Comments on: Citi on Its Way to Breakup? http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:07:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Timo http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31942 Timo Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:18:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31942 "What a load of crap. Are you kidding me? If the US goes under where are you gonna run and hide to? The Euro zone? They can't even heat their homes because Russia has their yarbles in a vise."<br/><br/>Friggin idiot. Just continue munching that popcorn called "American Exceptionalism" while your country burns to dust. Eestern Europe is quite dependent on Russia gas but so is Russia dependent on their MONEY. Just like you are dependent on foreigners continuing financing your clown circus called US economy. “What a load of crap. Are you kidding me? If the US goes under where are you gonna run and hide to? The Euro zone? They can’t even heat their homes because Russia has their yarbles in a vise.”

Friggin idiot. Just continue munching that popcorn called “American Exceptionalism” while your country burns to dust. Eestern Europe is quite dependent on Russia gas but so is Russia dependent on their MONEY. Just like you are dependent on foreigners continuing financing your clown circus called US economy.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31911 Anonymous Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:43:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31911 "Frankly the odds that the United States will survive this crisis intact are much lower than one would have put them even a year ago."<br/><br/>What a load of crap. Are you kidding me? If the US goes under where are you gonna run and hide to? The Euro zone? They can't even heat their homes because Russia has their yarbles in a vise. Maybe all the hot air from protesting and "Greek fire" will keep them warm at night. Pfft.<br/><br/>Mark my words... the US will repay all debts in same-day air shipments of uranium, plutonium and tritium before it goes under. I see another 6B $US super carrier was launched and named after one of those evil Bushies. At that price we may as well take 10% of the TARP money and launch ten more.<br/><br/>I love how everyone is ready to throw dirt on the face of a 13T $US economy. Puh-leeze. Get over yourselves.<br/><br/>My word verification for this post was "handme", as in "handme some popcorn, they've sent in the clowns". “Frankly the odds that the United States will survive this crisis intact are much lower than one would have put them even a year ago.”

What a load of crap. Are you kidding me? If the US goes under where are you gonna run and hide to? The Euro zone? They can’t even heat their homes because Russia has their yarbles in a vise. Maybe all the hot air from protesting and “Greek fire” will keep them warm at night. Pfft.

Mark my words… the US will repay all debts in same-day air shipments of uranium, plutonium and tritium before it goes under. I see another 6B $US super carrier was launched and named after one of those evil Bushies. At that price we may as well take 10% of the TARP money and launch ten more.

I love how everyone is ready to throw dirt on the face of a 13T $US economy. Puh-leeze. Get over yourselves.

My word verification for this post was “handme”, as in “handme some popcorn, they’ve sent in the clowns”.

]]> By: bg http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31899 bg Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:17:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31899 This reminds me a bit of the pieces we started seeing last summer in WSJ and NYT, cautiously speculating on how companies were going to react to the unfolding crisis. I remember LEH (of course Einhorn), Wamu, and the monolines coming up quite a bit in ways similar to this WSJ piece.<br/><br/>It does feel as though another wave of trouble is coming. The press did a reasonable job of predicting the losers on the last leg (although AIG I think was underreported). I am not sure the next wave will be as predictable.<br/><br/>With the democrats desire to turn 2T in financial rescue funds into pork, we may need to see more carnage on wall street to stop things from getting worse inside the beltway. This reminds me a bit of the pieces we started seeing last summer in WSJ and NYT, cautiously speculating on how companies were going to react to the unfolding crisis. I remember LEH (of course Einhorn), Wamu, and the monolines coming up quite a bit in ways similar to this WSJ piece.

It does feel as though another wave of trouble is coming. The press did a reasonable job of predicting the losers on the last leg (although AIG I think was underreported). I am not sure the next wave will be as predictable.

With the democrats desire to turn 2T in financial rescue funds into pork, we may need to see more carnage on wall street to stop things from getting worse inside the beltway.

]]> By: Eric L. Prentis http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31879 Eric L. Prentis Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:03:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31879 The spending of TARP funds under President-elect Obama will be no different than under President Bush. Obama’s economic team is Geithner/Summers/Bernanke, the spitting image of Bush’s team that bailed out the crooks on Wall Street. Just more of the same, the rich get richer on the taxpayer’s dime. The spending of TARP funds under President-elect Obama will be no different than under President Bush. Obama’s economic team is Geithner/Summers/Bernanke, the spitting image of Bush’s team that bailed out the crooks on Wall Street. Just more of the same, the rich get richer on the taxpayer’s dime.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31874 Anonymous Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:41:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31874 The one great principle of financial institution regulation which will emerge from the crisis is this: <b><i>Too big to fail is too big period!</i></b> All the big financial institutions, including insurance companies, that pose systemic financial risk by virtue of their size, will be broken up. This will be the case worldwide. The decimation of the nation of Iceland and the threat to Switzerland and Britan are just too impressive to ignore. Frankly the odds that the United States will survive this crisis intact are much lower than one would have put them even a year ago. The one great principle of financial institution regulation which will emerge from the crisis is this: Too big to fail is too big period! All the big financial institutions, including insurance companies, that pose systemic financial risk by virtue of their size, will be broken up. This will be the case worldwide. The decimation of the nation of Iceland and the threat to Switzerland and Britan are just too impressive to ignore. Frankly the odds that the United States will survive this crisis intact are much lower than one would have put them even a year ago.

]]> By: macndub http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31872 macndub Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:06:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31872 <i>However, it would be hard to find a worse time to be disposing of bank businesses.</i><br/><br/>Unless it were the prelude to a good bank/bad bank approach? A guy can dream....<br/><br/><i>It would that bearded guy with AK-47, wearing Che Guevara t-shirt and relaxing his legs on the table while eating caviar with his gun oily finger and drinking champagne straight from the bottle :-)</i><br/><br/>Prince is gonna run Citi? That's change I can believe it! And, Yves, I'd happily take a job running Citi, too. Since it's insolvent anyway, I wouldn't do any harm, and jobs for under-40 MBAs are hard to come by right now. However, it would be hard to find a worse time to be disposing of bank businesses.

Unless it were the prelude to a good bank/bad bank approach? A guy can dream….

It would that bearded guy with AK-47, wearing Che Guevara t-shirt and relaxing his legs on the table while eating caviar with his gun oily finger and drinking champagne straight from the bottle :-)

Prince is gonna run Citi? That’s change I can believe it! And, Yves, I’d happily take a job running Citi, too. Since it’s insolvent anyway, I wouldn’t do any harm, and jobs for under-40 MBAs are hard to come by right now.

]]> By: FairEconomist http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31868 FairEconomist Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:22:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31868 IMO the Citi rumor looks like a bear raid. The interest on CR comes because a very credible commentator supported the rumor - but it could be his handle was being spoofed. (And yes, spoofers can drop in to claim to be the real McCoy too!) So I think some underling or hanger-on from the bear raid is just starting rumors.<br/><br/>Of course, a bear raid wouldn't work on a company like Citi if the company wasn't in bad shape to start with. With a trillion in off-balance sheet assets and massive international exposure, Citi is extremely vulnerable. If you can get a panic started anywhere on earth down it goes and there's no overnight breaks for the regulators to act, just the shortened weekend break. IMO the Citi rumor looks like a bear raid. The interest on CR comes because a very credible commentator supported the rumor – but it could be his handle was being spoofed. (And yes, spoofers can drop in to claim to be the real McCoy too!) So I think some underling or hanger-on from the bear raid is just starting rumors.

Of course, a bear raid wouldn’t work on a company like Citi if the company wasn’t in bad shape to start with. With a trillion in off-balance sheet assets and massive international exposure, Citi is extremely vulnerable. If you can get a panic started anywhere on earth down it goes and there’s no overnight breaks for the regulators to act, just the shortened weekend break.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31864 Anonymous Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:02:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31864 Chris Whalen has said that most of our big banks will be nationalized so dismembering them into more easily digestible pieces does make more sense than trying to consolidate them whole.<br/><br/>European banks like Commerzbank, Lloyds TSB and RBS seem to be having trouble digesting the meals they have taken on and, with half of US mortgage defaults now composed of prime mortgages, how much longer will it be before Bank America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan complain of food poisoning from their banking dinners? Citigroup is just too rancid to be force fed to anyone else. Chris Whalen has said that most of our big banks will be nationalized so dismembering them into more easily digestible pieces does make more sense than trying to consolidate them whole.

European banks like Commerzbank, Lloyds TSB and RBS seem to be having trouble digesting the meals they have taken on and, with half of US mortgage defaults now composed of prime mortgages, how much longer will it be before Bank America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan complain of food poisoning from their banking dinners? Citigroup is just too rancid to be force fed to anyone else.

]]> By: Timo http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31855 Timo Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:52:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31855 "The thing is de facto nationalized."<br/><br/>This is even worse. With nationalization there at least would be no doubt who is the new boss. It would that bearded guy with AK-47, wearing Che Guevara t-shirt and relaxing his legs on the table while eating caviar with his gun oily finger and drinking champagne straight from the bottle :-)<br/><br/>This is somekind of weird mutant of seminationalization, "you guys can make some decisions but only if we say so, pending approval from our superiors pending approval from their superiors."<br/><br/>You Americans make now even jungle Nicaraguan communists look good :) "Weird shit", Jesus would say... “The thing is de facto nationalized.”

This is even worse. With nationalization there at least would be no doubt who is the new boss. It would that bearded guy with AK-47, wearing Che Guevara t-shirt and relaxing his legs on the table while eating caviar with his gun oily finger and drinking champagne straight from the bottle :-)

This is somekind of weird mutant of seminationalization, “you guys can make some decisions but only if we say so, pending approval from our superiors pending approval from their superiors.”

You Americans make now even jungle Nicaraguan communists look good :) “Weird shit”, Jesus would say…

]]> By: ruetheday http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup.html#comment-31854 ruetheday Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:33:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/citi-on-its-way-to-breakup/#comment-31854 Steve - Or, alternatively, the OCC and FDIC are finally getting a detailed look at C's real books, including off-balance sheet entities, and saying "holy shit! you guys need to sell off a ton of businesses to shore things up pronto!" Steve – Or, alternatively, the OCC and FDIC are finally getting a detailed look at C’s real books, including off-balance sheet entities, and saying “holy shit! you guys need to sell off a ton of businesses to shore things up pronto!”

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