Quote of the Day: Geithner’s retirement
Frequent Cafe contributor Chris Whalen throws some more knives Geithner’s way in the today’s NYT:
“We have only two things to say about Tim Geithner, who we do not know: A.I.G. and Lehman Brothers,” said Christopher Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics. “Throw in the Bear Stearns/Maiden Lane fiasco for good measure,” he said.
“All of these ‘rescues’ are a disaster for the taxpayer, for the financial markets and also for the Federal Reserve System as an organization. Geithner, in our view, deserves retirement, not promotion.”
Ouch.
“He was in the room at every turn of the crisis,” said another executive who participated in several such confidential meetings with Mr. Geithner. “You can look at that both ways.”
Ouch is right.
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Source:
Where Was Geithner in Turmoil?
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
NYT, November 24, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/business/25sorkin.html
November 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
The guy gives all the appearances of being the “new Hjalmar Schacht” the City of London is looking for…
November 25th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Roubini gives him a thumb up, Whalen puts his thumb up, I give up. I think I will just wait and see how he does…
November 25th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I try to be an optimist (these days) but I am really disappointed in Obama’s economic team appointments so far. very.
The FNM report today was really bad.. has anyone else noticed that the credit agencies like to crank out the CMBS and rMBS downgrades right before the close on FNM report days?
November 25th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Is Roubini’s thumb actually capable of going up? …News to me.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
VT Trader said : “has anyone else noticed that the credit agencies like to crank out the CMBS and rMBS downgrades right before the close on FNM report days”
No kidding – and how about the morning rescue job today with the backstopping of consumer loans? Just before Liesman announced that on CNBC, we were set for a big sell-off today. the technical action was actually quite good today, 840 held and it really had to if we are to make progress from here.
there will be probably be pre-holiday selling in the financials tomorrow, and that will give SKF holders a nice exit point, which I would take if I was them. Looks like we are set for a rally up to SPX 1000 next few weeks and most of the short positions are going to get obliterated along the way. Why? Who knows, but it’s what bear markets do….
November 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
“He was in the room at every turn of the crisis,” said another executive who participated in several such confidential meetings with Mr. Geithner. “You can look at that both ways.”
This alone makes Obama’s pick a horrible choice in my mind. Either Geithner was too incompetent to recognize the mess they created, or if he did recognize it, he didn’t have the integrity to resign gracefully and find work else ware in a more honorable endeavor. He chose to further the status quo for the Washington pigmen (politicians), and now will be compensated with even more bureaucratic power. Horrible pick!!!
November 25th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Barry, you got a shoutout on Rush’s show today (don’t ask why i was listening…opposition research.) sent shivers down my spine to hear him quote you.
at least he is getting his info from a better source than usual.
–bcd
November 25th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Barry: This is the time to get your book to the publisher. A new team has been named- well not so new. The year is ending – tie it up.
Then you are ready for volume 2/ 2009 as the crisis bores in on Main Street and you follow all the bailout babies into the new year to see how they do where the rubber meets the road. That’s going to be the more powerful story sad to say.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
‘Looks like we are set for a rally up to SPX 1000 next few weeks and most of the short positions are going to get obliterated along the way. Why? Who knows, but it’s what bear markets do….’
I’m so sick of getting squeezed out on these deadman rallies. I’m committed. I’m staying short with Mr. Barry until 650 S&P….and/or some of these WS suits start getting frogwalked out in handcuffs.
Growl.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
doug: “Roubini gives him a thumb up, Whalen puts his thumb up, I give up. I think I will just wait and see how he does…”
Roubini used to work for Geithner, so he’s partial. I’m not sure it matters who is appointed to the official finance positions (in Federal Reserve and Treasury), as each will have deep ties to the banking cartel and, thus, will largely be puppets.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
As most of us commenters know, any fool can shoot off his mouth. I say wait until we see some of the decisions he makes, make informed analysis, and then criticize. My opinion is that some of these very caustic gurus have made some bad trades and are lashing out,
November 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
larster Says: As most of us commenters know, any fool can shoot off his mouth. I say wait until we see some of the decisions he makes, make informed analysis, and then criticize. My opinion is that some of these very caustic gurus have made some bad trades and are lashing out
——————–
“Geithner was in the room at every turn of the crisis.”
How much more evidence do you need? How are any of Obama’s current appointees “change”, and more importantly, since this is an economic blog, what evidence is there that they won’t continue the status quo for Wall Street? Their records speak for themselves. (Disclosure: I dislike both political parties equally.)
November 25th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Well, well, well….I hope you all saw CNBC & Mr. CG blink this Evening at 5:25EST on Fast Money. It proves that if CNBC goes too far in communicating “their view” and as a result gets threatened, they will (even if reluctantly so) provide the rest of the story. IMO, that is exactly what happened.
It is obvious to me that advocates of Bob Rubin (possibly Robert Rubin, himself) laid down the gauntlet to CNBC (in terms they clearly understood) for their reporting of Citi’s decision to take on a greater risk profile in past years and Rubin’s input into that decision.
Sunday night, CG painted the story that it was all the making of Bob Rubin. Well, scratch that! I enjoyed Charlie’s recant very much, not for what he said; but, for what I know took place behind the scenes. It’s about damn time! Like a plain ‘ole Country TV Viewer, it was just splendid!
November 25th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
There will be many different personalities working “cohesively together” for the first time as a group, on Obama’s economic team. This is good because it will provide him with a diversified range of opinions to consider before making a decision.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Big Tony-
I’m not a Geithner backer or a detractor, but I would not discount the value of having someone “that was in the room’ on Obama’s team, at least initially. There are going to be legions of ass coverers coming out of the current administration, to and maybe the number one being Paulson. There is value to someone being able to throw the bullshit flag for a penalty in these situations.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
“How are any of Obama’s current appointees “change”,”
That’s easy. It’s change from the asshats that have brought us to the brink for the last 8 years. What is your problem with experience and competence instead of unqualified frat boys like “heck of job brownie”?
I asked before what makes whalen an expert? Hedge fund, investment analyst? That is quite a bit less credibility than Geithner. Frankly, I never heard of whalen until BR’s two posts.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
larster,
with this: “As most of us commenters know, any fool can shoot off his mouth.”–the only issue I’ll take is that it is too broad, in context.
Whalen, for his own account, goes further: “All of these ‘rescues’ are a disaster for the taxpayer, for the financial markets and also for the Federal Reserve System as an organization. Geithner, in our view, deserves retirement, not promotion.”
Having a, clear enough, mind to see the obvious, and, better, the Stick to tell it, is, certainly, no sign of a fool.
Further, his other writings, available here@ TBP, at the minimum, show, agree, or not, that the Man is, again, not a fool.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
“What is your problem with experience and competence instead of unqualified frat boys like “heck of job brownie”?
——————-
I fail to see Geithner as being competent. I also don’t subscribe to the belief that this mess started just 8 years ago. I do recall Enron, WorldCom, LTCM, etc., occurring on someone else’s watch, for that matter… I think this credit crisis started 15-30 years ago when debt expansion became culturally accepted in the U.S.
Consider me extremely impressed if this spring Obama takes a hard line stance with the American people, and conveys to them just how many sacrifices we will have to make to “begin” to get our country out of this mess. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath, and I’d bet that the U.S. continues down its current path of becoming globally irrelevant. We’ll see…
November 25th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
The baby boomers: In with a boom and out with a ….
November 25th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I don’t see any suggestion to an alternative. Only a bitch. Shaun Hannity/FoxNews style.
So is he saying he wishes Bush and Paulsen were staying on?
Or is he proposing some alternative. If so what?
November 25th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Bob A,
I speak not for Mr. Whalen, though, the idea that I came away with, was: “More of the Same.”
much like: Obama and McCain Teams Worked on Appointee List Together
November 25th, 2008
Via: Washington Note:
A senior Obama campaign official shared with The Washington Note that in July 2008, the McCain and Obama camps began to work secretly behind the scenes to assemble large rosters of potential personnel for the administration that only one of the candidates would lead.
Lists comprised of Democrats and Republicans were assembled, sorted into areas of policy expertise, so that the roster could be called on after the election by either the Obama or McCain transition teams.
Related posts:
Obama, McCain to Appear at Ground Zero on 9/11
McCain Accused of Accepting Improper Donations from Rothschilds
Ron Paul Warns of Great Shift Toward Global Government Under Obama
Antiwar Groups Fear Barack Obama May Create Hawkish Cabinet
OBAMA CONSIDERING JON CORZINE, ANOTHER FORMER GOLDMAN SACHS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FOR TREASURY SECRETARY
http://cryptogon.com/?p=5280
November 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Why is no one, including the President-elect Obama,
asking for payback/retribution/comeuppance from those that created this mess?
(Let me have links if there are)
The Federal Govt. should be able to find out who made
the mortgage, who sold as an investment and who gave it
a AAA rating. All those houses were part of a two way
transaction: someone bought, someone sold.
The home buyers were duped and the taxpayers are going
to be cleaned out by these financial con artists.
If these financial con artists do not pay now, they will
come back again and again: S&L crisis, Long Term
Capital, Enron.
No white collar jails for those responsible. They go into the
general jail population, they are more dangerous than
drug dealers and thieves.