Not much time this morning, but
Sep. 26th, 2008 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdGlenn Greenwald notes today that National Review asks: Did WaMu fail because it employed minorities?
Dr. Roubini at RGE Monitor notes that no economists were at the hearings on the Treasury bailout plan, and calls the plan "a disgrace." Some of us are having a little informational protest today; meet at 11:15am in front of the standalone coffee shop out front of Westlake Centre if you want to help pad the tiny crowd.
Outstanding Washington Mutual shares are trading at 16¢. Snif.
I can't let it go unnoted that the new H.3 report from the fed shows banks at a new astounding negative net nonborrowed reserves low: US$-157 Billion. This despite an extra $100B in lending to said banks. The weird part is that they're now being listed as $60B over reserve requirements. Presumably this was part of the setup to hand WaMu's remains over to JP Morgan, but with the complete lack of transparency, who knows?
All I have time for right now. More later.
While juxtaposing these two facts -- (1) WaMu has a racially and ethnically diverse workforce and (2) WaMu collapsed yesterday -- the National Review writer headlined his post: "Cause and Effect?" He apparently believes that the reason Washington Mutual failed may be because it employed and was too accommodating to large numbers of Hispanics, African-Americans and gays.Oh good; they must be panicked. Remember the fundamentalist right blaming queers for 9/11? Now National Review is blaming us for the repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley and eight years of Fed housing bubble inflating and Bush administration failure to enforce trading and leverage regulations. Yay!
Dr. Roubini at RGE Monitor notes that no economists were at the hearings on the Treasury bailout plan, and calls the plan "a disgrace." Some of us are having a little informational protest today; meet at 11:15am in front of the standalone coffee shop out front of Westlake Centre if you want to help pad the tiny crowd.
Outstanding Washington Mutual shares are trading at 16¢. Snif.
I can't let it go unnoted that the new H.3 report from the fed shows banks at a new astounding negative net nonborrowed reserves low: US$-157 Billion. This despite an extra $100B in lending to said banks. The weird part is that they're now being listed as $60B over reserve requirements. Presumably this was part of the setup to hand WaMu's remains over to JP Morgan, but with the complete lack of transparency, who knows?
All I have time for right now. More later.
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 04:07 pm (UTC)Part of me is surprised that National Review can't see their own circular (il)logic. Then again, part of me isn't. That particular mindset is blissfully unencumbered by Critical Thinking.
Meanwhile, I actually put a deposit into my Chasington Mortual branch this morning. I feel bad for the staff there; my WaMu branch is directly across the street from Chase's Chicago regional headquarters, which has a branch in its lobby. Guess which WaMu location will be the first redundant one to get chopped?
no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 04:21 pm (UTC)By the way, James K. Galbraith's got an interesting alternative idea (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092403033.html) for how to deal with the financial crisis. Summarizing, he wants to eliminate the $100K cap on FDIC insurance and create a $200 billion reserve account for the treasury to recapitalize banks by buying preferred shares. Review the plan at the start of the next Congress, and follow up with investment in renewable energy in order to create the conditions for long-term economic recovery.
In any case, whether Galbraith's idea is the correct one or not, whatever plan is created must involve some input from actual professional economists.
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Date: 2008-09-26 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 05:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 07:37 pm (UTC)