Thursday, October 30, 2008
Cardiomyopathy? We hardly knew ye!
From New York Magazine: Hedge Funds and Heartache.
The meltdown is giving Wall Streeters chest pains. Jill Kalman, who runs the cardiomyopathy program at Mount Sinai, says she hasn’t been so busy since after 9/11. “Emotional stress can induce disturbances like palpitations and racing heartbeats,” she says.
“One patient said that every time he sits at his desk he feels chest tightness,” says David Blumenthal, a cardiologist at Weill-Cornell Medical Center.
“We have seen a decided increase in chest pains,” says Daniel Megna, a gastroenterologist at Staten Island University Hospital. “It’s not just the Wall Street executives. We’re also getting the office managers and secretaries who are under threat of losing their jobs.”
Odd! The EE has never felt more copacetic in his life.
The meltdown is giving Wall Streeters chest pains. Jill Kalman, who runs the cardiomyopathy program at Mount Sinai, says she hasn’t been so busy since after 9/11. “Emotional stress can induce disturbances like palpitations and racing heartbeats,” she says.
“One patient said that every time he sits at his desk he feels chest tightness,” says David Blumenthal, a cardiologist at Weill-Cornell Medical Center.
“We have seen a decided increase in chest pains,” says Daniel Megna, a gastroenterologist at Staten Island University Hospital. “It’s not just the Wall Street executives. We’re also getting the office managers and secretaries who are under threat of losing their jobs.”
Odd! The EE has never felt more copacetic in his life.
The Panties are Dropping!
From the San Diego Union Tribune: High-end goods feeling low.
On La Jolla's trendy Girard Avenue, the era of $75 lace panties is coming to an end.
Since opening in 1993, Neroli Lingerie has been supplying the finest European undergarments – with prices as eyebrow-raising as some of the steamy designs – to residents and tourists in the wealthy resort community.
Now Neroli's owner, Ceslie Rossi, is closing shop because sales no longer support the 1,200-square-foot boutique's $7,000-per-month rent.
“It's been touch-and-go for a year now, and then in September the bottom fell out – no one was spending,” said Rossi, who this month liquidated her lingerie inventory in a going-out-of-business sale. “I can't handle the stress anymore. When my art-gallery neighbor sells one painting for $20,000, they are OK, but panties – even expensive panties – is another matter.”
Looks like the "bottom" dropped out of the panty market!
On La Jolla's trendy Girard Avenue, the era of $75 lace panties is coming to an end.
Since opening in 1993, Neroli Lingerie has been supplying the finest European undergarments – with prices as eyebrow-raising as some of the steamy designs – to residents and tourists in the wealthy resort community.
Now Neroli's owner, Ceslie Rossi, is closing shop because sales no longer support the 1,200-square-foot boutique's $7,000-per-month rent.
“It's been touch-and-go for a year now, and then in September the bottom fell out – no one was spending,” said Rossi, who this month liquidated her lingerie inventory in a going-out-of-business sale. “I can't handle the stress anymore. When my art-gallery neighbor sells one painting for $20,000, they are OK, but panties – even expensive panties – is another matter.”
Looks like the "bottom" dropped out of the panty market!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Pride of Home Pawnership
From NPR: For Some, Housing Crisis Stress Is Unbearable.
It's only natural to worry as the value of homes and investments falls. But the financial crisis is hitting some people harder than others. In California, the housing meltdown started early. Over the past three months, a record number of Californians lost their homes to foreclosure.
Scott Harden lives on a quiet street in North Pasadena, in a neighborhood that is aptly named Bungalow Heaven. But before dawn one recent morning, Harder woke up and smelled smoke coming from the home of his 53-year-old neighbor, Wanda Dunn.
Harden called 911. When emergency personnel arrived, they found Dunn's body in her rear bedroom. She'd apparently set her house afire and shot herself in the head. Dunn had been facing eviction from the only home she'd ever known.
Dunn had inherited her bungalow from her family and lost it after she stopped working because of a disability; she had also made some bad financial decisions.
Beverly Hills psychologist Kenneth Siegel says Californians are especially attached to their residential real estate.
"California represented for many of us the pinnacle of the effects of hard work," Siegel said, "of the ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps."
Owning a home, Siegel said, "represented the physical manifestation of all we have done and how hard we have worked."
But Californians' dream of a modest detached home, Siegel says, often morphed into something far grander when the economic boom of the 1990s made home loans — many of them subprime — easier to come by.
"So here, as much as anyplace else, people did overbuy, their houses were bigger than their egos," Siegel said, "and they in fact invested more of themselves and more of their savings in them."
Basically, death was better than renting after she made a "few bad financial decisions." (= pull all the equity that her parents built up out via a HELOC, and blow it all.)
As Oscar Wilde commented on the death of Little Nell, "one would have to have a heart of stone to read without laughing."
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
It's only natural to worry as the value of homes and investments falls. But the financial crisis is hitting some people harder than others. In California, the housing meltdown started early. Over the past three months, a record number of Californians lost their homes to foreclosure.
Scott Harden lives on a quiet street in North Pasadena, in a neighborhood that is aptly named Bungalow Heaven. But before dawn one recent morning, Harder woke up and smelled smoke coming from the home of his 53-year-old neighbor, Wanda Dunn.
Harden called 911. When emergency personnel arrived, they found Dunn's body in her rear bedroom. She'd apparently set her house afire and shot herself in the head. Dunn had been facing eviction from the only home she'd ever known.
Dunn had inherited her bungalow from her family and lost it after she stopped working because of a disability; she had also made some bad financial decisions.
Beverly Hills psychologist Kenneth Siegel says Californians are especially attached to their residential real estate.
"California represented for many of us the pinnacle of the effects of hard work," Siegel said, "of the ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps."
Owning a home, Siegel said, "represented the physical manifestation of all we have done and how hard we have worked."
But Californians' dream of a modest detached home, Siegel says, often morphed into something far grander when the economic boom of the 1990s made home loans — many of them subprime — easier to come by.
"So here, as much as anyplace else, people did overbuy, their houses were bigger than their egos," Siegel said, "and they in fact invested more of themselves and more of their savings in them."
Basically, death was better than renting after she made a "few bad financial decisions." (= pull all the equity that her parents built up out via a HELOC, and blow it all.)
As Oscar Wilde commented on the death of Little Nell, "one would have to have a heart of stone to read without laughing."
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Consumer Confidence
"The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had improved moderately in September, fell to an all-time low in October. The Index now stands at 38.0 (1985=100), down from 61.4 in September.
Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers' confidence. The decline in the Index (-23.4 points) is the third largest in the history of the series, and the lowest reading on record. In assessing current conditions, consumers rated the labor market and business conditions much less favorably, suggesting that the fourth quarter is off to a weaker start than the third quarter.
Consumers' appraisal of current conditions deteriorated sharply in October. Those saying business conditions are "bad" increased to 38.3 percent from 33.4 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "good" declined to 9.2 percent from 12.8 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also much more negative. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 37.2 percent from 32.2 percent in September, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 8.9 percent from 12.6 percent."
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Paper Turkey
From the lard-iest paper, The Manteca Bulletin reports: Bleak outlook for Thanksgiving as turkey effort is $18,635 short.
It's 32 days until Thanksgiving.
But Gail Teunissen and the rest of the Turkeys R Us volunteers have just 20 days to raise $18,725 to make sure 1,250 struggling families in Manteca, Ripon and Lathrop have at least a turkey for the main course.
They've collected just $90 so far.
Did they call Bernanke at the Fed for a turkey bailout?
It's 32 days until Thanksgiving.
But Gail Teunissen and the rest of the Turkeys R Us volunteers have just 20 days to raise $18,725 to make sure 1,250 struggling families in Manteca, Ripon and Lathrop have at least a turkey for the main course.
They've collected just $90 so far.
Did they call Bernanke at the Fed for a turkey bailout?
Greatest Fools Morph into Greatest Depression
From Bloomberg: Evil Wall Street Exports Boomed With `Fools' Born to Buy Debt.
The bundling of consumer loans and home mortgages into packages of securities -- a process known as securitization -- was the biggest U.S. export business of the 21st century. More than $27 trillion of these securities have been sold since 2001, according to the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, an industry trade group. That's almost twice last year's U.S. gross domestic product of $13.8 trillion.
``Securitization was based on the premise that a fool was born every minute,'' Joseph Stiglitz, a professor of economics at Columbia University in New York, told a congressional committee on Oct. 21. ``Globalization meant that there was a global landscape on which they could search for those fools -- and they found them everywhere.''
European banks, in particular, were eager adopters. Securitizations in Europe increased almost sixfold between 2000 and 2007, from 78 billion euros ($98 billion) to 453 billion euros, according to the European Securitization Forum, a trade organization.
Three Icelandic banks borrowed enough to buy $228 billion of assets, most of them securitizations, turning the country's financial system into a hedge fund. All three banks have been nationalized by the government, leading Prime Minister Geir Haarde to advise citizens to switch from finance to fishing.
In Germany, one bank, Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale, bought $26 billion worth of subprime-backed investments, putting the state of Saxony on the hook for $4.1 billion.
In Japan, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the nation's third- largest bank, acquired an entire structured-finance team, which proceeded to lose $6 billion issuing mortgage-backed securities.
The damage reaches all the way to Australia, where the town council of Wingecarribee, a municipality outside Sydney with a population of 42,000, bought $20 million of securities from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Now, Lehman is in bankruptcy, the town council is in court and the securities are worth about 15 cents on the dollar.
Decoupling, we hardly knew ye!
The bundling of consumer loans and home mortgages into packages of securities -- a process known as securitization -- was the biggest U.S. export business of the 21st century. More than $27 trillion of these securities have been sold since 2001, according to the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, an industry trade group. That's almost twice last year's U.S. gross domestic product of $13.8 trillion.
``Securitization was based on the premise that a fool was born every minute,'' Joseph Stiglitz, a professor of economics at Columbia University in New York, told a congressional committee on Oct. 21. ``Globalization meant that there was a global landscape on which they could search for those fools -- and they found them everywhere.''
European banks, in particular, were eager adopters. Securitizations in Europe increased almost sixfold between 2000 and 2007, from 78 billion euros ($98 billion) to 453 billion euros, according to the European Securitization Forum, a trade organization.
Three Icelandic banks borrowed enough to buy $228 billion of assets, most of them securitizations, turning the country's financial system into a hedge fund. All three banks have been nationalized by the government, leading Prime Minister Geir Haarde to advise citizens to switch from finance to fishing.
In Germany, one bank, Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale, bought $26 billion worth of subprime-backed investments, putting the state of Saxony on the hook for $4.1 billion.
In Japan, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the nation's third- largest bank, acquired an entire structured-finance team, which proceeded to lose $6 billion issuing mortgage-backed securities.
The damage reaches all the way to Australia, where the town council of Wingecarribee, a municipality outside Sydney with a population of 42,000, bought $20 million of securities from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Now, Lehman is in bankruptcy, the town council is in court and the securities are worth about 15 cents on the dollar.
Decoupling, we hardly knew ye!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Road So Far
It's time for some "peak performance" stock-market statistics.
Markets down more than 70%:
Vietnam (-70.5%)
Peru (-73.2%)
Ireland (-73.4%)
Russia (-73.9%)
Iceland (-88.7%).
Markets down between 60% and 70%:
Hong Kong (-60.1%)
Poland (-62.6%)
China (-69.8%).
Markets down between 50% and 60%:
South Korea (-54.5%)
Italy (-55.2%)
Egypt (-56.9%)
Brazil (-57.2%)
Japan (-58.1%)
Singapore (-58.2%)
Turkey (-58.5%)
India (-58.3%).
Markets down between 40% and 50%:
Great Britain (-42.3%)
Australia (-43.3%)
U.S. S&P 500 (-44.0%)
Spain (-46.4%)
Germany (-47.0%)
Mexico (-48.3%).
The mood:
Markets down more than 70%:
Vietnam (-70.5%)
Peru (-73.2%)
Ireland (-73.4%)
Russia (-73.9%)
Iceland (-88.7%).
Markets down between 60% and 70%:
Hong Kong (-60.1%)
Poland (-62.6%)
China (-69.8%).
Markets down between 50% and 60%:
South Korea (-54.5%)
Italy (-55.2%)
Egypt (-56.9%)
Brazil (-57.2%)
Japan (-58.1%)
Singapore (-58.2%)
Turkey (-58.5%)
India (-58.3%).
Markets down between 40% and 50%:
Great Britain (-42.3%)
Australia (-43.3%)
U.S. S&P 500 (-44.0%)
Spain (-46.4%)
Germany (-47.0%)
Mexico (-48.3%).
The mood:
Friday, October 24, 2008
Volvo Liberal Elitist Crash
From thisismoney.com: Volvo truck sales plunge 99.7%.
The depth of the recession was revealed today as truckmaker Volvo admitted demand across the Continent has crashed by 99.7% as it took orders for just 115 new lorries in the last three months.
That compares to orders totalling 41,970 in the third quarter of 2007. Global orders for Volvo slumped 55% in the last three months while Scania, of which Volvo has majority control, said its western Europe truck orders collapsed by 69%.
115? Just 115 down from 42K!
The real economy has collapsed! Phony financial economy up next.
The depth of the recession was revealed today as truckmaker Volvo admitted demand across the Continent has crashed by 99.7% as it took orders for just 115 new lorries in the last three months.
That compares to orders totalling 41,970 in the third quarter of 2007. Global orders for Volvo slumped 55% in the last three months while Scania, of which Volvo has majority control, said its western Europe truck orders collapsed by 69%.
115? Just 115 down from 42K!
The real economy has collapsed! Phony financial economy up next.
Taiwan Insurers Dump MBS's
From the Asian Investor: Taiwan insurers ordered out of US agency MBS.
The FSC has not only limited insurance company exposure to Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie bonds and mortgage-backed securities, but has decided that existing credit ratings are meaningless.
The Insurance Bureau at the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taipei announced revised rules on how insurance companies can treat investments in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The FSC says it cannot see how the United States will develop a valid mechanism to assess the credit quality of MBS issued by US federal housing loan agencies, namely Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.
Taiwanese insurers are now ordered to back off from investing in mortgage-backed securities arranged by the three institutions, or from holding their debt. The rules set maximum allowed exposures; beyond that, they don’t explicitly order insurers to sell their holdings, although the impression in reading the regulations is certainly one of disapproval.
(Ed: boldface in original article.)
The FSC has not only limited insurance company exposure to Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie bonds and mortgage-backed securities, but has decided that existing credit ratings are meaningless.
The Insurance Bureau at the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taipei announced revised rules on how insurance companies can treat investments in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The FSC says it cannot see how the United States will develop a valid mechanism to assess the credit quality of MBS issued by US federal housing loan agencies, namely Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.
Taiwanese insurers are now ordered to back off from investing in mortgage-backed securities arranged by the three institutions, or from holding their debt. The rules set maximum allowed exposures; beyond that, they don’t explicitly order insurers to sell their holdings, although the impression in reading the regulations is certainly one of disapproval.
(Ed: boldface in original article.)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Adios, Lemmings!
From Forbes: GM suspending benefits.
General Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend several benefit programs for salaried workers as it seeks to cut costs in the difficult auto market.
The automaker will temporarily stop company matching of its 401(k) program as of Nov. 1, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. It also will suspend tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance programs as of the end of this year, he said.
Yeah, "temporary".
Portfolios devastated. No matching. No tuition assistance.
All assuming that GM even survives (doubtful.)
Sell your house? Ooops, you're "upside down".
Goodbye, retirement. Hello, serfdom.
General Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend several benefit programs for salaried workers as it seeks to cut costs in the difficult auto market.
The automaker will temporarily stop company matching of its 401(k) program as of Nov. 1, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. It also will suspend tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance programs as of the end of this year, he said.
Yeah, "temporary".
Portfolios devastated. No matching. No tuition assistance.
All assuming that GM even survives (doubtful.)
Sell your house? Ooops, you're "upside down".
Goodbye, retirement. Hello, serfdom.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Who Wants to be a Delusionaire?
From Reuters: Wal-Mart customers delay buying necessities.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. customers, increasingly worried about their own financial security, are waiting until they get their paychecks to buy even the most basic necessities, the retailer's U.S. division head said on Tuesday.
Wal-Mart's sales typically surge around pay periods at the beginning and middle of the month. Castro-Wright said that spike has become more pronounced as consumers' budgets become more stressed.
In the last few months, the percentage of overall sales from the days surrounding those pay periods has risen 250 basis points, he said.
And, in a "disturbing" trend, Castro-Wright said Wal-Mart for the first time is seeing a paycheck-related spike in sales of baby formula, suggesting consumers are rushing to buy such necessities as soon as they have the cash.
He said credit used as a form of payment at Wal-Mart is falling and that the decline is expected to reach into the double digits this year.
Castro-Wright declined to comment about the general economy. When asked about the holidays, he said: "Christmas is going to come .... consumers are just going to be more cautious."
This is delusional thinking. Retail is going to be abysmal this Christmas.
What are these people smoking?
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. customers, increasingly worried about their own financial security, are waiting until they get their paychecks to buy even the most basic necessities, the retailer's U.S. division head said on Tuesday.
Wal-Mart's sales typically surge around pay periods at the beginning and middle of the month. Castro-Wright said that spike has become more pronounced as consumers' budgets become more stressed.
In the last few months, the percentage of overall sales from the days surrounding those pay periods has risen 250 basis points, he said.
And, in a "disturbing" trend, Castro-Wright said Wal-Mart for the first time is seeing a paycheck-related spike in sales of baby formula, suggesting consumers are rushing to buy such necessities as soon as they have the cash.
He said credit used as a form of payment at Wal-Mart is falling and that the decline is expected to reach into the double digits this year.
Castro-Wright declined to comment about the general economy. When asked about the holidays, he said: "Christmas is going to come .... consumers are just going to be more cautious."
This is delusional thinking. Retail is going to be abysmal this Christmas.
What are these people smoking?
P.T.Barnum Lives!!!
From MSNBC: Hard times have some flirting with survivalism.
Atash Hagmahani is not waiting for the stock market to recover. The former high-tech professional turned urban survivalist has already moved his money into safer investments: Rice and beans, for starters.
“I hoard food,” says Hagmahani, 44, estimating that he has enough to last his family a year or two. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
“People keep asking when this (economic crisis) is going to clear up,” says Hagmahani, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that he be identified only by this pseudonym, which he uses for his survivalist blog, or by his first name, Rob.
With foreclosure rates running rampant, financial institutions teetering and falling, prices for many goods and services climbing, and jobs being slashed, many Americans are making preparations for worse times ahead. For some, that means cutting spending and saving more. For others, it means taking a step into survivalism, once regarded solely as the province of religious End-of-Timers, sci-fi fans and extremists.
That often manifests itself as a desire to secure basic emergency resources — what survival guru Jim Wesley Rawles describes as “beans, bullets and Band-Aids.”
Rawles, speaking by phone from an “undisclosed location” somewhere between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, said he has seen traffic on his Web site, SurvivalBlog.com, explode in the last year.
Others more directly embedded in the survival industry say they, too, are seeing the biggest surge of orders since the run-up to Y2K, when angst surged over whether computers would survive the dawn of a new millennium.
“I’m getting slammed with big orders,” said Kurt Wilson, a distributor of freeze-dried foods and other provisions with decades-long shelf life, like canned meat, cheese and butter.
“I have customers who were spending 200 bucks a month now spending $5,000 to $8,000,” Wilson said from his warehouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “I get little old ladies calling up, stocking up for their grandchildren.”
Wilson, who also has an online radio show called the Armchair Survivalist, said one of his new clients is a New York interior designer who specializes in outfitting cramped Manhattan apartments with hidden food storage units that double as tasteful furnishings.
Wow, you really can sucker them coming and going. It's un-fuckin-believable!
Atash Hagmahani is not waiting for the stock market to recover. The former high-tech professional turned urban survivalist has already moved his money into safer investments: Rice and beans, for starters.
“I hoard food,” says Hagmahani, 44, estimating that he has enough to last his family a year or two. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
“People keep asking when this (economic crisis) is going to clear up,” says Hagmahani, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that he be identified only by this pseudonym, which he uses for his survivalist blog, or by his first name, Rob.
With foreclosure rates running rampant, financial institutions teetering and falling, prices for many goods and services climbing, and jobs being slashed, many Americans are making preparations for worse times ahead. For some, that means cutting spending and saving more. For others, it means taking a step into survivalism, once regarded solely as the province of religious End-of-Timers, sci-fi fans and extremists.
That often manifests itself as a desire to secure basic emergency resources — what survival guru Jim Wesley Rawles describes as “beans, bullets and Band-Aids.”
Rawles, speaking by phone from an “undisclosed location” somewhere between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, said he has seen traffic on his Web site, SurvivalBlog.com, explode in the last year.
Others more directly embedded in the survival industry say they, too, are seeing the biggest surge of orders since the run-up to Y2K, when angst surged over whether computers would survive the dawn of a new millennium.
“I’m getting slammed with big orders,” said Kurt Wilson, a distributor of freeze-dried foods and other provisions with decades-long shelf life, like canned meat, cheese and butter.
“I have customers who were spending 200 bucks a month now spending $5,000 to $8,000,” Wilson said from his warehouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “I get little old ladies calling up, stocking up for their grandchildren.”
Wilson, who also has an online radio show called the Armchair Survivalist, said one of his new clients is a New York interior designer who specializes in outfitting cramped Manhattan apartments with hidden food storage units that double as tasteful furnishings.
Wow, you really can sucker them coming and going. It's un-fuckin-believable!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Frozen Foolishness
From the Irish Times: Iceland fixes crown at different rate to market.
Having been untraded for days after it collapsed, Iceland's crown is moving towards a dual exchange rate with the central bank selling foreign currency to locals much cheaper than the international market rate.
Iceland's government took control of its banking system last week and has since imposed harsh foreign exchange controls, holding an auction every day to set the value of the crown.
Friday's fix valued it at 151 to €1 and 112.69 to the dollar, slightly weaker than yesterday's levels. But the Reuters matching dealing system showed the crown at almost half that value in international trade at 275 to the euro.
"What the government is doing is giving away foreign exchange locally at much cheaper than the market rate."
If the crown continues to strengthen internationally even while weakening locally, the differential between the two rates might disappear and reach equilibrium. Otherwise, with Iceland's foreign reserves dwindling, the analyst said it could only continue local foreign currency selling for days or a couple of weeks.
This is moronic. They are setting themselves up for a "second" crisis once their foreign reserves disappear.
What should any rational Icelander (individual or corporation) do?
Either convert to euros because the rest of the foolish taxpayers are financing you. Or play the roundtrip multiple times a day. Buy at the "official" rate and sell on the open market. Take your winnings and convert them to gold.
Incredible!
Well, no nation has managed to go bankrupt twice in a month but Iceland seems to be giving it the ol' college try.
This is dumber than dumb.
Having been untraded for days after it collapsed, Iceland's crown is moving towards a dual exchange rate with the central bank selling foreign currency to locals much cheaper than the international market rate.
Iceland's government took control of its banking system last week and has since imposed harsh foreign exchange controls, holding an auction every day to set the value of the crown.
Friday's fix valued it at 151 to €1 and 112.69 to the dollar, slightly weaker than yesterday's levels. But the Reuters matching dealing system showed the crown at almost half that value in international trade at 275 to the euro.
"What the government is doing is giving away foreign exchange locally at much cheaper than the market rate."
If the crown continues to strengthen internationally even while weakening locally, the differential between the two rates might disappear and reach equilibrium. Otherwise, with Iceland's foreign reserves dwindling, the analyst said it could only continue local foreign currency selling for days or a couple of weeks.
This is moronic. They are setting themselves up for a "second" crisis once their foreign reserves disappear.
What should any rational Icelander (individual or corporation) do?
Either convert to euros because the rest of the foolish taxpayers are financing you. Or play the roundtrip multiple times a day. Buy at the "official" rate and sell on the open market. Take your winnings and convert them to gold.
Incredible!
Well, no nation has managed to go bankrupt twice in a month but Iceland seems to be giving it the ol' college try.
This is dumber than dumb.
Friday, October 17, 2008
So Much for Clean Tech!
From MSNBC: All-electric carmaker hits a financial wall.
Tesla Motors — maker of a $109,000, all-electric, emissions-free sports car that can do 0-60 mph in 4 seconds — this week said it had hit a financial wall, specifically a shortage of cash.
Musk said Tesla also will reduce its work force a "modest" amount and close its engineering office near Detroit, Mich., moving those jobs to new headquarters in San Jose, Calif.
"We are not far from being cash flow positive," Musk wrote, "but even if that threshold ends up being further than expected."
You are NOT cash-flow positive.
The $25B "bailout" of the Big Three screwed you over big time because you didn't get any of the taxpayer cheese.
Oil prices are going to fall in the upcoming deflation.
And you are making a $109K car headed into an epic recession.
Hasta luego, baby!
Tesla Motors — maker of a $109,000, all-electric, emissions-free sports car that can do 0-60 mph in 4 seconds — this week said it had hit a financial wall, specifically a shortage of cash.
Musk said Tesla also will reduce its work force a "modest" amount and close its engineering office near Detroit, Mich., moving those jobs to new headquarters in San Jose, Calif.
"We are not far from being cash flow positive," Musk wrote, "but even if that threshold ends up being further than expected."
You are NOT cash-flow positive.
The $25B "bailout" of the Big Three screwed you over big time because you didn't get any of the taxpayer cheese.
Oil prices are going to fall in the upcoming deflation.
And you are making a $109K car headed into an epic recession.
Hasta luego, baby!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Why doesn't James Cameron film this?
From USA Today: Last Titanic survivor sells off her mementos.
The last living survivor of the Titanic is selling off her disaster-related mementos in order to pay the bill at a British nursing home.
Millvina Dean, 96, was an infant when the passenger ship sank in 1912.
"I am not able to live in my home anymore. I am selling it all now because I have to pay these nursing home fees and am selling anything that I think might fetch some money," she tells the paper. "The fees are quite expensive. The more money I can get from the auction the better."
Kate Winslet, eat your heart out, bee-yatch!
The last living survivor of the Titanic is selling off her disaster-related mementos in order to pay the bill at a British nursing home.
Millvina Dean, 96, was an infant when the passenger ship sank in 1912.
"I am not able to live in my home anymore. I am selling it all now because I have to pay these nursing home fees and am selling anything that I think might fetch some money," she tells the paper. "The fees are quite expensive. The more money I can get from the auction the better."
Kate Winslet, eat your heart out, bee-yatch!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
How to become a CEO?
From MSNBC: Credit cards at the tipping point?.
Dire times are coming for consumers who hold credit cards and the banks that issue them, according to a report released Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for Capital One said she hadn't seen the report and was unable to comment on it, but pointed towards reassuring comments made by CEO Richard Fairbank at a recent equity analyst conference.
“In our U.S. card business, we're taking many actions to navigate the current downturn,” he said. “The credit card business is exceptionally resilient, with high risk-adjusted margins and a business that doesn't suffer the issues of collateral value that currently plague in particular the mortgage industry.”
He's bragging that there's nothing to worry about because there's no collateral!
Amazing. Quite splendiferous.
Dire times are coming for consumers who hold credit cards and the banks that issue them, according to a report released Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for Capital One said she hadn't seen the report and was unable to comment on it, but pointed towards reassuring comments made by CEO Richard Fairbank at a recent equity analyst conference.
“In our U.S. card business, we're taking many actions to navigate the current downturn,” he said. “The credit card business is exceptionally resilient, with high risk-adjusted margins and a business that doesn't suffer the issues of collateral value that currently plague in particular the mortgage industry.”
He's bragging that there's nothing to worry about because there's no collateral!
Amazing. Quite splendiferous.
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