Obama takes on China, Romney

President Barack Obama took direct aim at China – and Mitt Romney -- on Monday with a World Trade Organization complaint about export subsidies and with stepped up rhetoric attacking Romney’s profiting from companies that shipped jobs to China.

The president announced the complaint at a campaign rally in Ohio, a state where the American auto industry supports one in eight people.

“Now, I understand my opponent has been running around Ohio, claiming… he’s going to roll up his sleeves and take the fight to China,” Obama said. “But here’s the thing: his experience has been owning companies that were called ‘pioneers’ in the business of outsourcing jobs to countries like China… Pioneers! Ohio, you can’t stand up to China when all you’ve done is send them our jobs.”

The WTO complaint alleges that China gave up to $1 billion to exporters of autos and auto parts between 2009 and 2011, distorting the market to the detriment of American manufacturers.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/09/obama-takes-on-china-romney-135753.html

Bush signs mental health 'parity' bill attached to bailout - USATODAY.com

Bush signs mental health 'parity' bill attached to bailout - USATODAY.com: "The new law would bar insurance plans from setting higher copays or deductibles for mental health or substance abuse treatment than for medical care. Lower benefit limits also would be illegal, along with caps on the number of outpatient therapy sessions or inpatient treatment days. Employees also would have to be covered for out-of-network mental health care if their plan includes out-of-network medical coverage.

The legislation, supported by the health insurance industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "is a great compromise," says Katie Strong, director of congressional and public affairs for the Chamber."

'via Blog this'

NAMI | Victory on Parity!

NAMI | Victory on Parity!: "This victory in the House ends a nearly 20 year effort to require group health plans to cover treatment for mental illness on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses.  NAMI is extremely grateful for the tireless work of advocates from all over the nation that contacted their Senators and House members to push for this landmark legislation.  The advocacy voice of people living with mental illness and their families made a tremendous difference in securing this long sought victory.

NAMI also salutes the leadership of the sponsors of parity in Congress including Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN).  Today NAMI also remembers the contributions of the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) in bringing parity forward.  After nearly 20 years, their efforts have resulted in mental illness treatment no longer being subject to 2nd class status in our health care system."

'via Blog this'

Cash For Clunkers

Japan Cash For Clunkers:

Germany

U.S.

In Germany, incentives totaling 5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) for buyers of new vehicles who turned in old ones boosted sales 23 percent last year, according to the VDA auto industry association. Without further subsidies, new car registrations in the country slumped 29 percent in the first seven months of 2010, according to the association.

Toyota Prius May Lead Japan Car Sale Collapse as Subsidies End - Bloomberg

Toyota Prius May Lead Japan Car Sale Collapse as Subsidies End - Bloomberg: "Demand for the Prius surged after the third-generation model went on sale in May 2009 and the government introduced the incentive plan a month later. Under the program, consumers can apply for a 250,000 yen ($2,963) subsidy if they scrap a car more than 13 years old to buy a more fuel- efficient one, or 100,000 yen for a new car bought without scrapping the older one."

Financial Crisis Report Spreads Blame Far and Wide for Meltdown

Financial Crisis Report Spreads Blame Far and Wide for Meltdown: "There's plenty of blame to spread around -- and the financial crisis was avoidable.

In a nutshell, that's the conclusion of a report released Thursday by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a congressionally appointed body that explored reasons for the 2007-08 meltdown that led to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."

The ‘Subsidy’: How a Handful of Merrill Lynch Bankers Helped Blow Up Their Own Firm

Propublica is awesome

No one, not even the bank's own traders, wanted to buy the supposedly safe portions of the mortgage-backed securities Merrill was creating.

Bank executives came up with a fix that had short-term benefits and long-term consequences. They formed a new group within Merrill, which took on the bank's money-losing securities. But how to get the group to accept deals that were otherwise unprofitable? They paid them. The division creating the securities passed portions of their bonuses to the new group, according to two former Merrill executives with detailed knowledge of the arrangement.

The executives said this group, which earned millions in bonuses, played a crucial role in keeping the money machine moving long after it should have ground to a halt.

"It was uneconomic for the traders" -- that is, buyers at Merrill -- "to take these things," says one former Merrill executive with knowledge of how it worked.

Within Merrill Lynch, some traders called it a "million for a billion" -- meaning a million dollars in bonus money for every billion taken on in Merrill mortgage securities. Others referred to it as "the subsidy." One former executive called it bribery. The group was being compensated for how much it took, not whether it made money.:http://www.propublica.org/article/the-subsidy-how-merrill-lynch-traders-helped-blow-up-their-own-firm

Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms

Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms: "The financial crisis stretched even farther across the economy than many had realized, as new disclosures show the Federal Reserve rushed trillions of dollars in emergency aid not just to Wall Street but also to motorcycle makers, telecom firms and foreign-owned banks in 2008 and 2009.

The Fed's efforts to prop up the financial sector reached across a broad spectrum of the economy, benefiting stalwarts of American industry including General Electric and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, Harley-Davidson and Toyota. The central bank's aid programs also supported U.S. subsidiaries of banks based in East Asia, Europe and Canada while rescuing money-market mutual funds held by millions of Americans."

Irish Austerity Plan Stirs Dublin Protest - NYTimes.com

Irish Austerity Plan Stirs Dublin Protest - NYTimes.com: "After a week that brought Ireland a pledge of a $114 billion international rescue package and the toughest austerity program of any country in Europe, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Dublin’s streets on Saturday to protest wide cuts in the country’s welfare programs and in public-sector jobs.

The protests centered on a milelong march along the banks of the River Liffey in central Dublin to the General Post Office building on O’Connell Street, the site of the battle between Irish republican rebels and British troops in the Easter Uprising in 1916 — an iconic event that many in Ireland regard as the tipping point in Ireland’s long struggle for independence."

FDIC Conducting 50 Investigations at Failed Banks: Report - ABC News

FDIC Conducting 50 Investigations at Failed Banks: Report - ABC News: "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is conducting about 50 criminal investigations at U.S. banks that have failed since the start of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said.

The FDIC, which is responsible for dealing with bank failures, is probing former executives, directors and employees at failed U.S. banks and is taking efforts to punish alleged recklessness, fraud and other criminal behavior, the Journal said."

All the Devils Are Here: Everyone was to blame in financial crisis - audio

Joe Nocera, co-author of "All the Devils Are Here" with Bethany McLean, talks to Kai Ryssdal about what they discovered about the financial crisis and how everyone played a key -- and villainous -- role.

At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634

Ireland Urged to Take Aid by Officials Amid Debt Crisis - Bloomberg

Ireland Urged to Take Aid by Officials Amid Debt Crisis - Bloomberg: "In a conference call of European Central Bank officials around noon Frankfurt time yesterday, Ireland was pressed to seek outside help within days, the person said on condition of anonymity. Separately, a European Union official said a request for assistance was likely even as Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan told RTE Radio that such a call “makes no sense” as the government is fully funded to mid-2011."

Bank of America halts foreclosures in Mass. - The Boston Globe

Bank of America halts foreclosures in Mass. - The Boston Globe

Bank of America Corp. said yesterday that it will temporarily stop foreclosure sales in all states, including Massachusetts, amid mounting concerns that the nation’s largest bank and other mortgage lenders have seized homes without proper documentation.

BofA Extends Freeze on Foreclosures to All 50 States - Bloomberg

BofA Extends Freeze on Foreclosures to All 50 States - Bloomberg



Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, extended a freeze on foreclosures to all 50 states as concern spread among federal and local officials that homes are being seized based on false data.

“We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed,” the Charlotte, North Carolina- based company said today in a statement. “Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for foreclosure decisions is accurate.”

Nation & World | $700B TARP bailout ends Sunday, will wind up costing $100B or less | Seattle Times Newspaper

Although it will never happen, Americans should be thanking President Bush. His bailout did not adhere to conservative theory but it worked. Now, Americans will reflect back to this time and give President Obama the credit. Why? Democrats, and Independents will assess Mr. Bush as horrible, the worst President based on the numbers. Even Conservatives don't like him and they'll never change there position. The Republican media machine should be working at rewriting his history, not hating on bailing out the economy like other Presidents (see 1980s).


Nation & World | $700B TARP bailout ends Sunday, will wind up costing $100B or less | Seattle Times Newspaper: "Originally envisioned as a blank check for the government to spend up to $700 billion to rescue the financial system, the cost to taxpayers is estimated now to be only one-seventh of that amount. The government has earned almost $13 billion in dividends from the bank stock it received in exchange for the taxpayers' investment, and it earned $8.2 billion more from the sale of preferred stock."

Political Economy - It's official: The Great Recession ended last summer

The US exited the recession in June 2009

Political Economy - It's official: The Great Recession ended last summer: "The panel of economists that is the widely accepted arbiter of business cycles has called an end to what is now officially the longest U.S. economic downturn of the post-World War II era. The recession ended in June 2009, 18 months after it began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research's business cycle dating committee."

Bill Gross Discusses Financing of U.S. Housing Market: Video - Bloomberg

Gross told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others at the Washington meeting that it was, in effect, absurd to think that private investors like Pimco would be willing to own mortgages at current interest rates without the kind of government guarantees provided via Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

From Reuters:

"Without a government guarantee, mortgage rates would be hundreds -- hundreds -- of basis points higher, resulting in a moribund housing market for years," Gross said.

He said Pimco would not consider investing in a private, or privately insured, mortgage pool unless it was accompanied by 30% down payments -- far above the current norm.
Bill Gross Discusses Financing of U.S. Housing Market: Video - Bloomberg

Famed Investor Bill Gross Calls For Massive Taxpayer-Backed Mortgage Refinance Initiative

There is a lot in the article.

Famed Investor Bill Gross Calls For Massive Taxpayer-Backed Mortgage Refinance Initiative: "Bill Gross, who runs Pacific Investment Management Co.'s $239 billion Total Return Fund, said that policymakers 'should quickly re-engineer' a plan that would refinance all non-delinquent mortgages backed by the federal government. The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged a record-low 4.44 percent in the week ending Aug. 12, according to taxpayer-owned mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Taxpayers guarantee the mortgages of 37 million households, or two-thirds of all homeowners with a mortgage, according to a July 29 note by David Greenlaw, Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. fixed-income economist. That includes government agencies like the Federal Housing Administration as well as twin behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Greenlaw estimates about 18.5 million taxpayer-backed mortgages are at rates higher than 5.75 percent interest."

White House Weighs Changes To Fannie, Freddie : Audio

White House Weighs Changes To Fannie, Freddie : NPR

Piecing together the stimulus

Piecing together the stimulus