American International Group Inc. and Chief Executive Robert Beanmush have signed an aircraft time-sharing agreement covering the rules for when he may take a company jet on personal detours from business trips, according to a filing by the company.MEanwhile all other AIG executives have been relegated to commercial air travel.
The agreement elaborates on a so-called Luxury Expenditure Policy that AIG put into effect at the end of December. That agreement already allowed Mr. Benmosche personal use of corporate aircraft if the use "is incidental to a business trip and the incremental cost is paid by the AIG CEO," according to that agreement. Personal use of company aircraft otherwise is "strictly prohibited," the December agreement said.
Beanmush is said to be planning series of high profile business meetings with the Association of Croatian Derivative Dealers whom he hopes will be able to liquidate AIG's derivative positions without requiring retention bonuses.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
LOOK HONEY, THEY SHRUNK THE ECONOMY
Since the start of the recession two years ago, corporate and consumer balance sheets have been engaged in a forced bout of cutbacks that figure prominently in fourth-quarter earnings reports coming out now.
The signs are everywhere. General Electric Co.'s chief financial officer on Friday referred to the "focused shrinkage" of its financial unit. A day earlier, Target Corp. said it plans to test stores that will have 50% fewer items. Today Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, announced it is cutting about 11,200 jobs at its Sam’s Club warehouses.
Of course, cutbacks of staff, assets and inventories have helped the bottom line and the stock market, an incredible opportunity if you are a bank and have cheap leverage financed by the FDIC available for your forays into the markets.
HEALTH INSURANCE BULLSHIT
While Congress has been haggling over covering as many as 15 million uninsured Americans, the prestigious hospitals and the major health insurer have been in bitter contract negotiations, not just over rates but also over UnitedHealthcare’s demand that the hospitals notify the insurance company within 24 hours after a patient’s admission. If a hospital failed to do so, UnitedHealthcare would cut its reimbursements for the patient by half.
WB7: What is supposed to happen to the poor patient who gets stuck in the middle of this nonsense. What id the patient is actually incapacitated and can't remind his hospital to send the notice. This is just plain BULLSHIT. It would never happen in the rest of the civilized world.
Does this mean United Healthcare will reimburse within 24 hours of recieving a claim? Keep dreaming friends...
EMERGENCY U TURN
The incident occurred Saturday on a United Airlines jetliner en route from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas. The plane, which had more than 100 people aboard, was diverted to Denver International Airport.
Passengers told Las Vegas television station KTNV-TV after the plane landed that the man said he was a Senator from Massachusetts and needed to get back to Washington for Bernanke's confirmation vote.
HOW MANY FED PINHEADS...
"But can they make these docs public without our consent? Aren't we parties to this and shouldn't we have a say?" a New York Fed employee wrote on the evening of
It is amazing how little these people understand how things work. They are a bunch of pinheads dancing on the head of a pin...
ICE BEFORE KILLING
The couple, who are favored to win gold at next month's winter Olympics, wear skin-toned suits with red loin cloths and white body paint.
But experts in Australia say Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin's movements and body decorations bear no resemblance to that of the Aborigines' 60,000 year old culture.
The Russian coach says the whole thing is an unfortunate misunderstanding because the choreography was in fact based on the book: Ice Before Killing
GOSPEL OF GREED
The theme for his annual Global Finance Day message, "Modern Investment Banking at the service of the Word," saluting global investment bankers doing God's work, was released Saturday. The event is May 16.
The Pope said ...
The world of financial innovation, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul's exclamation: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel of Greed."
USEFUL WORDS FOR 2010
Teabagger, a whining fool shouting loudly for liberty but not willing to pay the bill.
Robber baron is a term that revived in the 19th century in the United States as a reference to businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to any businessman or banker who is perceived to have used questionable business practices or scams in order to become powerful or wealthy (placing them in power of everything having controlled most business affairs.)
A political hack is a negative term ascribed to a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction. The term "hired gun" is often used in tandem to further describe the moral bankruptcy of the "hack".
"Political John", a fomer politician disgraced by a scandal involving hookers.
"Missionaries" Wall Street colloquialism for investment bankers.
Clusterfuck, a chaotic mess that might be compared to group sex, in which participants are so intertwined and intermingled that they might penetrate each other rather than their intended target. Its more precise usage describes a particular kind of Catch-22, in which multiple complicated problems mutually interfere with each other's solution. The looser usage, referring to any chaotic situation, probably prevails. "Healthcare Reform has begun one big clusterfuck."
"The Law of the Jungle" is usually an expression that means "every man for himself," "anything goes," "might makes right," "survival of the strongest", "survival of the fittest" and "eat or get eaten".
"Bankster' a portmanteau or blend word derived from combining "banker" and "gangster." Usually referred to in the plural form "banksters" to refer to a predatory element within the financial services industry, such as those offering "too good to be true" adjustable mortgage rates for home buyers.
BOHICA (also spelled "B.O.H.I.C.A" and Bohica") is an acronym that stands for "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again" - Used colloquially to indicate that an adverse situation is about to repeat itself.
"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase often credited to P.T. Barnum (1810 – 1891), an American showman. It is generally taken to mean that there are (and always will be) a lot of gullible people in the world.
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", with a divergence in that business oligarchs represent informal power over a certain region or country because of their increased wealth. The choice of the word oligarch, which theoretically means "one of the few rulers", denotes the significant influence such wealthy individuals may have on the life of a nation.
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, from Greek kleptes (thieve) and kratos (rule), is a term applied to a government that takes advantage of governmental corruption to extend the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats), via the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of the wider population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service. The term means "rule by thieves".
Klepto Capitalism, an economic system where publicly traded corporations are run not to produce value for shareholders but to provide obscene amounts of wealth for CEOs and top executives.
The iron triangle is a term used by political scientists to describe the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy (executive) (sometimes called "government agencies"), and interest groups.
A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered.
The shadow banking system or the shadow financial system consists of non-bank financial institutions that play an increasingly critical role in lending businesses the money necessary to operate.
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group, such as a nation, from within, to the aid of an external or larger enemy.
High Frequency Trading, computerised Three Card Monte.
Dark Pool, similar to a dark alley.
Perp trading, similar to poker with a marked deck.
"Too Big to Fail" is a phrase referring to the idea that in economic regulation, the largest and most interconnected businesses are so large that a government cannot allow them to declare bankruptcy because said failure would have a disastrous effect on the overall economy.
This results in reckless behavior of the institution since the government will intervene (e.g. by bailing out the company) in the event the institution is going to fail. One of the biggest US companies referred to as too big to fail is American International Group (AIG). Some critics see the policy as wrong and counterproductive. They think big banks should be left to fail if their risk management was not effective. For example, in the international context, the "too big to fail" policy has been explicitly refuted in the People's Republic of China.[1]
"Too Stupid to Know Better", term applied to former CEOs of Too Big to Fail firms (e.g., Martin Sullivan of AIG, Chuck Prince of Citigroup, Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch).
Bucket shop is a brokerage firm that “books" (i.e., takes the opposite side of) retail customer orders without actually having them executed on an exchange.[1] These brokerages are also often called boiler rooms. The term is a defined term under the criminal law of many states in the United States which make it a crime to operate a bucket shop. [2] Typically the criminal law definition refers to an operation in which the customer is sold what is supposed to be a derivative interest in a security or commodity future, but there is no transaction made on any exchange. The transaction goes 'in the bucket' and is never executed. More recently the term has been applied to derivative trading.
A charlatan (also called swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery, quantitative finance or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretence or deception.
A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby. "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions."
The Lost Decade (失われた10年 Ushinawareta Jūnen) is the time after the Japanese asset price bubble's collapse (崩壊, hōkai) within the Japanese economy, which occurred gradually rather than catastrophically. It consists of the years 1991 to 2000 .
America no Ushinawareta Jūnen, America's prospective lost decade 2009 to _____.
Moral hazard occurs when a party insulated from risk may behave differently than it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk.
Moron Hazard, a Massachusetts election or similar scenario involving Teabaggers.
The Banking Act of 1933 was a law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and introduced banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation[1]. It is most commonly known as the Glass–Steagall Act.
F.U.B.A.R. is an acronym that commonly means "fucked up beyond all repair," "fucked up beyond all recognition," or any of a number of similar constructions. It originated in the United States armed forces, but its usage has spread to colloquial use.
D.U.M.P. is a destitute unemployed mature professional.
A jobless recovery or jobless growth is a phrase used by economists, especially in the United States, to describe the recovery from a recession which does not produce strong growth in employment.
C.A.V.E., citizens against virtually everything.
PONZInomics, quantitative finance.
Hooligan Toolery, tools used by thieves and common criminals such as black berries, power point pitches and offering circulars.
A turkey shoot is an opportunity for an individual or a party to very easily take advantage of a situation. It also implies that the "shooter" can't lose. "The Fed's bailout of AIG was a turkey shoot for Goldman Sachs."
[Sources: wikipedia, urban dictionary, Banzai7 Institute]
HARD TIMES AT GOLDMAN SQUID
Senior bankers and star traders will be given details of the clampdown later this week. The new limit is likely to cause consternation among the bank’s biggest earners, an elite group dubbed the Masters of the Universe, who have in good years been handed bonuses topping £10m each.
BIN LADEN TAUNTS US
BANZAI7--An 8 track tape said to be from Osama Bin Laden says al-Qaeda was responsible for the unda-bomber Christmas plot to blow up a plane.
"If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words we wouldn't have carried them to you in oursoiled undershorts," the tape says.
[Photo: FBI files]
Saturday, January 23, 2010
UPSETTING THE BALANCE
That was the message Chinese authorities sent Saturday in response to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's harsh criticism of the regime's internet censorship and repressive human rights policies. A representative of the Communist government said Clinton was being "disrespectful" when she urged U.S. companies to stand up to internet censorship in authoritarian countries like China.
WB7: Here is the real question.
You like buying cheap goods made in China right? Everything you touch seems to be made in Chinese factories employing low wage workers willing to work in conditions American unemployed workers would find acceptable only in their worst nightmares.
Factories with toxic emission standards far below those mandated in the US.
You liked borrowing cheap money provided by China to buy those cheap Chinese goods. Money financing the six flat screen TV sets in your household. Money that could have been used to help build a hospital in Tibet or improved living conditions for construction workers in Shanghai.
Now why do you want to stick your big nose in China's internal affairs to screw up the delicate balance of the universe?
Innovative hypocracy, that is what we are seeing.
OBAMA NEEDS TO GET HIS ASS IN GEAR FAST
President Obama on Saturday endorsed a Senate bill to create a bipartisan budget commission, whose recommendations for slashing deficits would have to be voted on by Congress. But he remained ready to establish a panel by executive order if the effort to do so by law fails even with his support.
Does this guy have any ideas of his own? This is like calling Fortune 500 executives to the White House job seance and insurance industry executives to health care reform townhall meetings, political theater with no happy ending.
Instead of a strong leader with a plan, we have a seminar organizer.
THE TROUBLE WITH BEN
WB7: Don't you love the way everything gets derided as a "populist uprising." What is the trouble with Ben Bernanke? He did such a marvelous job of saving the world from financial disaster. he is such an expert on financial disaser control. No?
Pllllllllease. He stood by an watched as the subprime avalanche developed. He helped design the rescue of Bear Stearn's, which encouraged Wall Street to believe it would be rescued when the securitized shit hit the fan. He was Geithner's boss during AIG-gate. He continues to advocate methods for dealing with the next 2big2fail disaster scenario instead of worrying about how to seriously reform a system afflicted with a serious case of FUBAR.
He should be the heavy coming down on the banks for screwing the world up.
If given a choice would you choose a scholarly expert on the Great Depression whose main agenda is protected the Fed's turf or a guy like Steiglitz who is outspoken on what went wrong on Wall Street and what needs to be fixed?
HARD TIMES
BANZAI7 NEWS--Harley Davidson, the motorcycle maker, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $218 million Friday, its first quarterly shortfall in 16 years and lots less than losses announced by certain banks this past week. Hurt by restructuring costs and the sluggish economy, Harley-Davidson has come under pressure over the last year as the tight credit markets and the weak economy led consumers to shun purchases of its high-end, heavyweight motorcycles.
Unlike, the Banking industry, the company has been reorganizing its business through layoffs, factory closures and closing or selling unwanted brands. No multi-billion dollar bailout or bonus pool was announced and none is expected to be announced in the near future.
Hey Wall Street...
Unlike, the Banking industry, the company has been reorganizing its business through layoffs, factory closures and closing or selling unwanted brands. No multi-billion dollar bailout or bonus pool was announced and none is expected to be announced in the near future.
Hey Wall Street...
SUNDAY READING
Stiglitz Testimony -
The idea that Bernanke is the only one who can run the Federal Reserve Bank is foolish.
REPUBLICAN ROPE A DOPE
"The rope-a-dope is performed by a boxer assuming a protected stance, in Mohammed Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to hit him, in the hope that the opponent will become tired and make mistakes which the boxer can exploit in a counterattack.
In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor." [Wikipedia definition]
Sadly, in the case of Healthcare reforms or any reform for that matter, it s beginning to look like President Obama is the dope who got roped. During his first year in office we watched his slick advisors, lead by Rahm "the operator" Emmanuel, orchestrate all kinds of backroom deals to placate the insurance industry, the drug companies, the bank lobby, Joe Lieberman, the Republican Party yadda yadda yadda. The final result? Not a single yes vote from the Republicans. Q:What is the point of bipartisanship? A: Who knows. Seen any reform bills get signed into law lately?
Now the playing field has changed dramatically. The Dems have squandered their filibuster breaking 60th vote (you know, the one that Al Franken fought tooth and nail to deliver) and the Supreme Court has reopened the lobbyist floodgates. 2009 has gone down as a window of lost opportunity for Obama's mandate of "change'.
Sadly, 2010 is going to be a Thrilla in Reformvilla. With midterm elections in November don't bet on any Democrat knockout punches in the reform arena. They will try to communicate their hollow message of change over a cacophony of uncontrollable populism and a flood of corporate/Republican industrial complex propaganda.
It looks like the Republicans have roped their dope.
MOSCOW METRO DOGS
Here is an excerpt from a fascinating piece on Moscow's ubiquitous stray dogs.
There is one special sub-group of strays that stands apart from the rest: Moscow’s metro dogs. “The metro dog appeared for the simple reason that it was permitted to enter,” says Andrei Neuronov, an author and specialist in animal behaviour and psychology, who has worked with Vladimir Putin’s black female Labrador retriever, Connie (“a very nice pup”). “This began in the late 1980s during perestroika,” he says. “When more food appeared, people began to live better and feed strays.” The dogs started by riding on overground trams and buses, where supervisors were becoming increasingly thin on the ground.
Neuronov says there are some 500 strays that live in the metro stations, especially during the colder months, but only about 20 have learned how to ride the trains. This happened gradually, first as a way to broaden their territory. Later, it became a way of life. “Why should they go by foot if they can move around by public transport?” he asks.
“They orient themselves in a number of ways,” Neuronov adds. “They figure out where they are by smell, by recognising the name of the station from the recorded announcer’s voice and by time intervals. If, for example, you come every Monday and feed a dog, that dog will know when it’s Monday and the hour to expect you, based on their sense of time intervals from their biological clocks.”
The metro dog also has uncannily good instincts about people, happily greeting kindly passers by, but slinking down the furthest escalator to avoid the intolerant older women who oversee the metro’s electronic turnstiles. “Right outside this metro,” says Neuronov, gesturing toward Frunzenskaya station, a short distance from the park where we were speaking, “a black dog sleeps on a mat. He’s called Malish. And this is what I saw one day: a bowl of freshly ground beef set before him, and slowly, and ever so lazily, he scooped it up with his tongue while lying down.”
The full article can be read here.
There is one special sub-group of strays that stands apart from the rest: Moscow’s metro dogs. “The metro dog appeared for the simple reason that it was permitted to enter,” says Andrei Neuronov, an author and specialist in animal behaviour and psychology, who has worked with Vladimir Putin’s black female Labrador retriever, Connie (“a very nice pup”). “This began in the late 1980s during perestroika,” he says. “When more food appeared, people began to live better and feed strays.” The dogs started by riding on overground trams and buses, where supervisors were becoming increasingly thin on the ground.
 |
| A stray on the metro, seeking food |
“They orient themselves in a number of ways,” Neuronov adds. “They figure out where they are by smell, by recognising the name of the station from the recorded announcer’s voice and by time intervals. If, for example, you come every Monday and feed a dog, that dog will know when it’s Monday and the hour to expect you, based on their sense of time intervals from their biological clocks.”
The metro dog also has uncannily good instincts about people, happily greeting kindly passers by, but slinking down the furthest escalator to avoid the intolerant older women who oversee the metro’s electronic turnstiles. “Right outside this metro,” says Neuronov, gesturing toward Frunzenskaya station, a short distance from the park where we were speaking, “a black dog sleeps on a mat. He’s called Malish. And this is what I saw one day: a bowl of freshly ground beef set before him, and slowly, and ever so lazily, he scooped it up with his tongue while lying down.”
The full article can be read here.
FINANCIAL DOOMSDAY ON SCHEDULE
The BANZAI7 INSTITUTE announced its Financial Doomsday Clock will remain at 11:59PM despite this week's announcement of the proposed "Volcker Rule." Reasons given were as follows:
- Rahm Emmanuel has no clue how to organize and execute a legislative offensive.
- This week's Supreme Court decision allowing corporate lobbying to go unchecked.
- Timmy Geithner will need to find a job after the dust settles.
AN INCONVENIENT GOOF
Seeking to quell a controversy with great resonance in his native India, Rajendra Pachauri, chief of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, admitted there was no hard science to back the “regrettable” claim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear within three decade if global warming goes unchecked but assured that soft science still indicates that glaciers melt when exposed to direct sunlight.
The claim was part of the wide-ranging 2007 report produced by the IPCC, which includes the world’s leading climate change scientists and advises governments on policy to deal with global warming.
“There’s been this error, but that in no way detracts from the value of the report or the impact it has had on the Hollywood motion picture industry” Mr Pachauri told journalists in Delhi. “Rational people see the larger picture and are not going to be distracted by this one small error.”
The team is headed Hollywood USA to detect reasons for this week's Southern Californian monsoon.
IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU WHEN YOU TWEET
BANZAI7 NEWS--A NASA astronaut made history on Friday by sending the first tweet from outer space. Flight Engineer Twit. R. Screamer broadcast the following message directly from the International Space Station:
"Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the Intrntnl Spce Sttion -- the 1st lve twit from Spce! O-)--- I big step for twitter and one reverse step for grammer. -... .. .-- -.. . .- .-.."
NASA is hoping that the worlds first space TWIT marks the beginning of an American resurgence in space technology. Just as the Apollo program spawned a panoply of technological innovations like Tang, velcro, sticky window toys, roll on butter, goretex jockey shorts and the zero gravity bra, NASA hopes the Space Twit program will generate a panoply of new grammatical errors.
Not to be outdone China is expanding its space censor program for adaptation to Tweet technology.
Friday, January 22, 2010
BARE BONE BONUS SEASON
The NYT reports, in past years, the cliché image of bonus season was of a flush banker walking into a Ferrari dealership and driving out in his new toy. That type of spending will be more the exception than the rule this year, advisers said, for two reasons — neither of which has to do with public perception. The first is the need to have cash on hand to cover basic expenses, such as a 24 hour armed guard, Moola the fortune teller, call girl fees, body hair groomers and beer.
The second reason is the uncertainty of bankers over how much of their bonuses they will actually get, and when they will get it. Because most banks have tried to head off criticism of the size of their compensation packages, they have chosen this year to split the bonuses between cash and restricted stock. As we all know, cash is king while share value can be here today and gone tomorrow.
Bankers may have to make due with their current set of wheels.
LOBBYIST LOBOTAMY
Major corporations and advocacy groups immediately began devising ways to take advantage of the 5 to 4 decision, which concluded that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals and, therefore, can spend as much company money as they wish to oppose or support individual political candidates.
QUESTION: Which is better, a system where information flow is controlled by the government or a system where information flow is comandeered by giant corporations and special interest groups? Is there any difference?
ANSWER: We will soon find out.
FINANCIAL ASTEROIDS REMAIN A THREAT
While most of the really big and obvious 3big2fail threats are already known, almost nothing has been done to prevent them from striking in the forseeable future, the strongly worded report from the National Academy of Sciences said.
"It means we are not looking for objects which can cause huge damage to earth's finances," financial services astronomer Mike A'Steroid of the University of Maryland, who helped chair the committee that wrote the report, said in a telephone interview.
"Why was nothing done before the rogue asteroid AIG-1 hit? I don't know. But the Volcker Rule seems like a sensible start." added A'Steroid, who was principal investigator of NASA'S 2000 Deep Impact mission to knock open the comet 9P/Enron.
GET YOUR PITCHFORK, LIGHT YOUR TORCH AND HEAD FOR WALL STREET
Its seems the mob is finally waking up.
SQUID INVESTIGATION UPDATE
The investigation is part of a broader examination by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into the roots of the economic crisis and whether financial institutions behaved improperly, said the individuals, who insisted upon anonymity because the matter is sensitive.
Disclosure of the investigation comes amid a darkening mood at the White House, in Congress and among the American public over the long-term economic impact of the subprime crisis, prompting demands to hold the culprits accountable.
It marks at least the third federal inquiry touching on Goldman's tentacles related to securities backed by risky home mortgages.
BAILOUT BENNIE AND THE JETS
BANZAI7 NEWS--Prince has released a new song about the Minnesota Vikings, inspired by a big win over the Dallas Cowboys and days ahead of the NFC Championship game in New Orleans.
“I saw the future,” Prince told FOX 9's Robyne Robinson, who was given an exclusive copy of "Purple and Gold" on Thursday.
WilliamBanzai7 has released a new song about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the NY Jets, inspired by a big win over the San Diego Chargers and days ahead of the Senate confirmation vote on Mr. Bernanke's second term.
BAILOUT BENNIE AND THE JETS
(Bennie and the Jets, Elton John)
WilliamBanzai7
Sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKC-A2fSQ3Y
Hey kids, shake it loose together
This week we'll all see two things
As predictable as the weather
Gang Green wants to kill the Colts Sunday night
And then stick around
You're gonna hear lots of political jabber
As Mr. Bailout tries to get his second round
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I read about on the cover of Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Hey kids, plug into the faithful
Maybe they're blind
But Coach Ryan makes them ageless
We shall prevail, let us play the game and go long
Where we fight our demons aganst a team that thinks it can't be beat
To find who's right and who's wrong
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I read about it on the cover this year's Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I saw it on the cover this year's Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets
“I saw the future,” Prince told FOX 9's Robyne Robinson, who was given an exclusive copy of "Purple and Gold" on Thursday.
WilliamBanzai7 has released a new song about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the NY Jets, inspired by a big win over the San Diego Chargers and days ahead of the Senate confirmation vote on Mr. Bernanke's second term.
BAILOUT BENNIE AND THE JETS
(Bennie and the Jets, Elton John)
WilliamBanzai7
Sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKC-A2fSQ3Y
Hey kids, shake it loose together
This week we'll all see two things
As predictable as the weather
Gang Green wants to kill the Colts Sunday night
And then stick around
You're gonna hear lots of political jabber
As Mr. Bailout tries to get his second round
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I read about on the cover of Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Hey kids, plug into the faithful
Maybe they're blind
But Coach Ryan makes them ageless
We shall prevail, let us play the game and go long
Where we fight our demons aganst a team that thinks it can't be beat
To find who's right and who's wrong
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I read about it on the cover this year's Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out,BuhBuhBuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie he's really a scream
He's got electric brogues and a pinstriped mohair suit
You know I saw it on the cover this year's Time magazine
Ah ha, BuhBuh Bailout Bennie and the Jets
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets
IMPOSTER SAVED AIG
BANZAI7 NEWS--An Illinois man was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for helping to lead an identity theft ring that counted Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his wife Anna among its victims.
Leonardo Darned Zanders, 49, of Dolton, Illinois, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee (yes, Bruce Lee) in Alexandria, Virginia, to 200 months in prison over his role in the ring that caused the Trillion dollar bailout of at least 10 financial institutions, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Darned Zanders pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to conspiring to commit bailout fraud. He helped direct the scheme to use the IDs, a black mask and stolen AIG counter party information to make 100% collateral payouts on busted credit default swaps held by busted banks like Goldman Sachs.
Timmy G said: "I had absolutely nothing to do with this."
JOBLESS RECOVERY FULL STEAM
BANZAI7 NEWS--All 50 states ended 2009 with higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, according to a report issued Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nevada and West Virginia registered the sharpest upswings in unemployment last year, each rising by 4.6 percentage points. Nevada’s jobless rate soared from 8.4 percent in December 2008 to 13 percent in December 2009, while West Virginia’s rate climbed from 4.5 percent to 9.1 percent.
Minnesota and Nebraska showed the least upward movement. Their unemployment rates increased by just 0.8 percentage points during the past year. California's unemployment rate rose from 8.7 percent in December 2008 to 12.4 percent in December 2009.
Was it Beavis (Summers) or Butthead (Geithner) who decided to call this a recovery?
Nevada and West Virginia registered the sharpest upswings in unemployment last year, each rising by 4.6 percentage points. Nevada’s jobless rate soared from 8.4 percent in December 2008 to 13 percent in December 2009, while West Virginia’s rate climbed from 4.5 percent to 9.1 percent.
Minnesota and Nebraska showed the least upward movement. Their unemployment rates increased by just 0.8 percentage points during the past year. California's unemployment rate rose from 8.7 percent in December 2008 to 12.4 percent in December 2009.
BENNY'S BIG ADVENTURE CONTINUES
The White House came to Mr. Bernanke’s defense Friday, but the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is believed to be struggling to come up with the 60 votes necessary to confirm Mr. Bernanke before his term as chairman expires on Jan. 31.
Its all about confidence Ben.
GOAT GOES APESHIT
BANZAI7 NEWS--A 150-pound goat showed up at the new Lynx Gentlemen's Club in Coachella, Calif. It smashed two glass doors with its hind legs and head-butted another door before walking inside. The goat then checked itself out in the lobby mirror (but didn't break it) and was eventually chased out by a passerby an hour later, leaving behind a trail of blood and $2,000 in damage, according to reports.
Club owner Hank Peculiar, who doesn't know where the goat came from, thinks it was reacting to reports that Iranian Assumed President I'm A Nut Job wants to import pole dancing Southern Californian goats into his revolutionary harem.
The Goat was last seen headed North on Highway 10.
STIMULUS AFGHAN STYLE
His comments to the BBC came as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates described the Taliban as part of Afghanistan's "political fabric", but said any future role would depend on insurgents laying down their weapons.
The American President Barack Obama is preparing to unveil an ambitious plan Friday to offer money and jobs to tempt the Teabagger Talibani to lay down their placards in an effort to quell a crippling voter insurgency.
GOLDMAN'S HURT LOCKER
Lloyd Blankfein arrives to make earnings announcement.
RUN, THEN TAKE THE MONEY
BANZAI7 NEWS--A large proportion of American International Group's (AIG) $195 million retention payouts will be given to people who no longer work at the company, it has been claimed.
The payout is set to be passed out in March to people working in AIG's financial products department – the unit responsible for its huge losses from credit derivatives that led to the company having to seek bailout funding from the government.
A company insider told Reuters that about 40 per cent of those in line to receive the latest round of retention payouts are ex-employees.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON II
The plane that Sullenberger and crew landed on the river in New York Jan. 15, 2009, after a bird strike knocked out both engines is up for auction.
WB7: Why don't they load it up with bankers and see if they can land it in the Hudson again?
BENNY'S BIG ADVENTURE
Mr. Bernanke's current term as Fed chairman expires at the end of the month, and a Senate confirmation vote has been pushed off until next week at the earliest. Mr. Bernanke met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday as Democratic and Republican leaders surveyed senators to tally votes on the nomination. Mr. Bernanke needs 60 supporters to win approval for another four-year term.
Get ready for Benny's Big Adventure.
HE CAME BACK
If you are fascinated by all this Wall Street meltdown stuff, you just have to be fascinated by the palace revolt lead by Volckers resurgence.
GET READY FOR THE IPad
Think of what the IPOD did to digital music. Think of what the IPhone has done to mobile telephony.
Get ready for the IPaD.
Read more here.
Total Recall
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