The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

bkkandrew

^Welcome to my thread, I fly on the 28th, so will be hung-over by the time you land, but, regardless, if you are in BKK, a beer would be in order!

Mr P

Yes indeedy.

I'll PM you contact info at the other place. Think my account has yet to be trashed.

lom

Lower their monthly housing cost so they can afford another loan..

Economy is such a wonderful theory.
It is allowed to fail and then start over without any change.


Those who are indebted are not free people.

Panda

It only money and the government owns the mint. Whats the problem?

bkkandrew

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue fund after the government exhausted the first $350 billion in less than three months.

Congress, which passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program on Oct. 3, “will need to release the remainder of the TARP to support financial market stability,” Paulson said today in a statement released in Washington.

The Treasury today agreed to lend $13.4 billion to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, after spending $335 billion mostly to increase bank capital. Lawmakers, who can vote against giving Paulson the remaining funds, have criticized the Bush administration for not using the rescue package to help stem foreclosures.

From:

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

And, as I correctly predicted, the realisation of the failure of Paulson Plan 1 would bring about dollar collapse. Well we are into that - the next stage is US Soverign Default, which they are currently attempting to avert by cranking up the printing presses. And we all know know where that leads....

bkkandrew

^And on this note, Congress is in recess. TARP is all used up, so, if (God forbid) there are any bank failures in the next 30-days then.......

Never mind, I am sure Butterfly will think of something.

Butterfly

so when the collapse is coming ? is it today, tomorrow, last week ?

saying the collapse is imminent every day of the week for the past 6 months is hardly a prediction, more like a desperate attempt to catch up with reality

bkkandrew

^If you read the thread in chronological order, you will see that every one of my predictions, from the collapse of Bear/WaMu/Lehmen to AIG and Northern Rock has been made 4-8 months prior to it coming about. I finally came to the conclusion that US debt default was inevitable 5-months ago, be it by debasing of the currency, or simple refusal to pay. I posted as much on this thread at that time.

You would heckle at the sea as the Titanic sank beneath the waves, rather than listen to the danger warnings and opt for a lifeboat.

Panda

Butterfly is our resident heckler. But by the law of averages hes got to get something right eventually. So far hes been out of luck. Still, he does provide some entertainment.

bkkandrew

Hedge funds will be allowed to borrow from the Federal Reserve for the first time under a landmark $200bn programme intended to support consumer credit.

The Fed said on Friday it would offer low-cost three-year funding to any US company investing in securitised consumer loans under the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). This includes hedge funds, which have never been able to borrow from the US central bank before, although the Fed may not permit hedge funds to use offshore vehicles to conduct the transactions.

The asset-backed securities to be funded under the programme are pools of credit card receivables, automobile loans and student loans.

The idea is to increase the supply of these loans and reduce borrowing rates by ensuring that the companies that make the loans can sell them on to investors who have guaranteed access to low-cost funding from the Fed.

The TALF is a key plank of the unorthodox strategy set out by the Fed last week as it cut interest rates virtually to zero. Washington insiders expect the programme will be dramatically expanded next year with further capital support from Treasury once the Obama administration takes office.

A senior official in the outgoing Bush administration told the Financial Times it could also be broadened to include new commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities.

The Fed thinks risk premiums or “spreads” for consumer loans are much higher than would be justified by likely default rates, even assuming a nasty recession.

It attributes this to a lack of buying interest in the secondary market where the loans are sold on to investors. By making loans to these investors on attractive terms it aims to increase market liquidity.

Making the scheme open to all US companies is a radical departure for the Fed, which normally supports financial market liquidity indirectly by ensuring banks have adequate liquidity to make loans to other investors.

However, the liquidity the Fed is providing to banks is not flowing through to financial markets, because banks are balance-sheet constrained and risk-averse. So it is channelling funds directly to investors.

The scheme is not designed specifically for hedge funds and a wide range of financial institutions are likely to participate.

Nonetheless, Fed officials hope that hedge funds will be among those investors that take advantage of the low-cost finance to drive down spreads.

The loans will be secured only against the securities and not the borrower. However, the Fed will lend slightly less than the value of the securities pledged as collateral. The Treasury has committed $20bn to cover potential losses.

Since the credit crisis erupted, hedge funds have complained that they cannot get the leverage they need to arbitrage away excessive spreads and meet high hurdle rates of return.

“Demand is there for leverage but not supply,” said Sylvan Chackman, head of global equity financing at Merrill Lynch.

In effect, the Fed will now take on the role of prime broker – the lead bank that lends to a hedge fund – for specific assets.


From:

FT.com / US / Economy & Fed - Hedge funds gain access to $200bn Fed aid

This has to be a joke? Under this scheme Mr Made-off would even be able to nick money from the FED.

Panda

Hey, its only funny money they are playing with. The rest of the world will end up paying. So why should they care?

Butterfly

Well, I am glad you two have found each other and fondling each other cock. A pathetic liar and a know-it-all part time tourist, what a lovely couple. Panda, instead of masturbating in public and being the usual total loser, why don't you go jerk off on a tree instead for a change ? Thank you

bkkandrew

^Yet another high-brow contribution from the heckler, this time obsessing about male genitalia. Obviously the, ahem, 'enhanced' corner of Nana rejected him for the second night running...

bkkandrew

How To Survive The Coming Credit Card Crisis


Plastic is shaping up to be the next chapter in the financial meltdown. What you need to know.


While the economy tumbles and the government rushes to help stop the housing crisis, another danger is lurking--in your wallet.

Credit cards are shaping up to be the next chapter in the financial meltdown, promising to stymie consumer spending, drag on the economy and force a whole new wave of financial difficulty on Americans.

On Monday, Capital One disclosed rising delinquencies and loan losses for the month of November because of unemployment and the weakening economy. Loans at least 30 days past due made up an annualized 4.7% of the portfolio, up from 4.48% in October and loans charged-off rose to an annualized 6.98% from 6.54% in October.

To combat the risks, major lenders like Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ), Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) and American Express (nyse: AXP - news - people ) are raising rates on existing balances and slashing credit lines. Meredith Whitney, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., estimates banks will cancel $2 trillion of available consumer credit over the next year.

Continued here:

How To Survive The Coming Credit Card Crisis - Forbes.com

Oh dear, some people rely on credit cards apparently...

bkkandrew

I thought that it was appropriate to post this for a historical reminder:

In 1720, the South Sea Company was given a monopoly on all trade with South America. In return for this monopoly, the South Sea Company agreed to service the National Debt, which England had incurred during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Creditors could exchange their claims for shares in company stock. As members of the government were involved in the South Sea Company, it was to their benefit to drive up the price of the stock – including through artificial means.

The South Sea stock rose from £170 in February to over £1,000 in June. Speculation ran wild and all sorts of companies appeared, hoping to cash in on the shares mania.

Most of these companies were bogus schemes, selling shares in all sorts of ridiculous ventures, from building floating mansions to manufacturing a gun that would fire square cannon balls.

The most ludicrous of all was “a company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” In five hours, the owner managed to raise £2,000 – and fled to the Continent the following day.

When asked to commentate the situation, Sir Isaac Newton said: “I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.” The famous scientist himself lost twenty thousand pounds when the bubble eventually burst in the summer of 1720.

People all over the country lost money, bankruptcies reached an all-time high and suicides became a daily occurrence. A committee was formed to investigate and found widespread corruption and fraud among the directors and their friends in Parliament.

Even King George I became involved. His two German mistresses – the Countess of Darlington and the Duchess of Kendal (aka the Elephant and Castle) – were heavily involved in the South Sea Company and were blamed by the populace as being responsible.

Sir Robert Walpole was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and eventually managed to restore public confidence. For this, he became the country’s first Prime Minister and awarded a house at 10 Downing Street.

The question I would ask as we get to the present calamity is where is today's Walpole?

Butterfly

another made up story by our resident story teller

DrAndy

once upon a time, there was Uncle Sam, his baby and Mrs China.....

and they all lived happily ever after

bkkandrew

Moorlach Sees Up to 10 Municipal Bankruptcies in Coming Year


By Joe Mysak

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The accountant who predicted the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy says as many as 10 insolvencies will roil the $2.7 trillion U.S. market for state, county and city debt next year as public finances worsen amid calls for federal aid to state and local governments.

John Moorlach said in 1994 that Orange County, California’s leveraged investing strategy could wreck its finances. The county went bankrupt about six months later after losing $1.6 billion.

As many as four cities in the Golden State and six others nationwide may seek court protection from creditors next year under Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy code, the section devoted to municipal governments, Moorlach said in an interview.

“The total could be higher,” said Moorlach, 53, now chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. He didn’t name any cities outside California, which has seen the cost of insuring state debt against default more than quadruple since September. He said his estimate was based on general economic conditions.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Form an orderly queue for your bailouts!

Butterfly

so silly andrew, as you can see now, municipal debt is not part of the Federal government, as you claimed before, wrongly

bkkandrew

Obviously your heckling skills do not extend to reading posts you are heckling at:

and from before: