Consumerist
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executive compensation
Citibank To Raise Salaries By 50% In Reaction To Bonus Limits
The AP is reporting that Citibank will be raising salaries for certain employees by as much as 50% in order to offset the new bonus restrictions. The company faces the restrictions because it took bailout money. More » -
bailout
Here's Where Your Overdraft Fees Are Going: Banks Are Paying Government Back For Bailouts
Several banks are doing just what they're always bugging customers to do — paying back money that was lent to them. More » -
tax dollars
FBI Warns Of Bailout Fraud
It's not just monolithic corporations, financial institutions, state governments and the like that are benefiting from bailout funds. Scam artists stand to make a killing also, the FBI says: More » -
bye
GM Files For Bankruptcy Today
After failing to get its debt-for-stock offer approved last week, and missing the June 1st deadline for concessions from creditors and its union, GM will file for bankruptcy later today. Reuters notes that its filing will be the third-largest in U.S. history, after Lehman Bros and Washington Mutual, and the largest ever in manufacturing. More » -
bad ideas
Banks Want Taxpayer Aid To Buy Toxic Assets From Themselves
This is one of those news stories that leave sensible people scratching their heads and wondering what our financial system has come to. The Wall Street Journal article about this is behind a pay wall, but James Kwak at Seeking Alpha lays out the situation and why it's such a horrible idea.
...The Public-Private Investment Program provides subsidies to private investors to encourage them to buy legacy loans from banks. The goal is to encourage buyers to bid more than they are currently willing to pay, and hopefully close the gap with the prices at which the banks are willing to sell.
Allowing banks to buy their own assets under the PPIP is a terrible idea. In short, it allows a bank to sell half of its toxic loans to Treasury – at a price set by the bank.
Banks Aiming to Play Both Sides of Coin [WSJ - subscribers only]
Banks Want to Use Government Money to Buy Assets from Themselves [Seeking Alpha](Photo: columbuscameraop)
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bankruptcy watch
In GM Bankruptcy Plan, Government Will Select New Board Of Directors
Let's say the U.S. has poured billions of dollars into a failing company. How strongly should it try to protect that money once the company files for bankruptcy? The Washington Post is reporting that the plan for GM—which may go belly up as early as Monday—is for federal officials to select 5 or 6 of the company's new board members, and have a say over which 6 of the existing board will remain. The UAW gets to choose another, and Canada might possibly be given one slot to fill. The rest of us will probably just get t-shirts or a souvenir mug. More » -
anger
In Which NPR And Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren Hate Each Other
While we were concentrating on other things (Snuggie testing, for example), there has apparently been something of a backlash going on against NPR's Planet Money podcast for its rude treatment of Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren. NPR's Adam Davidson has since expressed regret that he talked over Ms. Warren in a rude way — but despite the mea culpa, a series of links about the issue has popped up in our inbox more than a week later. More » -
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bailout
JPMorgan Chase Wants To Repay Bailout Money
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are seeking permission to repay government bailout funds, says Reuters. More » -
executive compensation
Don't You Wish You Made $1 A Year Like AIG's CEO?
The NYT DealBook Blog says that AIG's $1 interim CEO is living pretty well, despite the whole "being hated for something you didn't do" thing. More » -
auto bailout
Chrysler May Avoid Bankruptcy
It now seems much more likely that Chrysler will avoid bankruptcy. BusinessWeek says that Chrysler and the US Treasury have reached a deal with the banks and private equity firms that hold Chysler's debt. More » -
bank of america
Bank Of America CEO: The Bush Administration Made Me Do It!
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is at it again. They've been investigating the circumstances that led to the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and the subsequent bonus payments to executives. In a letter to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Cuomo quotes Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as saying that former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson threatened him with removal from his position and mass firing of the board and senior management if he didn't allow the merger to go through. More » -
auto bailout
Time Is Running Out For Chrysler! Bankruptcy "95% Certain"
With a week to go before the deadline runs out on Chrysler's bailout — it's looking less and less likely that the automaker will be saved from liquidation. More » -
general motors
General Motors Defaults, Idles Plants
General Motors is projected to default on its next bond payment—the last before the June 1st government-imposed restructuring deadline. Next freeway exit: bankruptcy. More » -
general motors
PUMA: So That's What GM Did With Our Bailout Money!
How would you like to ride down Second Avenue in this? And where would you park it once you got to work? The P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project), recently unveiled by General Motors and Segway, can go 35 miles on one battery charge, seats two, and reaches speeds of 35mph. Whee! More » -
wall street bailout
Government To Banks: Why Are You Making Predatory Loans With Taxpayer Money?
The bailed-out banks have found a new way to annoy the government, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body named by Congress to oversee the federal bailout. Chair of the committee and friend of the blog, Elizabeth Warren, is concerned that the same people who are subsidizing the banks are being targeted by abusive lending practices, says the Wall Street Journal More » -
bonuses
Fannie And Freddie To Pay $210 Million In Retention Bonuses
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are preparing to hand out $210 million in taxpayer-funded retention bonuses to 7,600 employees. No bonus will exceed $1.5 million, but more than half of all Freddie and Fannie employees will receive an average bonus exceeding $24,000. More » -
bailout
Want to Buy Some Bailout Debt?
Ever wonder how the government is going to afford the bailout? Public debt. If you don't know the difference between a T-Bill and a T-Note, this article should clear that up. More »
bailout
Want to see the top 10 biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history so far? [
New York, 4:11 AM
Mon Jul 6
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