed, then we might be getting close to a turnaround. But we don't have even 1 thing yet. Guess there's something "magic" about $1000 that is linked to man's ancient instincts. But it's just another number to take out.
The economic "disaster in waiting" is already here in the guise of the FED and all it's insolvent brethren banks and GSE's. This is why $1500 gold cannot be avoided. It's simple mathematics that a minimun $20 TRILLION in derivatives (out of $1 QUAD) will be lost by TPTB in the near future. Someone has to pay for that. The best the FED and Treasury can do now is smoke and mirrors and some blustery talk in public. For now the sheeple and traders buy it. So be it. It doesn't change the fact that most of the big banks/brokerages are insolvent with several teetering on immediate bankruptcy. The FED just keeps stalling for more time to see how many more life boats they can get in the water for their friends before everyone else realizes the emperor has no clothes. It's a matter on when, not if. It's not the oil, dollar, housing problems, or Iraq that concern me, but rather the $1 QUAD. in bets that cannot be even remotely followed through on. This is the financial tsunami that can kill the economy and makes all other problems look miniscule.
$700 gold is entirely possible....but only on the way to $1500. When T. Boone Pickens calls gold dead...that's when $1500 is right around the corner.
"Pickens's Newmont Bid Is Raised by $10, to $105 By ROBERT J. COLE
LEAD: Keeping up the pressure against the Newmont Mining Corporation, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who is head of an investor group that owns almost 10 percent of Newmont, raised his offer to buy the company to $105 a share yesterday, or $6.3 billion, in cash.
Keeping up the pressure against the Newmont Mining Corporation, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who is head of an investor group that owns almost 10 percent of Newmont, raised his offer to buy the company to $105 a share yesterday, or $6.3 billion, in cash. "
I have a feeling he still owns some Newmont. If not, that was a bad call.
Gasoline sales are finally slowing in the US as the prices are now reaching $3.40 nationwide heading for near $4 by Memorial Day driving season (notice the strength in retailers today - woo hoo, ignoring all the facts again)... at some point higher price points create demand destruction - we finally appear to be reaching those levels.
Boone Pickens, a billionaire energy investor, said he reversed course and adopted a long position on oil, meaning he is betting the price of crude will rise. Pickens, 79, the founder and chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, said today in a speech at Georgetown University that the price of crude oil will only continue to climb and demand will eventually be dampened. ``The position is long, not short,'' Pickens told reporters after his speech. ``I covered the short position, it was a mistake on my part. We missed.'' Crude oil futures in New York touched $115.54 a barrel today, the highest intraday price since trading began in 1983.
Pickens said he thought oil was approaching $125 a barrel. Oil will eventually reach $150 per barrel, he said while cautioning ``I won't be investing in $150 oil.''
Pickens said his BP Capital Energy Equity Fund fell 21 percent in the first quarter of this year. Since 2001, the fund has grown 800 percent, he said. (even the best make mistakes) World oil supplies won't exceed 85 million barrels a day because of high depletion rates of existing wells, he said in his speech. This lends credence to his long position. ``There is only 85 million barrels of oil globally in the market coming a day and I don't think you can increase that 85 million,'' Pickens said.
World oil demand during the four years ending 2008 is rising at an average annualized pace of about 1.4 percent, according to International Energy Agency forecasts.
I didn't know that T. Boone owned 10% of NEM and was offering to buy the company for $105 share...which by the way seems like a strong offer. Is he trying to buy it for the cartel? (ie Barrick, JPM and the boys?).
A summary of the banking crisis to date so we know for posterity where things stood on 7/24/08. Mish feels a massive deflation is coming and does not subscribe to the hyperinflationary scenario. In any case these are 25 good reasons to steer clear of banks unless maybe if you are shorting them (legally of course).
You Know The Banking System Is Unsound When... Mike "Mish" Shedlock Jul 24, 2008
1. Paulson appears on Face The Nation and says "Our banking system is a safe and a sound one." If the banking system was safe and sound, everyone would know it (or at least think it). There would be no need to say it.
2. Paulson says the list of troubled banks "is a very manageable situation". The reality is there are 90 banks on the list of problem banks. Indymac was not one of them until a month before it collapsed. How many other banks will magically appear on the list a month before they collapse?
3. In a Northern Rock moment, depositors at Indymac pull out their cash. Police had to be called in to ensure order.
4. Washington Mutual (WM), another troubled bank, refused to honor Indymac cashier's checks. The irony is it makes no sense for customers to pull insured deposits out of Indymac after it went into receivership. The second irony is the last place one would want to put those funds would be Washington Mutual. Eventually Washington Mutual decided it would take those checks but with an 8 week hold. Will Washington Mutual even be around 8 weeks from now?
5. Paulson asked for "Congressional authority to buy unlimited stakes in and lend to Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE)" just days after he said "Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail". Obviously Paulson is reporting from the 5th dimension. In some alternate universe, his statements just might make sense.
6. Former Fed Governor William Poole says "Fannie Mae, Freddie Losses Makes Them Insolvent".
7. Paulson says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "essential" because they represent the only "functioning" part of the home loan market. The firms own or guarantee about half of the $12 trillion in U.S. mortgages. Is it possible to have a sound banking system when the only "functioning" part of the mortgage market is insolvent?
8. Bernanke testified before Congress on monetary policy but did not comment on either money supply or interest rates. The word "money" did not appear at all in his testimony. The only time "interest rate" appeared in his testimony was in relation to consumer credit card rates. How can you have any reasonable economic policy when the Fed chairman is scared half to death to discuss interest rates and money supply?
9. The SEC issued a protective order to protect those most responsible for naked short selling. As long as the investment banks and brokers were making money engaging in naked shorting of stocks, there was no problem. However, when the bears began using the tactic against the big financials, it became time to selectively enforce the existing regulation.
10. The Fed takes emergency actions twice during options expirations week in regards to the discount window and rate cuts.
11. The SEC takes emergency action during options expirations week regarding short sales.
12. The Fed has implemented an alphabet soup of pawn shop lending facilities whereby the Fed accepts garbage as collateral in exchange for treasuries. Those new Fed lending facilities are called the Term Auction Facility (TAF), the Term Security Lending Facility (TSLF), and the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF).
13. Citigroup (C), Lehman (LEH), Morgan Stanley(MS), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merrill Lynch (MER) all have a huge percentage of level 3 assets. Level 3 assets are commonly known as "marked to fantasy" assets. In other words, the value of those assets is significantly if not ridiculously overvalued in comparison to what those assets would fetch on the open market. It is debatable if any of the above firms survive in their present form. Some may not survive in any form.
14. Bernanke openly solicits private equity firms to invest in banks. Is this even close to a remotely normal action for Fed chairman to take?
15. Bear Stearns was taken over by JPMorgan (JPM) days after insuring investors it had plenty of capital. Fears are high that Lehman will suffer the same fate. Worse yet, the Fed had to guarantee the shotgun marriage between Bear Stearns and JP Morgan by providing as much as $30 billion in capital. JPMorgan is responsible for only the first 1/2 billion. Taxpayers are on the hook for all the rest. Was this a legal action for the Fed to take? Does the Fed care?
16. Citigroup needed a cash injection from Abu Dhabi and a second one elsewhere. Then after announcing it would not need more capital is raising still more. The latest news is Citigroup will sell $500 billion in assets. To who? At what price?
17. Merrill Lynch raised $6.6 billion in capital from Kuwait Mizuho, announced it did not need to raise more capital, then raised more capital a few week later.
18. Morgan Stanley sold a 9.9% equity stake to China International Corp. CEO John Mack compensated by not taking his bonus. How generous. Morgan Stanley fell from $72 to $37. Did CEO John Mack deserve a paycheck at all?
19. Bank of America (BAC) agreed to take over Countywide Financial (CFC) and twice announced Countrywide will add profits to B of A. Inquiring minds were asking "How the hell can Countrywide add to Bank of America earnings?" Here's how. Bank of America just announced it will not guarantee $38.1 billion in Countrywide debt. Questions over "Fraudulent Conveyance" are now surfacing.
20. Washington Mutual agreed to a death spiral cash infusion of $7 billion accepting an offer at $8.75 when the stock was over $13 at the time. Washington Mutual has since fallen in waterfall fashion from $40 and is now trading near $5.00 after a huge rally.
21. Shares of Ambac (ABK) fell from $90 to $2.50. Shares of MBIA (MBI) fell from $70 to $5. Sadly, the top three rating agencies kept their rating on the pair at AAA nearly all the way down. No one can believe anything the government sponsored rating agencies say.
22. In a panic set of moves, the Fed slashed interest rates from 5.25% to 2%. This was the fastest, steepest drop on record. Ironically, the Fed chairman spoke of inflation concerns the entire drop down. Bernanke clearly cannot tell the truth. He does not have to. Actions speak louder than words.
23. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the FDIC is looking for ways to shore up its depleted deposit fund, including charging higher premiums on riskier brokered deposits.
24. There is roughly $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. $2.60 Trillion of that is uninsured. There is only $53 billion in FDIC insurance to cover $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. Indymac will eat up roughly $8 billion of that.
25. Of the $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits, the total cash on hand at banks is a mere $273.7 Billion. Where is the rest of the loot? The answer is in off balance sheet SIVs, imploding commercial real estate deals, Alt-A liar loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds, toggle bonds where debt is amazingly paid back with more debt, and all sorts of other silly (and arguably fraudulent) financial wizardry schemes that have bank and brokerage firms leveraged at 30-1 or more. Those loans cannot be paid back.
What cannot be paid back will be defaulted on. If you did not know it before, you do now. The entire US banking system is insolvent.
Roadrunner, is it possible that the Insurance Companies will come in and buy up these Banks, for their assets such as buildings and such? Yes, they will not be liable for the bad debts...but they could remain in business with the moneies they receive from the Insurance Companies getting the Monkey off their backs.
I would question on how sound some of the insurance companies are. They also are involved in many of these financial games, since deregulation occurred.
Tincup there is one thing this Country has that no other will ever have...and that is one Hell of a Rich Insurance Conglomerate! They are not tied to any banks they are regulated under a totally different system....maybe an insurance person will jump in here! They do not even insure all of their own policies...they insure only 1/10 and another 9 insurance companies will insure the rest...by law they are to have so many dollars for every $ they write...much different than banks. The 1/10 allows for insurance companies to fail and the others not be hurt to badly by picking up the pieces. Even if they are owned and have different Names (The Insurance Companies) they are all tied together under an umbrella so to speak by law!
There is one Huge pot that each insurance company throws money into(this is the umbrella)They all throw in equal amounts and it sits and grows and grows and grows...Think of all the insurance policies that have been written and never never been payed out...You just do not know how rich the Insurance business is.
In times like these you can see now how insurance companies become large owner of High Priced Real estate!
I don't know for sure, but I bet FDIC is insured by the Insurance Conglomerate and is covered by this umbrella...
They will buy the Banks assets and the banks will be back in business....but now renters!
If the banks do not own their own Real Estate then you will see what happened in California....FDIC takes them over.
Someone else here has raised the deflation possibility before.
Deflation is also Bernanke's biggest concern. But for him to come out and say it when the populace sees rising prices everyday would put him in the psycho ward.
<< <i>Two fed myths that need debunking from CNN The article implies that the Fed has a limitless supply of money. That is the main problem. Here's how it works. If an institution borrows, say, $50 billion from the Fed, the Fed can just post a $50 billion credit to the bank's account at the Fed, and the borrower can spend that balance on whatever it wants. It is indeed as if the Fed created cash out of nothing. And if the Fed somehow needed more than $800 billion of Treasury securities, it could buy them in the open market, and deposit the payment for them in the seller's Fed account. That way, the Fed could lay its hands on however many Treasury securities it needed. >>
Finally. Fortune got it right. Maybe within a couple of years, the truth about the Fed will be mainstream. Once that shock is over, the fact is we can't dismantle all at once......the problems it's already caused would be exacerbated by killing it. A gradual unwinding will probably take place, and that will bring up a huge amount of international distrust, and........well, I prefer to collect coins.
Tincup, Insurance deregulation has noting to do with an insurance claim or policy...the only thing Insurance deregulation deals with is the cost of pricing insurance policies before it is sold to a client! It has nothing to do with the insurance policy itself and does not change the laws governing the Insurance business.
The FDIC was created after the GREAT DEPRESSION, just so our NATION would never see a great depression again...our Forefathers once again had a wonderful idea and this is a test to see if it works!
<< <i>The FDIC was created after the GREAT DEPRESSION, just so our NATION would never see a great depression again...our Forefathers once again had a wonderful idea and this is a test to see if it works! >>
And slowly but surely, as those who remembered the Depression died out, we began repealing their regulations and repeating their mistakes...
The Laws regarding Insurance companies have long been in force since the 1800's, very few laws have changed regarding insurance...the only thing that came about was the deregulating and that only deals with pricing of policies...The only thing that the White House has done is challenge the laws set by our forefathers as long as there is an FDIC this nation shall thrive!!! The first test of the Insurance companies was when they GAVE OUR NATION the money to TOOL UP for WWII and they footed the bill!
Insurance companies do not get rich by making mistakes...some have failed, yes they have, but very few...tell me when the last insurance company failed?
So why is it that the FDIC insurance has not kept pace with inflation i.e. the printing presses?
My memory only goes so far back but it seems to me the FDIC insured deposits to $100,000 some 25 years ago?
This insurance should be at least $300,000 per account by now.
In the latest IndyMac closure some 10,000 account,s worth billions, were not paid by the FDIC. One poor lady I saw on T.V. was taking here IndyMac check to WaMu, poor thing! Another had a $110,000 C.D. and her son’s $6,000 savings account for his motorcycle in her name, down the tubes!
A report came out today that the Chicago Cubs was going to sell for ONE BILLION, does the FDIC and the Feds know how little $100,000 is today?
As you enter a bank...usually on the door it states FDIC insured...Up until now most people have not had to worry about it but now many do...If people would have questioned it's meaning they would have found that it means your money is insured $1 for $1 up to $100K....after that your up a creek! Now the old saying goes and this is also from our forefathers, never keep all your eggs in one basket! So many sayings from our forefathers are sayings that have a great deal of meaning, and through your life you will begin to understand them.
FDIC, is an insurance company owned by the Government...but it does not matter wheather it is owned by the Government or it is an independent Insurance Company...Under the laws that govern Insurance companies their laws and by laws are governed by their officials...what they deem reasonable is their game! Yes they are out to profit from times like we have now...and believe me they do...but at least you get some of your money back and are not left with an empty bag, like many were back in the Great Depression...believe me things could be worse...If you feel lke $100K is not enough then you need to talk to your Insurance Comapnay, which ever one you have does not make any differnce...they are all tied together and find out how you can make changes. It is political just like everything else it goes through a chain of command, but I tell you we would be worse off if it did not exist.
FDIC, is an insurance company owned by the Government...
It was my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the FDIC just a pool of interest money residing in a fund collected by the banking industry, able to pay out on failed banks and their accounts? Since when are insurance companies involved with FDIC...unless the bank is associated with its own insurance company....for example USAA insurance and USAA bank/credit.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation created by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance which currently guarantees checking and savings deposits in member banks up to $100,000 per depositor. The vast number of bank failures in the Great Depression spurred the United States Congress into creating an institution which would guarantee deposits held by commercial banks, inspired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).
You can also see that nothing since 1933 has changed about it....it still only insures $100K per depositor!
Nope, it is an insurance company which provides banks with insurance against $$$ losses of enormous magnitude!
Banks who wish to be insured buy insurance from FDIC...if they are not, you should run fast! FDIC is an insurance company!
It started out at 40K and was later raised to 100K.
You can actually get coverage up to $50 Million from the FDIC:
_________________________________
Things get trickier for people who stash more than $100,000 at any one institution. These people can stretch their coverage if they have IRAs or other retirement accounts ($250,000 in coverage per depositor per banking company), or if they use living trusts or payable-on-death titling arrangements, which offer protection for each named beneficiary. Jointly held accounts provide still more coverage, since each person's shares in joint accounts held at the same bank are added together and qualify for a separate $100,000.
Q: I'm concerned about the number of businesses that have millions of dollars in accounts because it's not practical for them to open 20, 30 or more accounts.
A: You can split your money among a virtually unlimited number of banks to augment coverage. But if you don't want to deal with all that, consider a service offered by Promontory Interfinancial Network (www.promnetwork.com). The company spreads large deposits among different banks in its network, but customers get a single statement and deal only with their home bank. Customers can access up to $50 million in FDIC coverage.
Coinboy, here again you are getting into insurance policies offered by the bank...through an insurance company.."living trusts or payable-on-death titling arrangements, which offer protection for each named beneficiary.", these would not be covered by FDIC, but by another insurance company. Banks have many products that are not FDIC insured but are insured by other insurers. People are just going to have to read their product prospectus and figure out what they will need to do in order to get this straightened out.
I am very happy that the Government has the FDIC in place, I just do not like how some have manipulated our financial system into and endless downward spiral of such great proportions knowing that the FDIC would be there to back the system up...To me this is wrong and there should be hell to pay for letting it go this far...Whom ever orchestrated this and allowed to orchestrate this injustice should be tried for treason...I hope that the Insurance companies find out and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law!
Many innocent people will lose at least half of their life savings and the insurance companies have been hit with massive payouts from nothing but FRAUD! This was aimed at our Financial backbone of our nation causing severe harm to our country.
For it to have gone this far, it is deep and wide spread...and the regulators allowing it, sad state of affairs.
You want to go back in time Coinboy...this could be a Great Depression if that system was again put back into use! I do not think we want to retrace those tracks, ever!
Most people don't realize why we've had it so good for the past 40-60 years. It wasn't just because of manufacturing, hard work, or plain old luck. What gets abused on the way up, unwinds rather quickly on the way down.
.....Now the lesson here is that the unthinkable has occurred. We have expanded the money supply (and commensurate debt) more than 1000-fold in less than 40 years, yet no one really thinks that we have expanded economic growth and real wealth to anything near that level.
Rather, the excess money has resulted in a series of rotating inflationary bubbles. Bubbles in commodities, consumer prices, and wages are seen as bad, while inflation in stock and real estate assets are seen as good. But both are symptomatic of an unsustainable system doomed to failure, as Congressman Paul explains:
Ironically, in the past 35 years, we have benefitted from this very flawed system. Because the world accepted dollars as if they were gold, we only had to counterfeit more dollars, spend them overseas...and enjoy our unearned prosperity. Those who took our dollars and gave us goods and services were only two anxious to loan those dollars back to us. This allowed us to export our inflation and delay the consequences we are now starting to see. But it was never destined to last, and we now have to pay the piper....Printing dollars over long periods of time may not immediately push prices up -- yet in time it always does. Now we're seeing catch-up for past inflating of the money supply. As bad as it is today with $4 a gallon gasoline, this is just the beginning.
The FDIC is only as strong as our dollar is and the ability to print it. If we wanted to bail out the entire country by printing a few dozen TRILLION FRN's, we'd end up looking like Zimbabwe. Be careful what you wish for. The FDIC guarantee will someday just be words such that $100K will be pennies on the dollar again. The $25 BILL estimate to bail out Fannie/Freddie will prove to be no more accurate than the cost of the Iraqi war. Figure a minimum of 20X that figure. $500 BILLION. Just another 6 months of debt.
<< <i>Insurance companies do not get rich by making mistakes...some have failed, yes they have, but very few...tell me when the last insurance company failed? >>
many are taken under the wing of their States DOI, similar to a BK reorganization, often they come out of it.
others are "bought" by existing insurance companies, then absorbed into that company, b4 failure...i used to work for two of them.
in CA there is a fund called CIGA (no RR it is not what you think...lol) CA Insurance Guarantee Association, where a fund of money is collected to guarantee claims should a company go under. at the time no money is collected into the fund but years a go a small % of the policy premium was paid for...by policyholders....to get the fund to a cetrtain level deemed safe. If that (CIGA) fails other "admitted companies" are obligated to pay other admitted insurnce companies claims, at least that is a broad stroke of how it works in CA.
on a side note (directed to the audience) why are profits from an insurance company so "evil" after a year of profitability, then after a year of paying billions for disasters, they are also "evil" for raising rates? insurance is NOT a fun thing to buy, there is no joy in it, especially if you never "use" it. few understand the concept, partially to blame is thr insurance industry. i could go on but only a couple of you have read this far...
Prediction: Gold and the Dow Jones Industrial Average will meet somewhere between 4000 and 5000.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
RoadRunner, it is true that the FDIC is only as strong as the dollar, but it is also all that we have...and yes it is pretty worthless, but it still buys our needs for now! For how much longer who knows! It sure is a sign though that things must change...the damage has been going on like you say for years and no one ever stopped to find a way to correct it...there are always turning points and always a point of no return. We as a people are Living in the most wonderful country in the world...we still have the means to take care of ourselves and this must be our first priority and never become dependent on any Nation for our needs!
Yes Insurance is not a nice thing in most instances..House, Car, Life, Medical...most of this insurance is payed and never used and it is lost money to most...But it is that one instance that could destroy you that makes you buy it! Just ask those who have been ravaged by fire or had a severe auto accident! Yes it can be an evil thing but in the same instance it can be Heaven sent!
My area was hit with Micro Burst a couple of years ago...it is not a tornado but close to it...Many home lost their roofs and it was in October...to this day there are some homes who's roofs never got repaired and these people have now lost everything they had...I live in Chicago and there is quite a bit of snow rain and all kinds of weather...these are the people who had no insurance...so which is more evil...to have insurance or not! Both ways cost a lot of money!
The FDIC is only as strong as our dollar is and the ability to print it. If we wanted to bail out the entire country by printing a few dozen TRILLION FRN's, we'd end up looking like Zimbabwe. Be careful what you wish for. The FDIC guarantee will someday just be words such that $100K will be pennies on the dollar again. The $25 BILL estimate to bail out Fannie/Freddie will prove to be no more accurate than the cost of the Iraqi war. Figure a minimum of 20X that figure. $500 BILLION. Just another 6 months of debt.
roadrunner >>
rr, I would like to add that the dollar is only as strong as our military. Throughout history that has been the case, generally. If we are weighed and measured as push overs...we're done.
I believe that if our military were to be "UN'd" our currency would crash even more like many South and Central American currencies did in the past 30 years.
I am not an insurance person...and up until a couple of years ago I knew nothing of insurance either! But what I have learned over the last couple of years, I have come to respect what Insurance really stands for! It is an Industry that is the backbone of the security of our nation! I would have never dreamt that Insurance companies have the responsibility they do to our Nation! Now I can pay my insurance policies and know my Nation will remain Liquid if you will...It is an insight that Our Forefathers had through experiencing hard times, they came up with a way to protect us all, but we never learned of this up until now. I find the Insurance business one HELL of an INVENTION!
It's a bit strange that the government always waits to announce/step in on failed banks until Friday after trading ends or on the weekend. The oft touted "free market" system does not really exist - what we do have is a system where clearly defined big players manipulate the market to suck the most out of the average investor. When the market goes up a little because of this manipulation, the same people that control the market broadcast it loudly on the media outlets (which they also conveniently own), sucking more money into investments that will eventually give you back 80¢ on a dollar in today's economic environment. When things start looking bleak, the powers that be find it in themselves to look at the big picture and take a small hit to prop up the market for a time, but it seems that the props are lasting for a lesser time with each of these events. Metals look pretty good when you consider the alternatives.
<< <i>It's a bit strange that the government always waits to announce/step in on failed banks until Friday after trading ends or on the weekend. >>
It's not strange, it's intentional. Sometimes they need a couple days -- when banks are already closed anyway -- to find a new institution to step in and take over the failed one. If they did it on a Wednesday morning, there would be a panic and a classic "bank run" to make a tenuous situation many times worse. As long as they can have everything stable by Monday morning, there's less need for panic.
California, Arizona and Nevada. The only thing shocking about this is that it doesn't include Florida. There were just too many toxic mortgages written in those places, written on little more than the Greater Fool Theory to "protect" the banks.
Yeap, that insurance policy pays you every month like clock work...could buy you guns, butter, peas and cornbread and whatever else you would want in a depression....when others would have nothing....guns would be a real good idea then!
Looks like those gas prices are gonna come on down...Looks like T Boone Picket is shaking some rattles! If it falls to 50 cents we still need to tell foreign oil to take a hike! Come on T Boone! I love his name T. Boone Picket...now that is a real Southern Name!
<< <i>Looks like those gas prices are gonna come on down...Looks like T Boone Picket is shaking some rattles! If it falls to 50 cents we still need to tell foreign oil to take a hike! Come on T Boone! I love his name T. Boone Picket...now that is a real Southern Name! >>
It's T. Boone Pickens. Do you still like his name?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Comments
<< <i>People like T. Boone are the last of a dying breed, most of them are gone so enjoy the last of them, there won't be another group like this ever. >>
<< <i>So when T. Boone tells ya' that he's 80 years old and has 4 Billion dollars and doesn't need the money, believe it and listen to what he tells you because he is no fool and he has no game and that's not just an attitude, that's his life. >>
a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains
9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold
here we come!".
guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish.
I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next
years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years.
just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards
gold.
<< <i>so basically all the gold bug email and websites will be quiet
a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains
9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold
here we come!".
guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish.
I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next
years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years.
just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards
gold. >>
A lot of smart people would agree with you.
But none of the major trends has reversed. There's less oil and more money
in the orld than there was yesterday. Demand for commodities is still contin-
uing to increase.
Something could snap and cause a recession but until it affects the emerging
economies I'll be watching for more pressure on the dollar.
Today is mostly just a relief rally caused by the drop in oil prices. This is being
caused largely because everyone was sure oil was going higher so it has to
drop to the $95 area. It won't stay there. One day people will wake up and it
will be cold and they'll remember winter comes very year and oil will come right
back up. I have a hunch that we are starting to see some real conservation
imposed by the high prices as well.
We can easily achieve a 15% reduction without even cutting into the 40% was-
tage built into the system. But much of the world is growing at 7% and this re-
duction here won't help for long. There isn't a lot of waste built into other econ-
omies.
Look for a little uptick in oil production the next time oil heads higher too. This
is unlikely to be significant for four of five years and by time traditional oil sources
will be falling more precipitously.
I think the best bet is the the tug of war will continue and inflation will win.
of Governments from ancient Greece, to the Roman Empire to today
and the US Congress. Nothing changes but the players. It is always
the same play and the citizens are left holding on to their socks.
Camelot
a few days/months/etc... until the next point where gold gains
9% and say "this is it!". "economic disaster!". "1500 dollar gold
here we come!". Guys and gals... the profit they were speaking of has already happened.... 350 to 950ish.
I truly do not expect this 1500 gold thing to happen in the next
years.... Matter of fact I think 700 is more likely in a few years.
just my two cents. thought i would chime in with how i feel towards
We all place our bets and hope for the best.
Imo $1500 gold is a lock within 3 years. $1200 by next year. Gold will plow through $1000 this year. The gain will be multiples more than 9%. So far everyone keeps calling for the death of gold and they've been wrong since $400/oz. When several things in the economy have been fixed, then we might be getting close to a turnaround. But we don't have even 1 thing yet. Guess there's something "magic" about $1000 that is linked to man's ancient instincts. But it's just another number to take out.
The economic "disaster in waiting" is already here in the guise of the FED and all it's insolvent brethren banks and GSE's. This is why $1500 gold cannot be avoided. It's simple mathematics that a minimun $20 TRILLION in derivatives (out of $1 QUAD) will be lost by TPTB in the near future. Someone has to pay for that. The best the FED and Treasury can do now is smoke and mirrors and some blustery talk in public. For now the sheeple and traders buy it. So be it. It doesn't change the fact that most of the big banks/brokerages are insolvent with several teetering on immediate bankruptcy. The FED just keeps stalling for more time to see how many more life boats they can get in the water for their friends before everyone else realizes the emperor has no clothes. It's a matter on when, not if. It's not the oil, dollar, housing problems, or Iraq that concern me, but rather the $1 QUAD. in bets that cannot be even remotely followed through on. This is the financial tsunami that can kill the economy and makes all other problems look miniscule.
$700 gold is entirely possible....but only on the way to $1500.
When T. Boone Pickens calls gold dead...that's when $1500 is right around the corner.
roadrunner
He did?
Published: September 16, 1987
"Pickens's Newmont Bid Is Raised by $10, to $105
By ROBERT J. COLE
LEAD: Keeping up the pressure against the Newmont Mining Corporation, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who is head of an investor group that owns almost 10 percent of Newmont, raised his offer to buy the company to $105 a share yesterday, or $6.3 billion, in cash.
Keeping up the pressure against the Newmont Mining Corporation, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who is head of an investor group that owns almost 10 percent of Newmont, raised his offer to buy the company to $105 a share yesterday, or $6.3 billion, in cash. "
I have a feeling he still owns some Newmont. If not, that was a bad call.
Gasoline sales are finally slowing in the US as the prices are now reaching $3.40 nationwide heading for near $4 by Memorial Day driving season (notice the strength in retailers today - woo hoo, ignoring all the facts again)... at some point higher price points create demand destruction - we finally appear to be reaching those levels.
Boone Pickens, a billionaire energy investor, said he reversed course and adopted a long position on oil, meaning he is betting the price of crude will rise. Pickens, 79, the founder and chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, said today in a speech at Georgetown University that the price of crude oil will only continue to climb and demand will eventually be dampened.
``The position is long, not short,'' Pickens told reporters after his speech. ``I covered the short position, it was a mistake on my part. We missed.''
Crude oil futures in New York touched $115.54 a barrel today, the highest intraday price since trading began in 1983.
Pickens said he thought oil was approaching $125 a barrel. Oil will eventually reach $150 per barrel, he said while cautioning ``I won't be investing in $150 oil.''
Pickens said his BP Capital Energy Equity Fund fell 21 percent in the first quarter of this year. Since 2001, the fund has grown 800 percent, he said. (even the best make mistakes)
World oil supplies won't exceed 85 million barrels a day because of high depletion rates of existing wells, he said in his speech. This lends credence to his long position. ``There is only 85 million barrels of oil globally in the market coming a day and I don't think you can increase that 85 million,'' Pickens said.
World oil demand during the four years ending 2008 is rising at an average annualized pace of about 1.4 percent, according to International Energy Agency forecasts.
A summary of the banking crisis to date so we know for posterity where things stood on 7/24/08. Mish feels a massive deflation is coming and does not subscribe to the hyperinflationary scenario. In any case these are 25 good reasons to steer clear of banks unless maybe if you are shorting them (legally of course).
You Know The Banking System Is Unsound When...
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
Jul 24, 2008
1. Paulson appears on Face The Nation and says "Our banking system is a safe and a sound one." If the banking system was safe and sound, everyone would know it (or at least think it). There would be no need to say it.
2. Paulson says the list of troubled banks "is a very manageable situation". The reality is there are 90 banks on the list of problem banks. Indymac was not one of them until a month before it collapsed. How many other banks will magically appear on the list a month before they collapse?
3. In a Northern Rock moment, depositors at Indymac pull out their cash. Police had to be called in to ensure order.
4. Washington Mutual (WM), another troubled bank, refused to honor Indymac cashier's checks. The irony is it makes no sense for customers to pull insured deposits out of Indymac after it went into receivership. The second irony is the last place one would want to put those funds would be Washington Mutual. Eventually Washington Mutual decided it would take those checks but with an 8 week hold. Will Washington Mutual even be around 8 weeks from now?
5. Paulson asked for "Congressional authority to buy unlimited stakes in and lend to Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE)" just days after he said "Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail". Obviously Paulson is reporting from the 5th dimension. In some alternate universe, his statements just might make sense.
6. Former Fed Governor William Poole says "Fannie Mae, Freddie Losses Makes Them Insolvent".
7. Paulson says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "essential" because they represent the only "functioning" part of the home loan market. The firms own or guarantee about half of the $12 trillion in U.S. mortgages. Is it possible to have a sound banking system when the only "functioning" part of the mortgage market is insolvent?
8. Bernanke testified before Congress on monetary policy but did not comment on either money supply or interest rates. The word "money" did not appear at all in his testimony. The only time "interest rate" appeared in his testimony was in relation to consumer credit card rates. How can you have any reasonable economic policy when the Fed chairman is scared half to death to discuss interest rates and money supply?
9. The SEC issued a protective order to protect those most responsible for naked short selling. As long as the investment banks and brokers were making money engaging in naked shorting of stocks, there was no problem. However, when the bears began using the tactic against the big financials, it became time to selectively enforce the existing regulation.
10. The Fed takes emergency actions twice during options expirations week in regards to the discount window and rate cuts.
11. The SEC takes emergency action during options expirations week regarding short sales.
12. The Fed has implemented an alphabet soup of pawn shop lending facilities whereby the Fed accepts garbage as collateral in exchange for treasuries. Those new Fed lending facilities are called the Term Auction Facility (TAF), the Term Security Lending Facility (TSLF), and the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF).
13. Citigroup (C), Lehman (LEH), Morgan Stanley(MS), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merrill Lynch (MER) all have a huge percentage of level 3 assets. Level 3 assets are commonly known as "marked to fantasy" assets. In other words, the value of those assets is significantly if not ridiculously overvalued in comparison to what those assets would fetch on the open market. It is debatable if any of the above firms survive in their present form. Some may not survive in any form.
14. Bernanke openly solicits private equity firms to invest in banks. Is this even close to a remotely normal action for Fed chairman to take?
15. Bear Stearns was taken over by JPMorgan (JPM) days after insuring investors it had plenty of capital. Fears are high that Lehman will suffer the same fate. Worse yet, the Fed had to guarantee the shotgun marriage between Bear Stearns and JP Morgan by providing as much as $30 billion in capital. JPMorgan is responsible for only the first 1/2 billion. Taxpayers are on the hook for all the rest. Was this a legal action for the Fed to take? Does the Fed care?
16. Citigroup needed a cash injection from Abu Dhabi and a second one elsewhere. Then after announcing it would not need more capital is raising still more. The latest news is Citigroup will sell $500 billion in assets. To who? At what price?
17. Merrill Lynch raised $6.6 billion in capital from Kuwait Mizuho, announced it did not need to raise more capital, then raised more capital a few week later.
18. Morgan Stanley sold a 9.9% equity stake to China International Corp. CEO John Mack compensated by not taking his bonus. How generous. Morgan Stanley fell from $72 to $37. Did CEO John Mack deserve a paycheck at all?
19. Bank of America (BAC) agreed to take over Countywide Financial (CFC) and twice announced Countrywide will add profits to B of A. Inquiring minds were asking "How the hell can Countrywide add to Bank of America earnings?" Here's how. Bank of America just announced it will not guarantee $38.1 billion in Countrywide debt. Questions over "Fraudulent Conveyance" are now surfacing.
20. Washington Mutual agreed to a death spiral cash infusion of $7 billion accepting an offer at $8.75 when the stock was over $13 at the time. Washington Mutual has since fallen in waterfall fashion from $40 and is now trading near $5.00 after a huge rally.
21. Shares of Ambac (ABK) fell from $90 to $2.50. Shares of MBIA (MBI) fell from $70 to $5. Sadly, the top three rating agencies kept their rating on the pair at AAA nearly all the way down. No one can believe anything the government sponsored rating agencies say.
22. In a panic set of moves, the Fed slashed interest rates from 5.25% to 2%. This was the fastest, steepest drop on record. Ironically, the Fed chairman spoke of inflation concerns the entire drop down. Bernanke clearly cannot tell the truth. He does not have to. Actions speak louder than words.
23. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the FDIC is looking for ways to shore up its depleted deposit fund, including charging higher premiums on riskier brokered deposits.
24. There is roughly $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. $2.60 Trillion of that is uninsured. There is only $53 billion in FDIC insurance to cover $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. Indymac will eat up roughly $8 billion of that.
25. Of the $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits, the total cash on hand at banks is a mere $273.7 Billion. Where is the rest of the loot? The answer is in off balance sheet SIVs, imploding commercial real estate deals, Alt-A liar loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds, toggle bonds where debt is amazingly paid back with more debt, and all sorts of other silly (and arguably fraudulent) financial wizardry schemes that have bank and brokerage firms leveraged at 30-1 or more. Those loans cannot be paid back.
What cannot be paid back will be defaulted on. If you did not know it before, you do now. The entire US banking system is insolvent.
roadrunner
There is one Huge pot that each insurance company throws money into(this is the umbrella)They all throw in equal amounts and it sits and grows and grows and grows...Think of all the insurance policies that have been written and never never been payed out...You just do not know how rich the Insurance business is.
In times like these you can see now how insurance companies become large owner of High Priced Real estate!
I don't know for sure, but I bet FDIC is insured by the Insurance Conglomerate and is covered by this umbrella...
They will buy the Banks assets and the banks will be back in business....but now renters!
If the banks do not own their own Real Estate then you will see what happened in California....FDIC takes them over.
Deflation is also Bernanke's biggest concern. But for him to come out and say it when the populace sees rising prices everyday would put him in the psycho ward.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Two fed myths that need debunking from CNN The article implies that the Fed has a limitless supply of money. That is the main problem. Here's how it works. If an institution borrows, say, $50 billion from the Fed, the Fed can just post a $50 billion credit to the bank's account at the Fed, and the borrower can spend that balance on whatever it wants. It is indeed as if the Fed created cash out of nothing. And if the Fed somehow needed more than $800 billion of Treasury securities, it could buy them in the open market, and deposit the payment for them in the seller's Fed account. That way, the Fed could lay its hands on however many Treasury securities it needed. >>
Finally. Fortune got it right. Maybe within a couple of years, the truth about the Fed will be mainstream. Once that shock is over, the fact is we can't dismantle all at once......the problems it's already caused would be exacerbated by killing it. A gradual unwinding will probably take place, and that will bring up a huge amount of international distrust, and........well, I prefer to collect coins.
The FDIC was created after the GREAT DEPRESSION, just so our NATION would never see a great depression again...our Forefathers once again had a wonderful idea and this is a test to see if it works!
<< <i>The FDIC was created after the GREAT DEPRESSION, just so our NATION would never see a great depression again...our Forefathers once again had a wonderful idea and this is a test to see if it works!
And slowly but surely, as those who remembered the Depression died out, we began repealing their regulations and repeating their mistakes...
So why is it that the FDIC insurance has not kept pace with inflation i.e. the printing presses?
My memory only goes so far back but it seems to me the FDIC insured deposits to $100,000 some 25 years ago?
This insurance should be at least $300,000 per account by now.
In the latest IndyMac closure some 10,000 account,s worth billions, were not paid by the FDIC. One poor lady I saw on T.V. was taking here IndyMac check to WaMu, poor thing! Another had a $110,000 C.D. and her son’s $6,000 savings account for his motorcycle in her name, down the tubes!
A report came out today that the Chicago Cubs was going to sell for ONE BILLION, does the FDIC and the Feds know how little $100,000 is today?
There you go, my rant for the week!
Have a great weekend.
It was my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the FDIC just a pool of interest money residing in a fund collected by the banking industry, able to pay out on failed banks and their accounts? Since when are insurance companies involved with FDIC...unless the bank is associated with its own insurance company....for example USAA insurance and USAA bank/credit.
roadrunner
You can also see that nothing since 1933 has changed about it....it still only insures $100K per depositor!
Nope, it is an insurance company which provides banks with insurance against $$$ losses of enormous magnitude!
Banks who wish to be insured buy insurance from FDIC...if they are not, you should run fast! FDIC is an insurance company!
You can actually get coverage up to $50 Million from the FDIC:
_________________________________
Things get trickier for people who stash more than $100,000 at any one institution. These people can stretch their coverage if they have IRAs or other retirement accounts ($250,000 in coverage per depositor per banking company), or if they use living trusts or payable-on-death titling arrangements, which offer protection for each named beneficiary. Jointly held accounts provide still more coverage, since each person's shares in joint accounts held at the same bank are added together and qualify for a separate $100,000.
Q: I'm concerned about the number of businesses that have millions of dollars in accounts because it's not practical for them to open 20, 30 or more accounts.
A: You can split your money among a virtually unlimited number of banks to augment coverage. But if you don't want to deal with all that, consider a service offered by Promontory Interfinancial Network (www.promnetwork.com). The company spreads large deposits among different banks in its network, but customers get a single statement and deal only with their home bank. Customers can access up to $50 million in FDIC coverage.
Good Article on getting $50 Million from FDIC
I am very happy that the Government has the FDIC in place, I just do not like how some have manipulated our financial system into and endless downward spiral of such great proportions knowing that the FDIC would be there to back the system up...To me this is wrong and there should be hell to pay for letting it go this far...Whom ever orchestrated this and allowed to orchestrate this injustice should be tried for treason...I hope that the Insurance companies find out and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law!
Many innocent people will lose at least half of their life savings and the insurance companies have been hit with massive payouts from nothing but FRAUD! This was aimed at our Financial backbone of our nation causing severe harm to our country.
For it to have gone this far, it is deep and wide spread...and the regulators allowing it, sad state of affairs.
Frankly, I hate the Fractional Reserve Banking through a Central Bank system we have in the USA.
Lets issue GreenBacks from the Treasury like Lincoln did!
.....Now the lesson here is that the unthinkable has occurred. We have expanded the money supply (and commensurate debt) more than 1000-fold in less than 40 years, yet no one really thinks that we have expanded economic growth and real wealth to anything near that level.
Rather, the excess money has resulted in a series of rotating inflationary bubbles. Bubbles in commodities, consumer prices, and wages are seen as bad, while inflation in stock and real estate assets are seen as good. But both are symptomatic of an unsustainable system doomed to failure, as Congressman Paul explains:
Ironically, in the past 35 years, we have benefitted from this very flawed system. Because the world accepted dollars as if they were gold, we only had to counterfeit more dollars, spend them overseas...and enjoy our unearned prosperity. Those who took our dollars and gave us goods and services were only two anxious to loan those dollars back to us. This allowed us to export our inflation and delay the consequences we are now starting to see. But it was never destined to last, and we now have to pay the piper....Printing dollars over long periods of time may not immediately push prices up -- yet in time it always does. Now we're seeing catch-up for past inflating of the money supply. As bad as it is today with $4 a gallon gasoline, this is just the beginning.
Kurt Kasun - full article link
The FDIC is only as strong as our dollar is and the ability to print it. If we wanted to bail out the entire country by printing a few dozen TRILLION FRN's, we'd end up looking like Zimbabwe. Be careful what you wish for. The FDIC guarantee will someday just be words such that $100K will be pennies on the dollar again. The $25 BILL estimate to bail out Fannie/Freddie will prove to be no more accurate than the cost of the Iraqi war. Figure a minimum of 20X that figure. $500 BILLION. Just another 6 months of debt.
roadrunner
<< <i>Insurance companies do not get rich by making mistakes...some have failed, yes they have, but very few...tell me when the last insurance company failed? >>
many are taken under the wing of their States DOI, similar to a BK reorganization, often they come out of it.
others are "bought" by existing insurance companies, then absorbed into that company, b4 failure...i used to work for two of them.
in CA there is a fund called CIGA (no RR it is not what you think...lol) CA Insurance Guarantee Association, where a fund of money is collected to guarantee claims should a company go under. at the time no money is collected into the fund but years a go a small % of the policy premium was paid for...by policyholders....to get the fund to a cetrtain level deemed safe. If that (CIGA) fails other "admitted companies" are obligated to pay other admitted insurnce companies claims, at least that is a broad stroke of how it works in CA.
on a side note (directed to the audience) why are profits from an insurance company so "evil" after a year of profitability, then after a year of paying billions for disasters, they are also "evil" for raising rates? insurance is NOT a fun thing to buy, there is no joy in it, especially if you never "use" it. few understand the concept, partially to blame is thr insurance industry. i could go on but only a couple of you have read this far...
BTW good link above RR
Gold and the Dow Jones Industrial Average will meet somewhere between 4000 and 5000.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
My area was hit with Micro Burst a couple of years ago...it is not a tornado but close to it...Many home lost their roofs and it was in October...to this day there are some homes who's roofs never got repaired and these people have now lost everything they had...I live in Chicago and there is quite a bit of snow rain and all kinds of weather...these are the people who had no insurance...so which is more evil...to have insurance or not! Both ways cost a lot of money!
The FDIC is only as strong as our dollar is and the ability to print it. If we wanted to bail out the entire country by printing a few dozen TRILLION FRN's, we'd end up looking like Zimbabwe. Be careful what you wish for. The FDIC guarantee will someday just be words such that $100K will be pennies on the dollar again. The $25 BILL estimate to bail out Fannie/Freddie will prove to be no more accurate than the cost of the Iraqi war. Figure a minimum of 20X that figure. $500 BILLION. Just another 6 months of debt.
roadrunner >>
rr, I would like to add that the dollar is only as strong as our military. Throughout history that has been the case, generally. If we are weighed and measured as push overs...we're done.
I believe that if our military were to be "UN'd" our currency would crash even more like many South and Central American currencies did in the past 30 years.
Ren
<< <i>I find the Insurance business one HELL of an INVENTION! >>
Warren Buffett's thoughts exactly.
<< <i>It's a bit strange that the government always waits to announce/step in on failed banks until Friday after trading ends or on the weekend. >>
It's not strange, it's intentional. Sometimes they need a couple days -- when banks are already closed anyway -- to find a new institution to step in and take over the failed one. If they did it on a Wednesday morning, there would be a panic and a classic "bank run" to make a tenuous situation many times worse. As long as they can have everything stable by Monday morning, there's less need for panic.
<< <i>Another Weekend, two more regional Banks taken over by the Fed >>
California, Arizona and Nevada. The only thing shocking about this is that it doesn't include Florida. There were just too many toxic mortgages written in those places, written on little more than the Greater Fool Theory to "protect" the banks.
<< <i>
<< <i>I find the Insurance business one HELL of an INVENTION! >>
Warren Buffett's thoughts exactly.
which he has had investments in
So, there are really THREE options...Guns, Butter, and Insurance.
<< <i>Looks like those gas prices are gonna come on down...Looks like T Boone Picket is shaking some rattles! If it falls to 50 cents we still need to tell foreign oil to take a hike! Come on T Boone! I love his name T. Boone Picket...now that is a real Southern Name! >>
It's T. Boone Pickens. Do you still like his name?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire