Unsecured Creditors Pulling Funds from Washington Mutual

The commentators on Bloomberg News were citing an analyst report that 'unsecured creditors were pulling funds from the bank.' Washington Mutual did not deny this, but responded that they are not reliant on the short term commercial paper markets as they can draw funds from their banking operations, so there.

Here we go again.

Reuters
WaMu shares fall as credit concerns grow
Thursday July 24, 3:39 pm ET
By Anastasija Johnson and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc (WM - News) shares fell as much as 23.4 percent and the cost to insure its debt against default rose after an analyst said some creditors reduced their exposure to the largest U.S. savings and loan.

Citing the Seattle-based thrift's financial statements for the period ending June 30, Gimme Credit analyst Kathleen Shanley wrote that "many creditors have quietly been pulling funds" from the company.....

Housing Bill Stipulates All Credit Card Transaction Will Be Reported to the IRS

This analys is from Congressman Ron Paul's site. Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty

Finally, buried deep within the bill, and not mentioned in any MSM (main stream media) source that I am aware of, is the provision that every credit card transaction will now be reported to the IRS. How this fits in to the housing crisis is anyone’s guess.

Our own read of the legislation HR322118 indicates that there is a $10,000 threshold and/or a transaction limit threshold, so we do not think it is ALL payment card transactions. It is however, rather annoying and intrusive nonetheless. It appears to be targeted at merchants, a pre-emptive strike on any indiscreet selling of assets such as on eBay perhaps.

Use of an account number or other indicia associated with a payment card will be treated in the same manner as a payment card. A de minimis exception for transactions of $10,000 or less and 200 transactions or less applies to payments by third party settlement organizations. The proposal applies to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31,2010. Back-up withholding provisions apply to amounts paid after December 31, 2011. This proposal is estimated to raise $9.802 billion over ten years.

Ron Paul Housing Bill Commentary: All Credit Card Transactions To Be Reported to IRS

Yesterday Congress passed a housing bailout bill by a vote of 272 to 152. Here is a typical MSM story about the bill from the LA Times that lauds the importance of these “sweeping measures” that will “stave off foreclosure for 400,000 or more homeowners,” and allow the Treasury to “bolster confidence in Fannie and Freddie” by allowing the government to “temporarily increase its lending” and “buy their stock.” Couched in these terms, it probably sounds good to most Americans.

But there is much that the typical MSM dispatch does not mention (for example, where will the money come from?). For the rest of the story, take 7 minutes to watch Dr. Paul’s video commentary on the bill, which made the front page of Digg in a screaming three hours. Dr. Paul discusses what else is in the bill, including:

A provision to increase the national debt ceiling by $800 billion. This is something Congress has to do every few years, as spending is clearly out of control.

While this bill is often referred to in the news as a “$25 billion” plan, the final amount will likely be much, much higher. The Treasury’s previously limited $2.5 billion line of credit to Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, which in 2001 Ron Paul proposed be abolished, has instead been increased to unlimited. The Treasury can now buy an unlimited amount of Fannie / Freddie housing securities and stock. While this may help “bolster confidence” in these companies, as the LA times mentions, don’t expect it to do much for the dollar! Once upon a time, our national currency was backed by gold. More recently, it has been backed by US Treasury securities. Now it will be backed - at least in part - by Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac housing securities - securities that are collapsing on the open market because no one else wants them.

In yet another example of persistent, big brother, big government, police state creep, anyone working in the mortgage industry will now be required to be fingerprinted.

Finally, buried deep within the bill, and not mentioned in any MSM source that I am aware of, is the provision that every credit card transaction will now be reported to the IRS. How this fits in to the housing crisis is anyone’s guess.

This is just the briefest of summaries of what is contained in the video. Watch it for the fascinating inside scoop that you won’t hear anywhere else, and pass it along to those you care about. As Dr. Paul notes, our economy is in deep trouble - addicted to easy money brought about by the inflationary programs of the Fed and deficit spending. If we quit these policies, there will be some short term pain, but if not, we’re likely to kill the patient - in this case, the US Dollar.

"What Happened Is... Wall Street Got Drunk"

He didn't know what hit him. Heh Heh.

Those Hemp Smoking Europeans Did It

Godless hopheads.

CFTC charges Optiver Holding with manipulation of futures
By Polya Lesova
Last update: 11:19 a.m. EDT
July 24, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Thursday that it has charged Optiver Holding BV, a Netherlands-based global proprietary trading fund, two of its subsidiaries, and three employees, with manipulation and attempted manipulation of New York Mercantile Exchange light sweet crude oil, New York Harbor heating oil, and New York Harbor gasoline futures contracts in March 2007. (Perhaps you haven't been keeping up with current events commissioners but energy did a moonshot in 2008 - Jesse)

The CFTC filed the civil enforcement action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Optiver Holding BV and the other defendants. The complaint alleges that defendants profited by approximately $1 million from their manipulative scheme.