Thu 2010-09-23 09:33 EDT

Bob Rubin Just Wants to Be Cuddled

Iris Mack

[2010-04-29]...It's October 2007. I've just finished my morning jog on beautiful, sun-drenched Miami Beach and I'm getting a smoothie and a pastry at my usual place, Epicure Market. The subprime mortgage crisis is heading into full-swing mode; Jim Cramer had just done his crazy thing on TV, and you can feel the sky starting to fall all around you -- and that's a literal thing in Miami, where the cranes stopped on a lot of half-finished skyscrapers, the type where a few years back you'd hear about people flipping condos three times before the project even broke ground. (If there's ever a time that I don't regret leaving finance, it's now.) Anyway, I'm in line for the checkout, and a very familiar looking guy gets in line behind me. It's one of those situations where I'm not sure if I eyed him or he eyed me first, but I noticed him shortly when I turned to the left to swipe my debit card. He was standing right behind me in the checkout line - only a few feet away. He looked very familiar and famous, and while that's no rarity in Miami, it is when you realize it's because the guy looks like the former Treasury Secretary -- but maybe no, he's maybe not tall enough? -- and then somehow you finally just blurt out, "Hey, you look just like Bob Rubin!"...

Bob Rubin Just Wants; cuddling.

naked capitalism Mon 2010-07-19 17:00 EDT

Satyajit Das Examines Eurozone Stability Fund Three Card Monte

...Central banks and governments have developed an alarming fondness for the very sort of fancy financial structures that investment banks used to camouflage and transfer risk and engage in regulatory arbitrage prior to the crisis...The Eurozone has taken this affinity for financial structuring legerdemain even further, drawing on the most abused structure of the crisis, collateralized debt obligations, to create (as before) super duper AAA credits from less promising material...Das has exposed one major source of vulnerability, that of the impact of ratings downgrades. Auerback points out another: a revolt by workers in the Austerian nations, who will recognized, intuitively, perhaps explicitly, that the sacrifices demanded of them are a transfer to bankers in other countries...

card monte; naked capitalism; Satyajit Das Examines Eurozone Stability Fund.

Sun 2010-02-28 13:27 EST

Janet Tavakoli: Washington Abandons Greece: Beware of Geeks Bearing Grifts

Janet Tavakoli

The European Union (EU) is shocked--shocked I tell you!--that Greece used financial engineering to qualify for admission. Exactly how did they think that weaker countries managed to meet the requirements?...A few years ago, Greece engaged in derivatives transactions which essentially gave it a disguised loan, a gift from geeks. Greece may or may not have had plans to invest the money to create national wealth instead of say, blowing it all on national bling. Either way, Greece used its national credit card in a futile attempt to keep up with the EU Joneses...Today, rumors are that crony capitalists are using derivatives to profit from Greece's misery. There are allegations that investment banks and hedge funds used their knowledge of Greece's hidden debt to drive up its borrowing cost and drive down the Euro. Then these speculators reversed their positions, when they had advance information of a potential bailout for Greece. Other rumors suggest customized trades on the sovereign credit derivatives index also exploited Greece's problems. Still other rumors point to a campaign to manipulate Greek debt prices and knock down the Euro.

Beware; Geeks Bearing Grifts; Janet Tavakoli; Washington Abandons Greece.

Jesse's Café Américain Wed 2010-02-03 20:10 EST

Official World Gold Holdings

Jesse

...Is gold a bubble? As someone who has been a close observer of bubbles for the past ten years the data does not recommend that conclusion. And what makes me even more curious about this point of view is that the very people who for the most part denied the existence of the obvious bubbles in tech, housing, risk, banking and credit, even to the point of absurdity, who could not or would not see a bubble if it perched on the end of their nose, who are card carrying members of the international monied fraternity, are the most vocal in calling gold a bubble with emotional arguments lacking any fundamental data. What's up with that?

Jesse's Café Américain; Official World Gold Holdings.

Clusterfuck Nation Sun 2010-01-31 11:40 EST

Marching Toward Zombieland

James Howard Kunstler

...The questions lately revolve around whether the nation is destroying itself by inflation or deflation - by the willful destruction of the value of our currency to evade the repayment of debt, or by the hapless destruction of households, companies, and governments by default and bankruptcy. It's a fire-or-ice debate. Either way the nation is going down as a viable enterprise. The fiction that we can return to a Crate-and-Barrel credit card orgy has sustained the false of heart and mind for some months now, but even that pleasant reverie will come to an end as the foreclosures mount. Only remember, men living in their cars who have lost nearly everything else will still have guns.

Clusterfuck Nation; March; Zombieland.

Thu 2009-11-19 10:14 EST

Business & Technology | Part two | WaMu: Hometown bank turned predatory | Seattle Times Newspaper

David Heath

What few people knew was that bank executives crafted a radical new business strategy in 2003 that was intended to boost profits. The new WaMu used huge sales commissions and misleading marketing to hawk risky and overpriced loans to borrowers. In short, WaMu became one of the nation's biggest predatory lenders. The strategy eventually failed, not only bringing down Washington Mutual but deceiving borrowers, costing thousands their homes. In particular, the bank promoted as its "signature loan" a complex product known as the option ARM. This adjustable-rate mortgage, much like a credit card, gave borrowers the choice of making low minimum payments. But that option didn't cover the interest and only dug them deeper into debt.

business; Hometown bank turned predatory; part; Seattle Times Newspaper; Technology; WaMu.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis Mon 2009-09-21 14:09 EDT

Is Pent-Up Inflation From Fed Printing Waiting On Deck?

Michael Shedlock

Inquiring minds are wondering about the possibility of "pent-up" inflation from the massive expansion money supply by the Fed...Hardly. A funny thing happened to the inflation theory: Banks aren't lending and proof can be found in excess reserves at member banks. Because of rising credit card defaults, commercial real estate defaults, foreclosures, walk-aways, and other bad debts, banks need those reserves to cover future losses...banks are insolvent, unable or unwilling to lend. Moreover, tapped out consumers are unable or unwilling to borrow.

deck; Fed Printing Waiting; Inflation; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; pent.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis Sun 2009-09-20 11:08 EDT

Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Card Defaults Soar To New Highs

Michael Shedlock

Last month's improvements in credit card defaults appears to be an outlier. Credit card defaults have resumed their natural tendency to track rising unemployment...Unemployment is likely to rise for another year, then flatten out so it is likely that card defaults keep rising for quite some time.

America; bank; Citigroup; Credit Card Defaults Soar; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; new highs.

Jesse's Café Américain Sun 2009-09-20 11:07 EDT

Stock Market Rally: Shenanigans Abounding

Jesse

...The US markets in general have every mark of a maturing Ponzi scheme...Bonds, stocks, metals, sugar, cocoa, and oil are all moving higher, while the dollar sinks. Is the dollar funding a new carry trade?...We remain guardedly 'optimistic' on the markets for next year ONLY because of the Fed's and Treasury's willingness to continue to debase the dollar to cover the massive unrealized losses in the banks' portfolios, even as they return to manipulating markets in business as usual. Inflation is good for financial assets, and we think another bubble is in the cards, at least for now given Obama's unwillingness to reform, unless some exogenous event or actor intervenes...

Jesse's Café Américain; Shenanigans Abounding; stock market rally.

Jesse's Café Américain Fri 2009-09-04 19:42 EDT

"Let's Just Whack the Oil"

Jesse

``The markets used to be about capital formation,'' said Mr. Quast, the consultant. ``Now 80 percent of trading is driven by some form of statistical arbitrage. We are buying into a statistical house of cards that could unravel very quickly.'' ...this manipulation is getting so blatant and widespread and regular that it is crippling daily market operation, not to mention robbing the general public of millions of dollars every day in their 401K's, pensions, and investment accounts. It has more of the appearance of organized crime than it does of a financial system.

Jesse's Café Américain; Let's Just Whack; Oil.

zero hedge Sun 2009-08-30 15:00 EDT

Was Morgan Stanley Compromised By Project Mayhem?

One of the key headlines these days has been the unmasking of what has been dubbed the biggest identity theft and credit card fraud case in history, allegedly spearheaded by one Albert Gonzalez, who in 2003 was involved in a comparable scheme however upon being caught, promptly became an informant for the Secret Service and turned over 30 of his hacking buddies. Six years later it is he this time who is in the hot seat, together with most of his associates, including one 25 year old Stephen Watt, who supposedly was the creator of the credit card sniffer software used to hack into over 130 million of various credit cards for merchants such as TJX, Dave And Busters and 7-Eleven, which numbers were subsequently sold for hefty sums...

Morgan Stanley Compromised; Project Mayhem; Zero Hedge.

Thu 2009-07-30 00:00 EDT

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Credit Card Defaults At Record Highs But Worst Is Yet To Come

comes; credit card defaults; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; record high; worst.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Calculated Risk: Advanta Halts New Credit-Card Lending

Advanta Halts New Credit-Card Lending; Calculated Risk.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

AlterNet: Memo to Jackass, the Credit Card Industry Doesn't Need Anyone Standing Up for It

... Matt Taibbi, True/Slant; credit card company lobbying; irrational populist anger

AlterNet; credit card industry; Jackasses; memo; needed; stand.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Credit Card Issuer Advanta Has Huge Losses, Halts Lending

Credit Card Issuer Advanta; halt lending; huge losses; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

Tue 2009-06-16 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: Capital One Reveals Big Increase in Credit Card Chargeoffs

capitalism; Credit card chargeoffs; naked capitalism; Reveals Big Increase.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

Calculated Risk: Moody's: Record High Credit Card Charge-Offs

Calculated Risk; Moody's; Record High Credit Card Charge-Offs.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

High Risk Credit Card Solution For Adult Merchant Online - EmerchantPay

online payment processing

Adult Merchant Online; EmerchantPay; High Risk Credit Card Solution.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: 2005 Bankruptcy Law Changes Have Worked to Detriment of Credit Card Companies

2005 bankruptcy law changes; credit card company; Detrimental; naked capitalism; working.

Fri 2009-01-16 00:00 EST

naked capitalism: Chase Behaving Badly: Unintended Consequences of the Fed's New Credit Card Rules

Chase Behaving Badly; Fed's New Credit Card Rules; naked capitalism; unintended consequences.

Fri 2008-11-07 00:00 EST

Jesse's Café Américain: Credit Card Bond Sales Zero As the Credit Markets and Consumption Engines Stalls

Jesse's Café Américain: Credit Card Bond Sales Zero As the Credit Markets and Consumption Engines Stalls

Consumption Engines Stalls; Credit Card Bond Sales Zero; credit markets; Jesse's Café Américain.