Happy days are here again? The stock market is acting like it with the Wells Fargo first quarter results, but I wouldn't pop the cork on the champagne yet, my bullish possums. One quarter does not a trend make. Is all really well with Wells? "Wells' announcement, came on a day of thin trading in New York. Crucial details -- including revenue mix and non-performing asset trends -- are still almost two weeks away."
Looks like the government has attached another string to that TARP money. Now the government is saying that all TARP recipients MUST participate in the HUD loan modification program. You vill obey and you vill write crap loans ven ve tell you to! Gee, then why is the program performing so miserably? Does this sound that impressive to you?: "Lenders began delivering refinanced loans under that program to Freddie
Mac on April 1, and within 48 hours, 20 lenders had submitted
applications. Fannie Mae received "several thousand" applications on
Monday when its computer systems were updated for the program. ... And it is taking even longer for some lenders to launch the
foreclosure-prevention part of Obama's housing program...
The Obama administration has been crowing about this all day and NPR makes it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread: A big order for Detroit: US to buy 17,600 autos. Yahoo's title - not so much irrational exuberance: Government to buy 17,600 US cars by June 1: Obama What do you think? Car companies sold 13.2 million new vehicles in the U.S. in 2008. Personally, I don't think "the largest one-time purchase of hybrid vehicles for the government fleet in history" is going to do all that much.
Heh. Harry Reid blows a gasket on the Senate floor and proves he has no shame when the Members voted 51-48 to cut permanently the death tax rate to 35% and exempt all estates of less than $10 million per couple ($5 million for a single taxpayer) from any tax. (President Obama wanted a 45% rate with only a $7 million exemption.)
Creeping bailouts, cont'd. The next wave: Look for TALF to be amended to include Commercial Real Estate. What will be changed and why? TALF will begin offering 5 year loans in addition to the 3 year loans currently offered. The "longer-term debt is critical to saving the commercial real-estate business, which faces a record amount of debt coming due in the next three years. Industry observers are expecting the delinquency rate to double by the end of this year and go higher next year. Problems could be magnified if the credit drought continues and owners of even healthy properties are unable to refinance."
Joltin' Joe Biden has been busy playing 'Stimulus Czar' with today's announcement of $2.3 Billion in Child Care Stimulus ($300 million of that will go to pay for vaccines for the 'less fortunate' otherwise Joe would have been wearing his Middle Class Czar hat, I guess.)
Well, Obama may be meeting tomorrow with key financial regulators to discuss the banking stress tests, "Obama will talk with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair, as well as top White House economic adviser Larry Summers, on a "broad" range of financial topics, said spokesman Robert Gibbs." The fact remains they have delayed the announcement to avoid disrupting the market. Look for leaks to start filtering out soon.
Going green just keeps costing us green. The increased use of ethanol could cost the government up to $900 million for food stamps and child nutrition programs, according to a congressional report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
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