Bailout Nation: Was TARP Just a Ruse to Protect Citigroup?

Bailout Nation: Was TARP Just a Ruse to Protect Citigroup?

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/264931/Bailout-Nation-Was-TARP-Just-a-Ruse-to-Protect-Citigroup?tickers=MS,JPM,C,BAC,XLF,FAS,FAZ,

With JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and other big banks reportedly set to start repaying TARP funds as early as tomorrow, many are ready to turn the page on this sordid chapter in our nation's financial history.

But Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ and author of Bailout Nation, is still trying to figure out why we went through the whole exercise in the first place.

In his new book Bailout Nation, Ritholtz discusses the possibility that TARP was all a giant ruse, "a Hank Paulson engineered scam to cover up the simple fact that Citigroup was teetering on the brink of implosion," has he writes in his popular blog The Big Picture. "A loan just to Citi alone would have been problematic, went this line of brilliant reasoning, so instead, we gave money to all the big banks."

We delve further into this theory in the accompanying video. While it can never be fully proven, Ritholtz's "just a ruse to protect Citi" idea seems plausible given:

* The reaction of many other banks forced to take TARP funds;
* The extraordinary level of bailouts and debt guarantees aimed specifically at Citi;
* Regulators' fears last fall about the "systemic risk" if a big bank were allowed to fail.

Paulson wil TARP breder maken

De treuzelaar Henry Paulson wil het $ 700 miljard TARP Plan (Troubled Assets Relief Plan) uitbreiden naar het consumenten krediet, autoleningen, studie leningen en de credit card sector. Oorsptonkelijk was TARP alleen bedoeld om de hypotheek (sub-prime mortgage) markt te redden, maar -het kwartje is blijkbaar gevallen- en men ziet nu in dat de hele consumentenmarkt in gevaar is. Nu is het wachten op op de volgende fase (al dan niet voor de overdracht aan Obama) van het bailout programma, iets van waarschijnlijk minstens nog eens $1.5 biljoen extra ($ 1.500.000.000.000,-)

De man kan in elk geval niet worden beschuldigd van een overdaad aan 'foresight', of misschien werkt dat bij hem alleen in een bull markt.
Paulson Shifts Focus of Rescue to Consumer Lending (Update2)

Wij zijn benieuwd hoe de Amerikaans begroting in 2009 rondgebreid gaat worden.

Amerikaanse beurzen 2.5 tot 3% omlaag, de retail sector heeft het te verduren, BestBuy.com onderuit. (Wed 12:30pm ET)
Zie: Retail was among traders’ main concerns. Best Buy, down 6 per cent to $22.46, sent a chill through the sector and wider market when the electronics chain warned of “rapid, seismic” reduction in consumer spending.