Archive for January, 2009

Will the “Bad Bank” Plan Work?

Posted January 30, 2009 by Bernz

As discussions continue in the White House and on Capitol Hill about what the next steps should be in helping banks survive the current economic crisis, one idea that keeps floating to the top is the “bad bank” plan. The Treasury or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would set up a new bank to buy up all of the so-called “toxic” assets carried by major financial institutions. This would allow all of the other banks to cleanse their balance sheets and give them the liquidity they need to continue operating, according to the theory.

badbank1The “toxic” assets include the bundled derivatives and mortgage-backed securities that got the banks into trouble in the first place. The complexity of the assets became so great that banks, regulators, and auditors were unable to place a value on them as they could no longer be directly tied to individual mortgages. As mortgage failures increased during the recent real estate collapse, the assets’ worth looked dismal. The market for them dried up and banks were left holding the proverbial bag.

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Posted in Debt, Financial Goals, Misc | No Comments »

Will Obama Save Our Economy?

Posted January 27, 2009 by Bernz

The campaigns are over, the inauguration parties all cleaned up. All that’s left is the seemingly impossible task of fixing the American economy. President Obama has been left with quite the mess. The US is in the midst of what may be the deepest recession in the past hundred years. Every day, major corporations are announcing thousands upon thousands of layoffs. National retailers are closing their doors by the dozens. Homeowners are succumbing to foreclosures across the nation.

obama2In the midst of all the depressing and scary economic news, one word is being repeated again and again by the Obama administration: stimulus. According to this economic theory, if enough government grease (in the form of money) is pumped into the American economic motor, consumer confidence will be restored and people will spend freely again. When consumers are willing to spend money, jobs are created. When jobs are created, workers have more money to spend. The whole process levers the economy upwards. So the theory goes.

President Obama’s stimulus package involves many facets including lending money to major corporations on the brink of bankruptcy, creating jobs directly by fixing the crumbling infrastructure of the country, and giving money back to taxpayers to spend as they wish. This is a 180 degree turn away from the supply-side economics of the Reagan era.

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Posted in Financial Goals, Misc | 2 Comments »

Investing in your Identity – Keeping Your Personal and Financial Data Safe and Secure

Posted January 26, 2009 by Bernz

Identity theft protection must be a paramount concern for you.  The fact is that identity theft is a very serious and a very common crime in the 21st century.  In the final analysis, the best way that you can prevent identity theft is for you to take every step possible to keep your personal and financial data safe and secure.  This necessitates utilizing a variety of different types of identity theft protection techniques that are outlined for your consideration in this article.

idtheftcards21.  When it comes to identity theft protection, you will want to consider purchasing PC monitoring software.  The fact is that if you are like most people you maintain a good amount of personal and financial information on your computer.  Short of stripping your computer of these items all together – which is hardly practical – you do need to make sure that you implement identity theft protection schemes of different types when it comes to your computer, including PC monitoring software. Through PC monitoring software you will be able to have a record of any unauthorized use of your computer and what that misuse consisted of.  In short, you will now immediately if their have been unauthorized access to your computer which jeopardizes the security of your personal or financial data or information.

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Posted in Financial Goals, Misc | No Comments »

POLL:Vote Yes or No for Geithner for Treasury Secretary?

Posted January 23, 2009 by Bernz

Yesterday with an 18-5 vote the Senate Finance Committee have approved the nomination of Timothy Geithner to be the United States next Treasury Secretary pending final confirmation until next week.  Geithner who heads the New York Federal Reserve Bank was said to be the best candidate for the job because of his involvement in government efforts to prop up financial banks and markets during this worst financial crisis.

geithnerLast week it was revealed that he underpaid self-employment taxes for several years when he was working for International Monetary Fund (IMF).  He has since apologized for his unintentional mistakes and paid what he owed which is about $34000.00 for failing to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Let me hear you on this…. will you vote yes or no?

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Posted in Misc | No Comments »

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