Posted on 10/02/2009 8:26:44 AM PDT by Williams
That's it Folks wow Chicago tossed out in the FIRST round!
Rush did a variation of that mmm-mmm-mmm song on his show today, it was hilarious!!
Saw this elsewhere - ‘This is confirmation Obama is mortal’
In the words of Rush I Ditto that!
I guess this means we will be boycotting these particluar Olympic's?
Y’all check out this front page of Drudge!!!!!!! I’m about to pee in my pants I’m laughing so hard! Drudge is REALLY rubbing Dear Leader’s nose in it!!!
Brazilian President to Zero: Take a good look, that's as close as you are going to get to Brazilian gold.
Zero oogles Brazilian President's 13 yr old daughter. Maybe Polanski has a chance at a pardon after all.
Can someone fill me in on what happened with Letterman?
LOL... that reminds me of buildings in my university. They installed a centralized AC that is so cold that people need to have personal heater in their room...
Just read that Oprah`s weight was a problem to some
Chicago went down hard, and with it, Obama’s aura of invincibility.
Who foots that bill?
I read today the failed efforts to land the Olympics netted $48,000,000.00 Who billed?
I wonder if stamps.com will take that image for postage.
Got a mirror?
LOL maybe they read online newspapers
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Chicago Parking Meters LLC, majority-owned by Morgan Stanley infrastructure investment funds, paid $1.15 billion for a 75-year lease to run the 36,000 parking meters. Thats $974 million less than the city would have received if it had kept the parking meters and raised prices under the terms it gave the group, according to a June 2 report by the citys inspector general.
The report calculated the risk differently, skewing the value of the deal, said Pete Scales, spokesman for Gene Saffold, the citys chief financial officer.
Morgan Stanley referred calls about the parking-meter purchase to Chicago Parking Meters. Avis LaVelle, a spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Daley Apology
Daley, 67, later apologized for how the parking-meter changeover was handled.
I take responsibility for that, Daley said at a public hearing Aug. 25. The implementation was not good at all from the citys side. You know that. I know that.
Chicagoans may be taking a cue from the folk-rock classic Subterranean Homesick Blues, in which singer Bob Dylan urges: Dont follow leaders/Watch the parkin meters.
To help evaluate the bids, the International Olympic Committee commissioned a public opinion poll in each candidate city measuring residents support. The IOCs vote Oct. 2 will be by secret ballot.
The Tribune/WGN poll showed that nine out of 10 voters disapproved of the meter deal, after snafus with the new parking machines and rates as high as $3.50 an hour in the downtowns Loop.
Hide the Money
I thought it was a sham, just another way to pad the pockets and hide the money, said Debra McJunkis, 48, an insurance examiner who lives on the citys southeast side. Its the same thing with the Olympic bid.
Daley is serving his sixth term and doesnt face re- election until 2011.
President Barack Obamas administration has said it will provide backing if Chicago wins the Olympics. The White House said Sept. 28 that Obama is traveling to Copenhagen to support his adopted hometown in the IOC vote.
The president has pledged full support to make sure that the games are executed flawlessly, said Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama and leader of his lobbying effort for the Olympics. We will be a very active partner.
Chicago is the favorite of U.K. bookmakers William Hill Plc and Ladbrokes.com, although its lead over Rio de Janeiro is shrinking. The odds on Chicago to win are 4-5, down from 8-11 on Sept. 24, according to William Hill. Rios odds improved to 13-8 from 11-4. Tokyo is at 5-1 and Madrid at 8-1.
Olympics Bill
Estimates of how much federal financial support was paid for past Olympics in the U.S. depend on what is included. About $342 million in federal money was projected to be spent on security, infrastructure and other costs to stage the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
Daleys financial fortunes hit another rough patch in April when a $2.5 billion deal to lease Midway Airport for 99 years fell through amid the credit crisis. He wanted the proceeds to pay off $1.15 billion of the airports debt, finance future infrastructure projects, contribute to under-funded city pensions and plug a city budget deficit.
The city was able to keep $126 million in earnest money and pledged to look for alternative arrangements.
Political Will
The publics outrage may limit the political will for such transactions in the future, said Richard Ciccarone, chief research officer with Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonnell Investment Management, which manages $12.5 billion in assets.
The chances of the airport being sold right now have diminished significantly because of the uproar of the parking meters, said Ciccarone, 57, who also is a board member of the Civic Federation, a Chicago public policy group.
Saffold, the city CFO, disagreed.
That was a terrific financial transaction, he said about the parking meters. Weve all admitted here, the mayor has admitted, that we should have a longer transition period to facilitate a smoother transition to a private operator.
Saffold said the city hasnt given up finding a buyer for the southwest-side airport.
Liquidity is returning to the marketplace, in terms of supporting the bid of a prospective operator or concessionaire, he said. Those discussions are ongoing.
Bond Rally
While Chicagos debt burden tripled during Daleys two- decade tenure, the citys bonds have rallied along with the rest of the credit markets during the last six months. Chicago bonds issued in January and due in 2029 traded at 60 basis points, or 0.6 percentage point, more than an index of top-rated tax-exempt bonds on Sept. 15, down from almost 80 basis points above the benchmark on May 13, according to Bloomberg data.The city has an AA credit rating from Fitch.
Rising tides lift all ships, said Patrick Morrissey, director of fixed income for private client accounts at Wayne Hummer Wealth Management in Chicago.
Patrick Ryan, chairman of Chicagos bid committee and founder of insurance brokerage Aon Corp., told reporters Sept. 2 that the citys finances are more solid than those of some nations that hosted Olympics.
The Chicago credit by itself is stronger than some past countries who have put up guarantees and won, he said. Chicago has a strong credit rating.
Saffold, like Ryan and Daley, is adamant that the city wont have to cover upfront costs.
Not a Dollar
Not a dollar, dime, penny of taxpayer money has been put forth in connection with the bid going forward, Saffold said. We dont anticipate any fronting of monies or upfront expenditures, from the citys perspective.
The Daley administrations problems with the parking deal and Midway Airport followed a successful leasing of the Chicago Skyway, a 7.8-mile (13-kilometer) toll road that in 2005 became the first in the U.S. to be privatized when Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA paid $1.8 billion for a 99-year lease.
After the revenue from leasing deals, Chicago still has holes in its budget. The city predicted a shortfall for next year, even after it exhausts a $320 million rainy day fund.
The $6.2 billion projected budget, which includes the citys airports, water and other funds, could be more than half a billion dollars in the red because of plummeting tax collections and rising wages.
Daley has laid off city workers and pressured unions to accept unpaid furlough days this year to save money.
Part of his vision is to create a world-class city, Ciccarone said. It is very expensive and hes taken on a lot of debt to do this.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aeOFY5.LSSCo
Get used to it. The future losses await thee
Letterman admitted to having affairs with staff members.
Google it, there’s lots.
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