ANOTHER BAILOUT FOR CITIGROUP??

Saudi Prince Is Humbled by Citigroup

Abu Dhabi, has invested around the world, buying a 75% stake in New York's iconic Chrysler Building last summer when oil prices were at their peak and helping to bail out the financial giant Citigroup with $7.5 billion at the end of 2007.

For Prince Walid, the developments at Citigroup are a stinging embarrassment. In November, he made a public splash by increasing his Citigroup stake, thus becoming its largest shareholder when the government carried out its second financial rescue.

But Prince Walid and several other investors from the Middle East and Asia, including the Abu Dhabi investment fund, are now suffering the public embarrassment of seeing their investments in Citigroup evaporate. With their ties to the royal families of their respective countries — Prince Walid is the grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founding king, Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invests the surplus cash of Abu Dhabi’s kingdom — these two investors are among the world’s most influential.

Citigroup is close to a pact to boost the U.S. Government's stake in the failing bank to as much as 40%; Vikram Pandit's job, however, should be safe. [WSJ, NYP]

Well thank goodness Mr. Pandit’s job is safe! But, who are we bailing out here? Citigroup or Abu Dhabi?

Bill

BANK BAILOUTS...

Big bailouts for 'higher-ups' anger left-out middle class
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - ?19 hours ago? The massive government bailouts and Obama's housing rescue plan have stirred passions across the nation as people debate whether such help is necessary or ...

Bank Bailouts and Trust Preferreds: Still Too Much Risk Here
Seeking Alpha - ?5 minutes ago? With the statements and actions of the Fed and Treasury continuing to show favoritism toward maintaining the solvency of financial institutions

Treasury details "stress test" for banks looking for bailouts
Consumer reports - ?Feb 25, 2009? The two-part "Capital Assistance Program" will give banks access to the remainder of the government's $700 billion bailout fund. One part of the plan

Northern Trust under fire for lavish parties
ABC7Chicago.com - ?Feb 24, 2009? Kerry plans to introduce a bill this week to end what he calls extravagant spending practices of banks that receive taxpayer bailouts. ...




“Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of our country and our banking system to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey!"

....Elliott

TORONTO PRESS CONFERENCE

TORONTO PRESS CONFERENCE

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's first foreign trip as president - a down-to-business visit with an essential economic ally, Canada - is light on time but loaded with touchy matters.

Mr. President! Mr. President! “I have a question!”
“Uh, Uh, oh very well, what is your name, newspaper and your question sir?” I don’t believe you are on my posed question list!”
“Joe Schmoo from the Northern Plains Dealer, Mr. President.
In light of the following world news stories, the American people would like to know who is tracking these items in the Administration
and what the plans are to act on them?”

COLOMBO (AFP) — The United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes held talks with leaders in Sri Lanka on Thursday over the fate of thousands of civilians trapped in the island's war zone.

CNN International - 55 minutes ago
(CNN) -- Kyrgyzstan parliament has voted to close a base the US military uses as a route for troops and supplies heading into Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Aljazeera.net - 44 minutes ago
The United States says it plans to press Nato allies to deploy more troops in Afghanistan for securing the troubled country. Speaking ahead of a Nato meeting in Poland starting on Thursday, Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, said Washington was ...

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited a development program in a working-class Jakarta neighborhood and spoke about her decision to work for the man who defeated her for the presidential nomination, on her second day in Indonesia before flying to Seoul. Mrs. Clinton said she put aside the disappointment of the election to take Mr. Obama’s job offer because, she said, “We have so many of the same views of what we should do in the world.”

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea stepped up its war rhetoric Thursday, saying its troops are "fully ready for an all-out confrontation" with South Korea ahead of a visit to Seoul by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

GAZA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces on Thursday wounded and arrested a Palestinian near the border in southeast Gaza Strip, Israeli sources said.

BBC News - 1 hour ago
The leader of the far-right Israeli Yisrael Beiteinu party has said he backs Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next Israeli government.

“Joe, I appreciate your question. Of course this is being watched at all levels of this Administration. While Secretary Clinton, Speaker Pelosi, others, including myself are out of the country at the moment, we are not out of communication. All world situations are being monitored. Having said that, I have to spend the rest of this month curing the problems we have in this country. We have to act now and without hesitation. Once we have these problems solved, we will move onto the rest of the world next month. I hope that answers your question Joe.“ “Thank you!

(Robert, Let’s make sure this guy never gets inside the press room again. Now I have to change)

John Deere Wins New Contract!!!!

Despite the cozy relationship that this Administration has with Caterpillar it has awarded it's first agricultural contract for new machinery to rival John Deere.
In his promise to "work smart and make government work smart", President Obama has chosen John Deere to build new machinery needed for the Tax Stimulus Plan.
"We have had a lot of proposals that involved new design and manufacturing, that would only push up the cost of the equipment needed. The good folks at John Deere have come up with a plan to inexpensively modify an old piece of equipment with readily available parts. This is American ingenuity at work, and the kind of forward thinking all of us need to be doing!"
When asked what he thought of the first test run with the prototype the President stated:
"Actually I just kind of teared up looking at it".

John Deere has renamed it's 1941 Manure and Compost Spreader and promised to retro fit all existing equipment as a way of helping this Administration "Work Smart for the American People".
What we will see with the Tax Stimulus Plan;

Workers who make less than $75,000 a year (or married couples who make $150,000 or less) will receive $400 tax credits in 2009 and 2010. Those who make more will receive reduced amounts. But instead of mailing out checks, as the Bush administration did with its stimulus plan last year, the government will withhold a little less -- leaving average workers with perhaps $8 extra per week.

Health insurance subsidies for the unemployed could also have a direct effect, but even with the federal help many may find it hard to afford continued coverage. Workers who lose their jobs must arrange with their employers to continue the coverage and must pay the premiums themselves -- a hefty outlay even with the government now picking up 65% of the cost for nine months for individuals earning up to $125,000 a year ($250,000 for couples). Of course we have already extended the length of time that benefits can be collected.

The federal government will deliver $54 billion in aid to cash-strapped states, with some of the money available to prop up state budgets, help maintain services and keep employees on the job.

Other money could help keep teachers and day-care workers on the payroll. That alone could save or create hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide, Democrats say.

Counties, cities and municipalities that receive a chunk of stimulus money are expected to green-light so-called shovel-ready projects, using workers and equipment that otherwise might sit idle. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has projected that such projects could yield 1.6 million jobs by the end of next year.

It is pretty obvious that 'creating and saving' jobs means government jobs!

This is known in the business world as more overhead.

Obama sets executive pay limits

Obama Lays Out Limits on Executive Pay

"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste — it’s a bad strategy — and I will not tolerate it as President. We’re going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid — so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won’t find them up to the same old tricks".
--Barack Obama

The plan, which represents the most aggressive assault on executive pay by federal officials, includes salary caps of $500,000 for top executives at firms that accept "extraordinary assistance" from the government.

Sounds good doesn’t it? Let’s punish those bad boys and make ‘em
Hurt! But is there any teeth to this pay cap or is it just empty rhetoric?

Let’s look at how the new plan will affect James Owens, one of the members of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Team.

"The board will be chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Its members include Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and James Owens, chief executive of Caterpillar. Both companies have strong sales around the world, though both are coping with hard times amid the slowing global economy; Caterpillar said last month that it would cut 20,000 jobs".

According to Forbes, this is James Owens compensation package for
2007. Now personally, I don’t care how much any CEO or Executive
Makes. I think that is between them and the shareholders. But, just for the heck of it, let’s see how this ‘salary cap’ will affect him.

$ 1,512,504.00 Salary
$ 300,000.00 Bonus
$ 0.00 Other Annual Compensation
$ 0.00 Long term incentive plan payouts
$ 918,626.00 Restricted stock awards
$ 0.00 Security underlying options
$ 221,307.00 All other compensation
$ 7,136,911.00 Option awards $
$ 4,442,998.00 Non-equity incentive plan compensation
$ 2,575,395.00 Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred
compensation earnings
$17,107,741.00 Total Compensation

So at first glance, it appears that Mr. Owens would lose $1,012,504.00.
Or would he? Might he just put oh, lets say $200,000 into his bonus plan and $800,000
into the item labeled 'Other Annual Compensation'?
Even if he did take the 1 million dollar pay cut, does it really hurt him? Of course not. CEO
salaries are nothing more than 'walking around money, for many of them.
I am all for CHANGE and a better method of doing things,but I firmly believe that I don't appreciate being misled by meaningless DoubleSpeak.

Where's the beef?

Personal Tax Stimulus Plan

2009 STIMULUS PLAN

(FAX OR MAIL TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN)


The Honorable ______________________
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Dear Sir/Madam

As an American tax payer of long standing, I would like to apply for
my own personal bail out program.

I request $1,000,000.00 to be spent over the next 10 years to bring
our economy back to life.

I pledge to use this money exclusively in the following manner.

1. Paying off my home mortgage and all personal bills.

2. Buying new cars, and boats as needed.

3. Travel at will to all possible vacation spots in the United States, only.

4. Diner, dancing, generous tipping and events at the above locations.

5. Golfing, fishing and other recreational passtimes as suits me.

6. Investing 10% up front in a long term mutual fund.

If we can do this for every taxpayer in the U.S. we will all retire and let
others who have not been able to find jobs in their lives take over the
work load.

The purchases and investments will get our troubled economy back on
track and solve the unemployment crisis.


ECONOMIC PROBLEMS SOLVED!!

SIMPLE!