But in stark contrast with 1953, the prevailing conviction among many American opinion leaders, including the senators who grilled Wagoner and the heads of Ford, Chrysler, and the United Auto Workers, was that GM doesn’t matter at all. Because GM had lost so much ground to Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers, decision makers in New York and Washington seemed to have concluded that a Toyota job in Texas was the same as a GM job in Michigan.
Many average Americans also seemed to have turned against GM, judging not only from their purchasing patterns but also from the burst of letters from readers in major business publications. “While the GM corporate types were hauling their truckloads full of salary, stock options and bonuses to their banks, realtors and brokers year after year, Japan’s automakers were quietly feeling our nation’s pulse, watching world events unfold, adjusting their corporate strategies and building our automotive future,” wrote Mark Nickels of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to the Wall Street Journal in early 2008. “What does GM stand for? Visionless pathetic leadership, master blame gamers, out of touch with American consumers, laggards— I could go on.”
Or as a blogger, williambanzai7, put it on BusinessWeek online in June 2008, “This company is a giant quagmire of mismanagement, intractability, intellectual laziness and competitive stupidity. I don’t know anyone who would buy one of their gas guzzlers, and I predict that after a long drawn out pro cess of denial, this hulk will be extinct. Labor, if you want to build cars, tell your members to go work for Toyota.”
Bet you did'nt know I am a closet Auto industry expert.
I just re-read Grechen Morgenson's (NYT) October 2008 Article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/business/28melt.html) from which the following is an excerpt:
"As the group, led by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulsen, pondered the collapse of one of America’s oldest investment banks, Lehman Brothers, a more dangerous threat emerged: American International Group, the world’s largest insurer, was teetering. A.I.G. needed billions of dollars to right itself and had suddenly begged for help.
One of the Wall Street chief executives participating in the meeting was Lloyd C, Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Paulson’s former firm. Mr. Blankfein had particular reason for concern.
Although it was not widely known, Goldman, a Wall Street stalwart that had seemed immune to its rivals’ woes, was A.I.G.’s largest trading partner, according to six people close to the insurer who requested anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. A collapse of the insurer threatened to leave a hole of as much as $20 billion in Goldman’s side, several of these people said.
Days later, federal officials, who had let Lehman die and initially balked at tossing a lifeline to A.I.G., ended up bailing out the insurer for $85 billion.
Their message was simple: Lehman was expendable. But if A.I.G. unspooled, so could some of the mightiest enterprises in the world.
A Goldman spokesman said in an interview that the firm was never imperiled by A.I.G.’s troubles and that Mr. Blankfein participated in the Fed discussions to safeguard the entire financial system, not his firm’s own interests."
According to the WSJ live blog of the call which can be viewed here (http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/03/20/live-blogging-the-goldman-sachs-aig-call/ ), a Goldman representative today said: "We [WSJ] ask if GS alerted the Treasury about the potential systemic risk in AIG’s fall. There were no meetings between Lloyd and Hank Paulson. Alerting people — we meet with our regulators regularly, and all through our big exposures, and our regulators were posted."
First off, this is inconsistent with what Morgenson was told last Fall. Morgenson is not a sloppy reporter. Second, I don't believe that Blankfein, who was apparently Paulsen's youger protege at Goldman, did not have any conversations about the big picture with his former boss. I just don't believe it.
Perhaps Barney Rubble and his cadre of Capital Hill financial experts should subpeona Blankfein and Paulsen to find out exactly what conversations occurred and when.
Why I am harping about this. Well the problem our beloved financial system is facing is a crisis of confidence first and foremost. The cronyism that allowed Goldman to avoid destruction last September is one of the many imperfections that will have to be exorcised before anyone (but Wall Street itself) will once again believe that Wall Street is something other than a rigged game.
(CNN) -- Forget Al Qaeda, Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Axis of Evil. A once obscure acronym is on the lips of President Barack Obama, just about every politician in Washington and a lot of angry taxpayers nationwide. Its AIG...
To rap up a week of shadow bailout and bonus lootng disclosures at AIG, Barney Frank's AIG bonus inquisition, Blog posts and radio interviews with Elliot Spitzer, Congressional outrage and special bonus taxes, pussycat public protests and a Presidential wrap up on the Jay Leno Show, Friday morning Goldman Sachs will host a special conference call to: "answer questions from journalists, and clarify certain misperceptions in the press regarding Goldman Sachs' trading relationship with American International Group."
Make no mistake, Goldman has its best road show impresarios choreographing tomorrow's closing act. They will spin and spin about their hedging positions against AIG risk, how they were strong armed into accepting bailout money, how there were no conflicts last September when good citizen Blankfein urged the Fed to bail AIG. They will be innovating the truth in the mother of all roadshows and will be counting the gullibility of the American public.
I hope the media have the spine to expose the uncomfortable truth at this road show event. As Daniel Gross correctly points out on Slate, the inconvenient truth is that Goldman has become one of New York's biggest welfare queens.
Here is what stinks at Goldman Sachs, and no amount of factual innovation is going to stem the putrid odour. It is one thing for Goldman to be yet another bailout floozy. But Goldman has not admitted its showcase complicity in creating the mother of all financial meltdowns.
When the dolts at AIG designed the doomsday machine that is sucking Uncle Sam's wallet dry, you better believe Goldman bankers were there. Someone should ask what package of fee generating services was provided by Goldman Sachs to AIG leading up to the crisis. How much of the subprime garbage at AIG originated at Goldman? We all know that Goldman's derivative traders picked AIG's pockets.
That is fine a trade is a trade as they say.
What is not fine and stinks to high heavens, is the brazen conflicts that surface when you consider Hank Paulsen's past at Goldman, Blankfein's exclusive involvement in the discussions leading to the bailout coupled with Goldman's prominent role in creating Franken/A.I.G.
Mr. Blankfein presided over the debacle that brought his storied investment bank to its knees then he weaseled his way through the shadow bailout at AIG. This man who should by any measure lose his job, has been stomping the media pavement telling the world how the Goldman model is not broken.
Nothing at Goldman needs to be changed says he.
It is time for the media to turn the spotlight on Goldman Sachs.
WilliamBanzai7
From Kati on Slate: "William Banzai, thanks for the music. Singing and laughter are the only things protecting us from the hell created by those greedy vultures...."
sure know how to rock n roll. But at Goldman Sachs and AIG yesterday there were more cameramen than protestors.
Why is it that the French, who have all kinds of government entitlements, government paid medical care, free college tuition, 4 week vacations etc, are always violently protesting in the streets?
I know why, the reason they have all those entitlements is because they are always violently protesting in the streets.
I'm Blankfein, Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (Buddy Can You Spare a Dime) WilliamBanzai7
They used to tell me I was building a global investment bank, and so I followed the mob, When there were fees to plow, or risks to bear, I was always Johnny on the spot. They used to tell me I was building a global bank, with wealth and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bailout bread?
Once I built a golden bank, I made it run, made it race the markets. Once I built a golden investment bank; now it's done. I'm Blankfein, brother can you spare a dime?
Once I built a Wall Street tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime; Once I built a tower, now it's not fun. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in Saville Row suits, gee we looked swell, Screwed all them Yankee Doodly Dummies, Half a million bankers went marching around the globe, Now I'm the guy with the bailout baton!
Say, don't you remember, they called me Slick; it was Slick all the time. Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? I'm Blankfein, brother can you spare a dime?
Once in Saville Row suits, gee we looked swell, Screwed all them Yankee Doodly Dummies, Half a million banker brogues went marching, Now I'm the guy with the bailout baton!
Say, don't you remember, they called me Slick; it was Slick all the time. Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? I'm Blankfein, brother can you spare a dime?
WALL STREET FIGHTING MAN (Street Fighting Man, Rolling Stones) WilliamBanzai7
Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy cause Ponzi ground zero's here and the time is right for fighting Wall Street in the street, boy But what can a poor boy do Except to sing for the Banzai7 band cause in good ol New York town Theres just no place for a Wall Street fighting man No
Hey! think the time is right for a financial revolution But where I live the game to play is quantitative convolution Well, then what can a poor boy do Except to sing for the Banzai7 band cause in good ol New York town Theres no place for a Wall Street fighting man No
Hey! said my name is called disturbance Ill shout and scream, Ill ream the Ponzi kings, Ill rail at all their servants Well, what can a poor boy do Except to sing for the Banzai7 band cause in good ol New York town Theres no place for a Wall Street fighting man No
There are news reports that executives of AIG and Merrill are being harangued and threatened by those angered by bonus gate. While the personal safety of these people and their families is a legitimate concern, the anger that is manifesting itself is not misplaced.
What we are seeing is a proverbial "tipping point" of popular outrage. When the system fails to hold those responsible accountable, while ordinary people are suffering, it should be no surprise that frustration boils over.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Goldman Sachs said it would hold a conference call with reporters on Friday to, "answer questions from journalists, and clarify certain misperceptions in the press regarding Goldman Sachs' trading relationship with American International Group."
How about Goldman's trading relationship with Hank Paulsen last September when the decision was made to bail AIG directly and Goldman indirectly?
LlOYD Hide the "AIG Shrek" Blankfein
"Hey, I'm nobody's messenger boy, all right? I'm a TARP bailout delivery boy."
NYT--In a move bound to feed public furor over perks at bailed-out banks, Citigroup plans to spend about $10 million to create new offices for its chief executive and his lieutenants, a project that calls for premium millwork and at least one Sub-Zero refrigerator.
OUR BANK (Our House, Stephen Stills) WilliamBanzai7
Come with me now And rest your weary heads for just five minutes Everything is good Such a commodious abode The windows are illuminated By the NY City skyline shining through them Fiery gems to cure our bailout blues Only our own bailout blues
Our bank is a very, very big bank Led by Pandit n two floors of banker canards Life can sometimes be so hard Now everything is easy 'Cause of Bailouts 1 and 2 And our la,la,la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la.....
Our bank is a very, very big bank With fat cats who don't smoke cigars Life used to be so hard Now everything is easy 'Cause of Bailouts 1 and 2 And Our la, la, la...........
[Pandit: "I don't want to hear it, these numbers had better match the numbers I leaked last week!!!!!!]
Four pink chiquitas from Omaha, Just waitin for that AIG man to return to the show. Feelin good, feelin right, its Wednesday night, The House detective -- he was out-a-sight. Now, these fine ladies, they had a plan, They was in there with bailout protest toys in their hands. They said, come on, dudes, lets get it on, And they proceeded to tear Barney Frank's hearing room down.
Meanwhile oustide AIG Financial Products the crowd turned ugly.
SUBPRIME BAILOUT PROTEST SONG (Melody:One, Two, Three What Are we Fighten For, Country Joe McDonald) Lyrics WlliamBanzai7
Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again. He's got himself in a terrible financial jam Way down yonder in Wall Street land So pull out your check books and pick up a sponge, We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
Chorus: And it's one, two, three, What are we bailing for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is a subprime scam; And it's five, six, seven, Open up them pearly TARP gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why, Whoopee! your net worth's just got blown from the sky.
Well, come on regulators, let's move fast; Your big chance has come at last. Gotta go out and get those AIG boneheads The only good fraudster is the one locked up by the Feds And you know that prosperty can nerver be won Since they've blown their balance sheets to kingdom come.
Chorus
Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow, Why man, this is subprime bailout au-go-go. There's plenty good money to be made By supplying those dumb Feds with the tools of the trade, Just hope and pray that if they drop the FWMD bomb, They drop it somewhere else like Hong Kong .
Chorus
Well, come on mothers throughout the land, Pack your boys off to Wall Street land. Come on fathers, don't hesitate, Send 'em off before it's too late. Be the first one on your block To have your 401k lost in a hedge fund black box.
WHO KILLED AIG? (Who Killed Davey Moore, Bob Dylan) WilliamBanzai7 Blog
Sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62daicHQ9as
Who killed A-I-G, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," say Greenburg, Sullivan and Willumstead "Don't point your finger at we three CEO braindead. We could've stopped it in the early days An' maybe kept it from this fate, But the markets would've booed, we're sure, At not gettin' its money's worth. It's too bad we three had to to go, But there was a pressure on we too, you know. It wasn't we three that made AIG fall. No, you can't blame we three for incompetence, lyin or financial thievery at all."
Who killed AIG, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," cry AIG's derivative traders, Whose screams filled the trading floors loud. "It's too bad AIG died alright But we just like to write dumbass hedges all night. We didn't mean AIG t' meet its death, We just meant to plunder it with bonuses n obscene bets, There ain't nothing wrong in that. It wasn't us that made AIG fall. No, you can't blame us at all."
Who killed AIG, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," say the politicians and regulators, Puffing on big Goldman private label cigars. "It's hard to say, it's hard to smell, We always thought that AIG was well. It's too bad for the taxpayers and shareholders AIG's walking dead, But if it was sick, someone else should've said. It wasn't we that made AIG fall. No, you can't blame we at all."
Who killed AIG, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," say the gambling institutional AIG fans, With their unmailed proxy ballots still in their hands. "It wasn't we that knocked AIG down, Wh never dreamt AIG's Board was dumber than dumb. We didn't commit no ugly sin, Anyway, we put money on AIG to win. It wasn't we that made AIG fall. No, you can't blame we at all."
Who killed AIG, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," says the rating agencies, Spewing useless drivel using their useless models, Sayin', "the Ratings ain't to blame, There's just as much danger in the subprime dating game." Sayin', "Financial innovation is here to stay, It's just the old American way. It wasn't we that made AIG fall. No, you can't blame we at all."
Who killed AIG, Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not we," says Goldman Sachs whose subprime trades Laid AIG low in a cloud of counterparty risk haze, Whose CEO led them through AIG's mega billion bailout back door Even though they say they were hedged from the ground to the top floor. "We hit em, we hit em, yes, it's true, But that's what we Wall Street bankers n traders are paid to do. Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.' It was destiny, it was the market God's will."
The whole world is arguing about contract law and AIG Retention bonuses. But the bonuses have already been paid. Its a done deal. Good luck trying to recover the money.
Maybe its time to seriously consider who made this whole debacle possible. The AIG Board of Directors. Unfortunately, another facet of this whole financial soap opera is the feckless state of Delaware laws regarding director liability. Delaware is and has always been one big corporate Liberia. It is easier to catch Nigerian net scammers than it is win an action against a director under Delaware corporate law.
Nevertheless, we can start by visibly calling these highly regarded idiots to the carpet. They are out there somewhere. The members of AIG's Board are listed on EransWorld Blog under a post titled AIG's Ten Most Wanted: http://www.eransworld.com/my-rants/american-international-group-aig-10-wanted-fugitives/#comment-364
Today AIG Insurance Agent Edward Liddy is to head off to the Barney Frank Financial Services Inquisition...
In the early days of the Great Subprime Meltdown, to combat the rising tide of Wall Street financial chicanery, Congress gave Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts leave to Subpeona without let or hindrance thoughout the financial services land in a reign of pretentious buffoonery, Wall Street CEO terror and tortured financial pseudo intellectualism, that makes for smashing prime time TV.
This was the Barney Frank Financial Services Inquisition....
No one expects the Financial Services Inquisition!!!!!!
I said it before and I will say iy again, I can't stand hypocracy. There is only one thing worse than listening to gay Republican child molesters lecture us about morality,
listening to:
1. Goldman Sach's CEO Blankfein brag that the Goldman model still works,
2. Deutschebank's CEO Ackerman yodel that they don't need to be bailed out; and
3. French politicians lecture us about our financial excess.
Hmmmm...on second thought, maybe listening to the gay GOP child molesters was worse.
Spitzer Interview on WNYC: http://blogs.wnyc.org/news/2009/03/18/eliot-spitzer-on-aig/
HERE'S TO YOU ELLIOT SPITZER (Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkle) WilliamBanzai7's Bailout Smart Club Band
And here's to you, Elliot Spitzer We all miss you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo) God bless you please, Elliot Spitzer Wall Street's one big golden playpen for those who prey (prey, prey, prey...hey, hey, hey) We'd like to know a little bit about your Slate blog for our files We'd like to help you learn to help yourself Look around you, all you see are securitized Wall Street lies Stroll around downtown and feel at home
And here's to you, Elliot Spitzer We all need you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo) God help us all, Elliot Spitzer Wall Streets stilla place for those who prey (Prey, prey prey...hey, hey, hey)
Hide it in a hiding place while the taxpayers get hosed Put it in an offshore pantry with their bonus cupcakes It's no little Goldman secret, AIG's the biggest Wall Street affair By and large, Blankfein's kept it under a bespoke trash lid
Coo, coo, ca-choo, Elliot Spitzer Wall Street's a bigger con job as you know (Wo, wo, wo) God help us please, Elliot Spitzer Sing, Sing holds a place for those who prey (Prey, prey, prey...hey, hey, hey)
Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon Listening to the Washington cretens debate Cry about it, shout about it They've got lots of time to schmooze Ev'ry way you look at it, in the long run we lose
What are you doin, Andrew Cuomo A nation turns its payback eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo) What's that you say, Elliot Spitzer Joltin' Cuomo has got to go a long, long way (Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)
There are certain subjects that we at the BANZAI7 News Organization understand must be treated with the utmost seriousness, sensitivity and decorum. Today we discuss Bailout Seppuku, samurai ritualistic suicide when committed by incompetent Wall Street CEOs responsible for blowing up the global ponzi-economic system.
Yesterday Iowa Senator Charles Grassley challenged AIG executives with the following: "I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, 'I'm sorry,' and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide."
What he is talking about is known in Japan as Bailout Seppuku (pronounced Bear Out-o Seppuku and not to be confused with Joe Serpico).
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ritualistic intricacies of Bailout Seppuku we asked out lead commentator WilliamBanzai7 to research and prepare the following detailed report. As you will see, these are serious matters to consider. We urge Hank Greenberg, Martin Sullivan, Robert Willumstead (aka the Three AIG Stooges) to read this methodology carefully.
We further urge Senator Grassley to carefully view the video which reveals GOP Seppuku in technicolor. Afterall, he and his GOP posse share most of the blame for the mother of all Wall Street meltdowns.
WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!
The Fine Art of Bailout Seppuku WilliamBanzai7
Bailout Seppuku (only gaijin or smelly caucasian men refer to it as "hari-kari") is a highly ritualized road show performance, as complicated as chado (tea ceremony). The principle difference is that at the end of chado, one is merely nauseated from too much green tea, while at the end of bailout seppuku, ones Wall Street career is finished.
The first thing to do is to recruit an analyst, a kaishkunin. Contrary to what is thought, almost all forms of bailout seppuku do not technically involve suicide, but merely inflicting fatal humiliation upon oneself, preferably on the internet or the Daily Show. The kaishakunin does the actual killing. If one is ordered to commit seppuku by the bafuku (United States Congress), it will generally appoint its own kaishakunin. Otherwise, one should ask a great iaijutsuka (practitioner of the technique of killing with a single key stroke) or a close personal friend (as hard as they are to find on Wall Street these days) to be one’s kaishakunin. If asked out of friendship, one may refuse on the grounds that one’s waza (blogging technique) is inadequate; if the request is repeated, however, one should consent gracefully, as flaws in technique will be forgiven (by the blogosphere).
Bailout Seppuku is ideally committed in a corner office, a board or Penthouse (trading floors should not be defiled by bailout death). The participant dresses in Saville Row bespoke long underwear, to express purity of intention and sits in the seiza position (legs drawn up under the body so that one is actually sitting on one’s blackberry). A servant places the sanbo (a Bloomberg terminal) before one. It will be accompanied with a tin cup, a balance sheet (water soluble paper handmade from mulberry bark) and blogging accoutrements such as an executive assistant with a wireless laptop, and a copy of the ISDA form Credit Default swap with standard attachments (disemboweling blade). This can be a tanto (SWAP) without collateral ceiling, wrapped in several sheets of toilet paper to provide a better grip. Real Wall Street samurai, however, use their own wakizashi (ginzu steak knives). If one is of limited experience, or judged too dangerous to be trusted with complex derivatives, an autographed copy of Alan Greenspan's book "Age of Flatulence" may be substituted for an actual blade.
The tin cup is filled with Thunderbird from the left, by an attendant using his left hand (this is indescribably rude under other circumstances). The person committing bailout seppuku then empties it in two drinks of two sips each (one sip would show greed, whilst three or more would show even more greed). This makes a total of four sips; shi, "four", also means "trader death" (Japanese just love these kinds of puns, especially when they’re about to kill themselves).
One then writes a hail Mary sales pitch in the waka style (five lines of five, seven, seven, five, and seven syllables). The poem should be graceful, fraudulent, misleading, deceitful and about results of operations and capital resources. Under no means should it mention that the fact you are about to be terminated with "good cause".
At this point, the person slips out of his bespoke boxers (kamishimo) and places them under his chin to prevent him from doing something undignified like telling the truth or paying back last years bonus. He picks up the kozuka, and with his other hand picks up the sanbo and sticks it up his buttocks, to cause him to lean forward slightly in the proper attitude.
If the person committing is so young or so evil that Greenspan's book has been substituted, the kaishakunin executes a kirioroshi strike (vertical) over the head as soon as the person committing bailout seppuku touches the book to his stomach. Otherwise, he will typically wait until the person plunges the ISDA SWAP into his left eye, and draws it across to the right, with a sharp upward cut at the end. A Wall Street samurai who feels himself capable may then plunge the SWAP into his groin and then up his sorry ass. However, the kaishakunin is supposed to keep a sharp (heh, heh) eye out, and strike at the first sign of pain or hesitation in his principle.
After the executive committing bailout seppuku is finally humiliated, the sanbo, the kozuka, and the katana are all sold on EBAY.
[Special thanks to Rat's Nest Blog for providing data used in this description: http://www.win.net/ratsnest/archive-articles21/fog0000000384.html]
BUGGER OFF YOU BAILOUT BASTARDS
(Bugger Off, Irish Drinking Song)
WilliamBanzai7
HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY 2009
Chorus:
So bugger off, you Wall Street bastards bugger off! (Fook Yu!)
Bugger off, you deadbeat bastards bugger off! (Fook Yu!)
Like a herd of bloody swine that refuse to leave the trough
You'll get no more this evening so you bailout bastards bugger off
AIG you've been a lovely bailout zombie, but oh the time does pass.
So don't you all be bettin' the Feds won't kick you in the ass.
You've been a splendid bailout basket case, but enough is enough.
We'd take it very kindly AIG if you'd all just bugger off!
Chorus
Here's to all the bankers and lawyers who've been servin securitized beers,
and puttin up their knoxious greed and their stupid drunken schemes.
So leave your money on their table when you go,
tomorrow you'll have a sorry head and nothin left to show
Chorus
Here's to all them bailout bag ladies who might be waitin with tin pans in their hands,
and thinkin one of them might make a charmin one night stand.
Please don't be offended girls this song is not for you.
Uncle Sam will be happy to oblige you to get this nasty job through.
Chorus
So Timmy G you've been promisin these bailout girls a night of lovin bliss,
but truth be told your far to drunk on bailout swill to stand up straight and piss.
So give it up you lousy sod you'll not be gettin laid.
and the sooner that you're out the door the sooner Uncle Sam gets repaid.
Chorus
So bugger off, you Wall Street bastards bugger off! (Fook Yu!)
Bugger off, you deadbeat bastards bugger off! (Fook Yu!)
Like a herd of fooking swine that refuse to leave the trough
You'll get no more this evening so you bailout bastards bugger off
NYT--Goldman, which accepted billions of taxpayer dollars last fall and, as learned Sunday, was also a big beneficiary of the rescue of the American International Group, is offering to lend money to more than 1,000 employees who have been squeezed by the financial crisis. The loans, offered via e-mail last week, could range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands.
Apparently there are many Goldman bankers who do not have the cash flow to meet upcoming capital calls in certain Goldman affiliated private equity vehicles.
This is yet another manifestation of the warped economic reality of the Bailout Zone. Uncle Sam financing loans to indigent Goldman bankers.
You can read the full story over on Deal Book
Anyone who wants to know the terms of these loans raise your hand!
"Our model remains sound" Lloyd Blankfein, CEO Goldman Sachs
I received this comment today from Yearbooker on Slate:
"You seem to be driving at, to be hinting at, the possibility of something that crossed my mind earlier today regarding these employment contracts: are they really, truly contracts? Or are they in fact sweetheart deals hiding under the thinnest of contract veneers?
You were in top form today, by the way, with all your parody lyrics! I know, I know; the news of late has been overflowing with sujects simply begging to be your target, and of course, you feel it's the least you can do to oblige them. But today, you hit the bull's eye again, and again, and again. Bravo! Always appreciated, and many thanks!"
It does not get better than this. Thank you readers for visiting this site.
There is a good summary of the events surrounding the AIG Retention Bonuses on Naked Capitalist's blog. Theoretically these (or the form) whould be filed as an Exhibit to AIG's filings with the SEC.
A retention bonus is different from a performance bonus which constitutes the contingent portion of an executives regular compensation package.
Retention Bonus Agreements are frequently issued in connection with corporate takeovers. They are a contractual tool for inducing employees "at will" not to leave in the event of a change of control.
An employee "at will" is an employee who is not otherwise contractually bound to stay. In short, a retention agreement says if you stay for a specified period and are not otherwise terminated for "good cause", you will be paid the following sum.
The amount payable under the bonus can be a cash lump sum or some other contingent amount. The point of the agreement is not to create rewards for good performance. It is designed to induce someone to stay. Whether these types of arrangements are subject to Employee Protection laws is a question for the experts. However, many of these employees are working in London where the laws protecting employees are generally more stringent than in the US.
Like everything else in corporate America, these tools can be and often are abused. The summary in the Naked Capitalism blog indicates that these AIG Retention Agreements smell as foul as everything else in AIG.
Ponder me this:
When TYPICAL BANK WALL STREET USA decides that it does not like the terms of the financing it promised to provide to good old Henry the drunken buyout king before the markets tanked what does it do?
It plays hard ball and says the draw down conditions are not satisfied even though they may well be.
Henry threatens litigation and maybe commences action.
What happens in the end, they compromise and settle.
Why is it everyone thinks Uncle Sam needs to keep leaning over?
Is it the same reason some genius decided that AIG should pay 100 percent on the dollar to its derivative counter parties?
Perhaps all the bondholders holding the paper of the American companies now bloated with junk leverage should insist that they all be paid in full in the name of the sanctity of contract?
Fencing over contracts is the American way.
If I were Timmy Geithner, I would do the following for starters:
1. Get a private sector law firm to immediately provide a third party assessment of the terms and liabilities associated with a breach of these pieces of paper. They should consider the possibility of punitive damages in the various jurisditions as well as claims for tortious interference with contract.
2. Write a letter to AIG ordering them to suspend all payments or risk the possibility of any further bailout injections by the US government. This gives AIG the ability to claim some sort of force majeure defense if and when it comes up in court. This would also set up some sort of defense against allegations of dealing in "bad faith".
3. Instruct the IRS to immediately monitor the US payees to ensure that all applicable taxes are being paid and (in the process determine if all prior taxes were paid).Ask the Inland Revenue Service in England to do the same.
4. Instruct AIG to wind down AIG Financial Products pronto. There are plenty of Wall Street derivative jocks who would be happy to unwind AIG's positions for a fraction of the pay. It is clear that the people working at AIG were the "worst and the dumbest" not the "best and the brightest" as they would have us believe.
5. Tell the three trustees holding Uncle Sam's AIG shares to wake up or take a hike.
6. Remind AIG CEO Liddy that he was put there by Uncle Sam.
7. Start thinking about Chapter 11 for AIG. The market now knows who has AIG exposure so the ominous contagion risk has dissipated.
BAIL, BAIL, BAIL (the Men of Goldman Sachs) (Beer, Beer, Beer (Charlie Mochs) Irish drinking song) WilliamBanzai7
Sing along Laddies and Lassies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9G-Np1HB9M
1,2,3 Bail, Bail, Bail
A long time ago, way back in Wall Street bailout history, When the best game in town was was schtupping AIG, A long came a bank by the name of Goldmen Sachs, And they invented a wonderful drink, and they made it out of subprime schlock.
Chorus: Hey! they must have been bailout criminals, subprime sultans and/or PONZI kings, And for them praise those busted bankers shall always sing; Look at what they've done for us, they've filled Uncle Sam up with bailout beer, Lord, bless those men of Goldman Sachs who invented... Bailout Beer Beer Beer taxpayer Bail, Bail, Bail...
The Goldman pub, the Wall Street Inn, the AIG blackhole in the wall as well One thing you can be sure of, it's Hank Paulsen's bailout beer they sell; So all you busted bailed out bankers, at eleven o'clock you stop, For five short seconds, remember the men of Goldman Sachs!
One... two... three... four... five...
Repeat Chorus
A busted hedge, a barrel of toxic asset slop, stir it around with a stick, Just the type of lubrication to make your networth sink; Another trillion dollars of TARP wallop will keep alive those bailout hacks, It's only eighty cents halpenny a pint, but a trillion more in tax.
One... two... three... four... five...
Hey! they must have been bailout criminals, subprime sultans and/or PONZI kings, And for them praise those busted bankers shall always sing; Look at what they've done for us, they've filled Uncle Sam up with bailout beer, Lord, bless those men of Goldman Sachs who invented... Bailout Beer Beer Beer taxpayer Bail, Bail, Bail...
DO YOU HEAR THE ANGRY BAILOUT RABBLE SING (Les Miserables, Do You Hear the People Sing) WilliamBanzai7
Sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6-5g78Nr6Q
NOURIEL ROUBINI Do you hear the angry bailout rabble sing? Singing a song of angry of taxpaying men? It is the music of a people Who will not let AIG get bailed again! When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the anti bailout drums There is a new economic life about to start When tomorrow's opening bell comes!
LARRY SUMMERS Will you join in our anti bailout crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the financial barricade of opacity Is there a transparent world you long to see? BARNEY FRANK: Then join in the fight That will give you the right to be debt free!
ALL Do you hear the angry bailout rabble sing? Singing a song of angry taxpaying men? It is the music of a people Who will not be subprimed and PONZI schemed again! When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the anti bailout drums There is a new economic life about to start When tomorrow's opening bell comes!
BERNANKE Will you invest all you can invest As sure as our anti bailout banner may advance Some bad banks will fail and some good will live Will you stand up and take your chance? The blood of the bear market Will water the meadows of our own recovery and not Germany or France!
ALL Do you hear the amgry rabble sing? Singing a song of angry taxpaying men? It is the music of a people Who will not let AIG get bailed again! When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the anti bailout drums There is a new life about to start When tomorrow's opening bell comes!
OY BERNIE BOY (HAPPY SAINT PADDY WAGON) O Danny Boy WilliamBanzai7 Blog
Oy Bernie boy, a Ponzi you've been a scheming From Palm Beach up to Park Avenue The good times are gone, and all your clients are steaming 'Tis you, 'tis you must to the big house go and we all must watch and smile But come ye back after the judge has read the sentencing memo And when the court room's hushed to hear how long you'll go 'Tis we'll be here lurking in the shadows Oy Bernie boy, oy Bernie boy, we hate you so.
And if you come, when all the other dodgy Wall Street hedge funds are dying And their NAVs are red as red well may be You'll come and find the place where all asset managers are lying And kneel and say an "Alpha" there for me.
And the markets shall hear, tho' soft you tread above And all those Wall Street Ponzi schemes will warm and sweeter be If you'll not fail to tell the judge about foolish human greed We'll simply sleep in peace until the next big Ponzi scheme is seen.
ITS ALL RIGHT BEN (WE’RE ONLY BLEEDING) (Its Alright Ma(I’m Only Bleeding), Bob Dylan) WilliamBanzai7
DOW crashes down at the break of doom Shadows all the silver spoons The unhedged bets, asset backed balloons Eclipses both the market sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying.
Ponzi schemes, are bluffed with scorn Bearish remarks are torn From the fool’s squawk box The hollow horn plays wasted words Proves to warn That your 401ks not busy being born Its busy dying.
Greenspan’s day flies out the door You follow, find yourself a bailout whore Watch waterfalls of public scorn You feel to moan but unlike before You discover That you’d just be One more Wall Street conman crying.
So don’t fear if you hear A socialist sound to your ear It’s alright, Ben, I’m only sighing.
As some warn of history, some of downfall Economic reasons great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be tanked to crawl While others say don’t wait for nothing at all Except for handcuffs and indictments.
Disillusioned investors bark As trader gods aim and miss their mark Trading everything from derivative toys that spark To toxic assets that glow in the dark It’s easy to see without looking too far How all is really one big farce.
While Bearish preachers preach of evil fate Ivy league teachers teach that knowledge propagates and Leads to billion-dollar plates Moral hazard hides behind the pearly bailout gates When even the President of the United States thinks We can’t nationalize zombie banks because capitalism’s dying.
An’ though the rules of the road have all been dodged Because the regulator’s games are a fools hodge podge And it’s air tight, Ben, they shake and bake it.
Wall Street hucksters that con you Into thinking you can be the one That can retire before fifty one That can win what’s never been won Meantime life crashes down All around you.
You lose your net worth, it disappears You suddenly find you got nothing left but fear Alone you stand with nobody near When a trembling distant voice, unclear Startles your weeping tears to hear That the IRS thinks They really found you.
A question on your trading screen is lit Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy Convince you better not to quit To keep it in your mind and not forgit That it is not he or she or them or it That can forewarn you.
Although the masters of the universe gamed the rules For the wise men and not the fools We got nothing, Ben, to live up to.
For them that must work for taxpayers and shareholder dimwits That they do not respect in any degree Who despise their jobs, their bailed out banker destinies Speak jealously of them that are TARP free Cultivate their lives and dreams to be Nothing more than another Ponzi scheme to invest in.
While some on market principles baptized To strict economic platform ties Nobel laureates in drag disguise Outsiders they freely criticize Tell nothing except which formulas to idolize And then pray for God to bless them.
The one who sings in the bailout choir Should have his bail out pants lit on fire Bent out of shape from the markets pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the same financial blackhole That he’s in.
But I mean no harm nor put fault On anyone that lives in an empty bank vault But it’s alright, Ben, but we just can’t appease him.
Old neocon ladies watch in despair Limited in sex, all they do is dare To push necon morals, neocon insults and throw neocon chairs While dirty money doesn’t talk, it swears Obscenity, who really cares Their hollow neocon propaganda, all is phony.
While them that pretend that they cannot see That there’s no such thing as a riskless security It blows their minds almost instantaneously To think Wall Street operates dishonestly Will fall upon them disastrously Life in jail sometimes Must get lonely.
My eyes collide head-on with quantitative geeks False models, I scuff At snake oil con men who just talk guff Walk upside-down inside handcuffs Kick my legs to crash it off Say okay, I have had enough Whatever else please don’t show me!
And if his financial-dreams could be seen They’d probably put that banker’s head in a guillotine But it’s alright, Ben, it’s life, and life only.
All content and images depicted on the WilliamBanzai7 Blog are intended solely as political editorial, critique, social commentary, satire and parody concerning current events and public figures.
As such, they should be viewed solely as opinion, comedy and artistic expression rather than factual reports regarding the relevant subject matter.
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