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Geithner out Corzine in?
We had the story about a month ago regarding the future of TSec Tim Geithner. The suggestion was that post a debt ceiling deal good old Tim would be out of a job. That might be in the works.
I’m not sure who to blame for the fiasco in DC the past few weeks. I think a lot of folks have their hands dirty in this mess. But certainly Geithner deserves his share of the blame. Tim is also a vestige from another era. He is as responsible as anyone for TARP. The case for sending him packing is pretty strong.
The question is when, and who will replace him. I found something in a bond offering that gives a clue. I’ve not seen this kind of language before. I think it tells us where this is headed.
MF Global is coming to market with $300mm of senior notes. By itself, this is a routine deal. But this one has some kickers to it that have me scratching my head. Jon Corzine is the CEO over at MF. Jon is ex Goldman and ex governor of NJ. A very powerful guy. He is also a solid Democrat and big supporter of Obama.
There is a unique feature in the MF Global deal. The interest rate on the bonds rise a full one percent if one conditions is met in the future. What is that condition?
The issue carries a notable “key man event” trigger, mandating a 100 bps increase in the interest rate if the company’s chief executive officer, Jon Corzine, is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed for a role in the federal government before July 1, 2013.
Lawyers pore over bond deals. This one is no exception. As part of the due diligence someone must have asked Corzine how long he would be the CEO at MF. His answer must have been, “I’m staying until the President calls me with an offer”. The language in the bond deal has to mean that Corzine is already talking with the White House.
Corzine is a big shot (he had equal responsibilities at Goldie as did Hank Paulson). He would not consider a low level job in DC. So it has to be Tsec that he is after.
Let the dust settle for a month or so on both the debt deal and the MS bond offering and we are going to see a new guy at Treasury. Another Goldmanite. Just what we need….
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""'Crash ' Corzine to replace Turbo Timmy" I love it,
now where can I short some Govvies.!!!!
I've lived in New Jersey all my life ( college years excluded) ..We are a Democrat controlled state from 2000 to 2009 (Corzine was gov from 06 to 09) I watched my property taxes go from 9K to over 22K because our liberal Democrats gave away the state to the urban voters and screwed the suburtbs .Corzine made it his sole agenda to bury the middle class in taxes .....I would not like to see this guy ever be put in a positition of power again ....
2013? I don't think President Paul will be interested in Mister Corzine.
I agree what's interesting is the specificity of the language. I assume that the bondholders want such a provision because Corzine is integral to the future of MF Global. If so, why doesn't a departure trigger a higher interest rate if Corzine leaves MF Global for any other job?
Because they believe he will screw up the bejesus out of Treasury, whereas in the private sector there would be little damage?
his last name sounds like a medicine. (anti-depressant, anti-inflamatory, anti-psychotic, anti-alzheimers, etc...) Coincidence?
It sounds like something that comes in tube and you put it on a baby's ass if the poor little dearie has diaper rash.
Corzine? ...is that what they are now calling the new poison instead of the moral hazard madness they call illiquidity and market watchers call hopium? Fed heads and Treasury trash will call him ''Strychnine'' for kicks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VooYj9WK1A
Will he be required to buckle up once he becomes Treasury Sec?
Great, just what we need. A fucking crook to replace a fucking moron.
Of course: The moron (Geithner) manages not to uncover the looting of the Treasury. The next crook (Corzine) signals a new round of looting.
Or even a crooked moron
.
Apparently there is more to squeeze out of the middle class before we collapse and need a pro for the job.
Whoa! I did NOT expect you...
no one does....
Corzine in would give new meaning to the "crash"
Jonny likes to ride dangerous, with no protection ...
Timmy G is not being replaced due to failing!
He has been a huge success! Now that he has locked in the debt ceiling raise, treasury sales, QE3, etc, his public service stint is over.
Now he can slither back to his bankster hangout and design up some more theft plans for his bosses.
As Milton Friedman pointed out, "do you think American presidents make their appointees on the basis of virtue or their political clout."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
TG & JC both devoid of virtue but at least JC has more political clout. Amercian history, if written accurately, should describe this decade as "Goldman's Whitehouse."
Here's a big reason why the 17th Amendment needs to be repealed.
If Senators were appointed and beholdoing to their respective state legislatures (as in the founders version of the Constitution) instead of being nationally funded, local lowest common denominator beauty contest winners, you could never get a sleazebag like Corzine past the Senate. The Senate would look nothing like it does today.
Same goes for SCOTUS appointments.
This is why the states with big city / LCD populations get to run the country into the ground. Most often, the clowns that win the city dominated popular vote would never see the light of day if the wider state interests were represented.
There was a reason why the 16th (income tax) and 17th Amendments as well as the Federal Reserve Act all happened at the same time.
All of which are why the 17th Amendment et al will never be repealed ... the ship has done sailed.
Corzine of Long Term Capital Management fame? Sure would be interesting to see him and Hank Paulson in the same room together.
Or the same cell.
they shared the same bed for years (figuratively speaking)
i read it was LTCM that got Hank the top job. Could be false of course. Sam Wily's book on "how to take 1,000 dollars and become a billionaire." That's what he did at least. Anywho--things are spiralling out of control are they not? I mean "how 'bout those Yankees!"
d
RE: "I found something in a bond offering that gives a clue. I’ve not seen this kind of language before. I think it tells us where this is headed."
I....I....I
Gee, Bruce, isn't interesting that both WSJ, Reuters and Bloomberg simultaneously "found" the same clause.
Come on, now ... I have the same clause in my Company's bond indentures. That's stuff is boilerplate nowadays. Nothing to see here, so move along.
Didn't see those articles. A friend sent me the info this morning from a WS crib sheet.
Nice catch, Bruce! I wonder if they considered this clause a value-added feature on the bonds--it won't hurt to have the CEO move on to Treasury Sec. Maybe they're just playing off the rumors.
At one time there used to be 'big shots' in my world view...today there are none...
even this guy is just another 'networking' guy..whom everyone( goldman) seems to approve of
case in point: this is exactly why i should be learning the language of bonds...maybe not 'exactly' why, but it's at least ancillary.
BTW, Mr. K et al:
a few months back there was an excellent piece on the old goldman troika (paulson, corzine and i think reuben)...gave you a really clear insight into the personalities that people the posh offices of GS. oh, right, it was in Vanity Fair...if you're interested, I could be persuaded to email you a copy from their archives.
PS hank paulson is a wierd fucker, i'm not sure he's human -- but i cultivate similar doubts about all Christian scientists (since when did faith become emperical, anyway) -- case in point (yes, again), the fish-faced freak thinks he healed himself of cancer...never diagnosed, mind you; all the same, he feels pretty convinced that he had a malignant menace and he's even more convinced that he healed himself of it (i'm not kidding). such is the mind of TARP.
pps, no doubt he's (corzine) the odds on favorite, and has been for a while.
So what the fuck's wrong with healing yourself of something you never had?
Worked, didn't it?
First rule of BondLand is that anybody successful is a fucking Sociopath. (Seriously)
Second, there has never been a Big Time Charley Succcessful PowerHouse Investment Bank that did not have a Serious Big Time Bond Operation.
Go figure.
So, HankiePankie "3 page" (termsheet) Paulson came from and did what, and you think that being a Self Healing Christian Scientist is odd?
Just think of it as the human equivalent of a Self Sealing Spiritual Gas Tank in a Big Mutherfucker Nuclear Bomber about to go Medevial on Some Poor Unknowng Bastard.
Janus, I can help you with this journey of yours.
something tells me that you may be of great assistance. Tell me where to begin.
the dossier on h paulson says:
american golden boy, remarkable for his aversion to all things subtle and beautiful, raised by fellow kooks in the christian science tradition on a farm in illinois, played offensive guard at dartmoth (because dartmoth and brown aggressively recruit boys like paulson -- lacking all wit, sensibility, creativity and ingenuity...high functioning dullards to a man), while he was mostly remembered for an obsession with hygene and a cherished collection of salamanders, paulson managed to squirrl away a few degrees here and there -- salamander freaks are well known for their knack with rote learning and degree getting -- worked his way up through a strategy of unswerving obedience to the commands of his neighbor's parakeet "Bubbles" and a a ruthless disregard for all things he was instructed to disregard. conclusion: paulson is a dangerous freak-o who should be stuffed with thorozine and thalidamide, force-fed cream of corn and exhibited around inner appalachia to sate the curiosity of dead-eyed rubes and various gawkers.
I would have thought Dimon but I suspect you are spot on with Corzine, he has been laying low while Dimon's popularity rivals Lloyd's. He'll have no problem clearing congress as they have demonstrated their willingness to compromise.
TG is feckless, but JC is dangerous.
WTF
Corzine is the man with his hand up Barry's ass. He was the one who got all the Goldman guys to hand over the campaign cash, he was the one who said that Bush was bad for business, and America needed to rebrand itself on the world stage.
I guess he would have come in to government earlier, but needed to keep a distance from the whole "bailout" thing, but honestly, I always felt Timmy was just keeping the seat warm.
And yes, Corzine scares me... a charming, bullying, sociopath.
Another Goldman guy, where’s the originality; where’s the change???
"...where's the change???"
Can't you see it? It's right over there, next to the hope.
... six feet under.
More foxes in the chicken coup.
Its actually chicken coop, though it feels more like a coup.
'cept the chickens are being borrowed from China (and they've got a nasty case of bird flu).
Unbelievable. Isn't he one of many morons responsible for bankrupting New Jersey? Well, all done there why not give him a shot at the whole US economy.
A day after a New Jersey political boss was convicted of corruption, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie's campaign yesterday hammered Gov. Jon Corzine for donating more than $400,000 over the past decade to the crooked power broker's influential organization.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/gop_rival_rips_corzine_donations_FcRg...
Christie on Jon Corzine -- $180 Million Democratic Payoff
http://dailybail.com/home/jon-corzine-is-a-criminal-and-chris-christie-p...
Corzine is being considered for Treasury secretary, two N.J. Dems say Published: Wednesday, November 05, 2008http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/sources_corzine_being_vetted_f....
Sounds like a real "Team Player" to me.
Nice start, but not juicy enough. Try this for the classic Wall Street and Sex pairing:
http://www.nj.com/njvoices/index.ssf/2010/08/corzine_katz_e-mail_coverup_do.html
Also, the NJDEP gave Karla Katz a very special, very difficult to obtain permit to perform construction inside a wetlands buffer at her Alexandria Township home. I'm sure Jon S. Corzine had nothing to do with that... Nothing, I say...
At least he kept it Tribal.
Yes he is... and he is corrupt, sleazy, vindictive, nepotistic, and exactly the type of trash that O would have at his side.
Another nail in America's coffin.