Bail Out Package

[masterrig 1]

I heard on the news tonight that Wells Fargo's buying of Wachovia was not quite the 'heroic effort' on their part. Two days before the bail-out was announced, Wells Fargo announced they would not be buying Wachovia. Wells Fargo had learned that if they wait till the bail-out was passed, they stood to get huge tax breaks. Wells Fargo recieved 25-billion in bail-out money (one of the first banks to do so) after it was passed and then, announced they would buy Wachovia (with bail-out money) making them the 2nd. largest in the country. Wells Fargo is now in the process of trying to buy one of the Swiss banks that is going under. That bank recieved Swiss bail-out money two years ago.
just an up-date.


Chuck

[FallingOsh 0]

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I heard on the news tonight that Wells Fargo's buying of Wachovia was not quite the 'heroic effort' on their part. Two days before the bail-out was announced, Wells Fargo announced they would not be buying Wachovia. Wells Fargo had learned that if they wait till the bail-out was passed, they stood to get huge tax breaks.

I don't see how one relates to the other. I don't think their purchase of Wachovia was heroic; it was business. Waiting for a tax break on the purchase was smart business.

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Wells Fargo recieved 25-billion in bail-out money (one of the first banks to do so) after it was passed and then, announced they would buy Wachovia (with bail-out money) making them the 2nd. largest in the country.

Mehh... kinda. Their official position is that the bailout money has been used to lend to customers. All of that still ignores the fact that they didn't need it and it was forced on them. They also won't be seeking anymore help from the new stimulus. Hopefully they'll follow Goldman and just pay it back to avoid all the bullshit.

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Wells Fargo is now in the process of trying to buy one of the Swiss banks that is going under. That bank recieved Swiss bail-out money two years ago.
just an up-date.

I couldn't find that anywhere. I'd be interested in reading up on it.


Chuck

[masterrig 1]

This story has been all over the three networks... ABC, CBS, NBC. What I'm getting from it is, Wells Fargo was one of the first banks to recieve bail-out money. They were going to buy Wachovia then backed-out. When they found they would get 25-billion in bail-out money and there were huge tax breaks involved, they turned-around and announced they were in fact buying Wachovia at over 12-billion. The bottom line seems to be that the bail-out money was to keep them from going in the hole and not to 'profit' from the bail-out. Which is what Wells Fargo did... they advanced themselves financially. I've heard nothing about them being 'forced' or 'coerced' into taking the money.
Also, a Wells Fargo rep. from Wisconsin ducked and dodged questions in regard to the matter. Of course, they don't have to answer questions under the terms of the bail-out. Wells Fargo is in the process of trying to buy out one of the biggest Swiss banks (UBS). I found the story on the internet by looking up 'Wells Fargo bail-out'. The whole thing, is a bit 'dicey'. The reason I'm bringing this up to you is, you seem to have good knowledge about Wells Fargo's business and I'm trying to separate the grain from the chaff.
Thanks.


Chuck

[FallingOsh 0]

They did flip flop on the Wachovia deal. When asked about the bailout money being used for the purchase, the CEO responded,

"We completed our own capital raise to assure that we have the appropriate levels of capital to complete that transaction," said Jon Campbell, the CEO of the Minnesota region of Wells Fargo bank.

I don't know the guy so whether or not that's 100% true is up for anyone to decided.

As far as the UBS merger, I read UBS was shopping it's American wealth management unit around for potential buyers. Wachovia securities was approached during those rounds along with pretty much every other major bank. The Wall Street Journal reported that there were no takers. When asked about the possible sale, employess from Wells and UBS were "surprised." I think that would be a terrible decision, but I'm no CEO.

I'm no Wells Fargo expert. I'm just irritated by the bad press over a bank that's doing very well relative to the other major banks. I can't defend everything they've done. I think this is the perfect example of why the government should mind their own damn business.

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Stay positive and love your life.

[masterrig 1]

I appreciate your in-put in regard to this matter. It's just so damned hard to get to the truth of various matters from any of the news/entertainment shows. It appears to me that the news shows are trying to give the impression that Wells Fargo was/is up to no good, in regard to the bail-out.
I miss the old news programs where the whole story was told and not just bits and pieces so as to allow room for opinions, rumors and inuendos. I agree with you about the government keeping their noses out of the banking business. As far as I'm concerned, there should not be a bail-out and if anything, an investigation into those who caused this mess. Thanks, again.


Chuck

[434 2]

The Chinese public is beginning to be aware that its government is sitting on a lot of money—money not being spent to help China directly, money not doing so well in Blackstone-style foreign investments, money invested in the ever-falling U.S. dollar. Chinese bloggers and press commentators have begun making a connection between the billions of dollars the country is sending away and the domestic needs the country has not addressed. There is more and more pressure to show that the return on foreign investments is worth China’s sacrifice—and more and more potential backlash against bets that don’t pay off. (While the Chinese government need not stand for popular election, it generally tries to reduce sources of popular discontent when it can.) The public is beginning to behave like the demanding client of an investment adviser: it wants better returns, with fewer risks.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/fallows-chinese-dollars/4


The Chinese economy is doing very well against the background of the global financial crisis, the chairman of the Chinese Central Bank, Zhou Xiaochuan said during a press conference yesterday. The financial system of the nation is stable, whereas the economy of the country continues to cope with the financial crisis well. The absence of the liquidity crisis in the country is a peculiar feature of the situation in the banking sphere of China, which differs the nation’s economy from those of the USA, the EU and the majority of other countries.

http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/27-10-2008/106623-china-0


The premiers of China and Russia accused America of sparking the economic crisis as the Davos political and business summit made a gloomy start.

Wen Jiabao and Vladimir Putin both blamed "capitalist excesses" for the global downturn, as one followed the other to the podium at the opening of the World Economic Forum last night.

The Chinese premier began with a speech asserting that the worst recession since the Great Depression had been caused by blind pursuit of profit.

In a thinly veiled attack on America, Mr Wen blamed “inappropriate macroeconomic policies of some economies” and “prolonged low savings and high consumption”.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/wef/article5610252.ece

[FallingOsh 0]

Agreed on everything, although I think it would be impossible to fully investigate who (or what) exactly is responsible for this mess. It's policy on top of policy and over-extender on top of over-extended.

I would be 100% supportive of investigations into wasted or misused TARP funds. However, I fear that would quickly digress into a witch hunt in an attempt for the government to save face. But, on the bright side, there's another $838B now available for misuse.


RIP Jeremy Lusk, by the way. He died today of injuries suffered during a back flip attempt. Cheers...

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Stay positive and love your life.

[masterrig 1]

Maybe, that's why the govt. is giving that money out with no strings... no messy investigations. We're in the wrong racket... we shoulda' been bankers!
I'm afraid, it's going to get real ugly before it gets better. I think, the govt. should've just let all those bankers and loan companies go tits-up! Let them re-work all those loans and tough it out. Maybe, the next time they get greedy they'll think different. It just makes blood squirt outa my eyes!


Chuck