Michael's Rant

Folks,
The five largest banks in America are in trouble. Bank of America, JP Morgan chase & Co, and Wachovia have predicted "heavy losses for the fourth quarter." Three smaller banks have filed bankruptcy this year and there are many regional banks that are in very serious trouble. we are going to see the g-men have to prop up the banking industry under FDIC like never before over the next year as all the tally sheets get posted for the fourth quarter of this year and first of next. There are many foreclosures and loan defaults that are still being juggled around out in lala land and have not been officially written off by the banks yet. As the truth filters out it is going to get bad.

The one bank that has done well is regions. Partly due to being smart and partly due to their current acquisitions program they have stayed out of the sub prime lending game. They have purchased or merged with over 30 other smaller local and regional banks in the past couple of years. All this was topped off with their acquisition/merger with union planters. They are now the 5th/6th largest bank in America and did not try to keep up with the joneses when it came to giving away risky loans. Yes, they have some bad debt, but nothing like the majority of other lenders.

Many of the smaller banks that have tried to play this game are now in deep trouble. Some are being sold to bigger banks at rock bottom prices and some are just going to fold their tents and leave it to the feds to pick up the pieces. Be sure to see how fiscally fit your bank is.

If you are living at the whim of an adjustable rate mortgage get it fixed now or you won't be able to afford your home a couple of years from now. If the democrats end up with control of both the legislative branch and the executive branch then we will be looking at interest rates rivaling the carter administration years. I was going through some of the company paperwork from that period a week or so ago. I found where we had secured two loans for the business during the carter period. One was for 21% and another was at 23% interest. Over thanksgiving dinner I asked my dad about them. He said those were good rates for the time and that getting any kind of loan at any rate during that time was a challenge.

Pay attention now. Prime is currently at 7.5%. It is down from 8.5% this time last year. But inflation is trying to go haywire and there is one sure way that the feds like to curb inflation. Raise interest rates. If you think the democrats won't do this then your nuts. A large portion of their constituents can't borrow money because they live off of entitlements. These people will notice the price of beer and smokes going up along with toilet paper but not interest rates. So look for interest rates to go down slowly until the election. Afterwards they are going to increase sharply. I have actually had a banker say that their analysts are privately predicting prime rate could go as high as 14 to 15 percent within the next 18 to 24 months.
michael

foks,
the economy is much worse than is really being told. while the housing slump is being reported the real problems are much deeper than housing sales. we are almost a full year into democratic control of the house and the senate and already we are looking like the carter years. any of ya'll actually remember how bad the economy was when the dem's had the executive and legislative branch? gwb inherited an economy that was already sliding and then crashed in the aftermath of 911. he did a good job of bringing it back but i believe that uncertainty of investors in the current legislative branch fueled by the greed of the banking industry by embracing sub prime lending has put us in a crack that is just beginning to show its full depth.

the five largest banks in america are in trouble. bank of america, jp morgan chase & co, and wachovia have predicted "heavy losses for the fourth quarter." three smaller banks have filed bankruptcy this year and there are many regional banks that are in very serious trouble. we are going to see the g-men have to prop up the banking industry under fdic like never before over the next year as all the tally sheets get posted for the fourth quarter of this year and first of next. there are many foreclosures and loan defaults that are still being juggled around out in lala land and have not been officially written off by the banks yet. as the truth filters out it is going to get bad.

the one bank that has done well is regions. partly due to being smart and partly due to their current acquisitions program they have stayed out of the sub prime lending game. they have purchased or merged with over 30 other smaller local and regional banks in the past couple of years. all this was topped off with their acquisition/merger with union planters. they are now the 5th/6th largest bank in america and did not try to keep up with the joneses when it came to giving away risky loans. yes they have some bad debt, but nothing like the majority of other lenders.

many of the smaller banks that have tried to play this game are now in deep trouble. some are being sold to bigger banks at rock bottom prices and some are just going to fold their tents and leave it to the feds to pick up the pieces. be sure to see how fiscally fit your bank is. if you are living at the whim of an adjustable rate mortgage get it fixed now or you won't be able to afford your home a year from now.

much of what is rearing is what was swept under the rug by the previous administration and has not been fixed by the current administration due to bigger issues i am afraid. in 2004 we had an economic growth rate 0f 3.2%. in 2005 it was an incredible 4.4% and 2006 started off with a bang. but as the year is winding down the growth rate is dwindling significantly. nancy peloski said that when the dems regained control of the legislative branch they were going to jump start the economy. in this statement she was saying that the legislative branch can control the economy. what has happened in less than a year of their control? someone has hit the flush lever is what has happened.

look at the state of michigan. democratic governor, lt. governor and house of representatives. they have continued to jack up taxes and that state now has the worst economy in the nation. they are actually talking about having to close key elements of the government. 21 branches of the michigan secretary of states office are scheduled for closing. they have closed all 96 state parks and 118 state forests as of oct 1. no camping in any state park. they are all closed. they are even talking about having to shut down the entire state government due to a lack of cash. they have raised taxes to raise revenue but instead it has killed business or run them out of state and now they have no money to run the government.

wake up and smell the coffee. the days of raising taxes on those who are willing to work to pay for those that don't are going to end. i am in a unique position. i work because i want to now, not because i have to. my business pays about 100k in taxes every year even after the bush cuts. if the liberals repeal all of these and then add more taxes, i may just take my ball and go home. i know others that will. there are only so many taxes we can pay and still find working 60 hours a week profitable and enjoyable.

look at michigan as your example. in recent years under the dems control they have had the highest tax hikes in their history. they went from having the 14th highest state tax burden in the country to the 11th. in 2003 they were ranked 23rd in state GDP. this year they fell 12 places to 35th. they have a 1.75 billion dollar deficit for their state government. raising taxes does not work. if you vote for a candidate that supports raising taxes then you are sticking a knife in the backs of your selves and our local and national economies. if you want the carter economy back then put his liberal cohorts in complete control and you are going to get just that. chumps.
michael

so ya'll think the news media is not biased or rigged. both sides know when to keep their mouths shut.

check cnn, msnbc, fox news, cbs, nbc or any of the major outlets about the gas pipeline explosion in hattiesburg mississipi. the local newspaper which is owned by gannett carried a short blurb but none of the other gannett outlets picked it up. ntsb and the dept of homeland defense are on the case and mums the word. you would think a lp gas pipeline that has blown up and killed four people would make the news. this pipeline feeds most of the lp gas to areas from texas to north carolina.

if you don't have your lp in the tanks now you better get it. this is being kept quiet to keep from sparking a panic of fuel hoarding. of course yours truly has already hoarded enough to get through the winter....

while you can find a little info on the recent israeli air strike on syria mum seems to be the word. from the best i can tell the jews blew a syrian nuclear enrichment facility to kingdom come. kudos to those israelis.

my reading between the lines has me asking a lot of questions. if the iranians have sworn to destroy israel and they claim to be working on nuclear weapons themselves; are they really as far along in the program as the rhetoric seems to suggest? i would think that them jews would blow any real threat to smithereens.

the world is a complicated place full of crazy events. if you think the news is going to actually tell you what is going on then you are as ignorant as pappy says you are. i say keep pouring the coals on iraq and the taliban. i say we go ahead and preempt those stinking iranians and syrians. but if you really dig the root of the problem are those saudi's and egyptians.

remember the good old days of cold war total annihilation. i say we issue an directive stating that is a dirty bomb or small nuclear device of any kind is detonated on american soil that the capital of every muslim nation gets a big fat nuclear bomb right down its throat. first to go needs to be mecca. i bet those radicals would calm right down with a direct threat to their holy ground. they have vowed to destroy israel so what is good for goose...
michael