Posted on 07/23/2008 11:02:04 AM PDT by djsherin
I recount all this now because it illustrates the perverse nature of Fannie and Freddie that has made them such a relentless and untouchable political force. Their unique clout derives from a combination of liberal ideology and private profit. Fannie has been able to purchase political immunity for decades by disguising its vast profit-making machine in the cloak of "affordable housing." To be more precise, Fan and Fred have been protected by an alliance of Capitol Hill and Wall Street, of Barney Frank and Angelo Mozilo.
I know this because for more than six years I've been one of their antagonists. Any editor worth his expense account makes enemies, and complaints from CEOs, politicians and World Bank presidents are common. But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are unique in their thuggery, and their response to critics may help readers appreciate why taxpayers are now explicitly on the hook to rescue companies that some of us have spent years warning about.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This one is a winner. So much so that I’m thinking of reposting it.
Hmm
We know that the Fed has announced that Fred and Fan can use the Discount Window, so that means we've made an offer. We'd have a bit more perspective here if we had a handle on just how much money has been loaned and then an idea as to whether all or which part will be paid back.
What I'm looking for is the extent of the cost out of our pockets.
Here in eastern Iowa, the local county governments are updating quarantine laws and doing full blown rehearsals for mass causality events.
In an area of under 500,000 people..
So you see with clear eyes and admit fully I was absolutely correct and not posting bad info. Good for you! Tell that obnoxious Wall Street shill toad to go jump in the flaming lake of hell.
Bite me. LOL!
You have a non-tinfoil link that talks about this? Thanks.
Here is a link from the 2006 Scott County board.
http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/health/pub/connection/2006/200609_Health_Spotlight.pdf
Look on page two. There was another drill (smaller scale) last spring. Ironically, a lot of the participants got food poisoning.
Homeland Security dumps a lot of money into odd things, this is one of them. And to be honest, it really more of an “old school” thing.
Thanks.
Regarding your housing post several years back you were more correct than the shills but they will never admit as such.
2009 will be another shocker. Unemployment may hit 8% in California next year. Prices may be back to 2001 levels by 2010.
Why __________ ? Because home prices cannot higher than incomes. It's that simple. U.S. GDP has been an illusion for seven years.
Take a peek at my freeper page. Proof is posted there. The only thing accomplished over the past seven years: We were making money selling real estate to ourselves. Many were stupidly borrowing more than were were making. Hardly anybody was saving.
Our society is very sick. We have shipped our manufacturing overseas. Our stores are filled with junk made in China, India and Vietnam. Auto parts are made in Brazil and Mexico. Detroit is dying. Those shills are assclowns promoting the decline of the U.S. They cheer overseas investors stealing our wealth and destroying our middle class. Nothing is sacred to the assclowns.
So be it. Let them grovel to the new powers that be. The Build-a-Burgers dictate everything from Brussels. The CFR tells our government what to do. Everything is illusion.
Watch what happens next . . .
JP Morgan and Amex came out today and said prime borrowers are showing significant weakness. JPM and Amex said they have been imune to the problems so far but their outlook for the future is turning bleak.
US credit crisis is hitting the wealthy
The US financial crisis is spreading from subprime borrowers to wealthier consumers, with evidence mounting that more affluent people are failing to pay their mortgages and credit card balances.
Growing concerns over the financial health of richer borrowers are prompting banks and card issuers to tighten lending practices in moves that could futher dampen consumer confidence and spending more.
Banks such as JPMorgan Chase and credit card groups such as American Express have clamped down on lending to customers that have traditionally been regarded among the safest and most profitable borrowers.
The crisis is just starting to spread beyond the middle class, said Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com. Even folks with good credit-ratings scores are no longer immune from adverse actions from their card issuers.
Senior bankers say that after the subprime debacle, the worsening outlook of prime portfolios shows the crisis is far from over and could inflict substantial losses on financial institutions.
The spreading of the credit crunch to wealthier consumers could hit financial groups, such as JPMorgan and American Express, which have so far avoided the worst of the crisis because of their relatively low exposure to subprime customers. Second-quarter results from financial companies showed rising losses on mortgages and credit cards issued to prime customers as soaring gas prices, the slowing economy and depressed house values took their toll.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgans chairman and chief executive, recently told Wall Street analysts that the outlook for prime mortgages was terrible and the rate of delinquencies could double or treble from current levels of about 4 per cent.
JPMorgan suffered a $104m loss on its $47bn worth of prime mortgages in the second quarter, more than double its first-quarter loss, and warned that losses on prime mortgages could reach up to $300m a quarter next year.
JPMorgan has already tightened lending standards for prime borrowers reducing the size and the volume of these mortgages especially in areas, such as California, where home prices have been falling sharply.
At American Express, which has traditionally focused on high-spending consumers, second-quarter earnings were down 37 per cent year-over-year. Kenneth Chenault, chairman and chief executive, said the companys most affluent card-holders were feeling the pinch.
The scope of the economic fall-out was evident even among our longer-term, superprime card members, he said.
American Express and other card issuers are responding to this deterioration by cutting back on credit lines, and scaling back on new card issuance in the most vulnerable areas.
Mortgage companies started playing similar games in the late 1990s. Bear Stearns owned several mortgage giants including EMC. Another crooked company was Ameriquest (dba Long Beach Mortgage dba Ameriquest ad nauseum).
The crooks would fake late payment histories on peoples' records. That would accomplish two objectives: (1) Allow them to pile on more late fees, penalties, surcharges and (2) Prevent people refinancing with another company. Then it was only a short wait until they could begin foreclosure. 'Foreclosure' status allows lenders to create bogus legal fees out of thin air and add that to the total bill.
That makes the entire foreclosure process illegal per se. Of course, this is a massive conspiracy in violation of state and federal laws. The Rico Act is implicated. Mail fraud is also raised. Mortgage lenders operate like organized crime. IMHO they all ought to be prosecuted and key executives belong behind bars.
But what do I know, anyway. I'm just a geezer.
You're a genius. You must have made millions.
The Build-a-Burgers dictate everything from Brussels.
LOL!
This sounds series. Any proof?
Destroying mail allows them to increase their profits by about 35% or more.
Or by 0%. LOL!
Bear Stearns owned several mortgage giants including EMC.
How'd that work out for them?
'Foreclosure' status allows lenders to create bogus legal fees out of thin air and add that to the total bill.
Foreclosure, a quick way for the lender to book a profit. That's funny.
But what do I know, anyway. I'm just a geezer.
A sad, confused geezer.
No doubt he's too busy to reply to your email because he's swooping down and scooping up foreclosures with all that cash he's accumulated over the years.
Or not.
Perhaps he’s posting from the Riviera?
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