White Collar Wall Street Crime

Just to get a comedic perspective on all of the Wall Street criminals run rampant, Jon Stewart’s guest Larry Wilmore offers his opinion in this little piece that I laughed my butt off over…

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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
The New White Face of Crime
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Important Things w/ Demetri Martin Political Humor

You just have to love the Daily Show on Comedy Central. Too damn funny! Don’t you find it ironic that everyone in the Main Stream Media (MSM) took Jon Stewart as a real life reporter on ripping Jim Cramer of CNBC a new ass? Now that was classic journalism comedy! Loved it!!!

Papamoka

$700 Billion plus $10 Million Bonus

Merrill Lynch Ceo John Thain has guts. He is demanding a $10 Million dollar bonus for all his hard work in busting the brokerage house up. Does that take a pair or what? Taxpayers just handed the banking industry $700 billion in bailout cash and this guy has the audacity to demand a hefty fat bonus. Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up and MSNBC has this to say on it…

Merrill CEO Thain seeking $10 million bonus
Report: Ailing company’s compensation committee is resisting request

updated 12:20 p.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 8, 2008

NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch & Co Chief Executive John Thain has suggested to directors that he get a 2008 bonus of as much as $10 million, but the battered company’s compensation committee is resisting his request, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

The compensation committee has not reached a decision, but is leaning toward denying Thain and other senior executives bonuses for this year, the people told the paper.

Wait, you are going to die laughing when you hear the reason he deserves this $10 Million Dollar BONUS…

Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could have been a much larger crisis at the firm, people familiar with his thinking told the WSJ. - MSNBC

I have to really think this through because it isn’t making any sense to me. He only burned down half of Merrill Lynch and thus he deserves the $10 Million Bucks? That leads me to wonder if the guy running the bulldozer over Merrill Lynch should get half his pay because he is only demolishing half of the institution?

File this one under dumb ass greed.

Papamoka

*****Dr. Alex Goodall has linked to this post! Thank you Alex!!!

McCain Flips on AIG Bailout

Would the real John McCain please stand up? At the beginning of this week he was against any bailouts for any companies on Wall Street and by mid week he is all for it. Prior to this week he wanted less regulation on Wall Street and now he is for over regulating Wall Street. Somebody please point out who the real John McCain is for me? ABC News has this great report that is up on You Tube for you to judge for yourself…

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I’m not sure but it looks to me like somebody erased the red R at the end of John McCain’s name and penciled in a blue D? On most city busses it says to “Watch Your Step” as you exit the bus, over at the McCain Straight Talk Express bus it must say “Tuck and Roll” because this bus has no scheduled principal stops.

After watching several broadcasts on financial news about the current crisis it is evident that the nations financial institutions are in a serious free fall. This is not the end of the financial crisis either according to most analysts but it is getting close to the end. Next stop WaMU! I'm thinking that the Anti Regulation Maverick of yesterday has some responsibility for this mess but you will never hear that out of his mouth. Tuck and roll…

Papamoka

The Next Great Depression?

Not since the days of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s has this nation seen such large financial institutions collapse as we are seeing currently on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers after 158 years in business is folding up its business table and calling it quits. This is not a good sign of a prosperous economy my friends. Is this the tell tale sign of the next Great Depression or just a bump in the road for the American economy?

Over at the New York Times and Deal Book they have this to say on the matter…

Lehman Expected to File for Bankruptcy Protection
September 14, 2008, 5:55 pm

According to people briefed on the matter, Lehman Brothers will file for bankruptcy protection on Sunday night, in the largest failure of an investment bank since the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert 18 years ago. (Should be 18 Months Ago)

Lehman will seek to place its parent company, Lehman Brothers Holdings, into bankruptcy protection, while its subsidiaries will remain solvent while the firm liquidates its holdings, these people said. A consortium of banks will provide a financial backstop to help provide an orderly winding down of the 158-year-old investment bank. And the Federal Reserve has agreed to accept lower-quality assets in return for loans from the government.

But Lehman’s filing is unlikely to resemble those of other companies that seek bankruptcy protection. Because of the harsher treatment that federal bankruptcy law applies to financial-services firm, Lehman cannot hope to reorganize and survive as a going concern. It will instead liquidate its holdings.

It was not clear whether the government would appoint a trustee to supervise Lehman’s liquidation, or how big the financial backstop would be. - Deal Book/ NY Times

For some odd reason I can’t fathom why John McCain says that the fundamental economy is in great shape and sound? When you have huge financial companies like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch out right going under, do you think it might be a tell tale sign of an economy in trouble? Maybe John McCain doesn’t read the newspapers or watch television from one of his seven to eleven houses? Bank of America may have saved Merrill Lynch in a last minute deal for $44 Billion but Lehman Brothers is a been there and shouldn't have done that legacy for the history books.

Even the Federal Reserve Board is taking unusual steps to fend off the worries in the markets. This is unheard of news.

Papamoka