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Watch FCIC Hearing On Rating Agencies And A Subpoenaed Warren Buffett Live And Commercial Free

Tyler Durden's picture




 

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has started its hearing on the worthlessness of Rating Agencies. As was previously reported, Warren Buffett was subpoenaed to participate in this hearing after the refused to testify voluntarily. Interested readers can watch the full hearing live and commercial free at the following C-Span 2 site.

Here is a full agenda and prepared witness testimon:

  • Session 1: The Ratings Process

    Eric Kolchinsky
    Former Team Managing Director, US Derivatives
    Moody’s Investors Service
    Jay Siegel
    Former Team Managing Director
    Moody’s Investors Service
    Nicolas S. Weill
    Group Managing Director
    Moody’s Investors Service
    Gary Witt
    Former Team Managing Director, US Derivatives
    Moody’s Investors Service
  • Session 2: Credit Ratings and the Financial Crisis

    Warren E. Buffett
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
    Berkshire Hathaway
    (Mr. Buffett has elected to provide written testimony.)
    Raymond W. McDaniel
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

    Moody’s Corporation
  • Session 3: The Credit Rating Agency Business Model

    Brian M. Clarkson
    Former President and Chief Operating Officer
    Moody’s Investors Service
    Mark Froeba
    Former Senior Vice President, US Derivatives
    Moody’s Investor’s Service
 

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Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:01 | 389078 Salinger
Salinger's picture

posted in previous thread

watch the gulf oil spill robots at work and Buffett's testimony on the same screen

 

link to dual Buffett / Gulf Spill live streams

 

 

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:04 | 389089 JohnKing
JohnKing's picture

Perfect imagery of a fouled country.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:22 | 389122 sweet ebony diamond
sweet ebony diamond's picture

another episode of "it's not my fault, get the hell away from me you peasant"

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:32 | 389144 primefool
primefool's picture

Sen Dumkoff " Did you guys look at the unprecedented rise in house prices from 2000 on and so - whoa?"

Heheheheh. And how about NOW. They should be saying "Whoa" about:

- Wild monetary policy

- bailouts galore.

- Wild manipulated stock markets.

- Treasury Bubble 10yr at 3% and change.

So the very same senator - 3 years from now will be asking questions of a whole new set of people. "Did you guys at your pension fund ever say "whoa" in 2010 - maybe we should not be in equities at all given the craziness?"

Senator ( in the 2013 hearings) :" Did you EVER question the wisdom of investing in 10 year bonds at 3% - when they went to 16% in 2013 - you lost how much? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe 10 year Treasuries were not a sensible investment?"

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:54 | 389190 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"As was previously reported, Warren Buffett was subpoenaed to participate in this hearing after the refused to testify voluntarily."

What wonderful choices I have on the plate today.

Do I watch the "spill cam" and follow the exhalations of an out of control underwater oil well? Or do I follow C-Span and watch the exhalations of an old blow hard who's only major contribution to society is his wonderfully concocted and manged PR campaign, turning a vulture capitalist into Uncle Warren from fly-over USA?

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 10:03 | 389225 primefool
primefool's picture

Well as far as Iam concerned - he is a paunchy white middle aged guy , who wears baseball hats and eats hot dogs - and thats good enough for me- he's one of the good guys.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 10:09 | 389232 Dr. Richard Head
Dr. Richard Head's picture

Perhaps I should have worked on the recruitment assignment for Moodys' Actuarial position from Ormain Gathers back in June of 2007.  Instead of pushing this assignment off and bitching about the rating agency's lack of honesty on rating these products, I could have helped install someone with some honesty and integrity.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 10:57 | 389336 Kali
Kali's picture

YEs, should not be investigating "worthlessness" of rating agencies, should be investigating "criminality" of rating agencies.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 10:37 | 389283 bugs_
bugs_'s picture

Dirty Warren takes the fifth like a BP executive?

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 11:36 | 389430 DavidC
DavidC's picture

So do I understand this correctly, he's not even appearing, he's just providing written testimony?

DavidC

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:03 | 389484 Leo Kolivakis
Leo Kolivakis's picture

Anyone listen to the douche from Moody's? His testimony is a classic on how to lie with a straight face. Deny, deny, deny!

>>Tyler, can we bump this up to the top?? The Oracle of Omaha is about to answer questions. Angelides is asking good questions.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:08 | 389521 Common_Cents22
Common_Cents22's picture

Buffet looks shaky and nervous.  I hope someone drills him on his moody's position.  Buffet says oh everyone made mistakes in the bubble.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:12 | 389541 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

Everyone is to blame except the 200 fucking whore Congress people who signed off in March of 2007...

Moody's did it... not Freddie and / or Fannie with 200 hundred people signed off with Congress...

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Now multiple by 10 times.... alll those lobby whores on the banking tit, after the bankers feed at the public tax trough...

But Moody's is to blame... really? seriously?

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:26 | 389567 Leo Kolivakis
Leo Kolivakis's picture

Listen to Vice-Chair, Bill Thomas who states: "I am firm believer that behavior has consequences". Buffett is right, there should be huge downside for CEOs and significant for Boards when a financial institution has to get bailed out by the government.

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:25 | 389582 eccitante
eccitante's picture

I am getting real tired of all these "geniuses" using the "no one saw it coming" defense...it is false.  Many saw it (the last financial bubble) coming and quite a few profited....

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 15:20 | 390140 Temporalist
Temporalist's picture

Here is compilation from 2006-2007 of someone on the news that saw what was coming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw

And Dec. 29 2008:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDRImv7Sx1w

 

Gold was $880/oz then...

 

 

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:31 | 389598 ghostpirate
ghostpirate's picture

man, is it just me or does this hearing just straight up suck - a real yawner.  

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:32 | 389601 JW n FL
JW n FL's picture

How in the FUCK! did Moody's get us there?

Bush Pumped the monies into these shity no skin in the game, no money down loans!

Freddie and Fannie and thier army of 200 fucking hundred looby whores signed off on this shit... But Moody's is the cuase becuase of thier ratings?

How about the fact that when the Federal Back Stop Dollars where in fact flowing and supposed to flow until 2007... which was damn sure built into the model... but those dollars where in fact cut short...

So Federal Dollars at 10 to 1 leverage... like teasuries is ok, it makes sense...

Pull the Federal Backstop dollars out of the equation and fuck YEAH! its not AAA... BUT! while the Federal Dollars are in Place... you dont get a safer fucking bet.

December 16, 2003. The American Dream Downpayment Assistance Act authorizes up to $200 million annually for fiscal years 2004 - 2007.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/programs/home/addi/

 

HOME is the largest Federal block grant to State and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households. Each year it allocates approximately $2 billion among the States and hundreds of localities nationwide. The program was designed to reinforce several important values and principles of community development:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/programs/home/

 

Which was part of: HOME is authorized under Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, as amended. Program regulations are at 24 CFR Part 92.

Which Daddy Bush pushed thru...

 

Now, after pumping all of these dollars in... Bush cut funding, never mine the shit head idiot dems v. reps...

When Bush pumped the housing market, with the magic, un-written Federal backstop clause and then cut the funding... all of that 50 to 1 leverage took on a new sheen... 50 to 1 leverage for an ongoing Federal Program, or as I would call it... The big boys feeding from the public trough of tax dollars... was safe, safe enough that how many absolute return funds bought into the rated, magic Federal funded and back stopped debt machine / vehicles? LOTS!

But, when the Federal monies where cut... and the magic backstop was found to be a lie... the domino's fell, one after another...

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 12:34 | 389612 Dr Hackenbush
Dr Hackenbush's picture

So far I'm really enjoying the tone - I always wanted to attend a Berkshire Board meeting. 

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 13:03 | 389716 Trichy
Trichy's picture

Warren "the hypocrite" Buff.

"No one else than me should be allowed to trade derivatives."

 

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 13:35 | 389829 Clampit
Clampit's picture

Warren just admitted to betting on the USG put (to save financial markets), which combined with his previous (lack of) comments on wether or not the world would be a "better" place if investors did their own due diligence, pretty much sums up my expectations of the oligarchy. Your dollars will be invested wisely, without your input, trust us.

Really I don't see how anyone can breath with all the black feathers flying around ...

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 14:08 | 389934 GNH
GNH's picture

From Bloomberg, today:

Buffett has been lowering the stake in New York-based Moody’s in the past year, and said he would have reduced the holding sooner if he anticipated the collapse of the housing market.

“In 2006, I was not sitting there thinking that the housing bubble was going to get as large as it did,” Buffett said. “And if I had, I probably would have sold my stock.”

Really, Warren?  Flashback to 2005:

Legendary investor Warren Buffett sold a Laguna Beach home, then cited the sale as an example of the nation's overheated real estate markets.

In February, the world's second-richest man sold a 51-year-old, two-bedroom, ocean-view house in Laguna's Emerald Bay neighborhood for $3.5 million.

“People go crazy in economics periodically. Residential housing has different behavioral characteristics, simply because people live there. But when you get prices increasing faster than the underlying costs, sometimes there can be pretty serious consequences.”

And some additional 2005 comments from Charles Munger:

"You have a real asset-price bubble in places like parts of California and the suburbs of Washington, D.C."

Warren, either old age is impairing your memory, or you're changing the lyrics to fit the melody. 

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 15:05 | 390104 Temporalist
Temporalist's picture

So Warren Buffett, investing for his whole life, said he believed housing would never drop in price.  What a fucking lying sack of shit!  Some Oracle.  He is more like an Orifice; a bottomless hole of lies.

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