Federal Reserve and Bank of America Initiate a Coup to Dump Billions of Dollars of Losses on the American Taxpayer

Bloomberg reports that Bank of America is dumping derivatives onto a subsidiary which is insured by the government – i.e. taxpayers.

Yves Smith notes:

If you have any doubt that Bank of America is going down, this development should settle it …. Both [professor of economics and law, and former head S&L prosecutor] Bill Black (who I interviewed just now) and I see this as a desperate move by Bank of America’s management, a de facto admission that they know the bank is in serious trouble.

The short form via Bloomberg:

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), hit by a credit downgrade last month, has moved derivatives from its Merrill Lynch unit to a subsidiary flush with insured deposits, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation…

Bank of America’s holding company — the parent of both the retail bank and the Merrill Lynch securities unit — held almost $75 trillion of derivatives at the end of June, according to data compiled by the OCC. About $53 trillion, or 71 percent, were within Bank of America NA, according to the data, which represent the notional values of the trades.

That compares with JPMorgan’s deposit-taking entity, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, which contained 99 percent of the New York-based firm’s $79 trillion of notional derivatives, the OCC data show.

Now you would expect this move to be driven by adverse selection, that it, that BofA would move its WORST derivatives, that is, the ones that were riskiest or otherwise had high collateral posting requirements, to the sub. Bill Black confirmed that even though the details were sketchy, this is precisely what took place.

And remember, as we have indicated, there are some “derivatives” that should be eliminated, period. We’ve written repeatedly about credit default swaps, which have virtually no legitimate economic uses (no one was complaining about the illiquidity of corporate bonds prior to the introduction of CDS; this was not a perceived need among investors). They are an inherently defective product, since there is no way to margin adequately for “jump to default” risk and have the product be viable economically. CDS are systematically underpriced insurance, with insurers guaranteed to go bust periodically, as AIG and the monolines demonstrated. [Background.]

The reason that commentators like Chris Whalen were relatively sanguine about Bank of America likely becoming insolvent as a result of eventual mortgage and other litigation losses is that it would be a holding company bankruptcy. The operating units, most importantly, the banks, would not be affected and could be spun out to a new entity or sold. Shareholders would be wiped out and holding company creditors (most important, bondholders) would take a hit by having their debt haircut and partly converted to equity.

This changes the picture completely. This move reflects either criminal incompetence or abject corruption by the Fed. Even though I’ve expressed my doubts as to whether Dodd Frank resolutions will work, dumping derivatives into depositaries pretty much guarantees a Dodd Frank resolution will fail. Remember the effect of the 2005 bankruptcy law revisions: derivatives counterparties are first in line, they get to grab assets first and leave everyone else to scramble for crumbs. [Background.] So this move amounts to a direct transfer from derivatives counterparties of Merrill to the taxpayer, via the FDIC, which would have to make depositors whole after derivatives counterparties grabbed collateral. It’s well nigh impossible to have an orderly wind down in this scenario. You have a derivatives counterparty land grab and an abrupt insolvency. Lehman failed over a weekend after JP Morgan grabbed collateral.

But it’s even worse than that. During the savings & loan crisis, the FDIC did not have enough in deposit insurance receipts to pay for the Resolution Trust Corporation wind-down vehicle. It had to get more funding from Congress. This move paves the way for another TARP-style shakedown of taxpayers, this time to save depositors. No Congressman would dare vote against that. This move is Machiavellian, and just plain evil.

The FDIC is understandably ripshit. Again from Bloomberg:

The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. disagree over the transfers, which are being requested by counterparties, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The Fed has signaled that it favors moving the derivatives to give relief to the bank holding company, while the FDIC, which would have to pay off depositors in the event of a bank failure, is objecting, said the people. The bank doesn’t believe regulatory approval is needed, said people with knowledge of its position.

Well OF COURSE BofA is gonna try to take the position this is kosher, but the FDIC can and must reject this brazen move. But this is a bit of a fait accompli,and I have NO doubt BofA and the craven, corrupt Fed will argue that moving the derivatives back will upset the markets. Well too bad, maybe it’s time banks learn they can no longer run roughshod over regulators. And if BofA is at that much risk that it can’t survive undoing this brazen move, that would seem to be prima facie evidence that a Dodd Frank resolution is in order.

Bill Black said that the Bloomberg editors toned down his remarks considerably. He said, “Any competent regulator would respond: “No, Hell NO!” It’s time that the public also say no, and loudly, to this new scheme to loot taxpayers and save a criminally destructive bank.

Professor Black provided a “bottom line” summary in a separate email:

1.The bank holding company (BAC) is moving troubled assets held by an entity not insured by the public (Merrill Lynch)  to the Bank of America, which is insured by the public

2. The banking rules are designed to prevent that because they are designed to protect the FDIC insurance fund (which the Treasury guarantees)

3. Any marginally competent regulator would say “No, Hell NO!”

4. The Fed, reportedly, is saying “Sure, no worries” by allowing the sale of an affiliate’s troubled assets to B of A

5. This is a really good “natural experiment” that allows us to test whether the Fed is protects the public or the uninsured and systemically dangerous institutions (the bank holding companies (BHCs))

6. We are all shocked, shocked [sarcasm] that Bernanke responded to the experiment by choosing to protect the BHC at the expense of the public.

Karl Denninger writes:

So let’s see what we have here.

Bank customer initiates a swap position with Bank.  In doing so they intentionally accept the credit risk of the institution they trade with.

Later they get antsy about perhaps not getting paid.  Bank then shifts that risk to a place where people who deposited their money and had no part of this transaction wind up backstopping it.

This effectively makes the depositor the “guarantor” of the swap ex-post-facto.

That the regulators are allowing this is an outrage.

If you’re a Bank of America customer and continue to be one you deserve whatever you get down the line, whether it comes in the form of higher fees and costs assessed upon you or something worse.

STAND UP TO THE COUP

Bank of America has repeatedly become insolvent due to fraud and risky bets, and repeatedly been bailed out by the government and American people. The government and banks are engineering an age of permanent bailouts for this insolvent, criminal bank (and the other too big to fails).  Remember, this is the same bank that is refusing to let people close their accounts.

This is yet another joint effort by Washington and Wall Street to screw the American people, and to trample on the rule of law.

The American people will be stuck in nightmare of a never-ending depression (yes, we are currently in a depression) and fascism (or socialism, if you prefer that term) unless we stand up to the overly-powerful Fed and the too big to fail banks.

Comments

[AldousHuxley]

Nassim Taleb's Marc Faberishly humorous quotes highlighted:

OBAMA

• "[Obama] administration seems to be completely impervious to any rational behavior concerning the crisis"

BANKING

• "Banks have made 2.2T past 5 years. It is a business that doesn't make money. And projected 5T next 10 years....It is tax on citizens"
• "You make money, you keep it. You lose money, society backs you up. It doesn't exist in any other world."
• "You need something to break the bank cartel for the sake of the financial industry"
• "Banks have been able to hide their real economic P&L...Banks are in a busines of hiding risk"
• "We are serving them [banks], rather than them serving us"
• "Banks have never made money in the history of banking"
• "They themselves don't know what risks they have"

ECONOMIC SYSTEM

• "The system we have now is not a normal economic system"
• "We are not living in capitalism, we are not living in socialism, we are living in some weird combination with a cartel"
• "Capitalism is about incentives, but also disincentives"

FED

• "Federal Reserve policy is there to help the banks."

BANK BONUSES

• "They caused the crisis, we know that. Last year, they had a record bonus. This is not something that is rational"
• "They are hijacking the American economy then saying that you need to pay us bonuses'"
• "The core of this situation is a problem concerning bank compensation"
• "The only information you get from bank earnings is the compensation. Only valuable information you can get from [bank earnings] is how much they pay themselves"
• "Anything above zero is too much money....if we bail you out, you should not be paid a bonus"
• "If you are a banker, and we will bail you someday, then you cannot earn more than a civil servant of a corresponding rank"

GREECE

• "European banks don't mark Greece at what it should be marked at"

[whisperin]

All Ms. Bair needs to do is send a note BoA saying if the position isn't reversed by 4:00pm today the bank will be placed into receivership. It's time to call the Bernak's bluff. Sheila grow a pair and make our day!!!

[AldousHuxley]

She probably has an account with Bank of America, and they told her they won't let her close her account.

"You can't be a protest and a customer"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK0O30aFT7g&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtI85Zc6Oik&feature=player_embedded

Dumbass retail bank branch managers. OWS Bank Transfer Day November 5th.

http://www.facebook.com/Nov.Fifth

At least transfer the money out to your broker account that day and short BAC/buy GLD.

After all, Sheila Bair is FDIC chair working for big banks. Your local credit union is insured under NCUA which also has failures.

If you really want to punish banks, check out the only SOCIALIST Bank in America: state owned Bank of North Dakota

North Dakota is the only state to be in continuous budget surplus since the banking crisis of 2008. Its balance sheet is so strong that it recently reduced individual income taxes and property taxes by a combined $400 million, and is debating further cuts. It also has the lowest foreclosure rate and lowest credit card default rate in the country, and it has had NO bank failures in at least the last decade. During the last decade, the bank funneled almost $300 million in profits to North Dakota's treasury.

Founded in 1915 by A.C. Townley, who became a Socialist Party organizer after he went broke raising flax in western North Dakota, the NPL advocated state-owned banks to provide low-interest farm loans, along with state flour mills, grain elevators, meatpacking houses and hail insurance.

Supporters gained control of the legislature and the governorship within five years.

[AldousHuxley]

Eric Hardmeyer with just good old-fashioned common sense.

Born and raised in ND, graduated from University of ND, President of Bank of North Dakota, bank employee since 1985!

It was created 90 years ago, in 1919, as a populist movement swept the northern plains. Basically it was a very angry movement by a large group of the agrarian sector that was upset by decisions that were being made in the eastern New York, deciding who got credit and how to market their goods. So it swept the northern plains.

In North Dakota the movement was called the Nonpartisan League, and they actually took control of the legislature and created what was called an industrial program, which created both the Bank of North Dakota as a financing arm and a state-owned mill and elevator to market and buy the grain from the farme

We didn’t do any subprime lending and we have the ability to get into the derivatives markets and put on swaps and callers and caps and credit default swaps and just chose not to do it, really chose a Warren Buffett mentality—if we don’t understand it, we’re not going to jump into it. And so we’ve avoided all those pitfalls.

over the last 10, 12 years, we’ve turned back a third of a billion dollars just to the general fund to offset taxes or to aid in funding public sector types of needs.

The State of North Dakota does not have any funding issues at all. We in fact are dealing with the largest surplus we’ve ever had. So our concern is how do we spend it wisely and make sure we save it for the future.We’re a little bit of an island here, and so we look around and we say boy that is unbelievable to see what is going on in the rest of the country and here we are completely countercyclical.

It’s funny, because North Dakota is traditionally a red state and yet you have these institutions—some people might say they’re socialist.

We’ve never been a bank that tries to hit home runs. That’s not what we’re all about. We have a specific mission which is more important. Most corporations and banks, their top priority is to maximize shareholder return. And that is a nice byproduct for us because we do have a nice return—an NROA [return on net operating assets] of 2, a ROE [return on equity] of 25, 26 percent. But really where we take the most satisfaction is making sure we meet the needs of the state and finance those types of things that make our state go forward.

All this for only $120,000 salary for this bank president which one tenth of what John thain spent on his office decor.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2010/02/16/2011099316.jpg

However, such democracy seems to work only in smaller states like ND

[El Yunque]

Crew member to Chad: "You think I should go get some more Barabond?"

Chad: "Nope, that was one more big goddamn iceburg...put that shit away. Jimmy's gonna need it to get to Homestead."

Crew member: "But what about the USS Bank of America?"

Chad: "She's going to the bottom and Captain Ben is riding her down..."

Crew member: "But but but..."

Chad: "Forget about it, they'll build a bigger one, with more little dingy's...no worries...Ben will be back, they always come back.."

[monopoly]

Zerohenge, what country are you from? With a post like that you obviously know little about America, its financial system and the fraud that has permeated the entire spectrum of financial investing since the early 1980s.

[PAPA ROACH]

Yep, Bush senior called it "voodoo economics" when he was debating Reagan, and every politician since has kept the voodoo going. Now the fucking bill is due.

[AldousHuxley]

voodoo death :

sudden death as brought about by a strong emotional shock, such as fear.

fear is alive an well on wall st

[blindman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpty_Dumpty
.
.
where does the taxpayer get rewarded for taking on this risk?
or even get consulted as to whether he/she wants to take on
the risk? did i say taxpayer? soon there won't be any left!
.
"In Through the Looking-Glass
.
Humpty Dumpty and Alice. From Through the Looking-Glass. Illustration by John Tenniel.
Humpty appears in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1872), where he discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’ ” Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’ ”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master that’s all.”
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. “They’ve a temper, some of them—particularly verbs, they’re the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs—however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That’s what I say!”[15]
............................................................
This passage was used in Britain by Lord Atkin and in his dissenting judgement in the seminal case Liversidge v. Anderson (1942), where he protested about the distortion of a statute by the majority of the House of Lords.[16] It also became a popular citation in United States legal opinions, appearing in 250 judicial decisions in the Westlaw database as of April 19, 2008, including two Supreme Court cases (TVA v. Hill and Zschernig v. Miller).[17]

It has been suggested that Carroll's Humpty Dumpty had prosopagnosia on the basis of his description of his finding faces hard to recognize.
............................................................
“The face is what one goes by, generally,” Alice remarked in a thoughtful tone.
“That’s just what I complain of,” said Humpty Dumpty. “Your face is the same as everybody has—the two eyes, so ” (marking their places in the air with his thumb) “nose in the middle, mouth under. It’s always the same. Now if you had the two eyes on the same side of the nose, for instance—or the mouth at the top—that would be some help.”[18]
"

[Bansters-in-my-...]

Zer0henge...

You are one serious Fuck-Tard.

[Bansters-in-my-...]

One word to the American taxpayers......

                                     Suckers

[J U D G E M E N T]

If that is the case, then we need to know what the institution (subsidiary) is and

get the people informed.  Have them pull all their deposits out now.

Maybe they will change their minds

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reason that commentators like Chris Whalen were relatively sanguine about

Bank of America likely becoming insolvent as a result of eventual mortgage and

other litigation losses is that it would be a holding company bankruptcy. The operating

units, most importantly, the banks, would not be affected and could be spun out to a

new entity or sold.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This sounds just like the WAMU deal....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re a Bank of America customer and continue to be one you deserve whatever you

get down the line, whether it comes in the form of higher fees and costs assessed upon

you or something worse.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OMG, dont say that.  Those people dont even know what is happening!

Thats propbably what they are counting on. Instead of slamming them

get the word out to all the people you know that are with BOA!

[SpeakerFTD]

Hello, OWS:

Drop the student loan nonsense, the union nonsense, the 99% nonsense, and all the other issues.  Focus on this story.

The American public doesn't know what to make of your protest.  On one hand, they feel simpatico for your anger at Wall Street.  On the other hand, they see some pretty bad behavior and hear a cacophony of other issues announced alongside your anger at Wall Street and wonder if this is all just a lamer, less fun rehash of Woodstock.  

This story could be your rallying cry.   It's not "old news", however valid, like the last round of bailouts.   It is a chance for you to be the vanguard in defending the American public from another round of theft.    You have been presented with a gift-wrapped, real-time crime against the people, one that can be explained to them in relatively straightforward terms (as in less than sixty seconds).   Use it.   If you can focus all your energy and communications to educate the public about this crime, and then further, demonstrate to the people that, unlike the media, Congress or other public entities, you are willing to fight the good fight, you can galvanize the passions of a huge swath of the American public.   Use your creativity, your energy, and perhaps some animated bears, and take this to the suburbs.   This could be your tipping point.

Or you can continue down your current path, as a sideshow, a freakshow, a platform for the latest leftist leader to make outrageous statements to a chorus of cheers, even as the average American turns against you.   Continue down that path, and you will either be the frontline cannon fodder for an orchestrated riot or a curious, irrelevant footnote.    

OWS, you are in the right place at the right time to expose a pack of criminals red-handed.  Don't squander it.

[Eeyores Enigma]

SpeakerFTD - The only problem with your comment is that we would need to have a representative government to petition our grievances to.

WE DON'T

Government represents the 1%.

This is what the Occupy movement is all about...get it?

...and the Arab Spring, and the Indignant's, and....

[sasebo]

Anybody that's got money in BAC is a stupid asshole. 

[iNull]

Bank of American Prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkymTQysNg

[Buzz Wired]

If anyone at the FDIC has any balls, they should declare BAC insolvent now and seize the bank now. Total BS if this is allowed to actually happen.

[iDealMeat]

Bank of America Corporation

Directors As of 10-10-11

Charles O. Holliday, Jr., (63) Chairman of the Board, Bank of America Corporation

Mukesh D. Ambani, (54) Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd.

Susan S. Bies, (64) Former Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Frank P. Bramble, Sr. (63) Former Executive Officer, MBNA Corporation

Virgis W. Colbert, (72) Senior Advisor, MillerCoors Company

Charles K. Gifford, (68) Former Chairman, Bank of America Corporation

D. Paul Jones, Jr., (69) Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Compass Bancshares, Inc.

Monica C. Lozano, (55) Chief Executive Officer, ImpreMedia, LLC

Thomas J. May, (64) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, NSTAR

Brian T. Moynihan, (51) Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Donald E. Powell, (70) Former Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Charles O. Rossotti, (70) Senior Advisor, The Carlyle Group

Robert W. Scully, (61) Former Member of the Office of the Chairman, Morgan Stanley

Officers:

Brian T. Moynihan Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Catherine P. Bessant Global Technology and Operations Executive, Bank of America Corporation

David C. Darnell Co-Chief Operating Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Anne M. Finucane Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Charles O. Holliday, Jr. Chairman, Board of Directors, Bank of America Corporation

Christine P. Katziff Corporate General Auditor, Bank of America Corporation

Terry P. Laughlin Chief Risk Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Gary G. Lynch Global Chief of Legal, Compliance, and Regulatory Relations, Bank of America Corporation

Thomas K. Montag Co-Chief Operating Officer, Bank of America Corporation

Charles H. Noski Vice Chairman, Bank of America Corporation

Andrea B. Smith Global Head of Human Resources, Bank of America Corporation

Ron D. Sturzenegger Legacy Asset Servicing Executive, Bank of America Corporation

Bruce R. Thompson Chief Financial Officer, Bank of America Corporation

[FEDbuster]

Home addresses?

[blueridgeviews]

Who's in charge of enforcing laws on banks/financial institutions?

[Bob]

Yes, that would be most notably the Fed and the FDIC. 

[Money 4 Nothing]

I think they fall under the "No Adult Supervision" clause of the Dodd Frank Bill.

[The Big Ching-aso]

If the FDIC lets this happen and things go south onto backs of depositors then all banking system-wide hell's going to break loose.   Thus, this won't be allowed to happen IMO.   In fact, I would say that the first TBTF bank that does grenade will be the most fortunate.   Every other TBTF will be a different story.

Not defending BAC here mind you.   Just that the first to bleed will be considered the most in need.   What that'll leave for the rest is another story.

[Problem Is]

+5... Correct analysis GW...

But keep in mind this is just part of the Obama Bin Lyin' Economic Recovery Plan... No Bankster Left Behind.

Back Door TARP: TBTF Derivative Losses Covered by Depositors Backstopped by Tax Payers
This latest Obummer administration program, "Bailout My Bonus!" is a win, win for Wall Street and CREEP -- Committee to RE-Elect the President 2012, run by Ass-Hole Axelrod...

Occupy Wall Street: Want Something to Protest?
The Obummer brain trust thinks they can slip this one right by the ignorant Amerikan public and no one will notice until after election day...

[xtop23]

 Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.

 Bitchez

[MFL8240]

And this explains why the scumbag Buffett invested 5 Billion dollars in Bank of America, to try and F-ck the American people one more time.

[Spigot]

Ah! I see that Uncle Waren is party to derivatives with BOA and wants to be first in line on the payout when they blow up. Only cost him $5 billion. Must be at least a 10 banger on that for him, huh? Yep. Smart guy that Waren.

[Problem Is]

Senile Oracle of Omaha... Meet pitch fork and torch...

BTW: Senile Fuckin' Uncle Warren...

When the bell tolls for thee... Charlie Munger says to "suck it up" bitch...

[catch edge ghost]

If a bank was trying to go under, it could not be doing a better job. 

BAC is a controlled demolition.

[Money 4 Nothing]

Yes! exactly! I wrote a report on BAC 4 weeks ago becuse I was clued into where all the toxic paper went. The banksters got together and Brian was complaining that Goldman Slacks got 100 cents on the dollar and JP Morgue struck a similar deal. So, sitting in a room negotiating of how too off load toxic assests, just sell it to the dumbest guy in the room, right? No, offload it all into the worst bank and wire the building. Ahh Capitalism at it's best. Sad. Kinda like erasing alot of bad debt, offload it to the citizens and we should be all good right? I think the FDIC may have the last word, but I'm not hanging my hopes on it.

[in4mayshun]

Uhh, how do you figure this is Capitalism? It really gets tiresome trying to educate people about the difference between Socialism/Fascism and true Capitalism. Calling our economy Capitalism is like calling Fast & Furious patriotic.

[DosZap]

in4mayshun

Calling our economy Capitalism is like calling Fast & Furious patriotic.

Or LEGAL.

It really gets tiresome trying to educate people about the difference between Socialism/Fascism and true Capitalism

It's really easy just go to the little search box top RH corner, and type in Fascism/Socialism/Communism/Capitalism, and you get easy explanations.

But you really do not have to go there, soft Fascism covers it easily.

[Money 4 Nothing]

I was being sarcastic with my "Capitalism" remark, I will tag it in the future.

[Seasmoke]

BAC is Building 7

[DaveyJones]

Black for some time now is some of the strongest proof how low our country and government has sunk in just two decades. Once the top S&L prosecutor, now silenced in the mainstream and crying out how worse these criminals are 

[Kina]

Could somebody please take Bank Of America out the back and bury it. The smell is awful.

[YesWeKahn]

Bernanke is enemy of people. Put him where he really belongs.

[Diamond Jim]

What we need is a futures contract for handcuffs. No company is too big to fail...Commandment 1...Handbook to Capitalism.

[iNull]

It's not just BAC but the entire capitalist system that is coming to an end. Of course we are going to play a viscous game of musical chairs where the loser holds the bag. Neither you George, nor most of the people reading this post, should consider that unexpected.

What we call "capitalism" is more aptly described as a fetishistic cargo cult of product consumerism combined with massive concomitant waste. Only a blind, stupid and greedy culture would for a minute fail to see such as system as ultimately self-destructive and highly ephemeral.

Oh yeah, I forgot. I have seen the enemy and it's us.

[Forgiven]

This is yet another sign the criminal cabal in control of the Fed needs to be purged.

(That Fitness Singles chick keeps looking at me so wantingly....Can't she see I'm married?!  Call me at work.)

[kito]

HEY GEORGE--I TRIED LINKING TO YOUR SITE AND GOOGLE WONT LET ME. SAYS THERE IS MALWARE IN YOUR BLOG. JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE HEADS UP TO THE TECHNICAL GLITCH

[Bob]

My anti-virus told me the same thing a few days ago. 

[Problem Is]

The Empire strikes back via NSA-Google with the usual disinformation...

Short the bitches at NSA-Google...

[ilene]

I got that message too, yesterday or the day before, and also got the same message on several other blogs.  Very weird, and today, I didn't have the problem. 

[Atlas Shrugging]

What an exciting time to be alive!  Shit's gonna happen and we have a front row seat!!!!!!

[TheMerryPrankster]

Make sure you wear a rain coat. Shit splatters, its worse than a Gallagher concert when he brings out the watermelons.

[FEDbuster]

I would suggest a Kevlar vest with a ceramic plates instead.

[zorba THE GREEK]

If by some miraculous turn of events, the 75 trillion dollar derivative gamble that BAC took

makes the bank a 20% profit on the total amount, BAC could pay off the national debt and

become the country's hero. 

[Dr Bob]

+1, cheers

[Fred Hayek]

Good work George and Yves and Karl.
This crap cannot be allowed to stand.
Take BofA into receivership now. Shitcan all upper management and go Sarbanes-Oxley medieval on their asses.

We need a banking system. We need banks but not these specific banks.