These "Stress Tests" Are Such Horse ****

[DanS]

What a farce. It has been announced that no banks have failed the stress tests.

This means that the tests weren't stressful at all. Rather, they are a political pretext to investing more government money in the banks. This is all written in plain text in the Washington Post directly from the Administration's mouths.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/14/AR2009041403488.html?hpid=topnews

Some banks don't need the money (Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs) while others have a bottomless pit where all money goes to die (Citibank, Bank of America). Those who don't need the money are doing all that they can not to participate in this charade. Citibank and Bank of America need to be put on a course to wind down their operations. Simple as that. And screw their bondholders and off-balance sheet participants. They should get nothing.

You would think that we learned lessons from Japan.

[Asher]

"Stress Tests" give me nightmares. But different kinds than the types here.

They cause **** to break.

[SlowwHand]

Piglets.

[Japher]

I have BAC at $6.50, should have sold at $11.50. Still, I want to hold until they release earnings. Then they can die.

[KrazyHorse]

Lolz at Japher not realizing his profit when he had the chance.

[Japher]

I still have profit and not realizing it. I'm a greedy person who invests for the long run. I hate capital gains.

[Arrian]

Yep, smells like horse**** all right.

-Arrian

[KrazyHorse]

What's really funny is that for all the whining about Wall Street it's the big commercial banks which are the ones really sucking at Uncle Sam's teat.

Goldman and Morgan Stanley didn't really need any money (directly, at least; I'm sure they're happy AIG wasn't allowed to fail). Bear, Lehman et al were allowed to go belly up with no real compensation to their equity holders. Citi and BAC are the ones on life support.

[DanS]

They cause **** to break.

Nothing's breaking here that isn't already broken.

[chequita guevara]

What a farce. It has been announced that no banks have failed the stress tests.

This means that the tests weren't stressful at all. Rather, they are a political pretext to investing more government money in the banks. This is all written in plain text in the Washington Post directly from the Administration's mouths.

Because the bailout was never about that. It was about giving the capitalists their money back, after they'd pissed it away in a crap shoot.

[DanS]

Citi and BAC are the ones on life support.

It really chaps my nuts that we are trying to create a systemic solution to problems at specific banks. By now we know who the weaklings are. The weaklings should be taken out back and put out of their misery.

[Zkribbler]

There was an interesting report on NPR's Morning Edition this morning, opining that our banking industry is in good shape. Here's a blurb:

Analyst: Banking Industry Not All Doom, Gloom

Morning Edition, April 15, 2009 · Analyst Richard Bove says that despite all the doom saying about the banking industry, it's actually in good shape. He tells Steve Inskeep that mortgages and home equity loans are being repaid. Bove also says that due to depressed markets, people are parking their money in banks which is giving them a healthy revenue stream.

At one point, Bove stated that 97% of loans are being repaid. I heard elsewhere that about 90% of mortgages are being repaid.

[Japher]

I heard an add for a 3.something% 3 year CD, I almost ran off the road laughing.

Thing is, people are putting their money into these sure things. Why you would tie your money up for 3 years earning what you can in a money market is absurd.

[DanS]

To be fair, I don't know of any money-market funds that are offering 3.something% nowadays.

[Japher]

Eh, 2%... so is it worth 1% to tie up your money for 3 years?