After spending almost $170 billion to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Congress is upset after finding out the 12 executives have received over $35 million in salary, compensation and bonuses in two years.
While oil executives are crucified in committee hearings and CEOs scolded for using private jets, executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while losing billions quarter after quarter, are allowed to receive bonus for work that is mediocre at best.
To top that off, both organizations are now asking for an additional $13 billion in government handouts.
When AIG was paying large bonuses to its executives, President Obama, in a 60 Minutes interview, said, "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of, you know, fat cat bankers on Wall Street."
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Greece, Italy and now Spain
Spain will be paying its highest cost of borrowing since the creation of the euro. It will be selling its 10-year debt starting on Thursday as the the European sovereign debt crisis deepens and intensifies.
Spain's Treasury will be selling between 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) and 4 billion euros of a new 10-year benchmark bond that will take its 2011 borrowing to almost 90% of the targeted amount.
Fears of US banks and their exposure, sent the US stock markets down. The Dow Jones Industrial Averages dropped almost 191 points while the NASDAQ shed almost 47 points. The fear that the European debt crisis is not contained and may seep its way into other global economies is mounting.
Although the financial sector of the markets took the worst hit, all sectors suffered as well. All of the thirty blue chip stocks ended the day in the red except of 3M, which was unchanged.
The Bank of England, fearing the failure of policymakers to reach an effective solution to the European debt crisis, slashed its near-term growth outlook and inflation expectations.
Spain's Treasury will be selling between 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) and 4 billion euros of a new 10-year benchmark bond that will take its 2011 borrowing to almost 90% of the targeted amount.
Fears of US banks and their exposure, sent the US stock markets down. The Dow Jones Industrial Averages dropped almost 191 points while the NASDAQ shed almost 47 points. The fear that the European debt crisis is not contained and may seep its way into other global economies is mounting.
Although the financial sector of the markets took the worst hit, all sectors suffered as well. All of the thirty blue chip stocks ended the day in the red except of 3M, which was unchanged.
The Bank of England, fearing the failure of policymakers to reach an effective solution to the European debt crisis, slashed its near-term growth outlook and inflation expectations.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
School Counselor in San Antonio, TX Arrested for "Sexting" Nude Pictures of Herself to a 15-Year-Old Boy
Cynthia Stewart, a 43-year-old Olympia Elementary School counselor, has been arrested and accused of texting a 15-year-old boy and sending him nude pictures of herself. She is charged with receipt of child pornography and solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct.
Stewart was arrested after the boy's parents found correspondence between her and the boy. The correspondence included more than 20 nude photographs of her.
According to Stewart's professional profile on the school website, Stewart is married with an 8-year-old child.
Stewart was arrested after the boy's parents found correspondence between her and the boy. The correspondence included more than 20 nude photographs of her.
According to Stewart's professional profile on the school website, Stewart is married with an 8-year-old child.
Who is the Largest Holder of US Government Debt?
If you guessed that China is the largest holder of US Government debt, you would be wrong. The largest holder is the Federal Reserve.
In its latest monthly report, the Federal Reserve said that it owned $1.665 trillion in US Treasury securities as of September 28, 2011. That is more than double what it owned a year ago.
China owns $1.1483 trillion in US Treasury securities according to the data published today by the US Treasury Department. Last year, China owned about $339.9 billion more in US Treasury securities than the Federal Reserve at that time. Now, the Federal Reserve owns about $516.7 billion more than China.
In its latest monthly report, the Federal Reserve said that it owned $1.665 trillion in US Treasury securities as of September 28, 2011. That is more than double what it owned a year ago.
China owns $1.1483 trillion in US Treasury securities according to the data published today by the US Treasury Department. Last year, China owned about $339.9 billion more in US Treasury securities than the Federal Reserve at that time. Now, the Federal Reserve owns about $516.7 billion more than China.
US National Debt Hits $15 Trillion
Although few will be celebrating this new staggering figure, the US national debt hits $15 trillion as of the close of business Tuesday.
The national debt has risen $4.41 trillion since President Obama took office and is nearly triple the size of the debt when President George W. Bush took office in 2001.
After the reaching a debt deal during the summer, the federal government can only sustain a total of $15.194 trillion of debt. Given that, President Obama will need to ask Congress to borrow more money.
China's largest credit ratings company, Dagong Global Credit Rating, has already stated that it might downgrade the US credit rating again due to its debt and "addiction" to credit.
The debt now is nearly equal to the project US gross domestic product for 2011.
The national debt has risen $4.41 trillion since President Obama took office and is nearly triple the size of the debt when President George W. Bush took office in 2001.
After the reaching a debt deal during the summer, the federal government can only sustain a total of $15.194 trillion of debt. Given that, President Obama will need to ask Congress to borrow more money.
China's largest credit ratings company, Dagong Global Credit Rating, has already stated that it might downgrade the US credit rating again due to its debt and "addiction" to credit.
The debt now is nearly equal to the project US gross domestic product for 2011.
"Occupy Wall Street" Protesters Planning a "National Day of Direct Action" for Thursday
"Occupy Wall Street" protesters, after losing their camp in Zuccotti Park in New York City, are planning to shut down Wall Street by staging a mass demonstration. This mass demonstration is being called a "national day of direct action" and the protesters are planning on Thursday, November 17th.
They will start at 7AM in Liberty Square to "put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror".
After that, the protesters will fan out into all five New York city boroughs in what is being called "Occupy the Subways". The plan is for the protesters to occupy 16 subway stations in order to take the message to the trains.
Finally, they will go to Foley Square and then march to the Brooklyn Bridge to mark the second month of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests.
According to their website, other days of direct action are being planned in other cities around the US and the world.
Other protesters have different ideas about Thursday. In one YouTube video, a protester said, "On the 17th, we’re going to burn New York City to the ground.”
Later in the video, the protest said, "No more talking. They’ve got guns, we’ve got bottles. They’ve got bricks, we’ve got rocks…in a few days you’re going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy’s."
They will start at 7AM in Liberty Square to "put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror".
After that, the protesters will fan out into all five New York city boroughs in what is being called "Occupy the Subways". The plan is for the protesters to occupy 16 subway stations in order to take the message to the trains.
Finally, they will go to Foley Square and then march to the Brooklyn Bridge to mark the second month of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests.
According to their website, other days of direct action are being planned in other cities around the US and the world.
Other protesters have different ideas about Thursday. In one YouTube video, a protester said, "On the 17th, we’re going to burn New York City to the ground.”
Later in the video, the protest said, "No more talking. They’ve got guns, we’ve got bottles. They’ve got bricks, we’ve got rocks…in a few days you’re going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy’s."
Postal Service Ends Fiscal Year 2011 with $5.1 Billion Loss
The U.S. Postal Service ended its 2011 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2010 – Sept. 30, 2011) with a net loss of $5.1 billion. The year-end loss would have been approximately $10.6 billion had it not been for passage of legislation that postponed a congressionally mandated payment of $5.5 billion to pre-fund retiree health benefits.
Total 2011 mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7 percent, from 2010. The Postal Service’s largest and most profitable product, First-Class Mail, continued its year-over-year decline, from $34.2 billion in 2010 to $32.2 billion in 2011 (5.8 percent), which dwarfed continued growth in its more competitive products, packages and Standard Mail.
USPS Shipping Services revenue, which includes Priority Mail and Express Mail, increased $530 million in 2011 (6.3 percent). The increase in Shipping Services revenue was driven by strong growth in the Parcel Select and Parcel Return Services, due to increased mailings of packages, as customers continued to use the Internet more often to purchase products. Revenue from Standard Mail increased by $495 million (2.9 percent) on a volume increase of 2 billion pieces (2.6 percent).
“The Postal Service can become profitable again if Congress passes comprehensive legislation to provide us with a more flexible business model so we can respond better to a changing marketplace,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe. “To return to profitability we must reduce our annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015. We continue to take aggressive cost-cutting actions in areas under our control and urgently need Congress to do its part to get us the rest of the way there.”
Donahoe warned that losses will only accelerate in the coming year. He asked Congress to take swift action to stabilize the troubled agency by paying the $5.5 billion dollars into the U.S. Treasury for future retiree health benefits. The deadline for that payment is Friday.
Other 2011 financial results include:
“The continuing and inevitable electronic migration of First-Class Mail, which provides approximately 49 percent of our revenue, underscores the need to streamline our infrastructure and make changes to our business model,” said Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett. “Since peaking at 213 billion pieces in 2006, our volume has continued to decline each year.”
Total 2011 mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7 percent, from 2010. The Postal Service’s largest and most profitable product, First-Class Mail, continued its year-over-year decline, from $34.2 billion in 2010 to $32.2 billion in 2011 (5.8 percent), which dwarfed continued growth in its more competitive products, packages and Standard Mail.
USPS Shipping Services revenue, which includes Priority Mail and Express Mail, increased $530 million in 2011 (6.3 percent). The increase in Shipping Services revenue was driven by strong growth in the Parcel Select and Parcel Return Services, due to increased mailings of packages, as customers continued to use the Internet more often to purchase products. Revenue from Standard Mail increased by $495 million (2.9 percent) on a volume increase of 2 billion pieces (2.6 percent).
“The Postal Service can become profitable again if Congress passes comprehensive legislation to provide us with a more flexible business model so we can respond better to a changing marketplace,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe. “To return to profitability we must reduce our annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015. We continue to take aggressive cost-cutting actions in areas under our control and urgently need Congress to do its part to get us the rest of the way there.”
Donahoe warned that losses will only accelerate in the coming year. He asked Congress to take swift action to stabilize the troubled agency by paying the $5.5 billion dollars into the U.S. Treasury for future retiree health benefits. The deadline for that payment is Friday.
Other 2011 financial results include:
- Operating revenue of $65.7 billion compared to $67.1 billion the year before
- Operating expenses of $70.6 billion compared to $75.4 in 2010
- The retiree health benefit pre-funding payment postponed by Congress and the President is now due by Nov. 18. Unless additional legislation is enacted, the Postal Service will be forced to default on this payment.
“The continuing and inevitable electronic migration of First-Class Mail, which provides approximately 49 percent of our revenue, underscores the need to streamline our infrastructure and make changes to our business model,” said Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett. “Since peaking at 213 billion pieces in 2006, our volume has continued to decline each year.”
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