Dealing With Issues
Have you been paying attention to what’s happening on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C.?
Democrats to let offshore drilling ban expire
FBI said to probe Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, AIG
Congress is discussing a $700 billion ‘bail out’ for Wall Street, but there seems to be quite a few holes in the bucket.
With everything going on the House has a lot on their plate, but no one seems to be doing anything.
John McCain has suspended his campaign to work on the legislative matters dealing with the financial crisis.
We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved.I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night’s debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.
I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.
And President Bush will address the nation this evening.
WaMu Faces Extinction
What a turbulent week it has been on Wall Street. Lehmen Brothers filed bankruptcy, AIG needed a bailout, and now it seems my old pals at Washington Mutual are in trouble.
Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N), the giant U.S. savings and loan beleaguered by mortgage losses, has put itself up for sale, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The Seattle-based thrift has hired Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley to run an auction and potential suitors include Citigroup Inc (C.N), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), one source said.
A sale is neither imminent nor guaranteed and the thrift is exploring other options, a second source said.
I bet, if WaMu actually took time to work with their customers, they wouldn’t need to put themselves up for sale. If they actually paid attention to their customers, some of us might give a shit if their company lived or died.
As you can tell, I really don’t care.
A Day Of Silence
Is WaMu Going Negative?
More trouble today on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers is selling a majority stake of it’s asset management, and they are going to spin off their commercial real estate division.
Once reality of that situation sank in, people set their sights on the next poor performer.
As Wall Street scoured the financial industry Wednesday for the next weakest link after Lehman Brothers, it set its sights on a familiar target: Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan.
Shares in the troubled lender, one of those hardest hit by the nation’s housing crisis, plunged 30 percent, falling below $3 for the first time since 1991. Investors grew increasingly nervous that, like Lehman, Washington Mutual is running out of time — and options — to save itself.
Not to sound too rude, but it couldn’t happen to a nicer company.
Ever since Washington Mutual bought the company I had a credit account with, life has been a living hell. I admit, the balance is higher than I would like it to be, and we have had a tough time paying it down, of course, part of that is not my fault.
When we got our tax return, I sent them $700 toward my card balance, to help us reduce the debt as much as possible. Making the same payment I had been making (with the new lower balance) we would be able to pay off more of the balance each month. Too bad it didn’t turn out that way.
After holding that card for nearly 10 years, they ‘chased my balance’, which means when they received the $700, they reduced my limit to the very amount remaining. What happened next? Well, when they applied their interest for the month, it took me over my balance. It wouldn’t have gone over the balance if they hadn’t pulled their trick. Because I went over my balance, I had an over-limit fee, and oh yes, because of that, they raised my interest rate, and now after sending them almost $1000 that month alone, my minimum payment ended up being $2 more than it was before I sent them the money.
If I had known what schmucks they were, I never would have sent them that money. I would have had my teeth worked on instead. Their management did everything they could to screw their customers, so they have what’s coming to them.
When I heard the reports today that they are struggling, all I could think was “good, you fuckers, you deserve it”.
That’s all I have to say today.
Not Applicable
Recession:
- A period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration.
- An extended decline in general business activity, typically two consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product.
The economy pulled out of a dangerous rough patch in the spring, thanks largely to strong exports, but the rebound isn’t expected to last. Economic slowdowns overseas could make exports tail off just as Americans are hunkering down after the bracing impact of rebate checks wanes, plunging the country into another rut later this year.
I don’t want to hear anyone say that word again for at least six months. Got it?