September 16, 2008


Collateral damage from Lehman bankruptcy

100 hedge funds accounts frozen

They were using Lehman as their primary broker. Now the accounts have been frozen as administrators sort out the wreckage.

Money market fund breaks the buck

The Reserve Primary Fund money market fund was forced to restate their net value to 97 cents a share to to suspend withdrawals for up to seven days. This after, among other things, they wrote down the value of $785 million of Lehman paper to zero. Yes, zero.

You might want to check what your money market fund is invested in.

No Comments »


Comrade Jim Cramer on the AIG bailout

Will the taxpayers be on the hook for all of the money? Actually, I think the assets of AIG are actually going to be able to cover most of the bets made, as they are darned good and can be sold over time, not fire-sold.

It’s a horrible thing, but it is less horrible than every other option I have heard.

Let’s see now what the bears have to complain about other than we have now nationalized about 60% of the financial system. We are not all Keynesians now, we are all Communists now!

No Comments »


Fed takes over AIG

I don’t think they had any choice.

The Board determined that, in current circumstances, a disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance.

AIG gets a 24 month loan loan at steep interest while they liquidate in an orderly manner. The government gets 80% of the company and the loan is collateralized by all assets of AIG.

The loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the firm’s assets. The U.S. government will receive a 79.9 percent equity interest in AIG and has the right to veto the payment of dividends to common and preferred shareholders.

Next up, Wachovia and Washington Mutual.

No Comments »


No-sewer office building

C. K. Choi Building at the University of British Columbia has no sewer hookups. Instead, uses composting toilets and waterless urinals and uses a mere 132 gallons of water per day and produces compost rather than sewage.

No Comments »


A stock market crash did happen

Only it was in Russia. Their market was down a whopping 17% today. That bubble is over.

No Comments »


Solar tubes. Save electricity. Get natural light

These solar tubes provide more than just a circular skylight. The light is consistent, as the tube is engineered to capture early and late day sun and to reflects too-hot mid day sun. Also, the light is diffused the light once in the house.

No Comments »


Saakashvili “planned S. Ossetia invasion” : ex-minister

The ex-minister’s story gets added support from Der Spiegel.

No Comments »


The Freeway Blogger has been busy

He’s been posting Peace signs up and down the West Coast lately!

No Comments »