comMITTed to Romney!

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/shares-europe-skid-bank-sector/story.aspx?guid={EC779520-B001-4304-ACF2-A97B96D63899}

European shares staggered on Monday, with banks slumping as governments in Europe didn’t match a $700 billion bailout package from the U.S. and instead continued to shore up institutions on a piecemeal basis.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 5.1% to 248.27, with a 6.9% drop for the banking index.

“It’s all down to what’s going on in the banking sector or perhaps what’s not going on in the banking sector,” said Peter Dixon, strategist at Commerzbank Corporates & Markets.

“This is markets in pure panic mode. The financial system is seizing up and I think that there are major counterparty-risk fears out there in the market. Investors are cutting risk left, right and center,” he said.

“Investors are dumping commodities, they’re dumping equities. Anything with a cyclical or a risk-based element in the returns is somewhere not to be,” he added.

The share move follows an extraordinary weekend in which Germany backed its retail deposits, Iceland reportedly tried to hammer out a plan to rescue its distressed banking industry and the Danish financial sector agreed on a two-year guarantee scheme with the government to shore up confidence.

But a Paris meeting Saturday of top EU leaders — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi — offered no pan-European plan for dealing with troubled banks.

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http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/wachovia-accepts-wells-fargo-deal/story.aspx?guid={2DC807F5-2B6B-41D4-AC2F-E53AB58AFADF}&dateid=39724.3021222569-939732479

By Michelle Donley

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – Wachovia Corp. (WB)

Wells Fargo WFC 35.16, -1.54, -4.2%) presented Wachovia an offer Thursday night to buy it as an intact company without government help. In the stock-for-stock deal, each share of Wachovia common stock will be exchanged for 0.1991 share of Wells Fargo common stock, which represents a value of $7 a share, based on Thursday’s closing price of Wells Fargo stock. Wachovia said before receiving the bid, it had been discussing an FDIC-supervised deal with Citigroup Inc. (C

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http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-stock-futures-lower-amid/story.aspx?guid={E9014660-B15E-4876-BE8A-D83DB50C1545}

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) – U.S. stock futures dropped Thursday as the Senate passage of the bailout package wasn’t enough to counter concerns about economic woes amid rising jobless claims and a profit warning from Marriott International.

S&P 500 futures fell 14.5 points to 1,153.40 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 21.75 points to 1,557.00. Dow industrial futures lost 135 points.

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday with mild losses amid negative auto and manufacturing news after two volatile sessions. The Dow industrials ended 19 points lower, the Nasdaq Composite fell 12 points and the S&P 500 lost 3 points.

The Senate fairly easily approved a revised $700 billion U.S. plan to stabilize the financial industry, just two days after the House of Representatives rejected it.

The House may now consider it on Friday, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

The revamped Senate bill sticks to the core plan developed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to have the government buy and hold toxic mortgage assets, freeing up funds for banks to begin lending again. It gives Paulson the $700 billion in phases, with $250 billion up front, then $100 billion pending presidential approval and another $350 billion pending congressional approval.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it would extend the short-sale ban to as long as Oct. 17 - or up to three business days after the passage of the bailout plan– but won’t make it permanent.

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When I got the news that the House had rejected the bailout bill, my jaw hit the floor! We all knew the Dow had been under pressure pre-market and from the opening bell, but I thought the political pressure to act fast would have been overwhelming, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Stunningly, members of both parties saw things in the bill they didn’t like and they balked not only at the provisions in the bill but the price tag as well and voted the bill down. The market reacted just as you would have expected. Down hard.

If past experience is any guide, tomorrow should be a wild day on Wall Street. If the Asian markets sell off later this evening, the Euro zone markets will take their cue from them and sell off in lock step.

I can’t help feeling angry at the incompetents both inside the financial markets who never met a loan they didn’t like, to whom 30 to 1 leverage seemed like a prudent risk and toward the “regulators” inside of government who are handsomely paid to be our watchdogs while we are working 45 to 60 hours a week so that we can pay their salaries.

It’s time some folks got fired and some others need to go to jail. I hope the public won’t forget this episode in American history. This 2-3 trillion dollar debacle is not going to be swept under the rug. The public didn’t get it’s money’s worth and it’s time for the taxpayer’s to be paid back by the financial market pirates and the government pirates who just wrecked the economy.

~~John Cronin

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/27/romney-america-must-correct-course/

Sat, Sep 27, 2008 (9:57 p.m.)

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says the U.S. must fix its ailing economy and boost its military prowess or risk losing its status as a superpower.

Romney told delegates to the California Republican Party’s meeting Saturday that a secure economy is as essential as a strong military to the country’s safety.

He says it was inconceivable to him just a few months ago that financial powerhouses such as Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch would have collapsed.

Romney also gave the GOP base plenty of red meat, praising John McCain’s performance in the presidential debate Friday.

He stressed McCain’s knowledge of foreign policy knowledge and contrasted the freedoms America enjoys with the repression in other economically prosperous countries, such as China and Russia.

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In the midst of the worst credit crisis in our lifetimes, the Federal government is drafting a plan to get the bad assets off the books of lending institutions around the country in a bid to restore confidence and liquidity to the national banking system. Included in the plan is a move to provide federal insurance to money market funds which are experiencing a wave of redemptions.

~~John Cronin~~

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122177442732653979.html

Paulson Briefs Congress on Idea to Buy Bad Assets From Banks, Insure Money-Market Funds; Stocks Rebound Sharply

By DEBORAH SOLOMON and DAMIAN PALETTA

WASHINGTON –

The federal government is working on a sweeping series of programs that would represent perhaps the biggest intervention in financial markets since the 1930s, embracing the need for a comprehensive approach to the financial crisis after a series of ad hoc rescues.

At the center of the potential plan is a mechanism that would take bad assets off the balance sheets of financial companies, said people familiar with the matter, a device that echoes similar moves taken in past financial crises. The size of the entity could reach hundreds of billions of dollars, one person said.

Another proposal would be the creation of federal insurance for investors in money-market mutual funds, coverage akin to the insurance that currently safeguards bank deposits. The move is designed to stem an outflow of funds as consumers start to worry about even the safest of investments, a sign of how the crisis is spreading to Main Street. There is $3.4 trillion in money-market funds outstanding.

In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission is set to propose a temporary ban on short-selling. It’s not clear how broadly the ban might extend, but it could apply only to financial stocks.

Details of the plan were still being worked out Thursday night and could be delivered to Congress in “hours,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

The administration had been taking a patchwork approach to the financial crisis, putting out fires as they ignited. The new moves represent an effort to take a more systematic approach, after a spiral of bad debts, credit downgrades and tumbling stocks brought down venerable names from investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to insurance giant American International Group Inc. Banks have grown unwilling to lend to one another, a sign of extreme stress, because financial markets work only when institutions have faith in each other’s ability to meet their obligations.

Word of the plan came the same day as the Federal Reserve and other major central banks offered hundreds of billions of dollars in loans to commercial banks to alleviate a deepening freeze in the world’s credit markets. That step appeared to have moderate impact on lending among banks. Meanwhile, a wave of redemptions continued hitting money-market funds, causing a second large fund to shut to investors.

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Wall Street is reeling from a series of blows that are coming from several directions at once. The mortgage mess precipitated the crisis and now the ripple effects are being seen in areas as diverse as majors selloffs in the stocks of the two remaining independent investment banks, Goldman and Morgan Stanley, as well as a major money market fund that has exposure to Lehman Bros. bonds, which are now valued at zero. What a tumultuous 10 day period in our country’s financial history. We are witnessing history being made before our eyes.

~~John Cronin~~

By Greg Morcroft, MarketWatch
Last update: 4:21 p.m. EDT Sept. 17, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Outright fear gripped the U.S. financial sector on Wednesday and investors aggressively sold off shares of the two largest remaining U.S. investment banks, signaling a rapidly waning confidence in the structural integrity of the nation’s financial system.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley shares suffered their biggest one day losses ever, falling 19% and 27%, respectively. The shares are off 30% and 43%, respectively, for the week.

Investor worries are growing about brokers’ access to funding in the current environment, and the companies have been trying to scale back their balance sheets. Bear Stearns’ demise was driven by an unwillingness of its partners to trade with it.

The market remained beset as well by concerns about the fate of the freshly bailed out American International Group and fresh concerns about the solvency of money market funds after one of the largest in the country froze redemptions yesterday.

And, in another troubling development from the financial crisis, one of the original and largest money market funds has put a seven-day freeze on investor redemptions after the net asset value of its shares fell below $1, in an extremely rare instance in the fund industry of what is called “breaking the buck.”

Primary Fund, managed by New York-based money market fund inventor The Reserve, said late Tuesday that its $785 million holding of Lehman Brothers Holdings debt has been valued at zero.
While Primary Fund’s Lehman holding was small compared to the fund’s overall size, the fact that it froze redemptions reflects a surge in redemption requests by investors

That news helped pressure shares of fund companies and online brokers, on concerns that investors might rush to make withdrawals in order to be sure their money is safe.

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By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:00 a.m. EDT Sept. 17, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks dived at Wednesday’s start as investors questioned whether the government’s rescue of American International Group Inc. would stop financial sector hemorrhaging and as home building tumbled again in August.

“The markets will be largely focused on the U.S. financial sector for further direction in currencies, rates and equities,” said Rebeca Liu, a currency analyst at Wachovia Corp.

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As a free market conservative, I never thought I would be among the first to raise a hue and cry for re-regulation, but that is exactly what I’m advocating. The monumental failures of former Wall St. titans Merrill Lynch and Lehman Bros., along with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have demonstrated
beyond any reasonable doubt, that these institutions had virtually no internal controls. That being the case and considering the devastation they leave behind them when they fail, I feel that we must come to the conclusion that external controls are now necessary.

Even for those who don’t accept re-regulation with out stretched arms, considering the massive bailouts that have already been made and keeping in mind the much rumored commercial banks that may need to be rescued by the FDIC, what alternative do we have? As big as the Federal government is, it’s resources aren’t infinite. Unless someone just happens to have an extra trillion dollars just laying around, I don’t know what else we can do, but craft new legislation that will re-institute the kind of risk management that sophisticated money management firms are expected to employ on their own.

I read an article yesterday that came to the conclusion that “moral hazard” ( usually an insurance term ) has been re-introduced to the players of Wall Street. If you take big risks and the trades go south, you are on your own. The days of coming to the U.S. Treasury or lining up the limos outside the New York Fed are over.

~~John Cronin~~

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press
September 15, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Wall Street turmoil underscores the need to overhaul “the outdated and ineffective patchwork quilt of regulatory oversight in Washington,” Republican presidential contender John McCain said Monday.

In a statement issued in advance of market openings, the Arizona senator said he agreed there should be no taxpayer-financed bailout of Lehman Brothers even as the investment banking giant faced the specter of liquidation. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch was selling itself to Bank of America for less than half of the iconic brokerage firm’s recent value.

“It is essential for us to make sure that the U.S. remains the pre-eminent financial market of the world. This will be a highest priority of my administration. In order to do this, major reform must be made in Washington and on Wall Street,” McCain said in his statement.

He added: “The McCain-Palin administration will replace the outdated and ineffective patchwork quilt of regulatory oversight in Washington and bring transparency and accountability to Wall Street. We will rebuild confidence in our markets and restore our leadership in the financial world.”

Over the weekend, advisers both to McCain and Democratic rival Barack Obama said they did not favor a government bailout of Lehman Brothers like that previously provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The government also help engineer the recent sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan & Co.

“I am glad to see that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department have said no to using taxpayer money to bailout Lehman Brothers, a position I have spoken about throughout this campaign,” said McCain. “We are carefully monitoring the financial markets, including the duress at Lehman Brothers that is the latest reminder of ineffective regulation and management. Efforts must also be focused on ensuring that the deposits of hardworking Americans are protected.”

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In one of the worst financial crises of our lifetime, the venerable Lehman Bros. investment bank has been told by Treasury officials that no public funds will be used to bail out the firm. Merrill Lynch has agreed to be purchased by Bank of America for $50 billion. The fate of insurance giant AIG is not known at this writing.

There are several stories about the situation in this morning’s Wall St. Journal and I have no doubt that the story will be widely covered, but IMHO, one thing must be kept in mind. Lehman has suffered the same fate that anyone of us as private citizens would suffer if we bet the farm on one roll of the dice. Lehman will now either be liquidated or will file for bankruptcy.

The only satisfaction that comes out of this situation is that the Treasury finally said no to a firm looking to tap taxpayer funds. The amount of risk these firms took and the hubris of their CEO’s is nothing short of stunning. After the colossal bailouts of the shamelessly mismanaged Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, if the Secretary of the Treasury has showed up this weekend with our checkbook in hand to cut another check to the pirates that have been running these companies the last few years, I believe that the next order of business would have been a tax payer revolt.

~~John Cronin~~

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When I read the article written by the editorial staff of IBD and saw the multi-trillion dollar give aways proposed by Barack Obama it only took a couple of seconds to figure out what Obama is trying to do.

The last thing he wants is to do is start making direct cash payments to the offended parties. He wants to engineer a massive shift in wealth that will be administered by……you guessed it, him and his buddies in the federal bureaucracy. Thereby assuring relevancy and employment for the income redistributers for generations to come, assuming, of course, that they don’t wreck the American economy for themselves and everyone else in the process.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=303088377885894

By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY

Election ‘08: Barack Obama says Washington shouldn’t just offer apologies for slavery, but also “deeds.” Don’t worry, he says, he’s not talking about direct reparations. Relieved? Don’t be.

‘I consistently believe that when it comes to . . . reparations,” Obama recently told a gathering of minority journalists, “the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds.”

A few days later, he clarified his remarks, saying he’s not calling for direct cash payments to descendents of slaves, but rather indirect aid in the form of government programs that will “close the gap” between what he sees as white America and black America.

He says government should offer “universal” programs — such as universal health care, universal mortgage credits, college tuition, job training and even universal 401(k)s — that “disproportionately affect people of color.”

In other words, reparations by another name.

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As we all know, one of the hottest of the hot button issues in America right now is illegal immigration.

I was canvassing a neighborhood for Dr. Bob Onder in Washington, Mo. a couple of weekends ago and when I gave my 30 second “elevator talk” about why I supported Onder for U.S. Congress from Missouri’s 9th district, the phrase that elicited the most passionate responses was: “Dr. Onder has already sponsored a bill that has been signed into law that will enforce our border laws against illegal immigration.”

The economy was a close second, but the voter’s concerns were obviously about what is happening on our southern border and how it will affect Americans from all walks of life.

Below I have excerpted several of the provisions of the bill and I would like to deal with several more each day between now and Missouri’s primary election date of Aug.5. The bill was passed earlier this year, so it will be old news to some of you, but for those readers who are not familiar with the details of the bill, I think this is a good time to remind ourselves of what is at stake in this election year and the importance of supporting only those politicians who will stop the endless pandering and political posturing and will, at long last, actually do something about the challenges we are facing in this country, before it is too late to act!

~~John Cronin~~

Synopsis of law just passed in Missouri.
Monday, June 2, 2008 9:09 AM

CCS SS HCS HB 1549, 1771, 1395 & 2366 — ILLEGAL ALIENS AND
IMMIGRATION STATUS VERIFICATION

This bill changes the laws regarding illegal aliens and
immigration status verification.

ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAWS (Section 43.032, RSMo)

The Superintendent of the State Highway Patrol is required,
subject to appropriations, to designate some or all members of
the patrol to be trained in accordance with a memorandum of
understanding between Missouri and the United States Department
of Homeland Security concerning the enforcement of federal
immigration laws during the course of their normal duties in
Missouri.

SANCTUARY CITIES (Section 67.307)

Any county, city, town, or village is prohibited from enacting a
sanctuary policy. Any municipality that enacts a sanctuary
policy will be ineligible for money provided through grants
administered by any state agency or department until the policy
is repealed or is no longer in effect. Upon complaint by any
state resident or before the provision or award of any funds or
grants to any government entity, agency, or political
subdivision, any member of the General Assembly may request that
the Attorney General issue an opinion as to whether the
government entity, agency, or political subdivision has a
sanctuary policy. County and municipal law enforcement officers
must be notified in writing of their duty to cooperate with state
and federal agents and officials regarding matters of
immigration.

PUBLIC BENEFITS (Section 208.009)

Aliens unlawfully present in the United States are prohibited
from receiving a state or local public benefit unless it is
offered under 8 U.S.C. 1621(b). Documentary evidence accepted by
the Department of Revenue for obtaining a driver’s license will
suffice as proof of citizenship, permanent residency, or lawful
immigration status when applying for benefits. Individuals can
temporarily receive state or local public benefits for up to 90
days while obtaining the necessary documentation or indefinitely
if the applicant provides a copy of a completed birth certificate
application which is pending. Nonprofit organizations regulated
by the Internal Revenue Service are not required to enforce these
restrictions, nor are they prohibited from providing aid.

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I have been so busy blogging for Mitt Romney and for conservative Republican Congressional candidates around the country, that I have inadvertently over looked my own Congressman!

One of the reasons I haven’t been posting about Todd Akin here in Missouri’s 2nd CD is because Todd is a rock-ribbed Republican who can absolutely be depended upon to vote the way he promises constituents he will vote during the campaign. No surprises with Todd Akin in office.

Below is a recent news release that was posted on Congressman Akin’s website where he talks about the budget-busting bailout of those involved in real estate speculation.

~~John Cronin~~

http://akin.house.gov/list/press/mo02_akin/20080723.shtml

July 23, 2008

Washington, DC –

Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) says he will vote against yet another huge government bailout, which is expected to be voted on today. H.R. 3321, the Emergency Assistance for the Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes Act, seeks to address increased mortgage foreclosures by spending at least $300 billion in taxpayer dollars.

The $300 billion bailout is for borrowers and lenders of home mortgages that have overextended.

“I have heard loud and clear from many of my constituents that although there is sympathy for those facing a home foreclosure, they do not want to see their hard earned tax dollars being spent on another huge government bailout,” stated Akin. “The answer is not to penalize the vast majority of taxpayers who have borrowed responsibly and are able to meet their obligations. By throwing government dollars at the problem, we are creating incentives for foreclosure, increasing government debt, and in the long run worsening the economy.”

“The measure also guarantees a substantial number of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans creating a potential liability of up to trillions of dollars that could dramatically increase the national debt,” said Akin.

“In this regard, the American taxpayer is being asked to underwrite the financial mismanagement of these quasi-governmental agencies,” said Akin. “Instead of giving the United States Treasury a blank check for the bailout we need to have, and enforce, stricter regulatory guidelines on these lenders”.

“Congress is sometimes metaphorically referred to as ‘the People’s House’. As such, we must be sure not to take on more debt than we can afford,” said Akin. “Because of the tremendous impact on the national debt, I believe this is one of the worst bills we have passed in eight years.”

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The opinions expressed on some sites alleging that Mitt Romney is a 21st century version of Blackbeard the Pirate, searching for another company to acquire so he could throw all the employees out into the streets the week before Christmas are missing the mark.

The real pirates who apparently savor the thought of business failures, mass layoffs, bankrupt airlines, struggling consumers and enormous trade deficits are none other than the current (hopefully soon to be replaced) Democratic leadership: Obama,Pelosi and Reid.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/HughHewitt/2008/07/11/its_the_oil,_stupid

By: Hugh Hewitt

The economic mess the country confronts can be laid at the feet of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The Don’t Drill Democrats are forcing deindustrialization through depression brought about by soaring energy costs. This is a man-made meltdown, and make no mistake: The Democrats could halt and reverse the skyrocketing cost of oil, but they are choosing not to.
The impact of the massive oil shock brought about by the rise of oil to more than $140 a barrel has just begun to be felt. The airline industry has gotten organized to alert everyone it can that it cannot continue to stagger along at this price. Eight airlines are completely gone that flew a year ago, and many others are on the brink. Layoffs and new charges to battle soaring costs are hardly worth noting they arrive so frequently.
Tremors continue to course through Wall Street as investors shunned mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and yesterday worried Congressmen throw questions at the Fed Chairman and the secretary of the Treasury: How bad can it get?
The answer is very bad indeed. We may be headed for another big bailout of a financial institution, a crisis that could have been avoided had the Congress acted first on energy. The hit on every individual and business at the pump has squeezed the liquidity out of the market, and scared the consumer into a caution not seen in decades. Barack Obama is standing off stage way-left with a plan to tax everything that moves and spend it on transfer payments, and the markets know that means postponing growth until the kids have had their shot at reenacting Jimmy Carter’s triple play of sky high interest rates, double digit inflation and unemployment above 7%

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