new automatic reporting requirements for essentially ALL credit card transactions !
see my post in the Member's Area at





new automatic reporting requirements for essentially ALL credit card transactions !
see my post in the Member's Area at
It makes me really mad that laws get passed this way... a load of unrelated things are bundled together and entitled "The Save The Children And Puppies And Kittens Bill" and then it gets passed because none of the politicians voting on it read the thing anyway. Gahhh
Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
- Dr John Zoidberg





and another 'stealth' provision of the FNM / FRE bailout bill ... that has a $30 million price tag of its own and absolutely no relationship to FNM / FRE or to 'subprime' mortgages for that matter !
from a professional investor's BBS ...
(snip)"as found beginning on page 675 is not just a chop or a snout, but an entire rack of ribs in the form of what appears to be a direct bailout/tax credit for Cerberus Capital. See for youself:
Page 675:"APPLICATION TO CERTAIN AUTOMOTIVE
PARTNERSHIPS...
Page 677:"that will produce in excess of 675,000 automobiles” between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2008..."
"(C) $30,000,000, reduced by the amount of any payment under this subsection for any preceding taxable year."
"(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this subsection—
(A) APPLICABLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘applicable partnership'' means a domestic partnership that—
(i) was formed effective on August 3,15 2007, and
(ii) will produce in excess of 675,000 automobiles during the period beginning on January 1, 2008, and ending on June 30,
19 2008.""(snip)
In case the connection doesn't register immediately, Cerberus Capital is the private equity firm that purchased Chrysler Corp. last year, absorbed all outstanding Chrysler Corp stock shares, and took the company 'private'. As a result, unlike the first gov't bailout of Chrysler Corp. which helped Joe Sixpack stockholders, this second gov't bailout of Chrysler Corp. only helps multimillionaires who are 'qualified investors' in Cerberus !
Last edited by Melonie; 07-27-2008 at 07:08 AM.





and yet another 'stealth' provision, which opens a Pandora's Box of possibilities !
from the same professional investor's BBS ...
(snip)"the bill spells out what the Director can do and, interestingly, allows the Director to make the GSEs (which includes the FHLBs now) not only sell any asset, but also acquire them as well:
Page 52: "Director may, by order, require an enterprise,
under such terms and conditions as the Director determines to be appropriate, to dispose of or acquire any asset..."
...to which this Vulcan says: "Hmmmm...so, the Treasury Security can make the GSEs buy assets too? Such as...? Maybe auto loans? Corporate bonds? Other debt?"(snip)





and a provision that actually deals with bailing out FNM / FRE - there isn't any 'stealth' involved in the provision itself, but there is a potential mountain of 'stealth' in regard to the actual amount of taxpayer money involved -
from the same professional investor's BBS ...
(snip)"Page 74:"TEMPORARY AUTHORITY OF TREASURY TO PURCHASE OBLIGATIONS AND SECURITIES;
CONDITIONS.
(1) AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE.—
(A) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In addition to the authority under subsection (c) of this section the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to purchase any obligations and other securities issued by the corporation under anysection of this Act, on such terms and conditions as the Secretary may determine and in such amounts as the Secretary may determine."
...which is a big and broad a blank check ever given to anybody anywhere in the history of your planet. "(snip)
The bubble has been moved to two particular stocks...





^^^ this would certainly appear to be the case. However, unlike the past tech bubble where tech company stockholders were the losers, and unlike the real estate bubble where homeowners and mortgage bond investors were the losers, in this case the US TAXPAYERS will be the losers !




bye bye capitalism!
This is a true test of greed.
Raise the stock up in price - then dump dump dump... taking the wealth of the people with it... off shores...
Lets hope hope wins.




This is a FUNDUMENTAL shift. People better get it.





I assume that you're referring to the probable 'pump and dump', where every attempt by the FED to rally the share price of FNM & FRE via taxpayer funded share purchases will be met with an equal amount of selling on the part of the Chinese, Japanese, Saudis etc. ? Why don't they cut out the middlemen (investment bankers, stockbrokers etc.) and save the taxpayers some money by simply handing US taxpayer money directly from the US treasury to the Chinese, Japanese, Saudis etc. ?Raise the stock up in price - then dump dump dump... taking the wealth of the people with it... off shores...
My 'friend' Elaine has a good handle on the TRUE situation, as usual ...
(snip)"The housing rescue will save no homeowners but will make the Chinese and Japanese investors happier. Not to mention pirates and others. The entire US rebate program went towards Exxon/mobile's bank vaults. The editors of the NYT, working on behalf of the owners, have a stupid editorial about all this as well as a long, long article about how Paulson, a consummate insider, is really a naive baby who knows nothing about how power works, how lobbying in DC operates, how the levers of power work, etc. It is truly a hilarious profile with obvious internal clashes of reality. It is obvious that the concerted effort of all our rulers to appear as if they are stupid and helpless and victims of the economic messes they created themselves. Totally.
As Rebates Run Their Course
It is unconscionable to omit food aid from a stimulus measure, because the priority in a downturn should be to help the most vulnerable Americans. It is also poor economics, because a temporary increase in food stamps, which are spent quickly and in full, is the single most effective way to lift consumer spending. Direct aid to states and localities also reaches vulnerable populations, like Medicaid recipients, and is powerful stimulus because the extra money is passed on quickly to employees, contractors and program beneficiaries.
Another reason to approach the next stimulus bill differently is that the government has now intervened to prop up the economy in other ways, most notably by giving the Treasury authority to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants, if necessary.
The Treasury might never have to spend a penny. Or it may have to spend upward of $100 billion. The growing possibility of huge taxpayer outlays — and ever larger federal deficits — leaves little room for error and waste in future rescue efforts. That argues against another large tax rebate scheme, or various temporary tax cuts, like increased write-offs for business equipment. Politically popular though they may be, such measures have far less bang for the buck than direct spending programs to boost the economy.
*snip*
Congress must take the lead this time, not the Bush administration, in writing a stimulus bill that truly addresses today’s economic problems and challenges, without wreaking undo damage on the federal budget.
The earnest editors of the New York Times never cease to amuse. We saw record food inflation yet the government did absolutely nothing about this. How about indexing food stamps with inflation? Eh? And NOT core inflation but real food inflation. Food goes up, stamps go up. Food prices drop, so do the stamps. Duh. How easy is this? It is laughably easy! Of course, this is not the solution any more than indexing the elderly's Social Security to a price index of things the elderly buy and use! No, it has to be indexed to a totally fake, obviously well below the rate of inflation, indexes! I will note that fuel prices hammer the elderly in particular. Social Security has risen in the lowest single digits this last decade while fuel costs have risen from $10 a barrel for oil to $140 a barrel. It is now dropping although Iran Kitty is hard at work to raise it back up again, egging the US back into menacing Iran. Right now, it is not working. But the Iranians have the ability to change all that. They will keep at it until the US resumes hysteria in the Gulf again."(snip)
(snip)"The NYT editor is worried about 'wreaking undo damage on the federal budget'. HAHAHA. It crashed years ago. It limps along only because super trade rivals that are killing us in the markets, Japan and China, are buying up most of our debts. Note that this stupid editor never mentions this! The fiction that Americans are supporting our government's overspending continues simply by never mentioning who our creditors really are! This ridiculous coverup is deliberate. The editor knows perfectly well, he isn't buying up all our Federal red ink! None of his rich buddies are buying up ALL the red ink, either! THEY CAN'T!!! They are stuck! They are in debt, they don't have lots of loot to use to buy our national debts and besides, thanks to the super-low, fake interest rates set by Bernake, it is below the rate of inflation so no one but dire trade rivals seeking to slit our throats buy this junk. A major theme here at Culture of Life News, of course. "(snip)
(snip)"Take note of all these [New York Times - sic] comments! They are all trying to picture this very, very, very rich, very, very, very connected man who has been very, very, very busy lobbying in DC for years, as a Naïf. A wild child who was fooled by events because NO ONE could foresee them except for who? Me? HAHAHA. To go on: This infant man needed to be taken by the hand by other Goldman Sachs former executives who also took over our government and running our economic systems from the top in DC, why, they had to educate this very, very rich and very, very politically savvy infantile baby as to where the levers of power were? HAHAHA. HAHAHA!!!!!
Oh, the fictions of the ruling elites! They are so funny. As if Paulson never, ever went to Bilderberger meetings, etc. A child from the backwoods carrying a musket and a coonskin cap. Note the little side story about how he used his political connections to get rid of Grasso! Note how it was Bolten, a Goldman Sachman himself, who brought Paulson into the Treasury! Geeze, is there a connection here? Perish the thought!
NYT:
Moreover, Mr. Paulson has especially endeared himself to the denizens of Wall Street by using federal power and the public purse to rescue the financial industry from its own, outsize mistakes and prevent the meltdown from getting out of control.
“He’s saved their bacon,” Mr. Cox says.
*snip*
In 1999, he snared Goldman’s top job after leading a palace coup to push out Jon Corzine, his co-senior partner. (Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, is now the governor of New Jersey.)
*snip*
At the same time, Mr. Paulson began echoing the line of many in the financial industry that the real problem facing Wall Street was a welter of cumbersome regulations.
HAHAHA. This little boy actually was a brutal infighting gnome who took over Goldman Sachs after a bitter battle. Eh? What? And his endearment with the gnome community is appreciated since his rôle was to rescue them using the US taxpayer's future earnings? HAHAHA.
I eagerly await the next NYT editorial about the Bilderberger meetings including what the editor said to Paulson over canapes and champagne."(snip)
^^^
In short, the government knows the implosion of the economy both democrats and democrats have created is going to effect their revenues - which means it effects THEM. And so they are going to throw anyone they can overboard to save their own asses... while they can.
The boat is sinking.





^^^ well, in the most simple terms, the point that Elaine is raising is the fact that the vast majority of America's federal lawmakers are 'rich', that the vast majority of gov't officials in the Fed and Treasury are 'rich', that all sorts of ties exist with the 'rich' leaders on Wall St., etc. Thus as the 'US Titanic' begins to sink, the actions they are taking seem to be aimed at assuring that the 'top deck' will remain above water ... even though it means 'drowning' the middle class passengers on the lower decks at a faster rate to accomplish this !





and yet another 'stealth' revalation ... that the only actual 'subprime' mortgage bailouts which will occur as a result of this bill will be those that the mortgage lenders VOLUNTARILY agree to take losses on !
(snip)"Housing Bill Relies on Banks To Take Loan Losses
Lawmakers Pressure Lenders to Pitch In To Curb Foreclosures
By DAMIAN PALETTA
July 28, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The housing rescue bill passed by the Senate Saturday hasn't been signed into law, but top Democrats already are putting pressure on regulators and bankers to make sure a major program to prevent foreclosures doesn't fall flat.
For struggling U.S. homeowners, the success or failure of the program -- which would let roughly 400,000 owners refinance into affordable, government-backed loans -- depends largely on bankers' willingness to take a partial loss on the loans and to reduce the amount of money borrowers owe.
Bankers say they will do it, but it isn't clear how many loans they might be willing to restructure.
"I absolutely do believe that there will be more principal reductions," Michael Gross, Bank of America Corp.'s managing director for loss mitigation, mortgage, home-equity and insurance services, told a congressional panel Friday.
If successful, the program could put a dent in the rising foreclosure figures as interest rates on adjustable-rate loans continue to increase while house prices in many areas slip. RealtyTrac Inc. reported last week that 739,714 homeowners received foreclosure warnings and other related notices in the second quarter.
Experts say the program's eventual participation could rise dramatically if home prices continue to drop -- which could put more pressure on lenders to offer borrowers more assistance. Lawmakers are already pressing regulators and lenders to prepare now so the program can begin without delay when it goes into effect Oct. 1.
The Senate approved the bill 72-13 after the House of Representatives passed it Wednesday in a 272-152 vote. Minutes after the Senate vote, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) called for a prompt meeting with the Federal Reserve, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other regulators to determine the quickest way to get the program up and running.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) on Friday asked lenders to hold off on foreclosures until Oct. 1 if it is possible the borrower would qualify for the government program. He threatened legislation if loan servicers and investors don't work together to help avert foreclosures.
Taking a loss on a loan by writing down the principal owed is one of the least desirable options for loan servicers. They typically prefer to either lower the interest rate or extend the life of the loan -- from 30 years, for example, to 40 years.
"The real problem is going to be, just like with every program out there, are the banks going to take this seriously?" said Rebecca Case-Grammatico, a staff attorney at the Empire Justice Center in Rochester, N.Y., who advises clients facing foreclosure. "And if they don't, we're in the same position we've been in all along.""(snip)





Well, this bill is now officially a law !
and yet another 'stealth' provision came out today - the banning of Down Payment Assistance Programs ...
(snip)"President Bush signed the housing bill this morning. One of the provisions is for the elimination of Down-payment Assistance Programs (DAPs) for FHA loans.
The WSJ has some stats on how widespread DAPs had become: Builders Feel Pinch of Key Omission From the Housing Bill
[F]or the builders, the bill's elimination of seller-funded down-payment assistance on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration is a big loss -- one that could eliminate as many as one in 10 home buyers from the market ... Starting in October, buyers using FHA loans can no longer accept down-payment "gifts" that are ultimately funded by the home seller, often a builder.
...
Miami-based Lennar Corp. used down-payment assistance on 33% of the mortgages it originated in the second quarter, while Ryland Group Inc. said 18% to 20% of its buyers used down-payment assistance during the first half of the year.
...
"There will undoubtedly be some impact, but we believe the buyers will adjust and the market will adjust," says Tim Eller, the chief executive of Centex Corp, which said that 25% of its sales in its fiscal year ended March 31 involved down-payment assistance.
Eliminating DAPs is a positive for the economy and housing. FHA loans using DAPs had significantly higher default rates than when the buyers actually made a down-payment. "(snip)
from





and yet another 'stealth' provision ...
(snip)"A little mentioned provision in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 amends the Home Sale Exclusion Rules. (snip)
This applies to homeowners that move into a nonqualifed residence (that they already own) like a vacation home or rental unit. Here was the old rule from the IRS:
To exclude gain [i.e. to avoid having to pay capital gains tax on the property sale proceeds - sic], a taxpayer must both own and use the home as a principal residence for two of the five years before the sale. The ownership and use periods need not be concurrent.
Under the new rule, the owner only gets a percentage of the exclusion based on a ratio of how long the property is their primary residence divided by how long they owned the property. This prevents people from moving into vacation homes or rental units for two years and then obtaining the entire exclusion "(snip)
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