Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet is so out of whack that the central bank would be shut down if subjected to a conventional audit, Jim Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, told CNBC.

With $45 billion in capital and $2.1 trillion in assets, the central bank would not withstand the scrutiny normally afforded other institutions, Grant said in a live interview.

Nation-Wide Local Protests For A People's Bailout & Financial Restructuring On April 11

A new group named "A New Way Forward" is organizing nationwide local protests for a people's bailout next Saturday, April 11, at 2 PM EDT.

Gorbachev took power in 1985, but the fall of communism did not happen until August of 1991. What Obama's election did was shift the national debate. With the deteriorating economic situation the national conversation will continue to radicalize.

Today and yesterday saw major demonstrations on Wall Street. The NY Daily News, Reuters, Xinhau, Associated Press, and even the Tennessean all have stories. But Isvestia is silent. That is worse than dishonest. It is embarrassing.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Getting Through Tough Economic Times ...

... Even with these coping techniques, however, sometimes these problems can seem overwhelming and you may need additional help to get through "rough patches." Fortunately, there are many people and services that can provide help. These include your:

* Healthcare provider
* Spiritual leader
* School counselor
* Community health clinic

Hello, in an employer based health care system unemployed people DON'T HAVE HEALTH CARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ted Evanoff writing for the Indiana Star

That has drawn protest from autoworkers, including Michigan union activist Gregg Shotwell, whose Bait & Ammo newsletter Thursday noted the trust fund already is underfunded and would be weakened by the concessions:

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Aetna Posts Loss of $326.5 Million on Debt Securities in ‘08

At least Aetna has company–everybody in the sector seems to have been stung by the crisis, from Humana’s investment losses to UnitedHealth’s write-down on its venture capital program.

Obviously these were not appropriate investments for health insurance companies. Combine this with a collapsing premium base as more and more people are layed off, and more and more employers ceasing to offer health insurance, and you have an imploding business model.

GE chief warns on US depression threat

The US economy is suffering its steepest downturn since at least the 1970s and could descend into a depression, Jeff Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, warned on Thursday.

I can't figure out why this guy has a job. Clearly his board does not believe in his management, within the last six months they dumped a net of 199,257 shares of GE stock, and before that they dumped a net of 525,891,000 shares.

Walking away: The wide and lasting impact of quitting a mortgage

Benjamin McNELLEY said he loathed the idea of walking away from the mortgage on his four-bedroom, two-bath house in Fauquier County, Va.

The former prison guard said he worried about what the decision might mean for his credit rating and whether he might still be on the hook for any outstanding debt.

But when both his father and his stepfather fell ill last summer in South Carolina, McNelley said, he had no choice but to quit his job and move.

WellPoint Cutting 1,500 Jobs

NEW YORK -- WellPoint Inc. said Friday it will eliminate approximately 1,500 jobs, including 900 open positions and about 600 lay-offs.

Time to pass HR 676 and put these parasites out of their misery.

Insurer Cigna to shed 1,100 employees

Cigna Corp., a Philadelphia-based health insurer, has announced plans to lay off 1,100 employees — approximately 4% of its total work force.

Denial of care is a failing business model, let's put them out of their misery before they kill anyone else.

Deutsche Bank rejects church charge

In a rare and testy public exchange between a prominent German financial institution and a religious leader, Deutsche Bank dismissed as “inappropriate” the remarks by Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of Germany’s evangelical church council. ...

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Or at least he pretends to be:

"In the macroeconomic sense, foreclosure reduction is an essential part of getting us out of the problem we're in," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said Wednesday. "The refusal so far to use the money to that purpose has been I think a violation of the intent and undermines the ability to get the votes in this Congress to do things in the future."

You know, Barney, if that's how you wanted the money spent, then you should have said so in the legislation. Take it away, Factesque's mick arran:

Some (small) time ago I posted on the confusing logic of the government arranged shotgun marriage between Wachovia and Citigroup, which was going to be both government sponsored, AND at a price multiples lower than a subsequent cash offer put in by Wells Fargo.

Lambert's Great Meltdown book spurred me to follow-up, which lead me to this post at Bronte Capital providing detail I didn't know (no links though, grrr), and posted several weeks ago (presciently):

"The best hypothesis I came to is that Citigroup is going down and that Sheila Bair is trying to save it.

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