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The Birthday, the PhD choice, and the Girl Top
Happy Birthday, Madeline! I made a dessert craft - a winter chariot. I'll post pics somehow but some other time =P. I actually had fun making it. It was a bit complicated, but I enjoyed it =]. Work was alright today. I got a stipend check that I deposited in the bank during my lunch break, making it my 3rd consecutive bank drop-in this week, but it will probably be my last for a while. After work, I dropped by Borders to buy a book for some light night reading and a GRE exam book so I can study for a GRE retake. I had to take it to enter the Master's program and they didn't care much about my test scores. I did poorly on it though cuz I didn't have time to study for it. But now that I'm considering pursuing a PhD, I might as well study for a retake and go from there. I've reconsidered my previous field of study choice. I'm interested in the Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere Program (COAP) at the UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography which encompasses courses in applied ocean sciences, climate sciences, and physical oceanography. I'm really interested in entering the program but it seems hard to get into. The acceptance rate is 20% of applicants, which means I'll need to get some really high test scores, write an impressive statement of purpose, get three amazing letters of recommendations, etc. I'll study hard for the GRE and worry about the rest of the application requirements once the hiring season for overseas teaching jobs comes to an end and I get no word. If I do get hired, I'll postpone my PhD plans for a few years or so, but I will do it eventually. I just need to make sure my mind stays sharp and doesnt deteriorate too much, lol. Anyways... I'm exchanging e-mails with Arbee. She peeked at my friendster account, lol. I guess she was curious what I looked like. So I ended up updating my friendster profile just so I have something up-to-date. She friend-requested me shortly afterward. From her first few e-mails, she's given me the impression that she's a silly, fun, loving, kind, sweet, and generous person. After seeing several of her pictures, it just gave me another reason to like her. She had several pictures that were taken as timeshots, so I was able to see some hilarious stuff she does to with and to her friends. She's got quite a funny character in words and in pictures, hahaha. What a nice and lovely girl my auntie introduced me to. Only time will tell what will become of our e-mail conversations and exchange of messages. I guess all this "waiting" actually paid off. Do I like her? Yeah, I'll admit that I do, but I'll get to know her some more and see how I feel then. Source
 
Renungan petang Jumaat Top
Assalamualaikum wbt, Satu renungan tajam bagi ibubapa dalam mendidik anak-anak. Semoga bermanfaat. P/S: Di fwd oleh teman, sumber asal tidak dinyatakan, setelah dicari sumbernya di sini . ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kita berjumpa dengan anak-anak ketika kita sudah letih. Kita sudah hilang seri di wajah dan jiwa malah bahasa. Anak-anak juga sudah mengantuk ketika saya sampai di pintu menanggalkan kasut. Bilakah masanya kita menumpahkan akhlak mahmudah kita kepada anak-anak? Isteri solehah, tapi yang membesarkan anak-anak adalah pembanturumah, guru nursery, dan entah siapa lagi. Ibu dan ayah di mana?Jawapannya mudah sahaja, SIBUK BEKERJA . Janganlah disangka kita sudah menjadi ibu dan bapa yang baik hanyakerana makan pakai anak-anak sudah cukup. Itu hanya taraf lembu membesarkan anak-anaknya. Ibu bapa manusia ada tanggungjawab yang lebih besar dari itu. Soal makan, minum, pakaian, perlindungan,pendidikan, makanan emosi dan spiritual, semuanya mesti diharmonikan bersama bekalan yang tidak putus-putus. Apa yang paling utama adalah soal jumlah masa yang kita luangkan bersama mereka. Sudah cukupkah untuk meyakinkan mereka, bahawa kita benar-benar kasihkan mereka? Tetapi zaman ini, zaman membesarkan anak-anak diswastakan kepada pihak lain. Kita sibuk bekerja dan kerja tidak pernah habis. Anak buat perangai mungkin semata-mata atas dorongannya untuk mencuri perhatian kita. Ingatlah, dalam suasana kita hari ini, dosa ibu dan bapa terhadap anak-anak, lebih besar berbanding kesalahan mereka kepada kita.Insaflah wahai ibu dan bapa, jangan mudah melenting, sebelum cukup kasih diberi. Seandainya saya memohon kotak kosong itu kekal dikosongkan, janganlah heret saya ke suasana yang menjadikan saya tersepit. Saya ada tanggungjawab kepada anak-anak, anda juga sama. Anak-anak dan isteri saya, adalah mad'u pertama saya. Jika kita dalam perjalanan pulang dari KL ke Ipoh, kita singgah di Tapah untuk Solat dan makan. Kemudian kita meneruskan perjalanan ke Ipoh. Tetapi selepas 15 minit memandu, baru kita tersedar yang salah seorang anak kita tiada. Ketika itu kita kelam kabut mencari U-Turn dan mulut tidak henti-henti berdoa agar anak yang tertinggal di belakang, selamat dan tiada mudarat. Ya, jika kita tercicir anak di perjalanan dunia, kita ada jalan untuk berpatah balik menyelamatkan keadaan. Tetapi berapa ramai ustaz, doktor, polis, jurutera, pegawai bank dan kita-kita semua yang ketika dalam perjalanan memanjat tangga kenaikan pangkat, kita tertinggal isteri dan anak-anak di belakang. Jika lebuh raya kita boleh berpatah balik. Tetapi jika mereka ditinggalkan dari Tarbiah dan didikan Islam, ketika kita tersedar yang mereka yang sudah jauh ketinggalan di belakang, apakah ada jalan pulang? Apakah ada satu lagi peluang? Jawapannya TIADA. Jika ada lelaki atau wanita yang berjaya di dalam kerjaya, jangan lupa kepada pengorbanan anak-anak selama ini. Jangan lupa dosa kita terhadap mereka. Saya hairan semasa membaca sabda Nabi SAW betapa tanda Kiamat itu adalah pada ibu yang melahirkan tuannya. Anak durhaka jadi kebiasaan. Mengapa suasana begitu boleh terjadi? Akhirnya saya membuat kesimpulan, anak durhaka di akhir zaman,bermula dengan dosa ibu dan bapa yang sibuk bekerja. What you give, you get back! Maafkan Abi dan Ummi! -------------------------- Nota : terkesan juga membacanya :| Allah did not promise that life would be easy... but He did pomise to go with you in every step of your life... with Him by your side...Allah bless us..ameen!! Source
 
Libertyville Savings Bank Launches Comprehensive Bank Training from Edcomm Banker's Academy Top
Libertyville Savings bank has recently launched three years of comprehensive bank training from Edcomm bank er's Academy. New York, NY June 19, 2009 — Libertyville Savings bank has recently launched three years of comprehensive bank training from Edcomm bank er's Academy bank er's Academy Unlimited will be hosted and maintained by Edcomm bank er's Academy's Learning Management System (LMS), Learning [...] Source
 
mmm... milky... Top
Picked up these yummy Japanese candies last night at NTUC... They taste like sweetened condensed milk in a rock hard form! And it's so hard that if you try to bite it, you just get tiny chips off the sides. I'm a serial lolly chewer, so I normally finish a piece of candy in less than 1 min, but this is taking me at least 5 mins =D I still manage to chew it at the end, it's inevitable hehe. Ooh tonight the Hokaido fair starts at Isetan... Yummy food! But I forgot to raid my piggy bank so I got no money to buy food =( Will have to go down tomorrow then. If I could, I'd go down everyday =D Source
 
Jean-Jacques Goldman, "Nos Mains" Top
Title: Private Feelings Pairings: background Roger/Rafa; octopus/Rafa Rating: It's not really explicit, but it's definitely tentacle sex, y'know? Disclaimer: Fic is fictional, even when I use the names of real people. Wordcount: 500 even Summary: Curiosity doesn't kill Andy Roddick, but... Note: I blame meretricula. (Quote: "You know what tennis fandom needs? moar tentacles!" I hate my brain. ) As he slings his duffel bag into the cabin assigned to him, Andy privately wonders if he's going to end up feeling like a third wheel all week, even though it's just him and Rafa on the boat. It doesn't take a PhD in math to figure out that it'd be Roger instead of him if it weren't for the new baby, but Andy had been too curious not to accept Rafa's invitation. The days speed past, and Andy is enjoying himself. Rafa does seem wistful at times, but only when he thinks Andy isn't looking, and he never mentions Roger. There is a lot of fishing and swimming and napping. Especially napping. Both of them are feeling battered from all the tournaments they played, and Brook's on an extended shoot in Tokyo, which, great city, but this is definitely way more restful. During the second half of the week, Rafa disappears for longer stretches of time, looking significantly more relaxed whenever he rejoins Andy for meals, conversation, and plain stupid fun. Andy thinks to himself, well, Rafa has his quirks, maybe he's one of those guys who can't jerk himself off within earshot of anyone who knows him. Even as he comes up with it, Andy's aware that it's a weak theory, but the only other scenario he can dream up is that Rafa's been sneaking away to indulge in two-hour BlackBerry sex sessions with Roger, and while that's actually more likely than the other theory, it's even more lame, if it's true. Ok, maybe "lame" is harsh, but if he lets himself think that Rafa is really that sappy and lovesick, Andy will have to strap himself to one of Rafa's dumbbells and throw himself over the side of the boat, because it will mean he got his ass handed to him at the Open by someone with the romantic sensibility of a sixth-grader. (Roger doesn't count. If Roger wasn't an athlete, he'd totally be one of those emo singer-songwriters at SXSW.) When he does stumble upon Rafa's secret, Andy nearly flings himself overboard anyway, but that would have been to swim to Rafa's rescue: at first glance, it looked very much as though Rafa was on the verge of becoming the dinner of a giant octopus. Andy's brain halts him just before he jumps into the sea with, "Grab a weapon first, you moron!" and the pause is just long enough for Andy to register that Rafa might be moaning in pleasure rather than distress. Squinting into the afternoon sun, Andy makes out two. . . three.. . good God. There is no way that even one tentacle could have penetrated Rafa by accident. Andy watches Rafa and the cephalopod wrestle, writhe, and loll against the bank of the cove. There is a good deal of splashing and shoving, and Andy even fancies he hears a squeak now and then. When he finally tears his eyes away, he texts his wife: "I now know what really happened to Rafa's knees." Source
 
HOW TO CONVINCE THE WORLD Top
As the Israelites stood on the east bank of the Jordan River, preparing to cross over and enter the land of Canaan, Moses addressed them, See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:5-8) I am impressed that the nations would look at Israel with admiration and notice their wisdom and understanding. How could Israel ensure that the neighboring nations would look at them this way? By keeping the laws God gave them! If they were faithful and kept God's laws the nations would be impressed and in awe of them. I noticed that it is the wisdom of God's laws and God's understanding that would come through to the nations. This was the way of the old covenant. If Israel was faithful to the covenant they would have a good reputation among the peoples surrounding them. Consider, it is also the way of the new covenant! If the church of Christ lives according to the commands of God the nations will see and will know that God sent Jesus into this world. What are the commands the church is to follow? Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30, 31). Jesus prayed for us, …that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:21). The world will look at the church and see that we are one, that we are united, when we love one another. This is the most powerful apologetic in the world and will convince the world that Jesus was sent by the Father. If Israel failed to keep God's commands God would bring judgment upon them. The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you (Deuteronomy 4:27). If we do not love one another the world will not believe and our message will lack power and conviction and will sound like foolishness to them. Let us learn to love one another and be one, even as Jesus and the Father were one! Source
 
How to be a Millionaire Top
When you think "millionaire", what image comes to mind? For many of us, it's a flashy Wall Street bank er type who flies a private jet, collects art and cars and lives the kind of decadent lifestyle that would make Donald Trump proud. but many modern millionaires live in middle-class neighbourhoods, work full-time and shop in discount stores like the rest of us. What motivates them isn't material possessions but the choices that money can bring : "For the rich, it's not about getting more stuff. It's about having the freedom to make almost any decision you want, says T. Harv Eker, author of Secret of the Millionaire Mind. Wealth means you can send your child to any school or quit a job you don't like. Here, the people who have at least a million dollars in liquid assets share the secrets that helped them get their goals : 1. Set your sights on where you're going Twenty years ago, Jeff Harris hardly seemed on the road to wealth. he was a university drop out who struggled to support his wife, DeAnn, and three kids, working as a grocery store clerk and at a junk-yard where he melted scrap metal alongside convicts. "At times we were so broke that we washed our clothes in the bathtub because we couldn't afford the Laundromat." Now, he's a 49-year-old investment advisor and multimillionaire in York, South Carolina. There was one big reason Jeff pulled ahead of the pack : He always knew he'd be rich. The reality is that 80 per cent of Americans worth at least $5 million grew up in middle-class or lesser households, not unlike Jeff. Wanting to be wealthy is a crucial first step. Says Eker,"The biggest obstacle to wealth is fear. People are afraid to think big, but if you think small, you'll only achieve small things." It all started for Jeff when he met a stockbroker at a Christmas party."Talking to him, it felt like discovering fire," he says."I started reading books about investing during my breaks at the grocery store, and I began putting $25 a month in a mutual fund." Next he taught a class at a local community college on investing. His students became his first clients which led to his investment practice."there were lots a of stuggles," says Jeff,"but what got me through it was believing with all my heart that I would succceed." 2. Educate yourself When Steve Maxwell graduated from university, he had an engineering degree and a high-tech job -- but he couldn't even balance his checkbook."I took one finance class in university but dropped it to go on a ski trip," says the 45-year-old father of three, who lives in Windsor, Colorado."I actually had to go to my bank and ask them to teach me how to read my statement." One of the biggest obstacles to making money is not understanding it : thousands of us just don't get it. But to make money, you must be financially literate."It bothered me that I didn't understand this stuff," says Steve,"so I read books and magazines about money management and investing, and I asked every financial whiz I knew to expalin things to me." He and his wife started applying the lessons : they made a point to live below their means. they never bought on impulse, always negotiated better deals (on their cars, cable bills, furniture) and stayed in their home long after they could afford a more expensive one. They also put 20 per cent of their annual salary into investments. Within ten years, they were millionaires, and people were coming to Steve for advice."Someone would say,'I need to refinance my house--what should I do?' A lot od times, I wouldn't know the answer, but I'd go find it and learn something in the process," he says. In 2003, Steve quit his job to become part owner of a company that holds personal finance seminars for employees of corporations like Wal-Mart. He also started going to real estate investment seminars, and it's paid off : he now owns $30 million worth of investment properties, including apartment complexes, a shopping mall and a quarry. "I was an engineer who never thought this life was possible, but all it truly takes is a little self-education," says Steve."You can do anything once you understand the basics." 3. Grow your money Most of us are familiar with the never-ending cycle of living paycheck to paycheck."The fastest way to get out of that pattern is to make extra money for the specific purpose of reinvesting in yourself," says Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker. In other words, set aside some money for the sole purpose of investing it where it will grow dramatically like a business or real esate. There are endless ways to make extra money for investing, you just have to be willing to do the work."Everyone has a marketable skill," says Langemeier."When I started out, I had a tutoring business, seeing clients in the morning before work and on my lunch break." A little moonlighting cash really can grow into a million. Take Rick Sikorski, for example. Twenty-five years ago, he dreamed of owning a personal training business."I rented a tiny studio where I charged $15 an hour," he says. When money started trickling in, he squirreled it away instead of spending it, putting it all back into the business. Rick's 37-square-metre studio is now Fitness Together, a franchise based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, with more than 360 locations around the world. And he's now worth over $40 million. When extra money starts rolling in, it's easy to start thinking, now I can buy that new big-screen Tv or a bigger home, or go on that long vacation. but if you want to get rich, you need to pay yourself first, by putting money where it will work hard for you--whether that's in your retirement fund, a side business or other investments like real estate. The biggest $ecret? Stop spending Every millionaire we spoke to has one thing in common : not a single one spends needlessly. real estate investor Dave Lindahl drives a Ford Explorer and says his middle-class neighbours would be shocked to learn how much he's worth. Fitness mogul Rick Sikorski can't fathom why anyone would buy bottled water. Steve Maxwell, the finance teacher, looked at a $1.5 million home but decided to buy one that was half the price because "a house with double the cost would not give me double the enjoyment." It's not a fluke : according to the 2007 Annual Survey of Affluence & Wealth in America, some of the richest people "spend their money with a middle-class mindset." they clip coupons, wait for sales and buy luxury items at a discount. No kidding! Talk show host Tyra bank s calls herself the Queen of Cheap and keeps perfume samples from magazine ads in her purse for quick touch-ups. sara Blakely, founder of the $100 million shapewear company Spanx, gets her hair trimmed at Supercuts. And Warren Buffet, the third richest person in the world, according to forbes, lives in the same Omaha, nebraska, home he bought four decades ago for just $31,500. by Kristyn Kusek Lewis An excerpt from Reader's Digest Asia February 2008 p 42-47 Source
 
The Grayson-Glass-Steagall Act of 2009 - A Proposal for a Regulatory Overhaul of the Financial System Top
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 The Grayson-Glass-Stegall Act of 2009 - A Proposal for a Regulatory Overhaul of the Financial System, or “The Compartmentalization of Decay in Financial Institutions” by John Bougearel (*Note: This is my own proposal, and not one that would necessarily be endorsed by Mr. Alan Grayson down the line. The reason for selecting Mr. Grayson in the title is that as a Congressman he is much closer to being an advocate for the taxpayer than a proponent for the big banks) On June 12, Bloomberg News reported that the Federal Reserve is likely to emerge as the most powerful regulatory agency in the Obama administration’s plan for overhauling financial market oversight. The plan for the Obama administration has been crafted by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council advisor Larry Summers. On June 9, Treasury Secretary Geithner told the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the Obama administration’s regulatory overhaul would call for the Fed to be “the regulator of firms deemed too big to fail.” And, according to the Obama administration’s June 17 09 white paper, if any large firm deemed to be too big to fail (TBTF) appears to actually be failing, the Treasury would be given the power “to appoint a conservator or receiver to stabilize it.” On Wednesday June 17, Obama declared that the financial crisis “was a failure of the entire system.” This indictment included not just Wall Street firms but the US Treasury, Federal Reserve and other regulatory agencies. “An absence of oversight engendered systematic, and systemic, abuse” said Obama. Up through the first half of 2009, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and state bank regulators have been our bank regulators. Obama’s proposed regulatory framework overhaul for financial system would eliminate the OTS agency, but otherwise much of the current regulatory system will be left in place. This led Republican Representative Scott Garrett of New Jersey and member of the Financial Services committee to voice his concern that the president’s plan “stays at square one on the big issues. It creates a cycle of more bailouts. It perpetuates what we’ve had in the past.” Scott Garrett’s point is valid, given that all state and federal regulatory agencies, with the notable exception of Sheila Bair’s FDIC, of the financial system have failed the US. Leaving the existing framework intact and giving even more authority to these agencies, which have already failed us, is fraught with risks to the US taxpayers. Just What is Too Big Too Fail? A legal definition of TBTF still does not exist. The doctrine of TBTF is little more than an article of faith. The Obama administrations white paper defines TBTF as any firm “whose combination of size, leverage, and interconnectedness could pose a threat to financial stability if it failed.” The combination of size, leverage, and interconnectedness is left undefined by the administration. TBTF thus becomes simply a matter of public trust for the administration. They know a TBTF entity when they see it and it has something to do with “systemic risk.” For the public, TBTF becomes an article of faith once a firm has arbitrarily “deem” or confer a TBTF status upon an entity. In my estimation, “Too Big to Fail” is a myth that began with the bailout of Continental Illinois in the mid- 80s and needs to be deconstructed to save the financial system from its own demise. I will go a step further and uncategorically state that systemic risk in the financial system spreads and deepens precisely when lawmakers and policymakers confer upon certain financial institutions a “too big to fail” status. Unfortunately, a deconstruction of the TBTF myth is not on the table amongst legislators as yet. I would like to see that change, but I am not hopeful. On June 3rd, I attended Barry Ritholtz’s June Financial Conference at the NYAC. One of the panel discussions addressed the “Too Big To Fail” topic. This panel discussion was led by Nassim Taleb, author of the Black Swan, and Florida Democratic Representative Alan Grayson. Mr. Grayson, by the way, is really to be applauded not only for his investigations into the financial mess that Wall Street created, but more importantly, for his willingness to participate in Financial Conference panel discussions hosted by folks like Barry Ritholtz, who are independent and not captured by Wall Street and Capitol Hill. Alan Grayson did attempt to define TBTF at Ritholtz’s financial conference but fell a tad short. Mr. Grayson took the position however that unlike unicorns, such TBTF institutions do exist. And if TBTF’s exist, they must be regulated. This is essentially the same position put forth by the Obama administration’s plan to have the Fed oversee all TBTF firms. “These firms should not be able to escape oversight of their risky activities by manipulating their legal structure,” the White Paper said. Through higher capital requirements and stronger regulatory scrutiny “our proposals would compel these firms to internalize the costs they could impose on society in the event of failure.” Higher capital requirements (now at 25 to 1 or 4% tangible common equity I believe) would be a minimum step. Doubling it to 12 to 1 or even 10 to 1 would be helpful. And yes, compelling these firms to privatize rather than socialize their losses in the event of a financial firm’s failure would also be essential. However, the latter proposition seemingly contradicts the essence of what is meant by being TBTF. By definition, TBTF means government guaranteeing, backstopping, and subsidizing these financial institutions with taxpayer dollars when these firms fail. The government save TBTF firms precisely because these parts are deemed to be essential entities to the financial system. Regulating these institutions therefore entails guaranteeing and subsidizing them with taxpayer dollars as and when needed in a financial crisis. This socializing of private losses is poppycock thinking. Compartmentalizing Systemic Risk: The Living Tree System as a New Model for compartmentalizing Systemic Risk in the Financial System. Before becoming a Commodity Trading Advisor in 1995, I was a certified, licensed arborist. One of the amazing protective features I learned about tree systems are their ability to compartmentalize “wounds” and or “decay.” Key to tree systems: they do not heal or save their wounded, diseased or decaying branches. Dr. Alex Shigo was the first person to study this phenomenon in trees. This phenomenon in tree systems is as close to a perfect model on which to build a system for compartmentalizing decay in our financial institutions. Dr. Shigo called this phenomenon the “Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees” or CODIT. Borrowing from the CODIT model, we could create a model called the “Compartmentalization of Decay in Financial Institutions” or CODIFI. Trees do not heal themselves when parts of their system become wounded, infected, or diseased. Rather they compartmentalize the damage instead. And, when and where possible, they continue growing around and over the damage. Compartmentalizing protects the tree system itself against the spread of decay to other healthy parts of the tree. Trees compartmentalize by sealing off and laying down barrier walls that prevent decay around the wound from spreading in all four directions, up, down, in and out. By the same token, we should not expect the mega-large financial institutions with rotting assets on their balance sheets to heal themselves. They have mortally wounded themselves with the products held on their balance sheets. To prevent these mortally wounded firms from infecting the rest of the financial system, these firms need to be ring-fenced and compartmentalized, walled off from the rest of the financial system for the sake of the financial system itself. This would, by definition put size limits not just on financial institutions, but also on how much of any one product they can have on either their balance sheets or off balance sheets. Size and margin limits are imposed upon market participants with respect to futures products, positions size limits need to be placed on the products held by financial firms. If they exceed their size and margin limits, risk management freezes the account and reduces their balance sheet position to be in accord with regulations. Under such a regulatory regime the combination of size and leverage would never allow any one financial institution to become too big to fail. In the words of Nixon’s Treasury Secretary George Shultz discussing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “If they are too big to fail, make them smaller.” Speaking of Secretary Treasury’s and taxpayer protection, where can taxpayers go to find a George Shultz type now? All the recommendations and policies from our more recent Secretaries of the Treasury are aimed at subsidizing the big banks. More amazingly about trees, the outer barrier is so strong that many trees continue to grow healthy outer cambium layers despite a hollow, decayed interior. By proxy, our financial system should be able to continue to maintain its overall health and grow in spite of any one wounded branch. By walling off mortally wounded firms and their toxic waste from the rest of the financial system, the rest of the financial system itself should be able to function healthily and continue growing, despite the presence of decayed and hollowed out entities such as AIG Citigroup, and Bank of America. With proper compartmentalization, AIG would never have been allowed to become the slush fund of taxpayer monies that it has since Hank Paulson rescued the company from bankruptcy. That such a mechanism to compartmentalize is not in place more than a year after the failure of Bear Stearns is appalling. Pruning and Branch Collars Pruning. Decaying branches in our financial system need to be pruned from the trunk of the financial system. In tree systems, every branch attachment to the tree trunk has what is called a “branch collar.” These branch collars work effectively as a tree’s defense system when a branch has decayed or otherwise been wounded. Branch collars prevent the decay from spreading into the rest of the tree system. Without branch collars, the decay from a wounded branch could infect and spread into the rest of the tree system. Likewise, effective branch collars need to be in place for every branch within our financial system. Without them, the toxic decay on the balance sheets of our failed financial institutions can spread throughout the rest of the financial system and kill it. Decaying branches in our financial system must be carefully pruned from the financial system. The role of branch collars is similar to “ring-fencing” functions. To date, branch collar functions in our financial system have largely been relegated to the FDIC and Blackrock for both large and small financial institutions. The authorities of the FDIC, given their key role and function to act as branch collars within the tree system, need to be expanded within our financial system ~ and not the Federal Reserve as proposed by the Obama administration. Criticism of the Federal Reserve’s Role as Regulator During the Financial Crisis On June 5 2009 at the house budget committee Ohio Democratic House Rep Marcy Kaptur questioned Bernanke on why they were involved in the deemed to be TBTF AIG firm. Bernanke answered that “the Fed is involved very unwillingly in AIG because there is no good ’system’ for addressing the failures of a major financial institution.” AIG failed in Sept 2008, six months after Bear Stearns failed in March 2008. Even six months after the failure of Bear Stearns in March 2008 made clear the need to create a “system” for addressing the decay of a major financial institution, no such system was implemented and in place when the decay spread to AIG and Lehman in September 2008. And even nine months after the failure of LEH and AIG, in June 2009, Bernanke informs us that there is still no “system” in place to compartmentalize the decay of a major financial institution from infecting the rest of the financial system. I have to ask if there is a reason there is no such system or branch collar in place yet? Is this feet-dragging or is this induced by some implicit regulatory TBTF design? I suspect, at the very least, the Fed’s primary function to lend as freely as possible in a financial crisis would be in conflict with its secondary role as regulator in a financial crisis. I will leave it to others to discern, but to me, these dual roles may be akin to mixing oil and water, they just don’t blend well, in spite of the Obama administrations proposal in June 2009 to expand the regulatory role of the Fed. I am quite skeptical of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s desire to give the Fed even more “regulatory authority” to deal with major financial institutions that are deemed “too big to fail.” This is particularly so given the Fed and U.S. Treasury’s clear failure to create and implement a “branch collar” or ring-fencing system for resolving a decayed financial institution this late in the game. However, and fortunately for taxpayers, Congress may not be so willing to expand the Fed’s regulatory authorities. According to Chris Whalen, “despite the proposal from the Obama Administration to give the Fed more power as a regulator, we see increasing signs that the Congress will reject that path and perhaps even reduce the power of the mismanaged, politically compromised central bank. There are few votes in the US Senate, at least, to support any expansion of the Fed’s powers.” In fact, according to Bloomberg News, Treasury Secretary Geithner has had to defend the Obama administration’s proposal to expand the Federal Reserves regulatory authority on June 18 2009 as he “repeated questions from senators who cited previous regulatory failures at the Fed and potential conflicts with its monetary-policy duties.” Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and the senior Republican Richard Shelby both said they were concerned that the Fed system, with its diffuse structure of district banks, would be ineffective in watching over companies deemed too big to fail. The administration’s regulatory proposal “represents a grossly inflated view of the Fed’s expertise,” said Shelby, of Alabama. Dodd quoted one critic’s view that giving the central bank more power was like awarding a son a “bigger, faster car right after he crashed the family station wagon.” The analogy is weak, but the criticism has merit. Regulating the financial industry is a privilege. The Federal Reserves license to regulate the financial industry should be suspended, given their failure to observe and enforce the regulatory rules of the road both before and during this crisis. The TBTF Doctrine Leads to Misappropriation of US Taxpayer Funds Additionally, the US Governments doctrine of TBTF will almost always lead to a misappropriation and misallocation of taxpayer dollars. The Fed is not the only regulatory body that has failed the taxpayer in this financial crisis. So too, has the US government. Take for instance, the recent disclosure on June 9 2009 that the US taxpayer is getting stuck with the bill to pay for Anthony Mozilo’s legal defense fees for fraud and insider trading. From ZeroHedge’s Tyler Durden: “Taxpayers must feel privileged that their hard earned
 
UK Has Guarantee on EU Bank Regulator, European Official Says Top
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Britain has secured agreement that aproposed European Union financial services regulator won'timpinge on national authorities, a European official said. Arriving at an EU summit in Brussels yesterday, PrimeMinister Gordon Brown said he would defend the U.K.'s powers asthe sole supervisor of the more than 600 British and foreignbanks that make London Europe's financial center. "It is only logical that where a supervisory decision willhave an impact on the taxpayer, that decision should be for therelevant national authority," Brown told a pre-summit pressconference. June 19 (Bloomberg) -- European Commission President JoseBarroso won backing for a second five-year term, while leadersmoved closer to overcoming Ireland's veto of a treaty designedto boost Europe's global role. BRUSSELS -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European Union leaders said they will back Portuguese conservative José Manuel Barroso for another five-year term as president of the European Commission... EU Backs Barroso for Second Term, Spars Over Ireland's Pledges EU Leaders Back Barroso EU chief lawmaker indicates support for Barroso's reappointment EU SUMMIT: Leaders Back Barroso For 2nd Commission Pres Term HIGHLIGHTS-EU summit in Brussels EU to launch bank rule shake-up, back Barroso News Analysis: EU leaders set to back Barroso's bid to remain ... UPDATE 1-UK seeks reassurance in EU bank rules shakeup EU offers Pakistan aid but no trade breaks EU announces new aid for Pakistan More stories ...
 
Stanford Arrested by FBI Outside Girlfriend's Home Top
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- R. Allen Stanford, underinvestigation in an alleged $8 billion fraud involving sales ofcertificates of deposit through his Antiguan bank, surrenderedto federal agents and was taken into custody, his lawyer said. Stanford, 59, surrendered yesterday to Federal Bureau ofInvestigation agents who were waiting outside his girlfriend'shouse in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said Dick DeGuerin, a lawyerfor the Texas financier. "Federal agents in black SUVs surrounded his girlfriend'shouse this afternoon, and just sat there," DeGuerin said in aphone interview. Kalkaska -- John Barnes lives just eight miles from his father in this rural community near Traverse City. But his suspicion that he was a 2-year-old boy who disappeared... John Robert Barnes still believes he's the toddler abducted outside a New York bakery in 1955, despite a denial on national television this morning by the Michigan man who raised him. Sir Allen, 58, denies any wrongdoing Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has surrendered to the US authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on criminal charges. WITH VIDEO Kalkaska man: DNA will prove I was taken Kalkaska man's search for true identity comes up empty Stanford surrenders to FBI agents Stanford in US court Friday in massive fraud case Stanford to appear in Virginia court Stanford surrenders to FBI, in court Friday Sir Allen Stanford arrested in US Stanford surrenders to US authorities Disgraced Financier Arrested In Virginia Child porn on museum suspect's computer, FBI says More stories ...
 
KKR rethinks deal, may impact listing-source Top
* Plan to link KPE deal with listing may change - source * Could mean KKR's NYSE listing may not go ahead * KKR reiterates it continues to evaluate deal (Rewriteswith sourcing, comment, background, adds byline) NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co[KKR.UL] is considering separating a plan that links buying itsAmsterdam-listed fund with its own moves to list on the NYSE, asource familiar with the matter said, throwing further doubt onwhether the private equity giant will list in New York. KKR's plans to follow in Blackstone Group's (BX.N)footsteps and become a publicly-traded New York StockExchange-listed company hinge on a complex deal to buy itsfund, known as KPE. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three Boston businessmen, including a member of the family that used to own The Boston Globe, have emerged as suitors for the 137-year-old daily newspaper that The New York Times Co is trying to sell... KKR Holds Deal Talks to Delay Its NYSE Listing Report: Carlyle eyes First Republic Bank Carlyle, TPG Said to Weigh Buying First Republic Bank Carlyle, Blackstone bid for First Republic: report Extended Stay seeks to break up $4.1 billion CMBS Ashford Hospitality tanks on hotel's Chapter 11 Buyout Firms Circle AB InBev's Central, E.Europe Ops - Sources Street Stumbles To Weak Finish Extended Stay files Chapter 11 Three suitors emerge for Boston Globe, paper says More stories ...
 
Microsoft CEO Balmer's Do-Over Wish: Search Top
Not that they'd ever be confused, but Steve Balmer isn't Edith Piaf: He does have regrets. The chief executive of Microsoft says he wishes his company had been much swifter in developing a search engine. "If I could have one do-over," he says, "I would say start sooner on search." Balmer was in Chicago on June 18 for back-to-back speeches before two business groups. At the second event, before the Executives Club of Chicago, he talked about the recession and innovation. (More on that in a moment.) He gave a plug for Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, which my colleague, Peter Burrows, blogged about recently. And he took a few questions from the audience that numbered 1,500-plus. That's when he turned rueful. Remember not so very long ago how amazed you were that Google could return so many useful search results in just a split-second? Today, that kind of speed isn't enough for many people. June 19 (Bloomberg) -- European Commission President JoseBarroso won backing for a second five-year term, while leadersmoved closer to overcoming Ireland's veto of a treaty designedto boost Europe's global role. DETROIT (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine won more market share from rivals last week, according to new industry data released on Wednesday, but still trails Google Inc and Yahoo Inc considerably. It's still awfully early in the game, but Microsoft's Bing had a second good week, according to market share numbers released Wednesday by ComScore. The search engine... Collecta Launches *Really* Real-Time Search Engine EU Backs Barroso for Second Term, Spars Over Ireland's Pledges Oil Trades Nears $71, Snapping Four Weeks of Gains, on Fuel Demand ... Lawmakers Balk As Administration Tries to Redefine Central Bank's Role Ballmer Says Microsoft Ready To Spend On Search Microsoft open to investing in search Google Still Tops in Search, Will Bing Change That? More Gains For Microsoft's Bing, But Far From 'Big Dog' Microsoft makes gains with Bing, clashes with Google Microsoft's Bing has a second good week More stories ...
 
Jordan's to make a home for Village Top
The Enchanted Village, the holiday display that drew generations to the old Jordan Marsh department store each Christmas, sold yesterday at auction to a sentimental bidder with a familiar name. Eliot Tatelman, the pony-tailed president and chief executive of Jordan's Furniture, placed the winning bid of $140,000, topping a private collector's best offer by $5,000. "How could I not do it?'' said Tatelman, recalling his own pilgrimage to see the village as a 5- or 6-year-old, clutching his mother's hand in the crowd. "The topper was the name Jordan. It was from Jordan Marsh.'' The government on Thursday proposed a simplified new tire label that would show potential gas savings for buyers of that tire, as well as safety and tread life ratings. In Online Music Era, Country Fans Lack a Connection David Beckham unveils more abs Arcandor seeks partnership with Metro Star Tribune Co. files bankruptcy reorganization Senate critical of Obama's plan to oversee financial institutions Stanford surrenders to FBI agents OTHER ACTION BY THE COURT KKR rethinks deal, may impact listing-source Proposed tire label could improve gas savings Lawmakers Balk As Administration Tries to Redefine Central Bank's Role More stories ...
 
EU Backs Barroso for Second Term, Spars Over Ireland's Pledges Top
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- European Commission President JoseBarroso won backing for a second five-year term, while leadersmoved closer to overcoming Ireland's veto of a treaty designedto boost Europe's global role. At a European Union summit in Brussels, Barroso, 53, aformer prime minister of Portugal, promised further steps to endthe deepest recession since World War II, tighten financialregulations and combat global warming. Europe's "response to this economic and financial crisisand to have progress in fighting climate change" are "theimmediate priorities," Barroso told a news conference earlytoday after the summit's first session. WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama faces a dilemma as he fights the recession: The public identifies both rising unemployment and soaring budget deficits as its top policy concerns -- but fixing one could worsen the other. Oil Trades Nears $71, Snapping Four Weeks of Gains, on Fuel Demand ... Asia stocks snap 4-day slide, bond yields up White House returns Bush fire Crude Trades Nears $71 in New York as US Fuel Consumption Remains Weak Lawmakers Balk As Administration Tries to Redefine Central Bank's Role Pope reminds priests of celibacy vow Obama, Congress consider tackling immigration reform Twin Threat: Jobless Rate, Deficit Blue chips scratch out a gain Treasuries Fall as Reports Point to Growth, Debt Sales to Rise More stories ...
 
MetricStream CEO to Addresses Bankers' Meet in the Middle East Top
MetricStream CEO to Addresses bank ers' Meet in the Middle East on Strengthening Governance, Risk and Compliance Addressing a gathering of CEOs and Heads of Audit and Risk from bank s in Muscat, Oman, Shellye Archambeau, CEO of MetricStream, Inc., the market leader in enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Management solutions, emphasized the need to strengthen [...] Source
 
First National Bank of Izard County Deploys Comprehenisve Bank Training From Edcomm Banker's Academy Top
First National bank of Izard County has recently deployed comprehensive bank training from Edcomm bank er's Academy. New York, NY, June 18, 2009 — First National bank of Izard County has recently deployed three years of comprehensive bank training from Edcomm bank er's Academy bank er's Academy Unlimited will be hosted and maintained by Edcomm bank er's Academy's own Learning [...] Source
 
Work, JMOM, and Arbee Top
Work was rather interesting. I get too many cases of kids clinging on to me when I would rather be kept free to walk around. Michael was always the exception to that, but alas, he's no longer in our class =/. Branden, for example, was rather sensitive today, that he'd be found crying in corners or hidden spots. So I'd go and fetch him and encourage him to join the class, sometimes sticking by him for long periods of time. I tried to get away a few times, but he'd follow, or just repeatedly say, "I NEED YOU!" Then there's Yamile that loves to hug me and never let go and Jackie who likes to follow me and Breanna that sometimes tackles me, even though she's a small fragile-looking girl. Then Christopher constantly tells me I always make him laugh, Dominic always calling me 'daddy,' Axel offering me queso, and the list goes on and on and on, hahaha. I love my kids though. Only a few of them tend to frustrate me, but lately, I've been rather chill. Either I'm getting more tolerant with their behavior, or they are learning to behave as I expect them to. Whichever the case may be, I love work. Anyways, after work, I dropped by the bank and then went to the Otay Ranch Mall since it was right across the street. I went to look for Maddie's birthday gift and a special gift for Auntie Ann, Uncle Doug, Raffy, Gabe, and Michael. I'll be making a dessert craft for Maddie. As for the gift for the family, I will have to figure out what more to add to what I have right now. I'll share what I make after they are both completed. It was funny cuz in hunting for gifts, I ran into Jamie. We extended our search to the Plaza Bonita Mall and ran into Madeline and Marsha. So it was an unintentional JMOM thing for us. I had fun being around everyone. Then when I got home, I received word from Auntie Ann's neice in the Philippines. I'm actually happy she replied to my e-mail since we're just strangers over seas and this is a shot in the dark, lol. Her name is Arbee. I wonder if anything will develop from this communication. If all goes well, I might even end up meeting her in November if I do join Auntie, Gabe and Raffy on their November trip. I'll let life do its flow. Source
 
Life lessons... Top
Must learn how to not let work affect me... Why?... $250 worth of shopping therapy... that's why... *sobs* and having no friends in Singapore to call out at the drop of a hat to hang out with and bitch about stuff... *sighs* But at least I splurged on crystals... they're useful right?! =S No buyers remorse though cos I haven't checked my bank account in awhile so I'm not sure how much I have to survive on till the end of the month... I miss my friends in Aus! It's so hard to bitch about stuff on MSN! And apparently some Singaporean guys seem like total loosers... I think I bumped into the wrong batch when I first arrived and I can't seem to shake them... The more recent ones I've met actually seem non-Singaporeanish haha which is kinda good and makes me realise there might be decent Singaporean guys out there! I'm used to being called up in the middle of the night for chat sessions, but it sux having a guy try to convince me that I should go out with a guy just because he's a "nice guy" and wants to go out with me even though the guy is totally not my type, we have a language barrier, we have nothing in common and he's been to Thailand a few too many times for my liking! It takes a lame Singaporean guy to try to convince me to go out with a even more lame one right! So many things are stressing me out but I still can't weigh the pros and cons of staying here or going back to Aus... it's irking me =( Source
 
Semerbak Iman Masyita Top
Bercakap fasal iman, saban tahun kita mendengar peristiwa 'israk dan mikraj' khususnya tentang kehebatan iman Masyita, tukang sisir rambut anak Firaun. Firaun menjadi sombong dan angkuh kerana kebesaran empayarnya dan kehebatan pengaruhnya di kalangan rakyat Mesir. Dia mengaku sebagai tuhan yang agung dan memusuhi sesiapa saja yang bertuhankan selain dirinya. Malahan dia akan membunuh mereka yang tidak mengaku Firaun sebagai tuhan. Masyita walaupun bekerja di istana Firaun, namun di dalam hati kecilnya tetap bertuhankan Allah yang Maha Berkuasa dan Dialah juga yang menjadikan segala makhluk di muka bumi ini termasuk Firaun yang mengaku dirinya sebagai Tuhan. Kepercayaan ini dirahsiakannya supaya tidak diketahui oleh Firaun dan sekutunya. Pada suatu hari, sedang dia menyisir rambut anak Firaun, sikat di tangannya terjatuh. Masyita terlatah dan berkata "Mampus Firaun! " Apabila anak Firaun mendengar kata-kata penghinaan terhadap bapanya, dia berkata, "Kenapa kau berkata begitu terhadap bapaku? Adakah tuhan lain selain bapaku?" "Memang benar! Tuhanku dan tuhan bapamu ialah Allah." Mendengar kata-kata itu, anak Firaun menjadi marah. "Baik kamu bertaubat, kalau tidak aku akan beritahu bapaku." Masyita bertegas dan mengatakan, "Pergilah kau beritahu bapa kau. Aku tetap dengan pendirianku bahawa tuhan yang sebenarnya ialah Allah." Sebaik saja Firaun diberitahu oleh anaknya tentang Masyita, dia menjadi murka dan memanggil Masyita. Dia bertanya sama ada benar apa yang dikatakan oleh anaknya itu. Masyita tetap mengatakan Tuhannya ialah Allah. Firaun mengugut untuk membunuh Masyita dan keluarganya sekiranya dia tidak mengubah pendiriannya. Keesokannya keluarga Masyita dibawa ke satu tempat lapang, berhadapan dengan sebuah kawah besar yang berisi dengan minyak yang sangat panas. Firaun hendak memasukkan kesemua keluarga Masyita termasuk anaknya yang masih kecil ke dalam minyak panas sekiranya Masyita tidak mengaku Firaun sebagai tuhan. Keimanan Masyita tidak luntur meskipun berhadapan dengan ancaman maut. Melihatkan iman Masyita yang tidak berganjak, Firaun menyuruh askarnya mencampakkan keluarga Masyita seorang demi seorang ke dalam kawah yang besar itu. Apabila sampai giliran anaknya yang kecil, perasaan Masyita menjadi belas dan sebak. Hati siapa tidak sedih melihatkan anak yang disayangi akan dilontar ke dalam kawah yang membuak-buak dengan minyak panas. Masyita meminta supaya dia dicampakkan dulu sebagai ganti kepada anaknya. Tiba-tiba dengan kuasa Tuhan, anaknya yang kecil itu membuka mulut dan berkata, "Ibu, jangan bersedih. Teruskan! Biarkan saya dicampak ke dalam kawah itu." Masyita dan orang-orang di sekeliling terperanjat melihat seorang bayi boleh berkata-kata. Mendengar kata-kata anaknya itu, Masyita menjadi semakin yakin dan tabah. Dia menghulurkan anaknya untuk dicampakkan ke dalam kawah. Tanpa belas kesihan askar Firaun terus melontarkan anak Masyita ke dalam minyak panas. Selepas itu barulah Masyita dibawa ke tepi kawah yang panas itu lalu dicampakkan ke dalamnya. Demikianlah hebatnya Masyita mempertahankan kebenaran aqidah sehingga dia dan keluarganya terkorban dibunuh oleh Firaun. Keberanian seorang wanita memperjuangkan kebenaran dan keimanan ini dirakam dan diingati setiap tahun oleh seluruh manusia. Dalam peristiwa Israk Mikraj, Nabi sampai di satu tempat yang sangat harum. Malaikat Jibril menerangkan bahawa tempat itu ialah tempat bersemadinya Masyita dan keluarganya. Awas! Mana-mana pemimpin yang bongkak dan mengaku kehebatannya sebagai pemimpin, takbur, sombong dan berlagak sebagai superman yang kuku besi, nyatalah ciri-ciri Firaun yang terkutuk itu sudah diwarisinya. Nauzubillah! MORAL & IKTIBAR * Orang yang mengor bank an jiwa dan raganya demi menegakkan kebenaran diberikan kedudukan yang tinggi di sisi Allah. * Bukan lelaki saja yang mempunyai semangat yang kental dan tinggi dalam memperjuangkan kebenaran. Golongan wanita yang dianggap kaum yang lemah juga mempunyai keberanian dengan izin Allah * Allah menetapkan hati hamba yang mencari keredhaanNya sehingga seorang bayi mampu bercakap dalam usia yang paling muda. Anak Masyita adalah salah seorang bayi yang boleh bercakap semasa kecil lagi. Contoh lain ialah anak Siti Mariam yang menafikan ibunya melahirkan anak haram. * Orang yang Allah tidak kehendaki keimanannya dibiarkan mereka hidup dalam kezaliman sehingga menyangka keburukan sebagai kebaikan dan kebaikan pula dipandang sebagai kejahatan. * Manusia jangan menyangka mereka mudah saja dibalas dengan syurga selagi tidak diduga dengan pelbagai musibah dan kesusahan. * Dunia adalah tempat bersusah-payah, manakala akhirat ialah tempat kesenangan abadi. * Prinsip dan pegangan hidup orang tua-tua, "Bersusah-susah dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian" seharusnya dijadikan pedoman hidup bagi kita. * Manusia yang senang kehidupannya tanpa diduga oleh Allah belum lagi diiktiraf keselamatannya di akhirat * Kesenangan di dunia belum boleh dijadikan bukti sebagai tanda Allah menyayangi mereka. Begitu juga kesusahan di dunia bukan menjadi bukti bahawa Allah membenci mereka. * Kesenangan di dunia bukan menjadi kayu pengukur kepada kesenangan di akhirat. Kesusahan di dunia pula bukan menjadi kayu pengukur kepada kesusahan di akhirat. Allah did not promise that life would be easy... but He did pomise to go with you in every step of your life... with Him by your side...Allah bless us..ameen!! Source
 
It's a Cruel Day for GM Dealers Top
From Bloomberg: AS GM prepares for bankruptcy, they told 1000 “underperforming US dealers they will be terminated. Most of the closings will occur by October 2010, none are happening now. Its the first step towards “paring” dealers to a range of 3,600 to 4,000 from 5,969 by the end of 2010. With fewer retailers, the survivors may each be able to sell more cars at higher prices, boosting profit . "It's a cruel day, but it's one of the casualties of the situation ," said Mike Robinet , a CSM Worldwide Inc. analyst in Northville, Michigan. "Dealers in some respect were a fairly substantial reason that Chrysler had to go into bankruptcy and a very good reason why GM will need to go in as well." "It's quite an emotional day," said Wyman Williams, 61, who was waiting to learn whether his Williams Motors in Commerce, Texas, was being targeted. "We've been here 40 years, and what happens today is really important." He said he filed for Chapter 11 protection on April 1 for his Chevrolet-Pontiac-Buick store. "It was a necessity, but it worked out as a defensive move," Williams said. "There's a judge between GM and me."
 
WSJ reports more Bankster Stress-Test Results Top
Every day there is a new leak out of Washington it seems. Why even set a May 4 “stress-test” release date. The leaks themselves are frustrating for those of us who appreciate knowing when and where a curve ball is going to be released so we can hedge it. I can’t wait until this crap is over. How long oh Lord, a decade or more? But as for the stress-tests passing minimum credibility, well, perhaps the bar was set too low given that the banksters got to do all the projections: "Each participating firm was instructed to project potential losses on its loan, investment, and trading securities portfolios, including off-balance sheet commitments and contingent liabilities and exposures over the two-year horizon beginning with year-end 2008 financial statement data.”
 
GIVE US THIS DAY... Top
Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." I'm amazed at how the economic recession through which we are living is affecting the way I read my Bible. Passages that I have read hundreds of times have a fresh hue and tint to them. I see them with different eyes. People around me are losing their jobs. Their businesses are losing customers as people are being more careful with their money. Homes are being taken back by bank s and mortgage companies and people are on the streets for the first time in their lives. Churches are frantically looking around trying to figure out what they can do to help. They don't know how to help because it has been so long since they've had to deal with homelessness and unemployment among their own people! That doesn't even address the sense of responsibility they have for the people in their communities! Money is tight! Many of us sit down at bill-paying-time and have to decide which bills are going to be set aside for the time being because we can't afford to pay them. How are we supposed to get through this difficult time? What are we supposed to do? That's why this passage struck me so hard this evening. Jesus intentionally went directly to the temple treasury. He wanted to watch the people giving their offerings. I can see him sitting there in the shade, unobtrusively observing as people came and deposited their offerings in the barrel-sized receptacles. He watched as many rich people came. They threw their offerings in. The word Mark chose indicates a very flashy and showy manner of giving. And the throwing would make a scene and a very large noise drawing attention to the giver. As these many rich people came and went Jesus sat quietly in his place. What was he watching for? That's when it happened. Nobody else seems to have noticed. It was just a poor widow. She dropped her offering in the can. Jesus saw what she put in. Two tiny copper coins that added up to only a fraction of a penny. I can see Jesus jumping up in joy with a look of complete jubilation on his face! "Did you guys see that? Did you see it?" The disciples looked at one another and then at Jesus and then back at each other wondering what in the world Jesus was talking about. Jesus was absolutely delighted. "You missed her offering? That widow woman who's just leaving? You should have seen it! Oh! I can't believe you missed it! It was huge! I've rarely seen such a significant gift!" The disciples, really confused, asked Jesus what she had done. They hadn't heard anything at all! And Jesus said, This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on! Did you ever notice that she gave more than all of the others? Not more than any of the others; more than all the others combined! That is the significance of her gift in the eyes of Jesus! What do we take away from this? Not a lesson on giving this time; although there is a great lesson to be learned. Rather, a lesson on faith . The poor widow gave all she had to live on. From where would her food come tomorrow? How would she pay her bills? What in the world was she going to do now that she had no money left at all? The answer is implied. She was going to live by faith. She was going to trust God to provide for her. She was confident that God would not let her starve and she put her faith into action. If only we could learn to live by faith in that way! Source
 
BOA Ken Lewis Lied about what he knew and when he knew it Top
According to an article from Tyler Durden today, the leash on Ken Lewis’ career may be getting shorter. “The other coffin nail is Cuomo’s letter, at least as it pertains to Ken Lewis’ career. The Deal , referencing major shareholders, says that this is the end for the beleaguered CEO. Jonathan Finger, whom we mentioned before, tells The Deal: “Seems like Ken Lewis has changed his story. Previously Mr. Lewis has stated unambiguously that Bank of America was not aware of the losses at Merrill Lynch until after the Dec. 5 shareholder vote. Now he states differently. I think this will certainly strengthen our lawsuit.” My take: I am gratified at any signal or indication that will make it politically easier to remove Ken Lewis from his post. Removing banksters top managements from their posts is the first step the Obama admin needs to take in order to motivate bankster creditors to support these crappy enterprises and convert their bonds into equity. Here is too hoping the bankster creditors of Chrysler get a particularly raw deal next week. If they (bankster creditors) don’t squeal like a pig, then the Obama admin will have failed in their first disciplinary mission to take “prompt corrective action” against creditors who will not come to the table to negotiate realistically.
 
Fed's Bankster Stress Tests designed to Lie by Omission Top
There has been another “leak.” ZeroHedge’s Tyler Durden writes that the AP has the results from the fed’s stress tests are in: According to AP, the stress tests “take a harsher view of loans than of other troubled assets. That approach favors a few Wall Street banks while potentially threatening major regional players.” The regulators’ focus could spell trouble for big regional banks undergoing the tests. Their portfolios have more individual loans and fewer of the big pools of securitized loans that Wall Street giants specialize in. Some analysts [read regulator apologists] said regulators are favoring the largest banks because if even one failed that would pose a severe economic risk. Banks that deal in securities are more interconnected to other corners of the global financial system. [ hogwash] Regulators also face pressure to highlight the weaknesses of some banks, or critics will dismiss the tests as a whitewash. That would undermine the goal of improving confidence in the financial system. Under one scenario, the test assumes banks will see “no further losses” on these complex securities at the heart of the credit crisis . By contrast, it estimates that the banks’ individual loans will lose up to 20 percent of their value. [ TD : uh, what?] Yves Smith adds “We said some time ago that if the stress tests gave poor marks to Fifth Third (a well run bank with far cleaner accounting than the industry as a whole, but a terrible geographic footprint, namely Michigan, Florida, and Ohio) fares poorly but not Citi, you know the test was skewed. That appears to be where things are headed. “Why is being hard on loans but not on securities a distortion? Many structured products (and most of the troubled securities fall in that category) have what is known as embedded leverage. That means an increase in defaults, or other fall in cash flow can have a disproportionate impact on the value of the instrument. That’s why, for instance, some CDOs were downgraded from AAA to junk in an afternoon. That’s an impossible occurrence with a loan book, absent a catastrophe like the Yellowstone caldera blowing up. Even when loan books decay, they do so in a linear fashion. Complex securities often decay much faster (with structured securities, particularly when certain levels are breached). “Of course, the tacit assumption may be that enough of this dreck can be dumped on the Fed via the TALF that it doesn’t mater (yes, the TALF technically makes loans, but the TALF, like the public private investment partnership, can serve to validate phony valuations). “The other reason this is a bad approach is that it favors the big players when there are ample reasons to put the medium and smaller sized players forward instead. Bank analyst Meredith Whitney has recommended having policies promote regional banks, since they are closer to borrowers and have some (in many cases, a lot) of the apparatus in place to make old-fashioned lending decisions, rather than rely on FICO and simple score based methodologies that have proven to be hopelessly flawed. Here is my first impression of the leaked stress-tests: From this AP report it seems clear the intent is to have the Fed’s stress-tests “lie by omission.” Yves Smith coined it even better, calling it “airbrushed analysis.” Under this stress test, where regulators see securitized assets, by design, they look the other way while the banksters use their significant judgment to mark that toxic waste at 90 cents or better on the dollar. So, the end goal of the stress-tests is to avoid any more banksters like Lehman (no more Lehman’s is the mantra) from going under. Yet by claiming insolvent banks solvent as this stress test is designed to do, systemic risk is not eliminated but heightened. A wave of a wand, a stroke of an airbrush does not make the problem disappear. Asy Yves points out “And the logic is beyond belief. If we pretend an insolvent player is solvent, that makes is solvent. At best this is Japan, but at worst, given that these firms trade actively, it does not forestall the run-on-the-bank problem. If enough people believe the financial reports and the government reassurances are a crock, they will view everyone with considerable nervousness and be prepared for a quick trigger exit at the first whiff of real trouble.”
 

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