States Rights cited as rationale by Senate for defeat of legislation.
In other news monkeys seen flying out of pigs butt.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
JPM and GS et al
Ungrateful bastiges. That is my first response to the GS P/L and JPM bitching. But who is really to blame? If you save the wounded wolf from a broken leg and certain starvation do you really expect the wolf to not eat your sheep when healthy??? Of course not, so why do we expect the largest financial instituions that did not fail purely for size reasons to not continue to increase in size once off life support. Too big to fail begets, even bigger and less likely to fail. Smaller competitors are wiped out and the cycle is refreshed. It is the first law of financial thermodynamics.
We here at The Directive really don't care how big GS or JPM or Wells or BoA or Citi are in isolation. What we care about, to paraphrase Col Jessup is this " banks live in a world that has tax payers and these banks need to be bailed out repeatly by the tax payers. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Dimon, you Mr. Blankfien? We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lehman and curse the taxpayers; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that Lehman's death, while tragic, probably saved future pain and that the taxpayers existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, keeps your ass afloat. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at the Hamptons you want the tax payers on that wall, you need the tax payers on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to keep the nation' financial shit together. You use them as a punchline. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to firms who rise and sleep under the blanket of steep yield curves and govt guaranteed deposits we provide and then questions the conditions under which we provide it. We would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, we suggest that you dump the FDIC guarantee on all those deposits and the ATM card from the Fed and stand on your own. Either way, we don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
We here at The Directive really don't care how big GS or JPM or Wells or BoA or Citi are in isolation. What we care about, to paraphrase Col Jessup is this " banks live in a world that has tax payers and these banks need to be bailed out repeatly by the tax payers. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Dimon, you Mr. Blankfien? We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lehman and curse the taxpayers; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that Lehman's death, while tragic, probably saved future pain and that the taxpayers existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, keeps your ass afloat. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at the Hamptons you want the tax payers on that wall, you need the tax payers on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to keep the nation' financial shit together. You use them as a punchline. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to firms who rise and sleep under the blanket of steep yield curves and govt guaranteed deposits we provide and then questions the conditions under which we provide it. We would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, we suggest that you dump the FDIC guarantee on all those deposits and the ATM card from the Fed and stand on your own. Either way, we don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Investment Linebacker Channels C.S. Lewis
In a blatant plagiarism move this is a direct copy of The Investment Linebacker's work but it bears repeating.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
- C.S. LewisWe here at The Directive can only add - A-Frigging-Men!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Schwarzies - Nien!
TTILB has been all over this thing.
Big banks might stop taking Schwarzies on Friday hilarity ensues. Bid is now down to $0.50
Big banks might stop taking Schwarzies on Friday hilarity ensues. Bid is now down to $0.50
Friday, July 3, 2009
HISTORY DOES NOT REPEAT IT RHYMES (MARK TWAIN)
Monetary Quiz
1. Which of these turned out worthless
a) The Davis
b) The Schwartzie
c) Too early to call
Thursday, July 2, 2009
IS IT TIME POLITICOS ARE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD AS CEOs
Interesting thought today courtesy of Seymour N. Lottsoff. What if the Professional Political Class (PPC) namely the President, Congress and Senators could be charged with knowingly misleading their constituents out of self-interest by virtue of misleading and factually untrue statements much like corporate officers are for making misleading public statements????
The tone of political debates might actually change. Think about it. We here at The Directive have and we think highly of the idea.
The tone of political debates might actually change. Think about it. We here at The Directive have and we think highly of the idea.
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