I guess I’m on the fence with a lot of this stuff. Did you see the spanking that John Stewart gave to Jim Cramer? Go over to The Daily show website for a look. The basic premise was that Wall Street guys know exactly what’s going on here - all the fake recommendations to drive a market one way to enable buying low / selling high. Then they buy options on both sides with a derivative thrown in for fun. (remember the tech stock bubble?)

Let’s face it, greed is a very, very powerful force that cannot be satisfied. We need rules and measures to catch the illegal behaviors, or those that are found to be detrimental to the overall good. Settling on what those rules and measures should be is where all the blood is, and will flow. The free marketers have had their day, and about took us apart. As a country, we put Obama in as President and in effect asked for his brand of repair.

Let’s see what happens, because there is not one economist or financial soothsayer out there that truly understands what’s going on right now. So those guys you hear barking on TV are no smarter. Where were they a year ago?  What they do have are very effective marketing tools they use to fill the air 24/7 with exactly what you want to hear. Fox for the right, CNN for the left. Plus all the internet babble.

In the end, we all have tightly held opinions about this stuff, but in reality, no one really knows. The future is a tough place to figure out.

Bob

Unfortunately there aren’t any “performance” requirements tied to the AIG bonuses so they can’t be withdrawn for lack of performance. They’re “retention” bonuses which are supposed to keep valuable employees from jumping ship and moving to another firm (and presumably taking clients with them). So, all you have to do is show up for work and you get your bonus, although some of the folks getting the “retention bonus” have already left AIG. It’s the same argument used for huge CEO pay: “If we don’t pay them a lot they’ll go someplace else!”. Honestly, in this economy where are they gonna go? And aren’t there a hundred junior exec’s who’d love to take that CEO’s spot and could probably do just as well, if not better?  If you read corporate annual reports you’ll soon find reality and the actual worth of executive services never enter into compensation considerations in corporate America.

Kevin

So, those bonuses are not bonuses at all, but a kind of bribing,
and blackmail if the employee threatened to jump off the boat.

Nice .................

;JOOP!

Bob,

Here is the problem...we are looking for our leaders to fix & regulate...but they are part of the machine that drives our nation and the world. The political & corporate machine is such that NO ONE will be able to correct it. It is so convoluted, with so many interests and hands in the pot, and so much money at stake, that in our present situation, there are too many variables to allow an honest regulation of our condition. 

This problem is not going away. We may see improvements here and there, but no one can truly fix it. As long as greed rules, and it always does, even when things seem to be good...there are always those that are pulling strings. Ultimately, when you have many strings being pulled at the same time, you will have periods of time when they get tangled and start to choke everyone, especially the little guys like you & me. We are seeing a period in which many strings are tangled right now. NO ONE & I mean NO ONE, has the abililty or power to figure out how to fix it. We will either see, by trial & error, a temporary resolution to our current problems OR a much greater disaster coming that will make this current situation look like a picnic.

It’s a good time to buy stocks, that’s for sure. Wish I had a little
money to do so -

FedEx was started during a very bad economic downturn. Personally
I remember seeing kids selling donuts, coffee, and newspapers to
folks waiting in line to buy gas during the 73 and 79 oil embargos.
These kids were making good money.

It really does depend on how you personally look at it. Your
response is the only thing you can control.

Here’s interesting news about those AIG bonuses, by the way:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/23/news/companies/aig_bonuses/index.htm?postversion=2009032318

The car company bail outs may have a different outcome because of a recent increase in consumer interest in new vehicles. It happens every spring but it might help. I think the biggest enemy of the big 3 is their financing.

Well, I’m putting more money into the “Machine...” I just decided to pull the trigger on refinancing to consolidate my Primary mortgage (which is at 6.375) and a three-year-old Home Improvement loan (which is at 7.25) to a new 10-year note at 4.25%. 

One thing is sure.  Even though my FICO score(s) haven’t changed appreciably over the last few years, I’m no longer considered at the top-tier of creditworthiness.  And, because of that, the Credit Union wants to charge me a 0.25% discount point.  That’s unheard of, to me, because I’ve had probably 5 or 6 different mortgages and never had to pay a discount point to get the best advertised rate.

I got dinged by all three bureaus for having a “Revolving Credit Balance to Credit Limit Ratio [that is] Too High.” Heheh that’s funny.  There are two implications here… Either they want me to have a HIGHER LIMIT, or CHARGE LESS.  What they DON’T seem to consider is that it’s moot, because I pay my balance in full every month.  I haven’t paid an interest charge on credit cards in more than 8 years.  So, apparently, if you use plastic as a convenience to keep from carrying cash or your checkbook, you’ll get docked. 

I would like to know what their threshold is, because I’ve not exceeded 30% of my credit line in several years.

Anyway, after this closes, my monthly payments will be cut in half, which will allow me some extra disposable income to invest in the “Buyers Market.”

It’s definitely a gamble, but we’ll see what happens… As me again in 10 years if it was a good idea.  :)

If that is a fixed rate on the mortgage, it is no gamble, it is a smart move. For those looking to invest in the stock market right now, in 10 years you will either be glad or sorry you did. It’s a big gamble at this point. As far as you credit cards go, I do basically the same thing. I’ve heard that if you don’t use your cards in as little as 3 months, many credit card co’s either lower your credit limit or close your acount, no matter whether you pay on time or not. Plus they are looking at what % of your credit line is being utilized. If you are at 30%, it seems crazy that they would penalize you. But unless things improve, we will see more of this and with stricter rules. I heard you should use your credit cards at least quarterly to prevent them from being closed.

Two things were on the headline news last evening:

1 Gordon Browns (UK’s Prime Minister)tour of the world prior to the upcoming G20 talks.

2 A public backlash against the RBS boss who despite leading his bank into a record £24.1 Billion loss still was given a bonus and then retired on £700 000 per year pension.
The backlash was that his house in Edinburgh had been attacked, stones thrown, cars damaged, windows smashed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7962825.stm

I am mindful of the Bolshevick (sp?) revolution which was ultimately caused by the total inequity as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Do these bankers think we are totally stupid? I will unlikely earn 700000 through most of my working life and yet that is seen as a reasonable payoff (per year) of someone who did not do his job properly. I am unsurprised at the anger shown by ordinary people at this, people who have lost savings, had their carefully saved pensions decimated and who have basically been screwed by avaricious bankers. And yet we the taxpayers continue to be pouring money into these banks. Something is wrong with the system, or at least with those who run it.

And of course that all links back to the other item of news - the upcoming G20 talks - it may come as no surprise that parts of the city (of London) are ‘preparing’ for these with barricades and other measures.

Welcome to Fortress UK!

Cheers