“Nations Financial Industry is Gripped by Fear”

I rarely watch “Fox News”; I wonder if they are reporting that the “Nations Financial Industry is Gripped by Fear”

The root cause of the failure of our financial industry is not just de-regulation; it is the appointment of political cronies and the firing of regulatory staff. While nobody was watching, corporations operating here stole us dry and the Republicans and their “de-regulation” set it up.

How is McCain and Palin going to spin what is looking more and more like another “Great Depression”?

Below is the news that should be headlined on TV.

Tune in Monday; this stuff is all happening over a weekend. The stock market isn’t ever open today.
Jim


The New York Times
In Frantic Day Wall Street Banks Teeter

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/business/15lehman.html?hp

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, BEN WHITE and JENNY ANDERSON
Published: September 14, 2008
In one the most extraordinary days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch is near an 11th-hour deal with Bank of America to avert a deepening financial crisis while another storied securities firm, Lehman Brothers, hurtled toward liquidation, according to people briefed on the deal.

BBC News

Lehman set to go into insolvency
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7615712.stm


The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com

Rush Is On to Prevent A.I.G. From Failing
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: September 14, 2008
The American International Group, the insurance company, is planning a major reorganization and a sale of its aircraft leasing business and other units to stabilize its finances, a person briefed on the company’s strategy said on Sunday.
A.I.G. became one of the focuses at an emergency gathering of Wall Street executives over the weekend, and was trying to arrange a capital infusion in the face of possible credit downgrades.

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com


Nation’s Financial Industry Gripped by Fear
By BEN WHITE and JENNY ANDERSON
Published: September 14, 2008
Fear and greed are the stuff that Wall Street is made of. But inside the great banking houses, those high temples of capitalism, fear came to the fore this weekend.
Dinner parties were canceled. Weekend getaways were postponed. All of Wall Street, it seemed, was on high alert.

The Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/14/greenspan-this-is-the-wor_n_126274.html

Greenspan: This Is The Worst Economy I've Ever Seen
September 14, 2008 11:21 AM


Sam Stein
stein@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting From DC

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/14/AR2008091400355.html?hpid=topnews
Still No Buyer for Lehman Brothers; Talks Continue

Efforts Underway to Stave Off Bank's Collapse; Sources Says Barclays Drops Its Bid
By Heather Landy and Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 14, 2008; 5:30 PM


The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/business/14gret.html?ref=business
September 14, 2008
Fair Game
The Joys of Ownership
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
SO, ladies and gentlemen, how does it feel to be the new owner of those two big and banged-up mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Not exactly the kind of real estate you were looking to buy, you say? Felt you had swallowed enough garbage after the Bear Stearns bailout tapped you for $29 billion?
Make no mistake: we, the American taxpayers, are amassing quite a portfolio of flotsam and jetsam in the mortgage bust. It certainly brings new meaning to the notion of an ownership society, doesn’t it?
To be sure, the terms of the Mac ’n’ Mae rescue deal are still sinking in. And it will be years before we know how much taxpayers will have to pay for the privilege of backing these out-of-control entities. But in the meantime, here are some of the joys that ownership in Mac ’n’ Mae might bring.
The proud new owners — the taxpayers — could be asked to cover such niceties as the pay packages awarded to the chief executives, Daniel H. Mudd at Fannie Mae and Richard F. Syron at Freddie Mac, as they exit the accident scene. Estimates for what these arrangements might cost: $24 million in severance, retirement benefits and deferred compensation for both men.