Comments on: The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/ Firedoglake weblog Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:11:31 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Dunksaroo http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1721205 Dunksaroo Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:02:48 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1721205 <p>“As for Bernanke, this is yet another reason why Bernanke, a central banker so incompetent he lost complete control of LIBOR”</p> <p>I don’t see how the Federal Reserve Chairman is supposed to “control” LIBOR. It doesn’t seem that he can directly since it is the London Interbank Offering Rate and is based on a daily market average of interbank lending in London. I know that the Fed can directly control the Discount rate and maintaining an appropriate spread between the Discount rate and LIBOR is often important. </p> <p>I think the large spread as of late is the Fed’s attempt to inject liquidity back into a frozen credit market and I don’t think the Fed was willing to watch American banks and businesses burn for the sake of maintaining some textbook spread. Anyone have any thoughts on that?</p> “As for Bernanke, this is yet another reason why Bernanke, a central banker so incompetent he lost complete control of LIBOR”

I don’t see how the Federal Reserve Chairman is supposed to “control” LIBOR. It doesn’t seem that he can directly since it is the London Interbank Offering Rate and is based on a daily market average of interbank lending in London. I know that the Fed can directly control the Discount rate and maintaining an appropriate spread between the Discount rate and LIBOR is often important.

I think the large spread as of late is the Fed’s attempt to inject liquidity back into a frozen credit market and I don’t think the Fed was willing to watch American banks and businesses burn for the sake of maintaining some textbook spread. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

]]> By: gtomkins http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720633 gtomkins Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:08:17 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720633 <p>Cherchez les neiges d’antan</p> <p>That Fed $2 trillion has gone to the same place as the Iraq $10 billion. We could be poetic about it, and say that all that money has gone to join the snows of yesteryear, that it now resides with the intoxicating odor of last year’s roses, and that it’s all piled up now in neat rows right next to the smiles of Helen of Troy, and of Cunegonde, and of the winsome Rosalinda. Or we could cut the crap and just say that the bastards stole the money.</p> <p>There’s a new Depression building. Unemployment is heading north, and Americans have quit spending money on their own private wants and needs. Which mode of viewing the news about the theft of $2 trillion in taxpayer money do you think the voters will adopt, the poetic version, or the version that ends with heads on pikes?</p> <p>Who do people like Bernanke imagine that they are? You could embezzle a few million and just end up going to jail. But $2 trillion? That’s not money — that’s the wrath of God. You steal that and you either end up with a public building named after you, or you go to whatever substitute for the guillotine (the guillotine itself is too French) we’ll be setting up on the Mall within a month. We would really have to be flush for it to go the public building route, and maybe things have been so flush for so long for rich people in this country, that someone like Bernanke really can’t visualize what is actually going to happen to him now that the hayride is over.</p> <p>God help us all.</p> Cherchez les neiges d’antan

That Fed $2 trillion has gone to the same place as the Iraq $10 billion. We could be poetic about it, and say that all that money has gone to join the snows of yesteryear, that it now resides with the intoxicating odor of last year’s roses, and that it’s all piled up now in neat rows right next to the smiles of Helen of Troy, and of Cunegonde, and of the winsome Rosalinda. Or we could cut the crap and just say that the bastards stole the money.

There’s a new Depression building. Unemployment is heading north, and Americans have quit spending money on their own private wants and needs. Which mode of viewing the news about the theft of $2 trillion in taxpayer money do you think the voters will adopt, the poetic version, or the version that ends with heads on pikes?

Who do people like Bernanke imagine that they are? You could embezzle a few million and just end up going to jail. But $2 trillion? That’s not money — that’s the wrath of God. You steal that and you either end up with a public building named after you, or you go to whatever substitute for the guillotine (the guillotine itself is too French) we’ll be setting up on the Mall within a month. We would really have to be flush for it to go the public building route, and maybe things have been so flush for so long for rich people in this country, that someone like Bernanke really can’t visualize what is actually going to happen to him now that the hayride is over.

God help us all.

]]> By: gloriasolideo http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720559 gloriasolideo Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:46:50 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720559 <p>[Not having read many of the comments above, so if I repeat, I apologize…]<br /> I think there’s two huge problems you can identify from your post, Ian. First, is the transparancy issue, scary enough given that these white-collars have been strip-mining middle class taxpayers for years. Second problem–and I’ll bet few high information readers notice it–is that only a small percentage of the public is aware of this 2 Trillion in loans. Most people think that a 700 Billion dollar bailout was approved. But the Bush Administration, pirates all, has decreed that they do NOT need congressional approval (or oversight) to dole out this cash. </p> <p>Words fail.</p> [Not having read many of the comments above, so if I repeat, I apologize…]
I think there’s two huge problems you can identify from your post, Ian. First, is the transparancy issue, scary enough given that these white-collars have been strip-mining middle class taxpayers for years. Second problem–and I’ll bet few high information readers notice it–is that only a small percentage of the public is aware of this 2 Trillion in loans. Most people think that a 700 Billion dollar bailout was approved. But the Bush Administration, pirates all, has decreed that they do NOT need congressional approval (or oversight) to dole out this cash.

Words fail.

]]> By: KayInMaine http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720558 KayInMaine Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:44:41 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720558 <p>Of course, if President Obama doesn’t pay for his own toothpaste or underwear, the right wingers are gonna be pissed. Yep, it’s okay to steal TRILLIONS if you’re a republican, but not paying for toothpaste is TREASON!</p> Of course, if President Obama doesn’t pay for his own toothpaste or underwear, the right wingers are gonna be pissed. Yep, it’s okay to steal TRILLIONS if you’re a republican, but not paying for toothpaste is TREASON!

]]> By: alank http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720556 alank Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:40:05 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720556 <p>Bernanke is said to be looking for them under desks behind chairs and between seat cushions, as I write.</p> Bernanke is said to be looking for them under desks behind chairs and between seat cushions, as I write.

]]> By: selise http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720547 selise Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:42:26 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720547 <p>i don’t know but i like them all.</p> i don’t know but i like them all.

]]> By: Bluetoe2 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720546 Bluetoe2 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:40:21 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720546 <p>U.C.A.. United Chumps of America. In a real democracy where the government was affraid of the people rather than the people affraid of the government Bernanke and his fat cat friends would be running down the street in terror. Will Obama let bygones be bygones in the spirit of bipartanship?</p> U.C.A.. United Chumps of America. In a real democracy where the government was affraid of the people rather than the people affraid of the government Bernanke and his fat cat friends would be running down the street in terror. Will Obama let bygones be bygones in the spirit of bipartanship?

]]> By: Loo Hoo. http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720545 Loo Hoo. Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:40:17 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720545 <p>Renegade=Barack<br /> Renaissance=Michelle<br /> Capri=Jill</p> <p>Secret Service names…missed Joe Biden.</p> Renegade=Barack
Renaissance=Michelle
Capri=Jill

Secret Service names…missed Joe Biden.

]]> By: Kassandra http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720544 Kassandra Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:30:56 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720544 <p>Excellent analysis. We can’t recover thru war as we did in the late 1930’s. We simply do not have the manufacturing base thanks to the free traders. We don’t have the resources either. Bush though he was handed the deed to America when he became president. He has sold all our resources.</p> <p>Even the Pebble Mine in Alaska is going on the block to international consortiums, Canada has been granted sweetheart deals for mining the rest of our gold. The list goes on and on. </p> <p>Once we do start trying to recover, the amount of America that is still America will be shockingly little. We may never know the full extent of the American sell-off but that it even includes our banks and homes should point out how much we’ve lost under these traitors, whose mantra, I believe has always been “nothing for America”.We’re in third world country status now thanks to Bernanke and Bush’s parting gifts to their friends, which probably included some loose change for themselves.</p> Excellent analysis. We can’t recover thru war as we did in the late 1930’s. We simply do not have the manufacturing base thanks to the free traders. We don’t have the resources either. Bush though he was handed the deed to America when he became president. He has sold all our resources.

Even the Pebble Mine in Alaska is going on the block to international consortiums, Canada has been granted sweetheart deals for mining the rest of our gold. The list goes on and on.

Once we do start trying to recover, the amount of America that is still America will be shockingly little. We may never know the full extent of the American sell-off but that it even includes our banks and homes should point out how much we’ve lost under these traitors, whose mantra, I believe has always been “nothing for America”.We’re in third world country status now thanks to Bernanke and Bush’s parting gifts to their friends, which probably included some loose change for themselves.

]]> By: Hugh http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720543 Hugh Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:29:34 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/10/the-federal-reserve-is-refusing-to-identify-the-recipients-of-almost-2-trillion-of-emergency-loans/#comment-1720543 <p>I agree. The focus has been on Paulson and Treasury for their inside deals worth hundreds of billions while all the while Bernanke has been slinging around multiple programs that run into the trillions, and with no Congressional oversight or consent needed.</p> I agree. The focus has been on Paulson and Treasury for their inside deals worth hundreds of billions while all the while Bernanke has been slinging around multiple programs that run into the trillions, and with no Congressional oversight or consent needed.

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