RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
Email
HomeWhat’s Driving Today’s Vote?
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 2nd, 2010 9:08 AM |
Will there soon be a run on U-Hauls in Washington DC?
Later this evening we will learn just how many incumbents in Washington are sent packing. In the process, we will assuredly hear from political pundits on both sides of the aisle as to what Americans are saying with their vote. In my opinion, we can dismiss the pundits and the politicians alike. While we are at it, we can throw a heap of cold water over the media as well. How so? Why’s this?
The simple fact is the rage coiling within the American populace has been developing for well over a year and today that rage will be released. The force multiplier of that rage will send a message to Washington and every corner of our great nation that Americans are beyond fed up with politics as usual and the crony capitalism that has flourished within that system. This rage is far different than anything I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. I highlighted it a year ago. While the reality of the rage was clearly evident in late 2009, our political representatives from both sides of the aisle did little to nothing to address it. Today they will pay the price for their lack of attention to the American public.
Let’s take a quick look back to the pulse of our nation in November 2009. Has that pulse remained the same? (more…)
Tags: america is outraged, americans feel disenfranchised, anti-incumbent fervor in America, Congressional elections November 2 2010, crony capitalism, disenfranchisement in america, failures within financial regulatory system, force multiplier in november 2 2010 vote, go vote, Goldman Sachs CEO LLoyd Blankfein, honesty and integrity in america, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, lack of transparency within our system, Larry Doyle, let freedom ring, media coverage of november 2 vote, midterm elections, moral decay within america, november 2 2010 vote, Obama redistribution, political pundits transalte the american vote define, populist rage in america, rage in america, referendum on obama november 2 2010, SEC MAry Schapiro, Sense on Cents, Susan Antilla of Bloomberg, Tea Party movement on november 2 2010, truth transparency and integrity, U-Hauls in Washington DC, Wall Street-Washington incest, Washington Wall Street incest, what are americans saying with their vote, what do americans feel, what's driving today's vote, what's fueling america's rage
Posted in General | 5 Comments »
Is The Clock Getting ‘Close to Midnight’ for FHLB-Seattle?
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 26th, 2010 5:46 AM |
All financial accounting charades to the contrary, the reality of a decaying asset quality and insufficient capital position will cause any institution to quiver. With more banking institutions declaring bankruptcy each and every week, the clock has yet to strike twelve on any of our larger banking institutions. That said, the pressure is certainly mounting on a large west coast institution, that being the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.
I first addressed issues within this specific institution 18 months ago when writing, Putting Perfume on a Pig. I highlighted at that time:
Who gets this? Charles Bowsher, who resigned just last week as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance. Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil does yeoman work in profiling Mr. Bowsher and the joke that is FHLB accounting: (more…)
Tags: accounting fraud, American Banker, banking losses, Charles Bowsher, federal home loan bank seattle, Federal Home Loan Bank system, Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA, FHLB, FHLB Seattle, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, office of finance, riccobono, Richard M. Riccobono, Seattle FHLB Enters Into Consent Agreement with FHFA CEO Riccobono Resigns, Steven R. Horton, William V. Humphreys
Posted in Federal Home Loan Banks, General | 1 Comment »
Sense on Cents 2009 Halls of Fame and Shame
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 9:47 AM |
For those who missed last evening’s No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Hall of Fame and Shame Induction, I am compelled to provide a recap and listing of all those honored or dishonored — depending on one’s perspective. What was the measuring stick to make these assessments? Very simply, the pursuit and promotion of truth, transparency and integrity as we navigate the economic landscape.
Some names you will immediately recognize, others you may not. Additional information about these individuals can be found via the search window (located above the right sidebar) at Sense on Cents. The names appear in no specific order of priority or importance. With no further adieu . . .
Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame Inductees
1. Bernie Madoff
2. Nicholas Cosmo: ran financial scam at Agape World
3. Tim Geithner: tax cheat amongst other things
4. Larry Summers: arrogant, condescending, and sleep deprived
5. Auction-Rate Securities dealers and managers, especially Oppenheimer Holdings, E-Trade, Schwab, Pimco, Van-Kampen, Blackrock
6. The Wall Street Journal
7. George Soros
8. Chris Dodd (D-CT): reasons too numerous to mention
9. The Board of FINRA
10. Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel: former CEOs of Fannie and Freddie
11. Wall Street management, especially Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs
12. Frank Dipascali: a special place in hell for Madoff’s CFO
13. Rahm Emanuel
14. Jimmy Cayne: CEO of Bear Stearns
15. Dick Fuld: CEO of Lehman Bros.
16. Congress collectively
17. Barney Frank (D-MA): reasons too numerous to mention, but start with “I want to roll the dice…”
18. Bank Stress Tests: a total sham
19. Allen Stanford
20. Steven Rattner: car czar
21. Bruce Malkenhorst: receiving a 500k pension from Vernon, CA
22. Barack Obama: just another politician (more…)
Tags: Acorn, Allen Stanford, Andrew Madoff, Angelo Haligiannis Ponzi scheme, Arianna Huffington, auction rate securites dealers, Bank Stress Tests, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Ben Nelson, Bernie Madoff, Board of FINRA, Bob Rodriguez of FPA, Bruce Malkenhorst, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Carmen Reinhart, cash for clunkers, Charles Bowsher, Charlie Doyle, Chris Cox, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Clifford S. Asness, Cohmad Securities, Colonel Elton Johnson Jr., Congress, Daniel Hannan, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Fuld, Edward Liddy, Elizabeth Warren, Erin Arvedlund, financial media, financial regulatory reform, Frank DiPascali, Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel, George Soros, Goldman Sachs, Harvey Pitt, Helen Davis Chaitman, Helmut Kiener, Howard Kastel, incest between Wall Street and Washington, Jeff Gundlach, Jeffrey Picower, Jimmy Cayne, Joe Saluzzi, Joe the Plumber, John Edwards Mark Sanford Rod Blagoevich, John Mauldin, john wooden, Jonathan Cuneo, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judge Lawrence McKenna, Kenneth Rogoff, Larry Johnson, Larry Summers, Laurie Goodman of Amherst Securities, Lew Rockwell, Lloyd Blankfein CEO of Goldman Sachs, Madoff family, Mark Madoff, Marta Mossburg, Martin Feldstein, Mary Landrieu, Mary Schapiro, media in America, Mike Duggan of Domus, Nicholas Cosmo of Agape World, Oppenheimer Holdings E-Trade Schwab Pimco Van-Kampen Blackrock, Paul Keating, Paul Volcker, Pete Peterson Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, Peter King, Peter Madoff, Peter Weinberg, Phil Trupp, PPIP, Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group, Rham Emanuel, Richard Greenfield, Richard Ketchum, Robert Benmosche, Robert Jaffe, Robert reich, Robert Rubin, Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, Ruth Madoff, Sean D'Arcy, SEC, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Fame Hall of, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame, Shana Madoff, Shelia Bair, Sin-Ming Shaw, SIPC, Sonny and Marcia Cohn, Steven Rattner, Susan Antilla of Bloomberg, Taylor Bean Whitaker, Tea parties, Thaddeus McCotter, The Wall Street Journal, Themis Trading, Thomas Hoenig, Tiger Woods, Tim Geithner tax cheat, Tom Lauria, truth transparency and integrity, Wall street management, Walter Noel, William K. Black
Posted in General, Sense on Cents | 31 Comments »
Banks Have Books on ‘Low Simmer’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 13th, 2009 11:33 AM |
Should we add a little spice for flavoring to the low simmering stew represented by a number of banks’ books and records?
In the spirit of continuing our focus on increasingly delinquent and defaulted loans, I again reference leading Wall Street representatives as sources of information on this topic. Let’s take a whiff of the aroma coming off the stove.
1. The single best financial reporter on Wall Street, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, writes Next Bubble to Burst is Banks’ Big Loan Values:
Check out the footnotes to Regions Financial Corp’s latest quarterly report, and you’ll see a remarkable disclosure. There, in an easy-to-read chart, the company divulged that the loans on its books as of June 30 were worth $22.8 billion less than what its balance sheet said. The Birmingham, Alabama-based bank’s shareholder equity, by comparison, was just $18.7 billion.
So, if it weren’t for the inflated loan values, Regions’ equity would be less than zero. Meanwhile, the government continues to classify Regions as “well capitalized.”
What other banks are preparing this meal? Weil does yeoman work in highlighting the following:
>> Bank of America Corp. said its loans as of June 30 were worth $64.4 billion less than its balance sheet said. The difference represented 58 percent of the company’s Tier 1 common equity
>>Wells Fargo & Co. said the fair value of its loans was $34.3 billion less than their book value as of June 30. The bank’s Tier 1 common equity, by comparison, was $47.1 billion.
>>Suntrust Banks Inc. showed a $13.6 billion gap as of June 30, which exceeded its $11.1 billion of Tier 1 common equity.
>>Key Corp said its loans were worth $8.6 billion less than their book value; its Tier 1 common was just $7.1 billion.
In the spirit of full disclosure, not all banks are cooking their books; some have finished the cooking, dined, and washed the dishes under Uncle Sam’s guidance. Weil asserts:
The trend in banks’ loan values is not uniform. Twelve of the 24 companies in the KBW Bank Index, including Citigroup Inc., said their loans’ fair values were within 1 percent of their carrying amounts, more or less. Citigroup said the fair value of its loans was $601.3 billion, just $1.3 billion less than their book value. The gap had been $18.2 billion at the end of 2008.
2. High five once again to 12th Street Capital for pointing out the state of the simmering undertaken by the Federal Home Loan Bank system. KD references an article from The American Banker: (more…)
Tags: 12th Street Capital, American banker report on Federal Home Loan Banks, are banks cooking the books, bank accounting, bank accounting games, bank books and records, bank cooking, bank of America loan valuations versus tangible common equity, banks cooking the books, Federal Home Loan Bank system earnings 2nd quarter 2009, FHLB benefits from accounting changes, government classifies Regions financial as well capitalized, impact of delinquent and defaulted loans on bank earnings, Japan's Lost Decade, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, KBW bank Index, Key Corp loan valuations versus common equity, net income at FHLBs, Next Bubble to Burst is Banks' Big Loan Values, Office of Finance for FHLB releases earning statement, regions Financial Corps financials and accounting, Regions Financial's loan valuaitons versus tangible common equity, Suntrust Banks loan valuations versus common equity, Wells fargo's loan valuations versus common equity, what is OTTI
Posted in Banking Institutions, General | 9 Comments »
