“Why am I being punished for having bought a house I
could afford? I am beginning to think I would have rocks in my head if
I keep paying my mortgage.”
Todd Lawrence, homeowner, outside Norwich, Conn.
“If the lunch truly is free, the demand for free lunches will be large.”
Paul McCulley, PIMCO
“If
the government says, ‘Prove that you can’t afford your house and we’ll
redo your mortgage,’ then people are going to try to qualify.”
Peter Schiff, President of Euro Pacific Capital
“I guess they are forcing me to deliberately stop paying to look worse than I am. Crazy, don’t you think?”
Anonymous Countrywide borrower, Los Angeles
Posted by email from thehardtrade2′s posterous
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve had bought $144.8
billion in commercial paper as of Wednesday, bringing the total funds
provided to the financial system to $922 billion, the Fed reported
Thursday. In addition to the new commercial paper program that began
Monday, the Fed extended $301.4 billion in term auction credit to
banks, $110.7 billion in discount window loans to banks, $96 billion to
money market funds, $83.5 billion in AIG, $80 billion in repurchase
agreements, and $79.5 billion in credits to primary dealers. The value
of its stake in the former Bear Stearns fell to $26.9 billion.
Posted by email from thehardtrade2′s posterous
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — American Express Co., the largest
U.S. credit-card company by purchases, will slash 10 percent of
its workforce to cut costs amid rising defaults as consumers
squeezed by higher unemployment fail to repay their debts.
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — A merger of General Motors Corp.,
the largest U.S. automaker, and Chrysler LLC may cost 74,000
jobs and close half of the smaller company’s plants, according
to a report from an accounting firm.
Posted by email from thehardtrade2′s posterous
States Urge Immediate Fed, Treasury Aid to Automakers (Update1)
By John Hughes
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.
Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should take
“immediate action” to help boost liquidity for the U.S. auto
industry, six U.S. governors said.
The $700 billion rescue plan for the financial system can
help thaw frozen credit markets that are keeping buyers from
getting auto loans, curbing vehicle sales, leaders of states
including New York and Michigan wrote.
The governors urged Bernanke and Paulson to use “your
broad regulatory authority to ensure that your continued actions
promote liquidity within the U.S. auto industry,” according to
the letter, which was dated yesterday and released today by the
office of Michigan’s Jennifer Granholm.
Posted by email from thehardtrade2′s posterous
Pension fund gap hits $100bn
By Deborah Brewster in New York
Published: October 29 2008 23:32 | Last updated: October 29 2008 23:32
US
companies will need to inject more than $100bn into their pension funds
to cover market losses, putting them in a cash squeeze at a time when
it is difficult to raise money.
The cash payment, estimated by several pension industry executives, would be spread over this financial year and next year.
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General | MacroMan | 
October 31, 2008 9:18 am | 
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