Tag Archives: fat cats

Just a Man of the People

25 Saturday Jun 2011

Posted by in Obama, Wall Street

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

FDR: I welcome their hatred. Obama: Let’s kiss and make up.

“Last night Obama headed to the Upper East Side to wine and dine Wall Street. The DNC fundraiser at tony restaurant Daniel cost attendees $35,800 each, and a source told Ben White at Morning Money that the event netted $2.4 million. So his calculations were that at least 67 financiers had come to the party.

“Wall Street may hate Washington but sources tell M.M. that last night’s $35,800 per-head event… was a boffo success packed with hedge fund and private equity types.”

[…]

The dinner was part of Obama’s plan to win back the group of financiers that helped him cruise past McCain in 2008, many of whom were turned off by the President’s labeling of them as “fat cats” near the beginning of his term.

Obama is hoping to win over hedge fund titans who were previously bundlers for the Clintons, as well as a much more challenging task — winning Republicans. Though Democrats won’t be so easily wooed this time around, apparently…

“One Democratic financier invited to this month’s dinner… said it was ironic that the same president who once criticized bankers as “fat cats” would now invite them to dine at Daniel…”

Here’s a little tip that might help the fat cats (oops, sorry) and their hurt fee-fees. Something I learned a while back. Don’t listen to what this president says, watch what he does. Those two streets seldom intersect.

“It’s a Great Time To Be a Banker”

09 Tuesday Feb 2010

Posted by in economy, Financial Crisis, Wall Street

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The latest scheme to make the Wall Street fat cats even fatter (with our money, of course), courtesy of their friends at the Federal Reserve:

“During the financial crisis, it [the Fed]  bought hundreds of billions of dollars of real-estate loans and securities from banks to reduce mortgage rates and ease the pressure on bank balance sheets.  This, in turn, pumped hundreds of billions of new dollars into the economy, which has helped the banks–and bankers–to make a killing over the past year.

The banks are, however, lending to the federal government [the current 30-year T-bill rate is about 4.5%] which needs to fund record deficits by borrowing more than $1 trillion a year.  Banks are also collecting interest–currently 0.25% a year–on the $1 trillion or so of “excess reserves” that they aren’t lending to anyone.”

…The idea behind giving the banks cheap money was that the banks would lend it to consumers and businesses.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened: Since the start of the crisis, bank lending has fallen off a cliff.

(“Excess reserves” are the amount above the percentage of their assets that banks are required to keep at the Federal Reserve.)

“The Fed’s exit plan will call for increasing this interest rate, to encourage the banks to keep more money in excess reserves instead of lending it into the economy and thus expanding the money supply.

It’s a great time to be a banker.”

…Of course, in the process of increasing interest paid on reserves, the Fed will be paying banks even more not to lend.  In the process, it will be giving banks yet another way to take nearly free money from the taxpayer and give it back to the government at a higher rate–and then pocket the difference.

Kudos to the Senate for confirming Ben Bernanke to another 4-year term as chairman of the Fed. Wall Street is very appreciative, as I’m sure will be reflected in future (ahem) “campaign contributions.”

Wall Street Warns Democrats: Regulation = No Campaign Contributions

08 Monday Feb 2010

Posted by in Democrats, Financial Crisis, lobbyists, special interests, Wall Street

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

It seems that the arrogant, greedy, Wall Street fat cats who receive obscene bonuses in spite of being responsible for the financial crisis, don’t like being told they are arrogant, greedy, Wall Street fat cats who receive obscene bonuses in spite of being responsible for the financial crisis. And if it doesn’t stop, they’re going to take their bribes campaign contributions to the nearest Republican:

“…this year [JPMorgan] Chase’s political action committee is sending the Democrats a pointed message. While it has contributed to some individual Democrats and state organizations, it has rebuffed solicitations from the national Democratic House and Senate campaign committees. Instead, it gave $30,000 to their Republican counterparts.

Republicans are rushing to capitalize on what they call Wall Street’s “buyer’s remorse” with the Democrats. And industry executives and lobbyists are warning Democrats that if Mr. Obama keeps attacking Wall Street “fat cats,” they may fight back by withholding their cash.”

The shift reflects the hard political edge to the industry’s campaign to thwart Mr. Obama’s proposals for tighter financial regulations.

Just two years after Mr. Obama helped his party pull in record Wall Street contributions — $89 million from the securities and investment business, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics — some of his biggest supporters, like [Chase CEO Jamie] Dimon, have become the industry’s chief lobbyists against his regulatory agenda.

Take a deep breath and calm down, banksters. Your corporate brothers in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries can confirm for you that the regulation rhetoric from the Democrats is just that, rhetoric. As William Shakespeare put it, “Sound and fury, signifying nothing.”