Rich people invest in hedge funds, so I can understand why the Fed would feel the need to bail them out by making available to them, without any pre-conditions, $200 BILLION DOLLARS.
Hedge funds will be allowed to borrow from the Federal Reserve for the first time under a landmark $200bn programme intended to support consumer credit.
The Fed said on Friday it would offer low-cost three-year funding to any US company investing in securitised consumer loans under the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). This includes hedge funds, which have never been able to borrow from the US central bank before, although the Fed may not permit hedge funds to use offshore vehicles to conduct the transactions.
Ok, so there may be one condition: no use of off shore “vehicles to conduct the transactions.” You know, I’ll bet they can live with that to get access to HUNDREDS of BILLIONS of DOLLARS practically free from the Federal Reserve. That’s a deal I sure wouldn’t refuse. Boy, it sure does pay to be an industry that isn’t unionized.
Hell, why don’t all of us here at Booman Tribune pony up our life savings and form a hedge fund? Then we could go be a hog at the Fed’s trough, too. What do you say? Hell, ONE BILLION DOLLARS could go a long way, even if we do have to share it with a few hundred people.
It’s wrong on so many levels. Brutal.
the need to keep money in the hands of the selected few.
No union busting necessary here, therefore no preconditions needed. Merry Christmas to the already obscenely wealthy from the working class.
first we’d have to find an accomplished scam artist to be our CEO, and come up with seed money to buy access to our benevolent rulers. Maybe we could start out extorting the last dollars from the newly unemployed and foreclosed, and pull ourselves by our bootstraps from there. From there it’s all fast track to the American Dream.
Let’s not forget that most of the Democrats in Congress signed onto Paulson’s bullshit “bailout” scheme. The Republicans are bad news, but they have plenty of company….
Outrageous!
unconditional transfer of wealth…Fed giving to the Rich so they can stay Rich. Meanwhile the homeowner, gets screwed it their own fault for investing in a home. Odd how those conditions don’t apply to the wealthy.
Little bit off topic but you all should read this article from the NY Times
The Reckoning
White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire
here…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html?_r=1&hp
No doubt Bush added that condition as a sop to the US auto industry.