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Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
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Showing posts with label Bus Econ 2008 Subprime Crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bus Econ 2008 Subprime Crisis. Show all posts

Friday, December 09, 2011

GAO audit of the Federal Reserve Board’s emergency loan programs and actions during the recent financial crisis

GAO audit of the Federal Reserve Board’s emergency loan programs and actions during the recent financial crisis

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75285818/GAO-audit-of-the-Federal-Reserve-Board%E2%80%99s-emergency-loan-programs-and-actions-during-the-recent-financial-crisis-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9CFederal-Reserve-System-Opportuniti





Federal Reserve System: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Policies and Processes for Managing Emergency Assistance  http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-696

GAO-11-696 July 21, 2011
Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 266 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)



Summary

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act directed GAO to conduct a one-time audit of the emergency loan programs and other assistance authorized by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) during the recent financial crisis. 
This report examines the emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve Board from December 1, 2007, through July 21, 2010. For each of these actions, where relevant, GAO's objectives included a review of (1) the basis and purpose for its authorization, as well as accounting and financial reporting internal controls; (2) the use, selection, and payment of vendors; (3) management of conflicts of interest; (4) policies in place to secure loan repayment; and (5) the treatment of program participants. To meet these objectives, GAO reviewed program documentation, analyzed program data, and interviewed officials from the Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Banks (Federal Reserve System).
On numerous occasions in 2008 and 2009, the Federal Reserve Board invoked emergency authority under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to authorize new broad-based programs and financial assistance to individual institutions to stabilize financial markets. Loans outstanding for the emergency programs peaked at more than $1 trillion in late 2008. The Federal Reserve Board directed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) to implement most of these emergency actions. In a few cases, the Federal Reserve Board authorized a Reserve Bank to lend to a limited liability corporation (LLC) to finance the purchase of assets from a single institution. In 2009 and 2010, FRBNY also executed large-scale purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities to support the housing market. The Reserve Banks' and LLCs' financial statements, which include the emergency programs' accounts and activities, and their related financial reporting internal controls, are audited annually by an independent auditing firm. These independent financial statement audits, as well as other audits and reviews conducted by the Federal Reserve Board, its Inspector General, and the Reserve Banks' internal audit function, did not report any significant accounting or financial reporting internal control issues concerning the emergency programs. The Reserve Banks, primarily FRBNY, awarded 103 contracts worth $659.4 million from 2008 through 2010 to help carry out their emergency activities. A few contracts accounted for most of the spending on vendor services. For a significant portion of the fees, program recipients reimbursed the Reserve Banks or the fees were paid from program income. The Reserve Banks relied more extensively on vendors for programs that assisted a single institution than for broad-based programs. Most of the contracts, including 8 of the 10 highest-value contracts, were awarded noncompetitively, primarily due to exigent circumstances. These contract awards were consistent with FRBNY's acquisition policies, but the policies could be improved by providing additional guidance on the use of competition exceptions, such as seeking as much competition as practicable and limiting the duration of noncompetitive contracts to the exigency period. To better ensure that Reserve Banks do not miss opportunities to obtain competition and receive the most favorable terms for services acquired, GAO recommends that they revise their acquisition policies to provide such guidance. FRBNY took steps to manage conflicts of interest for its employees, directors, and program vendors, but opportunities exist to strengthen its conflict policies. In particular, FRBNY expanded its guidance and monitoring for employee conflicts, but new roles assumed by FRBNY and its employees during the crisis gave rise to potential conflicts that were not specifically addressed in the Code of Conduct or other FRBNY policies. For example, FRBNY's existing restrictions on its employees' financial interests did not specifically prohibit investments in certain nonbank institutions that received emergency assistance. To manage potential conflicts related to employees' holdings of such investments, FRBNY relied on provisions in its code that incorporate requirements of a federal criminal conflict of interest statute and its regulations. GAO makes seven recommendations to the Federal Reserve Board to strengthen policies for managing noncompetitive vendor selections, conflicts of interest, risks related to emergency lending, and documentation of emergency program decisions. The Federal Reserve Board agreed that GAO's recommendations would benefit its response to future crises and agreed to strongly consider how best to respond to them.



Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director:Orice Williams Brown
Team:Government Accountability Office: Financial Markets and Community Investment
Phone:(202) 512-5837


Recommendations for Executive Action


Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff to revise Reserve Banks' formal acquisition policies and procedures to provide additional guidance on the steps staff should follow in exigent circumstances, specifically to address soliciting as much competition as possible, limiting the duration of noncompetitive contracts to the period of the exigency, and documenting efforts to promote competition.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff, as part of the Federal Reserve System's planned review of the Reserve Banks' codes of conduct given their expanded statutory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act, to consider how Reserve Banks' experience managing employee conflicts of interest, including those related to certain nonbank institutions that participated in the emergency programs, could inform the need for changes to the Reserve Banks' conflict policies.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff to finalize a comprehensive policy for FRBNY's management of risks related to vendor conflicts of interest that formalizes FRBNY practices and lessons learned from the crisis. This policy could include guidance on when to include contract protections that were not always found in FRBNY's vendor contracts, such as requirements for higherrisk vendor firms to provide a written conflict remediation plan and certify compliance with this plan.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff to strengthen procedures in place to guide Reserve Banks' efforts to manage emergency program access for higher-risk borrowers by providing more specific guidance on how Reserve Bank staff should exercise discretion and document decisions to restrict or deny program access for depository institutions and primary dealers that would otherwise be eligible for emergency assistance.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff to document a plan for estimating and tracking losses that could occur under more adverse economic conditions within and across all emergency lending activities and for using this information to inform policy decisions, such as decisions to limit risk exposures through program design or restrictions applied to eligible borrowing institutions.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff, in drafting regulations to establish the policies and procedures governing emergency lending under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, to set forth the Federal Reserve Board's process for documenting, to the extent not otherwise required by law, its justification for each use of this authority.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.



Recommendation: While creating control systems at the same time that the emergency programs were being designed and implemented posed unique challenges, the recent crisis provided invaluable experience that the Federal Reserve System can apply in the future should the use of these authorities again become warranted. Going forward, to further strengthen policies for selecting vendors, ensuring the transparency and consistency of decision making involving the implementation of any future emergency programs, and managing risks related to these programs, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board should direct Federal Reserve Board and Reserve Bank staff to document the Federal Reserve Board's guidance to Reserve Banks on types of emergency program decisions and risk events that require approval by or consultation with the Board of Governors, the Federal Open Market Committee, or other designated groups or officials at the Federal Reserve Board.

Agency Affected: Federal Reserve System: Board of Governors

Status: In process

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
(November 22, 2011 Hat Tip: James M. Graham III: “This is a bit scary! If this does not anger you, you don't understand the corruption. Please send this to everyone you know that wishes to keep their property and live in a free country. http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.11/gaoaudit.html)

The Silver Bear Café:
Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailoutsunelected.org
The first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill(HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out. Ben Bernanke(pictured to the right), Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an audit would have on markets. Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history were posted on Senator Sander’s webpage earlier this morning.

What was revealed in the audit was startling: read on -  http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.11/gaoaudit.html)

[…]

The list of institutions that received the most money from the Federal Reserve can be found on page 131 of the GAO Audit and are as follows..

Citigroup: $2.5 trillion ($2,500,000,000,000)

Morgan Stanley: $2.04 trillion ($2,040,000,000,000)

Merrill Lynch: $1.949 trillion ($1,949,000,000,000)

Bank of America: $1.344 trillion ($1,344,000,000,000)

Barclays PLC (United Kingdom): $868 billion ($868,000,000,000)

Bear Sterns: $853 billion ($853,000,000,000)

Goldman Sachs: $814 billion ($814,000,000,000)

Royal Bank of Scotland (UK): $541 billion ($541,000,000,000)

JP Morgan Chase: $391 billion ($391,000,000,000)

Deutsche Bank (Germany): $354 billion ($354,000,000,000)

UBS (Switzerland): $287 billion ($287,000,000,000)

Credit Suisse (Switzerland): $262 billion ($262,000,000,000)

Lehman Brothers: $183 billion ($183,000,000,000)

Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom): $181 billion ($181,000,000,000)

BNP Paribas (France): $175 billion ($175,000,000,000)


++++++++++
++++++++++



http://www.scribd.com/doc/75285818/GAO-audit-of-the-Federal-Reserve-Board%E2%80%99s-emergency-loan-programs-and-actions-during-the-recent-financial-crisis-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9CFederal-Reserve-System-Opportuniti

GAO audit of the Federal Reserve Board’s emergency loan programs and actions during the recent financial cr...

[20110700 TARP GOA FED d11696]

GAO, Federal Reserve System, TARP, banks, banking, bailouts, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
++++++++++++++++

[ 20111122 July 2011 GOA FED Tart Hat Tip Graham]

*****

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Krugman Was Huge Advocate of Housing Boom


Krugman Was Huge Advocate of Housing Boom

Busted! Krugman Was Huge Advocate of Housing Boom

Hat Tip: FoxNation


“All day Paul Krugman has been involved in a brouhaha over a 2002 column which seemed to be advocating a housing bubble to get us out of the recession. He says he wasn't calling for a bubble, just that he was just explaining Alan Greenspan was trying to do.”

Read The Full Article, Actually, Krugman Was A Huge Advocate Of The Housing Boom Joe WeisenthalJun. 17, 2009

“… Mark Thornton has gone through Krugman's entire archives and undermined this defense…”

http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-krugman-was-a-huge-advocate-of-the-housing-bubble-2009-6

20090617 SDOSM Krugman Was Huge Advocate of Housing Boom

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

My recent columns in The Tentacle on the economy by Kevin Dayhoff


My recent columns in The Tentacle on the economy by Kevin Dayhoff

May 13, 2009

On January 24, 2009 I posted “My recent columns in The Tentacle on the economy by Kevin Dayhoff.”

Recently several folks have asked that I update the list. Here you go:

May 6, 2009
Planned obedience…or else
Kevin E. Dayhoff
As of last week it appears that a marriage between Chrysler and Fiat SpA may eventually happen; this in spite of the few reports that surfaced recently that the marriage was off once Fiat realized the extent that Chrysler’s labor contracts were, how shall we say politely, less than helpful. Gee…

April 8, 2009
Thanks, but no thanks
Kevin E. Dayhoff
An opinion piece appeared in The Wall Street Journal last Sunday, relatively unnoticed except by economics geeks, citing the growing trend among banks that accepted Troubled Asset Relief Program –TARP – money who are begging the government to take the money back.

April 1, 2009
And Atlas Wept
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In a move that has given many pause, last Sunday the administration of President Barack Obama ventured boldly into the latest worrisome intrusion into the nation’s private sector by firing Rick Wagoner, General Motors’ chief executive officer.

March 18, 2009
Think Globally, Bank Locally
Kevin E. Dayhoff
If you are banking with any of the ginormous intergalactic financial institutions that are at the center of the current financial crisis, then you are part of the problem.

February 11, 2009
Political Heresy and Unvarnished Truth
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Yesterday, in 1899, the future 31st president of the United States, Herbert Clark Hoover, married Lou Henry in Monterey, CA. Happy anniversary, Mr. President.

February 4, 2009
When Stimulus Ain’t
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed its $819 billion version of the economic stimulus package by a vote of 244 to 188. Not a single Republican voted for the measure – for good reason.

And on January 24, 2009 I posted:

My recent columns in The Tentacle on the economy by Kevin Dayhoff: http://tinyurl.com/c9tqrh

October 3, 2008
Congress and The Rattlesnake – Part 3
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On May 13, 2008, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama compared the current housing crisis in the U.S. to the Great Depression in a campaign stop in Missouri.


October 2, 2008
Congress and The Rattlesnake – Part 2
Kevin E. Dayhoff
For several weeks the nation and the world have been watching the financial news emanating from Washington and Wall Street with that “deer in headlights” look as everyone holds their breath in disbelief and worries another shoe will drop.


October 1, 2008
Congress and the Rattlesnake – Part 1
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In response to the increasing wrath of the American voter, the U.S. House of Representatives came to its senses on Monday and voted 288 to 205 to kill the rash and ill-conceived proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.


November 5, 2008
It’s the Congress, Stupid!
Kevin E. Dayhoff
When historians look back on the 670-day, $2.5 billion 2008 presidential campaign, the observations, analysis, second-guessing, and finger pointing will fill volumes. In the end, it was once again, “the economy, stupid” that ruled the day.


November 19, 2008
Rewarding Bad Behavior
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Instead of tooling down the highway in the fast lane, two months after General Motors celebrated its 100th Birthday on September 16, it found itself huddled over at an intersection with fate, harassing passers-by with a tin pan in hand.


November 26, 2008
“The Eight Years War”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
At high noon on Monday, amid cries of alarm that this is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, President-elect Barack Obama rolled out his all-star economic team and a call for an economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $1 trillion.

20090124 my recent columns in The Tentacle on the economy

Kevin Dayhoff
E-mail him at: kevindayhoff AT gmail DOT com
His columns appear in The Tentacle,
www.thetentacle.com;
The Westminster Eagle /Eldersburg Eagle The Sunday Carroll Eagle - Opinion:
http://explorecarroll.com/opinion-talk/

www.kevindayhoff.net
http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/
www.westminstermarylandonline.net
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/kevindayhoff
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Twitter:
My recent columns in
The Tentacle on the economy by Kevin Dayhoff: http://tinyurl.com/c9tqrh

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-recent-columns-in-tentacle-on.html

20090513 SDOSM My recent columns in TT on the economy by KED
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack:
www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art:
www.kevindayhoff.com
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster:
www.westgov.net

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Tapscott Congress ignored regulators' repeated warnings about problems at Fannie, Freddie


Examiner Editorial Section Sunday

Congress ignored regulators' repeated warnings about problems at Fannie, Freddie

April 18, 2009

Examiner Editorial Section Sunday

Examiner Editorial

Congress ignored repeated warnings it received from federal regulators about problems at Fannie and Freddie..
Read the full story

Michael Reagan, Examiner Columnist
Barack Obama's homeland security chief says conservatives who support the 10th Amendment are "rightwing extremists."
Read the full story.

Mark Tapscott, Examiner Editorial Page Editor
Those Tea Party Protestors display some of the same spirit Edmund Burke saw in Americans in 1775.

Read the full story.
Fresh and insightful opinion from Tapscott's Copy Desk, by the Washington Examiner's Editorial Page Editor Mark Tapscott. Got a tip or an oped to place? Send an e-mail to mark.tapscott@gmail.com.

Sign up for the Washington Examiner Opinion Feed

Sign up for the Tapscotts Copy Desk RSS Feed

Sign up for Tapscotts Copy Desk Email Alerts

20090418 SDOSM Examiner Editorial Section Sunday

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 30, 2009

Rahm Emanuel's profitable stint at mortgage giant


It seems that Tribune reporters Bob Secter and Andrew Zajac, have written a lengthy and comprehensive article that certainly does not portray President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel in a very positive light in reference to part of the heart of our current economic malaise…

Not only did he enrich himself from the bad loaning practices of Freddie Mas but, “What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation's current economic mess.

Even for those of us who have become jaded and disillusioned with the byzantine machinations of Washington, will find much of the following information unbelievable… / Kevin Dayhoff

chicagotribune.com: Rahm Emanuel's profitable stint at mortgage giant

Short Freddie Mac stay made him at least $320,000

By Bob Secter and Andrew Zajac, Tribune reporters, 3:18 PM CDT, March 26, 2009 (1682 words)

Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the current housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors by a top federal regulator.

One of those allegedly asleep-at-the-switch board members was Chicago's Rahm Emanuel—now chief of staff to President
Barack Obama—who made at least $320,000 for a 14-month stint at Freddie Mac that required little effort.

As gatekeeper to Obama, Emanuel now plays a critical role in addressing the nation's mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration's pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world.

Emanuel's Freddie Mac involvement has been a prominent point on his political résumé, and his healthy payday from the firm has been no secret either. What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation's current economic mess.

Though just 49, Emanuel is a veteran Democratic strategist and fundraiser who served three terms in the U.S. House after helping elect Mayor Richard Daley and former President Bill Clinton. The Freddie Mac money was a small piece of the $16 million he made in a three-year interlude as an investment banker a decade ago.

In business as in politics, Emanuel has cultivated an aggressive, take-charge reputation that made him rich and propelled his rise to the front of the national stage. But buried deep in corporate and government documents on the Freddie Mac scandal is a little-known and very different story involving Emanuel.

He was named to the Freddie Mac board in February 2000 by Clinton, whom Emanuel had served as White House political director and vocal defender during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals.

The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.

[…]

The board was throttled for its acquiescence to the accounting manipulation in a 2003 report by Armando Falcon Jr., head of a federal oversight agency for Freddie Mac. The scandal forced Freddie Mac to restate $5 billion in earnings and pay $585 million in fines and legal settlements. It also foreshadowed even harder times at the firm.

[…]

Former President George W. Bush voluntarily stopped making such appointments following Falcon's assessment of their uselessness.

[…]

The Obama administration rejected a Tribune request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director. The documents, obtained by Falcon for his investigation, were "commercial information" exempt from disclosure, according to a lawyer for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

[…]

By the time Emanuel joined Freddie Mac, the company had begun to loosen lending standards and buy riskier sub-prime loans. It was a practice that later blew up and contributed to the current foreclosure crisis.

[...]


Read the entire lengthy article here: Rahm Emanuel's profitable stint at mortgage giant. But don’t do it on a full stomach…

20090326 ChicagoTrib Rahm Emanuel profitable stint at mortgage giant

www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-rahm-emanuel-profit-26-mar26,0,5682373.story

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Sunday, March 29, 2009

After Words: "House of Cards" author William Cohn interviewed by Deborah Solomon


"After Words" interview by Deborah Solomon

Sunday, March 29, 2009

I watched this program on Book TV on C-Span2 and William Cohn really made a lot of sense about the behind the scenes machinations that went into our current economic mess.

I will look forward to picking up a copy of his book…

9:00 PM 59 min After Words: William Cohan, author "House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street; interviewed by Deborah Solomon, Wall Street Journal

About the Program: William Cohan details the rise and fall of Bear Stearns and focuses on the choices executives made that ultimately led to the government-forced merger with J.P. Morgan.

About the Author: William Cohan was an investment banker for 17 years. He worked at Lazard Freres, Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase, before leaving Wall Street to write his first book, "The Last Tycoons." Mr. Cohan has written columns for the New York Times and The Washington Post. He regularly writes for The Daily Beast, Financial Times and Fortune magazine.

20090329 After Words House of Cards interviewed by Deborah Solomon
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=10358&SectionName=After%20Words&PlayMedia=No

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 26, 2009

TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis Thursday, March 26, 2009




TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis Thursday, March 26, 2009

TimesWatch Tracker Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Agenda of the New York Times

Amazing Omissions in Times Interview of Barney Frank
A Times writer manages to talk to Barney Frank about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and an SNL skit without bringing up a single challenging question.

Free-Market Radical From Czech Republic "Embarrasses" EU Again
Once again, the Times chides a Czech Republic leader's infuriating embrace of free-market principles.

Striving to Paint a More Positive Picture of a Cop-Killer
Lovelle Mixon killed four Oakland police officers -- but was he also a victim of the California penal system?

Amazing Omissions in Times Interview of Barney Frank

http://www.timeswatch.org/articles/2009/20090326153108.aspx

A Times writer manages to talk to Barney Frank about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and an SNL skit without bringing up a single challenging question.

Posted by: Clay Waters 3/26/2009 3:40:56 PM

The Times' special Deal Book section on Thursday featured a Q&A with Rep. Barney Frank by Times contributing writer Cyrus Sanati, "
Rep. Barney Frank's To-Do List for Changing Wall Street."

“Wall Street is bracing for a regulatory tsunami to make its way up from Washington. Lawmakers are considering sweeping changes to the Depression-era securities laws and regulatory agencies that failed to prevent the economic downturn.

“As these new proposals gain momentum, Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will have a central role in influencing the size and scope of these new regulations.”

That's the lead-in to an extremely friendly interview (described as "edited and condensed excerpts from the discussion") with the liberal Democrat Frank, who heads up the House Financial Services Committee and will have a hand in creating new regulations and laws on executive compensation.

Not one of Sanati's 10 questions were critical of Frank, and none delved into his controversial ties and strong defense in the past of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage lending companies, in their quest to ease up requirements for mortgage loans in the name of "affordable housing," which many experts think contributed to the mortgage crisis.

Sanati even asked Frank a question about Fannie and Freddie, but ignored Frank's previous support of the entities, captured by the Times itself in September 2003. At a hearing, Frank lectured that "these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis....The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

Oops.

But Sanati ignored all that and painted Franks as some kind of Freddie and Fannie reformer:

“Sanati: Subprime mortgages played a large part in the downturn, as well as the need for the government to rescue the mortgage financing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. In an op-ed in the Financial Times in 2007, you said, “The subprime crisis demonstrates the serious negative economic and social consequences that result from too little regulation.” What have you done since to tighten regulation of that market?”

In Frank's answer, Sanati let the congressman get away with passing the buck to the Bush administration:

“Frank: We passed shortly thereafter a bill that would prevent the type of subprime mortgages that went bad. Unfortunately, it never passed the Senate. I am returning to that now. Earlier in 2007 we passed legislation to improve the regulation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but the Senate didn’t get on to passing it until July 2008 and by that time it was too late. The problem was with George Bush in power. It was hard to get the approval we needed for the degree of regulation that we thought was necessary.”

Saturday Night Live mocked Frank in a skit that aired on the network on the night of October 4, 2008, putting some blame on Frank for the banking crisis, The official online version of the skit was later controversially http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2008/10/07/nbc-reactionaries-ban-inconvenient-snl-sketch/ redacted by NBC in a way that removed all mention of Frank. Bizarrely, Sanati talks about a Frank' impression on SNL -- but another one, one featuring a Frank impressionist chairing the Big 3 auto hearings, which aired on November 22, 2008 and didn't attract nearly as much attention as the banking skit.

“Sanati: Many Americans have been following your committee’s hearings -- so much so that even “Saturday Night Live” did a skit about them, featuring you grilling the Big Three automakers. How do you think they did in impersonating you?”

“Frank: I am impressed with Fred Armisen’s range given that he impersonates me and Barack Obama, so I guess that’s, um, sort of interesting. The only time I was upset was when they had someone doing me that was really fat.”


20090326 TimesWatch Tracker for March 26 2009


Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 09, 2009

New York Times – Sept. 30, 1999: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending


The New York Times – September 30, 1999: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
Hat Tip: Analog

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A. HOLMES

Published: September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

[…]

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

[…]

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''


Read the entire article here: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

19990930 NYT Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

http://tinyurl.com/6p5d9j

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0de7db153ef933a0575ac0a96f958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Todd Sullivan on Fox News


Todd Sullivan on Fox News

Photo: Todd Sullivan - http://seekingalpha.com/article/121688-santelli-s-rant-a-watershed-moment

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Twitter: Really appreciated watching Todd Sullivan http://tinyurl.com/ctrbel on Fox News about the stock market … #Dayhoff

http://www.valueplays.blogspot.com/

Journalists Sullivan-Todd, Blog Valueplays

20090308 SDOSM Todd Sullivan on Fox News

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Wall Street Journal: FDIC - Bank Robbery

Bank Robbery

Depleting capital when it's most needed.

MARCH 4, 2009
REVIEW & OUTLOOK

The Treasury and Federal Reserve continue to cook up creative ways to pump taxpayer money into troubled financial institutions. So we're having a tough time understanding why another federal agency, the FDIC, has announced plans to take $27 billion out of the banking system this year.

It's true that the FDIC's deposit-insurance fund has been shrinking, and that since the beginning of 2009 the FDIC has rolled up two banks a week, on average. It took over two more last Friday. The fund is now down to $19 billion from $52 billion a year ago and by law had to be replenished.

But the deposit-insurance fund is itself a legal fiction…


More: Bank Robbery

20090304 WSJ Bank Robbery

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123612634762624059.html
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 27, 2009

NPR Belt Tightening Leads To Artistic Expansion

NPR Belt Tightening Leads To Artistic Expansion

February 27, 2009 NPR· Tough times can often be a springboard for creativity. When no one's job is safe, no one's house is secure and no one knows exactly what to do about it, artists get to work — and start pushing boundaries.

Real Windows MP3

Morning Edition Homepage
Morning Edition Archives
About Morning Edition
Contact Morning Edition

Coming Up:
A visit to a place where the typewriter is alive and clacking, Monday on NPR's
Morning Edition.

20090227 NPR Belt Tightening Leads To Artistic Expansion

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

COLUMN ONE: Hit 'send,' then hit the door By Robin Abcarian February 23, 2009

LAT Column One Hit send then hit the door

From the Los Angeles Times

COLUMN ONE: Hit 'send,' then hit the door By Robin Abcarian February 23, 2009

Farewell e-mails become an art form in this age of pink slips. Some are funny, some are sad -- and some are just plain furious.

It was not the most eloquent subject line for a farewell e-mail to 5,000 co-workers: "So long, suckers! I'm out!"

But Jason Shugars worked at Google, whose off-center corporate culture is more forgiving than that of your average buttoned-down investment bank. In the rest of his goodbye, Shugars, a senior sales compliance specialist, reminisced about workplace moments that included putting cake down his pants at a sales conference, stealing a boss' $8,000 leather couch and singing "Hit Me Baby One More Time" in a miniskirt and braids.

[…]

That's a good question these days, now that thousands of people are finding themselves with pink slips and the need to let colleagues and contacts know they are moving on and -- perhaps more important for job seekers -- how they can be reached.

The farewell e-mail has suddenly become commonplace, a new art form in the electronic age. Yet like so many aspects of the Internet era -- how to unfriend on Facebook, how much to reveal on a personal blog -- the technology has gotten ahead of the etiquette. There are, quite simply, no rules.

[…]

In May, lawyer Shinyung Oh was let go from the San Francisco branch of the Paul Hastings law firm six days after losing a baby. The seven-year associate, who said she was told her previous, glowing evaluations may have been "overinflated," composed a blistering e-mail to the partners and fired it off to about 1,000 colleagues around the world.

She accused the firm's partners of "heartlessness" and of blaming her for failing to generate business "that should have been brought in by each of you."

"If this response seems particularly emotional," she wrote to the partners, "perhaps an associate's emotional vulnerability after a recent miscarriage is a factor you should consider the next time you fire or lay someone off. It shows startlingly poor judgment and management skills -- and cowardice -- on your parts."

Within an hour, Oh said, her e-mail was posted on a widely read legal affairs blog, then made its way into the mainstream media.

[…]

Will Schwalbe, coauthor of "Send: Why People E-mail So Badly and How to Do it Better," said the farewell e-mail was a reflection of two intersecting trends: the universality of e-mail and the confessional spirit of the times, which have resulted, as he put it, in "the democratization of the process."

In the pre-computer world, Schwalbe said, "Personnel wrote something -- a memo, Xeroxed -- generally, you didn't get to do it. They did it. But what had been an HR function is now a personal function." That, he said, leads to a different sort of message.


Read the entire article here: COLUMN ONE: Hit 'send,' then hit the door By Robin Abcarian February 23, 2009

20090223 LAT Column One Hit send then hit the door

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-farewell-emails23-2009feb23,0,4893360.story?track=rss

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 23, 2009

Governors Take Action To Address Foreclosure Crisis

Governors Take Action To Address Foreclosure Crisis

(Folks who have been looking for: Rick Santelli and the Rant of the Year YouTube and transcript #Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/dd5cd4 )

NGA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 22, 2009

Contact: Christopher Cashman, 202-345-8659

GOVERNORS TAKE ACTION TO ADDRESS FORECLOSURE CRISIS

NGA Center Report Highlights State Efforts to Mitigate and Prevent Foreclosures

WASHINGTON-The deepening foreclosure crisis and its impact on states was among the focal points today as the nation's governors convened for the 2009 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss a host of critical challenges facing states.

During NGA's Economic Development and Commerce Committee session here, which emphasized state efforts to mitigate foreclosures, the NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) unveiled two new resources for governors and state policymakers: a report, Emerging Trends: State Actions to Tackle the Foreclosure Crisis <http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0902FORECLOSUREREPORT.PDF>, which examines the larger economic trends influencing foreclosures and highlights state best practices in addressing the foreclosure problem, and a Web site<http://www.nga.org/center/foreclosures>, which will serve as a central repository for state actions related to foreclosure mitigation and prevention.

"Governors have been on the frontlines of developing policies and programs to help homeowners facing foreclosure and to keep more borrowers in their homes," said NGA Center Director John Thomasian. "Not only have states led the way in regulating mortgage brokers and lenders, but they also have been laying the groundwork for rebuilding the nation's housing market."

Since 2006, when residential foreclosures began dramatically increasing, states have established numerous programs and resources to assist borrowers and tightened rules governing mortgage brokers and lenders. In 2008 alone, governors in 33 states signed 70 pieces of legislation to combat the rise in foreclosures. Nearly all states have adopted new regulations to improve oversight of the mortgage lending industry.

As the report details, state actions related to foreclosure have focused on three key areas:

· Mitigation - To slow the number of homes that fall into foreclosure, states have stepped up efforts to reach out to at-risk borrowers, connect borrowers with counseling and legal assistance, negotiate agreements with loan servicers to streamline modifications and improve the foreclosure process.

· Stabilization - As the number of foreclosures rises, so does the number of vacant and abandoned homes, which can attract crime and decrease property values. States are working to stabilize neighborhoods with multiple vacant and abandoned properties by streamlining property acquisition; ensuring properties are located quickly and maintained properly; creating land banks; and designing programs to market foreclosed property to new, responsible homeowners.

· Prevention -To protect borrowers from future housing crises and prepare for better times, states are enacting laws to regulate mortgage brokers, increase transparency and disclosure during the loan origination process, prevent predatory practices and improve financial education among consumers.

In addition to cataloguing state actions to address foreclosures, the NGA Center's interactive Web site will provide the latest information on state foreclosure programs and legislation as well as links to all NGA Center publications covering foreclosures and related issues.

For more information on state actions to address foreclosures, please visit http://www.nga.org/center/foreclosures.

###

Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation's governors and one of Washington, D.C.'s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices.

For more information, visit www.nga.org<http://www.nga.org/>.

20090222 Governors Take Action To Address Foreclosure Crisis
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 09, 2009

Recent insights by James Pethokoukis of US News and World Report

Recent insights on the economy by James Pethokoukis of US News and World Report

February 7, 2009

Study: Unions are Bad for Economic Growth
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
Yet the White House want to increase their influence. more >>

Rasmussen Poll: Obama Approval Cut in Half
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
The stimulus battle has had an impact. more >>

Reasons for Optimism? Here's a Bunch
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
But there are some more dark clouds on the horizon, too. more >>

Why Peak Oil Prices May Rocket Higher
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
Demand destruction is being followed by development destruction. more >>

Green Jobs Aren't Necessarily Good Jobs
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
Reality may not match the hype. more >>

American Stimulus, Japanese Stimulus
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 7, 2009
Why government spending failed to boost Japan in the 1990s. more >>

Obama's $800 Billion Stimulus or $1.34 Trillion Stimulus
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
The plan may be bigger than you think. more >>

How is the Economy Really Doing?
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
Worker incomes are actually holding up pretty well. more >>

Ronald Reagan on the Economy
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
Is Reaganomics still relevant? more >>

What Obama Doesn't Understand About Tax Cuts
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
They are about more than putting money in the pocket. more >>

Unemployment Rate Climbs to 7.6 Percent
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
The ranks of the jobless grow. more >>

Greg Mankiw's Stimulus Package
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
Time to cut payroll taxes. more >>

Obama Economic Advisory Board: Few Dissenting Voices
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 6, 2009
And will it have any real impact on policy? more >>

Fixing the Banks
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 5, 2009
Is it really so difficult? more >>

Mustard Seeds: Productivity
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 5, 2009
A good sign for future economic growth. more >>

Obama Pushes $900 Billion Stimulus Package
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 5, 2009
The president seems to be getting impatient. more >>

CBO: Obama Stimulus Plan Lowers Long-Run Growth
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
The massive deficits would crowd out private investment. more >>

Obama and CEO Pay: $500,000 for $1 Trillion
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
Is it all just a public relations ploy? more >>

Obama Adviser Chu: Global Warming May Force California to be Abandoned
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
Scary stuff from the new energy secretary more >>

Feldstein: Obama and Tax Cuts
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
The respected economist thinks the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be extended. more >>

McCain: Obama Stimulus Bill Stiffs Average Americans
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
Former presidential candidate goes after current president. more >>

Rasmussen Poll: Americans Want Tax Cuts, Not Obamanomics
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
Support for the stimulus plan continues to fall. more >>

Gallup: Only 38 Percent Support Obama Stimulus Plan
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
Public support seems to be declining. more >>

By 2010, It's Obama's Recession
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
The tactic of blaming President Bush for the downturn has an expiration date. more >>

Goldman Sachs: Second Stimulus Package Needed
By James Pethokoukis - Capital Commerce - February 4, 2009
More money, more money, more money! more >>

http://www.usnews.com/Topics/tag/Author/j/james_pethokoukis/index.html

20090207 Recent insights by James Pethokoukis of US News and World Report

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/