The New York Times reports: When Debtors Decide to Default.
Melissa Birks is being stalked. Her cellphone keeps ringing, always from a caller marked “unknown.” She says she knows it is her credit card company wondering why she stopped making payments. Ms. Birks, who owes $28,830, has nothing to say.
Those on the front lines of the debt industry say there is a small but increasingly noticeable group of strapped consumers who, like Ms. Birks, are deciding they will simply stop paying. After loading up on debt eagerly provided by the card companies during the boom times, these people now find themselves trapped in an endless cycle where they are charged interest on interest and fees upon fees while the lenders get government bailouts.
The lending industry term for these people is “ruthless defaulters.” In a miserable economy where paychecks, savings and expectations are all diminished, their numbers will surely grow.
DUHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
They should default. It's the only rational solution for them and their personal finances. Creative default is the name of the game in the US bubble economy and they should do their bit.
Oh, and surely all of y'all realize that default = deflation, right?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
We Haven't Had a Flashy Suicide in a While ...
Reuters reports: Kuwait Financier Facing U.S. Fraud Suit Found Dead.
A brash Kuwaiti financier facing a fraud suit by U.S. authorities was found dead Sunday in an apparent suicide that sent shockwaves through the Gulf Arab financial sector.
A security source told Reuters that Hazem Al-Braikan appeared to have died from a single gunshot wound to the side of the head, while a policeman standing outside Braikan's house said the well-connected financier, 37, had shot himself.
Braikan was the chief executive of Al Raya Investment, which is 10 percent owned by Citigroup Inc, and had been at the center of a financial scandal that erupted last week.
BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
A brash Kuwaiti financier facing a fraud suit by U.S. authorities was found dead Sunday in an apparent suicide that sent shockwaves through the Gulf Arab financial sector.
A security source told Reuters that Hazem Al-Braikan appeared to have died from a single gunshot wound to the side of the head, while a policeman standing outside Braikan's house said the well-connected financier, 37, had shot himself.
Braikan was the chief executive of Al Raya Investment, which is 10 percent owned by Citigroup Inc, and had been at the center of a financial scandal that erupted last week.
BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
More Californication (Are We Bored Yet?)
The venereal New York Times reports: California Pension Fund Hopes Riskier Bets Will Restore Its Health.
Big as California’s budget woes are today, so are the problems lurking in its biggest pension fund.
The fund, known as Calpers, lost nearly $60 billion in the financial markets last year. Though it has more than enough money to make its payments to retirees for many years, it has a serious long-term shortfall. Meanwhile, local governments in the state are pleading poverty and saying they cannot make the contributions that would be needed to shore it up.
Mr. Dear wants to embrace some potentially high-risk investments in hopes of higher returns.
Calpers has a lot riding on Mr. Dear’s effort to achieve above-market performance. The fund just posted a loss of 23 percent, the worst in its history. That leaves it 66 percent funded, the lowest level in two decades, meaning it has only $66 on hand for every $100 in benefits promised to 1.6 million California public employees and their families.
They were so astute that they lost 23% in a year. Now, they are so astute that they want to "embrace" riskier strategies.
The EE will provide a simple translation:
Dear California-Taxpayer, you are fucked!
Big as California’s budget woes are today, so are the problems lurking in its biggest pension fund.
The fund, known as Calpers, lost nearly $60 billion in the financial markets last year. Though it has more than enough money to make its payments to retirees for many years, it has a serious long-term shortfall. Meanwhile, local governments in the state are pleading poverty and saying they cannot make the contributions that would be needed to shore it up.
Mr. Dear wants to embrace some potentially high-risk investments in hopes of higher returns.
Calpers has a lot riding on Mr. Dear’s effort to achieve above-market performance. The fund just posted a loss of 23 percent, the worst in its history. That leaves it 66 percent funded, the lowest level in two decades, meaning it has only $66 on hand for every $100 in benefits promised to 1.6 million California public employees and their families.
They were so astute that they lost 23% in a year. Now, they are so astute that they want to "embrace" riskier strategies.
The EE will provide a simple translation:
Dear California-Taxpayer, you are fucked!
Monday, July 06, 2009
We're Still Californicating, Baby!
Reuters reports: As California struggles, Fitch cuts debt rating.
California suffered a new setback in its financial crisis on Monday when Fitch Ratings cut its rating on the state's general obligation debt to just two notches above junk status.
Fitch cut its rating on California's long-term bonds to "BBB," two notches above speculative grade, citing the state's budget and cash crisis. The state last week started issuing "IOU" promissory notes to pay for some bills in order to conserve cash.
AAA to BBB. That was just grade inflation!
How long before it's CCC?
California suffered a new setback in its financial crisis on Monday when Fitch Ratings cut its rating on the state's general obligation debt to just two notches above junk status.
Fitch cut its rating on California's long-term bonds to "BBB," two notches above speculative grade, citing the state's budget and cash crisis. The state last week started issuing "IOU" promissory notes to pay for some bills in order to conserve cash.
AAA to BBB. That was just grade inflation!
How long before it's CCC?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)