Archive for April, 2009

Paul Volcker, senior economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Saturday that the U.S. economic recovery will be a “long slog” but that the rate of decline “is going to slow.”

The United States may not be in a Great Depression but it is “in a great recession for sure,” following the economy’s unprecedented tumble in late 2008, Volcker said at a financial markets conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

It has been bad. People have lost their jobs, people have lost their homes, credit histories are trash, but what matters most is the label that people like Paul Volcker give the recession.

The Federal Reserve will not allow its unorthodox policies to trigger a surge in inflation, but may still need to do more to ease credit if the economy remains weak, the Fed’s No. 2 official said on Saturday.

Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that six quarters into the recession, the path of the U.S. economy was unclear and the Fed must be flexible.

They can’t even control the flow of credit from the banks, or the housing industry, or the stock market, but they want you to think they can control inflation.

Yeah, sure. I’ll take some beachfront property to go with my bridge, please.

Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Top U.S. officials on Saturday offered reassurances that the worst of the economic downturn is likely over, helped by unprecedented efforts to keep credit flowing, though the recovery will be slow.

Two Federal Reserve policy-makers, Vice Chairman Donald Kohn and New York Fed chief William Dudley, both pointed to signs that measures taken by the U.S. central bank are indeed working to help revive the economy.

I’m waiting a bit to make sure it’s not a train headed my way.

A bankrupt General Motors Corp (GM.N) could be reorganized in as little as a month, a top bankruptcy attorney said on Thursday, and if the case lingered then a “tremendous sinkhole” could open in the U.S. economy, a Delaware bankruptcy judge said.

GM would have to reach agreement with most parties prior to filing and then move its healthy operations quickly to a new entity that is free of pre-bankruptcy liabilities, said Mark D. Collins, director of Richards, Layton & Finger in Wilmington, Delaware.

Meanwhile, all of the pre-bankruptcy debt would leave a tremendous sinkhole with the creditors who got left behind. Quick and painless, yeah, uh-huh.

Great news from one of the nation’s largest banks. Of course, they are waiting to hear from the government as to when they will be allowed to repay the money.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit as improved investment banking performance offset increased losses from credit cards and other consumer debt, sending its shares up as much as 4.5 percent.

A deepening recession and rising unemployment forced the bank to set aside more money against losses in its consumer banking business.

But even amid economic difficulty, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the bank has the money to repay the $25 billion in taxpayer funds it received from the U.S. government in October.

The Obama administration is expected to name Fannie Mae (FNM.N) Chief Executive Herb Allison to head the U.S. government’s $700 billion financial rescue program, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The announcement is expected “in coming days,” the source said, adding that Michael Williams, Fannie Mae’s chief operating officer, is expected to be named as Allison’s successor.

This makes a whole lot of sense. Put the guy who drove Fannie Mae into the ground in charge of the TARP funds. Smart move, if the only change you want is FAIL.

If the government would keep their hands out of it and their mouths closed, things like this wouldn’t happen.

Shares of General Motors Corp plunged 17 percent on Monday after a report that the U.S. Treasury is directing the automaker to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by June 1.

GM, which is operating under $13.4 billion of emergency government loans, has until June 1 to win sweeping concessions from bondholders and the United Auto Workers union. The Obama administration has warned that the alternative would be bankruptcy.

The Treasury department is directing GM to lay out the groundwork for bankruptcy. Wow. Bankruptcy is probably the best option for GM at this point, but I don’t think it’s the government’s call to decide the issue.

Circuit City Stores Inc. hopes to sell its brand, trademarks and e-commerce business to Systemax Inc., the same company that purchased electronics retailer CompUSA’s intellectual property when it closed in 2008.

Richmond-based Circuit City, also a shuttered electronics retailer, has entered a so-called stalking horse agreement with Systemax for $6.5 million, according to bankruptcy court filings. A stalking horse bid is an initial offer for a bankrupt company’s assets from an interested buyer chosen by the company.

Considering their poor customer service, I’m not sure the Circuit City brand is something I would willingly associate myself with.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Happy Easter!

Could this be the start of something big? Like the return of Steve Jobs?

More than three months into a medical leave from Apple Inc, Chief Executive Steve Jobs remains closely involved in key aspects of running the company, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook runs the day-to-day operations, but Jobs has continued to work on the company’s most important strategies and products from home, the newspaper said in a story on its website.