Archive - Jun 21, 2011
Elijah Cummings Asks Darrell Issa Why It Is Taking So Long To Subpoena The Big Banks On Fraudclosure
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 22:31 -0500Describing new evidence of illegal foreclosures, inflated fees, and other widespread abuses, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings wrote to Chairman Darrell Issa today to request that the Committee issue subpoenas to require mortgage servicing companies to produce previously-requested documents. “You have not hesitated—in other investigations—to issue subpoenas in a matter of days when your deadlines were missed, so it is unclear why a different standard applies to this investigation,” Cummings wrote. “This same sense of urgency should apply even when the targets of the Committee’s investigation are banks.” On February 10, 2011, the Committee voted unanimously to investigate “the foreclosure crisis including wrongful foreclosures and other abuses by mortgage servicing companies.” “If mortgage servicing companies are allowed to disregard requests for documents that are integral to this investigation, the Committee’s integrity will be called into question and, more importantly, abuses may continue,” Cummings wrote. Today’s letter from Cummings marks the fourth in a series of letters he has sent to Issa over the past six months urging the Committee to take action on wrongful foreclosures and other egregious abuses by mortgage servicing companies. On May 24, Cummings sent a letter to Issa requesting that the Committee issue subpoenas to six mortgage servicing companies that have refused to provide documents relating to foreclosure abuses. “The best long-term solution that our Committee can offer in response to illegal acts committed by mortgage servicing companies is vigorous investigation, oversight, and reform,” Cummings added. “Inaction will tacitly reward abuse and signal tolerance for major corporate wrongdoing.” So... what's wrong with that exactly?
Things That Make You Go Hmmm.... Such As The 10 Steps To Realizing You, Or Your Country, Is A Debt Addict
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 22:13 -0500A blast from the "the more things change, the more they stay the same" past courtesy of Grant Williams: "Back in the dog days of October 2008, The Consumerist published a piece on its website called ‘12 Signs You’re Addicted to Debt’. This public-spirited piece was designed to help people recognize an addiction to debt that might topple them over the edge of the abyss in the new, post-Lehman world of fear and desperation. You remember that world, right? Lehman had just collapsed? The world was about to spiral into a nightmare the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a generation? You remember, surely? The ‘GFC’? The ‘Great Recession’? No? But we all said it was a watershed that would change our behaviour for decades to come. We all swore never to forget how close we came; how terrified we all were.... In the interests of brevity, I’ve cut the original twelve signs down to ten, but that should be plenty to ascertain whether the world is addicted to debt (though it may make this introduction may be a little longer than usual). Let’s get started, shall we?..."
"This Is Not A Program to Salvage the [Greek] Economy, It's a Program for Pillage Before Bankruptcy"
Submitted by George Washington on 06/21/2011 18:21 -0500And it's NOT just Greece ...
As G-Pap Survives Another Day, Here Are The Next Steps: SocGen's Take
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 18:00 -0500Following a rather anticlimatic day in which Greece did precisely as the conventional wisdom expected it to, leading to a modest sell the news drop in the EURUSD (down to 1.4370 as of this writing), Greece is a long way from being out of the woods. Summarizing the immediate next steps is SocGen's Vladimir Pilonca: "George Papandreou’s PASOK government survived the confidence vote on Tuesday night. As expected, Papandreou obtained a relatively narrow majority, with 155 votes to 143 in the 300 seat Parliament (and two abstentions). The focus now shifts to next Tuesday’s Parliamentary vote of the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan (MTFS). The MTFS includes €28bn of additional austerity measures for 2011-2012 as well as an accelerated privatisation plan."
GM's Channel Stuffing Catches Up With The Company: Dealer Backlogs Force Plant Shutdowns; Q3 GDP Cuts To Follow
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 17:45 -0500A few days ago, JPM's Michael Feroli literally wrote off Q2 GDP: "Recent economic data have been dispiriting, and increasingly 2Q is being written off as a lost quarter in which no progress will be made in closing the output gap." The silver lining, however, according to Feroli was that Q3 GDP would jump on a surge in auto supplies and sales to fill the vacuum left in the post-Fukushima space: "Motor vehicle assemblies sank in April, particularly at the US plants of Japanese automakers, as supply lines for parts from Japan were interrupted. That, in turn, led to a steep drop in inventories of cars on dealer lots. As Japanese parts and supplies come back on line, automakers located in the US are planning to ramp up production to replenish lean inventories." Uhm, lean inventories? It seems Michael has not had a chance to actually see what inventories look like (unlike Zero Hedge readers). In fact as we demonstrated three weeks ago, GM dealer stuffing has hit an all time high, so we can attribute this oversight to Mr. Feroli's zeal to validate yet another projection hockeystick. Yet somehow we fail to see how this massively excess inventories situation will be amenable to prompt restocking. And now we are not the only ones. According to the AP, "General Motors plans to close two U.S. pickup truck plants for two weeks in July as sales of pickups begin to wane and trucks are backlogged on dealer lots, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing the auto maker." That sure doesn't sound to us like something that would happen to an industry that has just faced a "steep drop" in inventory.
EURUSD Reaction To Confidence Vote Passage: Sell The News
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 16:57 -0500Despite Bloomberg calling the vote in favor of G-Pap, it seems the immediate response in the EURUSD is to dump the euro currency.
Yes, Another Crisis is Coming… and It Will Be MUCH Worse
Submitted by Phoenix Capital Research on 06/21/2011 16:18 -0500We’ve already had a taste of this in 2008 when the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market, which was $50-60 trillion in size, blew up. We’re now rapidly heading towards an interest rate Crisis and the interest rate-based derivative market is four times as large roughly $200 TRILLION.
Real Time Greek Vote Tracker - Vote Goes In Favor Of G-Pap 155:145
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 15:58 -0500Final Vote: 155:145
RANsquawk Market Wrap Up - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 21/06/11
Submitted by RANSquawk Video on 06/21/2011 15:23 -0500RANsquawk Market Wrap Up - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 21/06/11
Watch The Greek Parliamentary Debate And The Vote Of Confidence Live
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 14:54 -0500
In a previous thread readers can watch what is happening on the square in front of the parliament, which for now is secondary and will likely be determined by the outcome of the G-Pap vote of confidence due in just over an hour. Readers who wish to watch the ongoing debate in the Greek parliament can do so at the following link. Currently Samaras, the leader of the opposition is speaking. The real fun should begin in about 40 minutes. After the vote passes successfully, we suggest you switch back to the outside camera.
The Lost Cause That Is Tax Repatriation, Or The Folly Of The Homeland Investment Act Part 2
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 14:28 -0500Just like back in January when rumors of tax repatriation holiday started creeping up, the past week has seen a surge in speculation that the Homeland Investment Act part 2 may be coming back. Unfortunately, neither now, nor in January, nor during the original HIA back in 2005, did this tax repatriation of billions in cash do absolutely anything to stimulate the economy, and in fact the waves of layoffs that followed likely added to the weakness that would become apparent with the December 2007 transition into the Second Great Depression. Yet that will not stop big multinational companies from lobbying for this one time gift which will allows management teams to buy back shares, and lock in individual profits on their insider holdings (certainly expect an unseen wave of insider selling in the aftermath of a HIA 2 should one be implemented). As for the economic rationale, there is none. We discussed this back in January and February extensively, but for hose who may have forgotten, here is a good recap courtesy of David Rosenberg's latest leter to clients.
JP MorGaN: THe BaNK AMeRICaNS SHouLD All LoVE To HaTe
Submitted by williambanzai7 on 06/21/2011 13:53 -0500“The system would be safer if we also went back to horse and buggies.”--Jamie Dimon
The Eurodollar Missing Link: Explaining The QE2-Related Cash Surge In US-Based Foreign Banks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 13:28 -0500
Two weeks ago we broke the story that the bulk of the excess reserves, and thus cash, generated as part of QE2 has gone not to US banks, but to foreign banks operating in the US. One of the generic rebuttals of this observation was that it is naive to assume that European banks have been buying up the Treasurys issued by the Fed (and flipping these to their clients) which would also leads to a contemporaneous increase in excess reserves (over $630 billion since the start of QE3). This was a good question and we did not have a ready answer. Luckily, Stone McCarthy has come up with a resolution. In a just released note to clients, SMRA hints at how these banks have loaded up on cash without having to also see domestic assets surge (and instead just have just seen the net liability owed to foreign offices increase). The answer: Eurodollars.
Fear of Terror Makes People Stupid
Submitted by George Washington on 06/21/2011 12:48 -0500Much of our debt is due to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere.
And yet the top American military and intelligence officials say that debt is the MAIN THREAT to our national security.
D'oh!
JPM Settles Magnetar Charges Related To Misleading CDO Information With SEC For $153.6 Million
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2011 12:16 -0500- SEC TO HOLD CONFERENCE CALL TO DISCUSS ENFORCEMENT VS JP MORGAN
- JP MORGAN TO PAY $153.6M TO SETTLE SEC CHARGES
- JP MORGAN TO SETTLE SEC CHARGES ON MISLEADING IN CDO ON HOUSING
- SEC CITES MISLEADING INVESTORS IN CDO TIED TO HOUSING MARKET
- KHUZAMI: JPMORGAN FAILED TO DISCLOSE MAGNETAR'S ROLE, INTERESTS
- KHUZAMI: JPMORGAN HAS REIMBURSED INVESTORS IN TAHOMA CDO
- KHUZAMI SAYS SEC MISLED INVESTORS IN SQUARED CDO
Done and done. And now JPM is off the hook for ever and ever. In other news JPM made $153.6 million in profits since you clicked on this post. Of course, that's irrelevant as Bear Stearns will be stuck with the bill.
In other news, www.bangbus.com shares are surging on a rumor of an imminent $153.6 million investment from an unknown source







