A look at the money spent by both parties since last September.11 Mar

Here is a list of all the bailout/stimulus measures since last September:

• AIG Bailout:

On Sept. 16, the Fed loaned AIG $85 billion.

The Fed extended another $38 billion in credit on Oct. 9.

On Nov. 9 the loans were restructured, interest rates were reduced, and the Treasury chipped in $40 billion to purchase preferred stock in AIG.

March rescue of AIG: $75 billion

• Federal Takeover of Freddie and Fannie:

Originally the government allowed $100 billion per GSE, so Freddie and Fannie were given $200 billion (paid by Treasury). In addition to the government takeover, which CBO estimates will increase the federal government’s net liabilities by $238 billion, several government agencies have taken steps to increase liquidity within Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Among these steps:

1. Federal Reserve purchases of $23 billion in GSE debt (out of a potential $100 billion) and $53 billion in GSE-held mortgage backed securities (out of a potential $500 billion).

2. Federal Reserve purchases of $24 billion in GSE debt.

3. Treasury Department purchases of $14 billion in GSE stock (out of a potential $200 billion).

4. Treasury Department purchases of $71 billion in mortgage backed securities

5. Federal Reserve extension of primary credit rate for loans to the GSEs

The original $100 billion amount was recently increased to $200 billion per GSE.

• TARP: $700 billion ($350 billion for dispersal in 2008, the rest in 2009)

• Stimulus Package: $580 Billion appropriated (this is $789 billion minus the tax provisions in the bill)

• Placeholder for more financial rescue in FY2009 under Obama’s FY2010: $250 billion

• Foreclosure: $75 Billion

• Omnibus bill: $31 billion, or 8 percent, more than the total funding in the fiscal 2008 versions of the nine bills in the package.

All of this was passed with NO accountability, NO transparancy, and NO reporting about where the money was spent.

This is YOUR money going into a drain, and despite the assurances from both parties that this will provide relief for average Americans, there is hundreds of billions unaccounted for already.

bailout

THERE IS NO BANK BAILOUT OCCURING!19 Feb

In an underreported article in The New York Times editorial page today, they reveal that all that TARP money designated to struggling banks to free up leading, is instead going to the holding companies that own the banks . . . among other commercial enterprises. They also revealed that of the $90 billion those holding companies have received, only $15 billion has gone to their subsidiary banks. That’s 16% of the money!

So our tax money is being spent to subsidize the economic losses of bank owners! It’s like saving a struggling company by sending checks to stockholders. Would they in turn reinvest that money into the company, or use it to salvage their own losses? Exactly.

Once again, this so-called “Bailout” has been executed with no trasparancy or acountability for where our taxpayer money is going. If we are going to bailout banks, it would be nice if the plan actually included money going to the actual banks. Bailing out bank owners is scandalous.

bailout, bernie madoff, wall street

Links and such…13 Feb

Looks like Calvin and Hobbs figured out the stimulus 15 years ago: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/02/classic-calvin.html

Another Madoff-lite indicted:

Ex-Broker From Canada Indicted in $26 Million Fraud
Bloomberg – USA

SEC Enforcement Director Linda Thomsen to Step Down
Bloomberg – USA

Banking on risks
BusinessWorld Online – Quezon City, Philippines

Wall Street’s crybabies
Los Angeles Times – CA

News Minute: Obama on stimulus…Bailout bombs on Wall Street …
WKBT – La Crosse, WI

Financial bailout-angst: ‘People are mad’
The Swamp – Tribune’s Washington Bureau – Washington,DC

bailout, wall street

Bailout not being received favorably11 Feb

The Reviews Are In… (Courtesy of National Review Online)

New York Times: Stocks Slide as New Bailout Disappoints

New York Times: For Geithner’s Debut, a Lukewarm Reception

Washington Post: In $1.5 Trillion Rescue, Few Details; Wall Street Responds With a Sharp Sell-Off, Sinking Dow 4.6 Percent

Washington Post: Wall Street’s Sharp Rebuke To Rescue Short on Detail

WSJ: Market Pans Bank Rescue Plan

WSJ: Treasury Secretary Gets a Chilly Reception

Boston Globe:US sets massive bank rescue, stirs worries on Wall Street

Investor’s Business Daily: Market Tumbles As $2 Trillion Bank Fix Skimps On Details

LA Times: Stocks tumble after Geithner unveils financial plan

NY Post: Bailout Bombs

Politico: Geithner’s bear of a day

Washington Times: Obama bank plan skids on Wall Street

Time: Why Geithner’s Rescue Plan Spooked the Markets

Newsweek: Stocks tumble after gov’t unveils financial plan

Fortune: Geithner’s plan falls flat

CNN: Wall Street: Thumbs down on bailout

Reuters: Geithner on the defensive in his big debut

Reuters: Stocks sink over 4 percent on bank plan apprehension

Reuters: U.S. offers $2 trillion bank plan but stocks slump

AP: Stocks tumble after gov’t unveils financial plan

McClatchy: Treasury outlines bank rescue plan, but Wall Street frowns

McClatchy: New bank bailout fails to address core economic problems

bailout, economy, losing game blog

Review of the book from The Wild Investor.com04 Feb

When it comes to any significant event or task, there are always various opinions and conspiracy theories. I was fortunate to get my hands on a book targeted to revealing why you just can’t beat Wall Street.

The book is called The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street and aims at sharing why investing your money in Wall Street is just as good as throwing it away.

The author of the book, T.E. Scott, is a former employee of Eastern Airlines. The company eventually went bankrupt, and Scott ended up losing all his preferred stock that he was given by the airlines. He now sees Wall Street as the biggest con game in history.

One of the main arguments Scott pushes is that the stock market is a sum-minus game. Meaning that for all the money somebody makes another is losing it, so right off the back the odds are against you for blossoming in the markets. He also looks at the “real” purpose of the regulatory commissions and how many of these so-called “experts” make more money selling their schemes and products than using their own advice themselves.

While the book brings up some interesting and valid points, it is important to remember that Scott is targeting the investment community as a whole rather than “eagle eyeing” on only the successful. So while you might have experienced some success, for all those gains, other people had to experience some losses.

Regardless of your current thinking or beliefs, The Losing Game is actually a pretty good read. When the book was first brought to my attention I was interested to see what Scott had to say.

Overall, it is a pretty easy yet informative read, and combines a little bit of humor with some eye opening data and ideas. I would recommend this book for those with any bit of interest in the stock market.

bailout, bernie madoff, interviews, wall street

Listen to Stephen Edds discuss “The Losing Game” on Jerry Doyle’s show TODAY26 Jan

Stephen Edds, who worked with primary author T.E. Scott to write “The Losing Game” will appear on the nationally-syndicated “Jerry Doyle Show” today at 5:30 ET to discuss the book, Bernie Madoff, the bailout and whatever else comes up.

Weekdays from 3PM-6PM ET (12PM-3PM PT), Jerry Doyle airs the popular Jerry Doyle Show on the Talk Radio Network, though the show airs at different times in different markets. He differs from other conservative talk show hosts, such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, in that his focus is not exclusively political, and more laid back similar to Gonzo Journalism.

Jerry spent 10 years as a stockbroker on Wall St, so he’ll have a unique insight, and it should be a lively conversation.

bailout, wall street

CEO-Aid “Do They Know it’s Bonus Time”19 Dec

WARNING: Mild, salty language may offend some, the listing of CEO salaries for the bailout companies at the end of the video will offend EVERYONE!

bailout, wall street

Ex-NASDAQ Chairman’s fraud to cost investors $500 BILLION12 Dec

Ex-Nasdaq chairman arrested on fraud charge in NYC (from the AP)

Email this Story

Dec 12, 6:46 AM (ET)

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

Editors Note:

In “The Losing Game,” we ask the question: Where did the money go that Wall Street lost?

$500 BILLION went into Madoff’s pockets and not to helping average Americans prepare for their retirement.

Madoff isn’t the exception, he’s the RULE! Wall Street funnels your money into the pockets of crooks like Madoff.

bailout

No accountability for the bailout money…just like “The Losing Game” predicted04 Dec

A majority of “The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street” was written before the current financial bailout, so while it mentions how stupid Congress was to go along with it, the book went to press before we could prove it with recent events.

Gregg Easterbrook does that for us, keeping us updated on how little accountability and thought has gone into the bailout. Folks, we’re spending TRILLIONS of dollars and have no plan in place to track where the money is going or if it’s being used wisely.

This is Easterbrook’s report this week:

“On Nov. 24, the Washington Post calculated the total cost of the bailout-a-rama may rise to $2.8 trillion, though the figure includes guarantees for loans that may end up being repaid, thus reducing the final tab. Just two days later, the Post recalculated to $4.7 trillion, after the Treasury Department (”Hey Hank, should this say billion or trillion?”) made huge additional commitments to cover bad loans, again some of which may not fail. The $4.7 trillion figure equals the entire national debt on the day George W. Bush took office. One day after that, the New York Times calculated that so far this year the United States has actually spent $1.4 trillion on the bailout, while committing to as much as $7.8 trillion, if all loans default. The $7.8 trillion figure equals the entire national debt just three years ago.

The speed with which government is giving away money is breathtaking. In less than a year, the United States has casually added to the deficit — with virtually no public accountability and in most cases without a vote of Congress — at least $1.4 trillion, an amount equal to almost three times annual Social Security benefits. Anyone who a year ago had proposed doubling Social Security benefits would have been hooted down as fiscally irresponsible, even by senior citizen advocates. Last week, White House officials casually announced that an extra $800 billion — more than the fiscal 2009 defense budget — was being spent, without a congressional vote, without public accountability, sometimes without even knowing what the money is being spent on! (Treasury officials have said they do not know what AIG is doing with its billions in tax funds.) In 2007, Bush vetoed an additional $7 billion for health care for the poor, saying the country could not afford that much. Now taxpayers are on the hook for up to 671 times the figure Bush said was too high. Our children and their children will be paying for this mess in Washington for a long, long time.

[+] Enlarge

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

If you don’t like today’s federal financial recovery policy, just wait for tomorrow’s.

Note 1: When all this started last winter — back when Henry Paulson said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would “never” be bailed out — economic columnist and 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics winner Paul Krugman calculated that converting to present dollars and adjusting for GDP size, the 1990s Japanese financial restructuring had cost that country $3 trillion. Krugman predicted our meltdown would eventually cost America about the same. Krugman said this at a time when Paulson (”Hey Hank, five minutes have passed, what’s your policy now?”) was asserting in public that the damage would always be limited to the $29 billion given to Bear Stearns. Based on recent numbers, Krugman’s prediction may prove eerily close.

Note 2: AIG, which has been shoveled $152 billion of your children’s money without accountability, announced last week that new CEO Edward Liddy will work for $1 a year and receive no bonus. Sounds good, and media reports were favorable. But buried in the announcement is that Liddy is also receiving stock (”equity grants”). The announcement mysteriously does not say how much. With AIG selling for $2 a share — the strike price of the grant would be the price when awarded — even if the shares rose only to $5, a large block of stock acquired at $2 could be quite valuable. So how come AIG doesn’t disclose how much taxpayer-subsidized stock its CEO is pocketing?

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

The new CEO of AIG just promised he won’t pilfer your money — except for that “special bonus.”

Also buried: Liddy “may be eligible for a special bonus for extraordinary performance.” Have you ever read anything more transparently phony? A good guess is that no matter how the current CEO does, the board will find he deserves a “special bonus” that won’t be announced until media attention has shifted to whatever the next scandal is. Sadly, reader Melanie Cleten of Providence, R.I., notes, “AIG’s management has tricked taxpayers into handing the company $152 billion. What other corporate executives in history have brought in so much cash so quickly? Maybe they do deserve bonuses, unless we are fools.” She leaves it there.”

bailout, economy, wall street

Renowned economist Mikhail Khazin: U.S. facing a 2nd Great Depression04 Dec

I know I’m about a month late to this, but those of you who haven’t seen this should read it and send it to all of your friends. Folks, it’s going to get worse, and unless you educate yourself and prepare for what’s coming, you’ll wake up and be caught up in something you never expected to see in your lifetime.

President-elect Obama has his economic team in place, but unless they’re willing to take on Wall Street and redistribute their wealth back to the people instead of giving them trillion-dollar bailouts, it’ll be nothing more than a paper towel in a tidal wave.

“Renowned economist Mikhail Khazin : U.S. will soon face second “Great Depression”

Yevgeniy Chernyx
KP. ru
Sunday, Nov 9, 2008

Five years ago, I ran the cultural section at Komsomolskaya Pravda. Publishing houses used to send me their new releases now and again for review. One day, after digging through the latest shipment of such literature, I stumbled upon a book titled, “Sunset of the Dollar Empire and the End of the Pax Americana.”

I remember reading the title over to myself several times in disbelief. Way back when, Soviet Americanologists loved to debate the collapse of the U.S. financial empire. But this book was published in 2003.

I flipped through the pages, skimming over the text. The conclusions of the author — an economist named Mikhail Khazin — seemed convincing enough. So I gave the book to our economics columnist at KP Jenya Anisimov, who wrote a review and interviewed the author later at our editorial offices.

All these years, I kept Khazin in the back of my mind, and followed his career as he spoke at various conferences throughout Russia. He seemed certain the U.S. was teetering on the verge of an economic collapse, while other analysts were quick to refute his theory. Now, as his once unfathomable prognosis begins to come true, KP contacted Khazin for an interview.

Fired from the Kremlin!
KP: Mikhail Leonidovich, how did you end up predicting the current financial crisis?
Khazin: In the spring of 1997, the Kremlin established the Presidential Economic Department. I was made the deputy head of the unit. Our first task was to prepare a report for [former President Boris] Yeltsin about the economic situation. We realized an economic crisis was pending in Russia and would take place in the late summer or early fall of 1998 if the country’’s economic policies weren’t changed.

KP: What view did the higher echelons take of your report?
Khazin: They didn’t really take any view at all. No one read the text except for the deputy head of the administration and Yeltsin himself. In the summer of 1998, we were fired from the presidential administration for trying to stop a business project titled, “State Treasury Bills— Exchange Rate Corridor.” This was the biggest financial scheme of the post-Soviet era. Just as we had predicted, an economic crisis gave way that August. Together with my colleagues, I continued researching the reasons behind the crisis.

After becoming seriously consumed in our studies of the U.S. financial system, we found an unprecedented parallel. Just as our T-bill market had sucked all the juices out of the Russian economy, the U.S. financial market was sucking the resources out of the entire planet. We realized a similar fate awaited the U.S. financial system. Our article was published in the summer of 2000 in the “Ekspert” magazine, titled, “Is the U.S. Digging for an Apocalypse.” We concluded that it was just as impossible to avoid an economic crisis in the U.S. as the financial collapse in Russia.

Playing the idiot
KP: The U.S. obviously didn’t listen to the song written by [the renowned Russian rock group] LUBE during perestroika, “Don’t Play the Fool, America!” Seriously, though, what’s the real reason for the economic collapse? Let’s try to do this without any heavy duty financial terms…
Khazin: I’ll try! The economic model that led to the collapse was the result of a crisis in the 1970s. This was a terrible financial crisis that was the result of surplus capital. Even the 19th-Century classics in economics literature concluded that capital grows faster than labor provides compensation. As a result, there is a lack of demand. In traditional capitalism, this problem is solved on account of crises in excess production. And in an imperialistic system, the problem is solved on account of capital outflow. But by the 1970s, these solutions had run their course. However, the internatinoal situation demanded the U.S. either make a great scientific and technological leap forward or lose the Cold War to the USSR. The administration of [President Jimmy] Carter and the head of the Financial Reserve System Paul Walker developed a very tricky concept. For the first time in the history of capitalism, capitalists began helping others, issuing new currency in an effort to stimulate aggregate demand .

KP: They decided to switch on the printing press?
Khazin: Exactly. In the early 1980s, they started to stimulate demand through state support. For example, they launched the “Star Wars” program. As of 1983, they placed an emphasis on the household economies.

KP: You mean, they relied on the average citizens?
Khazin: Yes. For an entire quarter century, households received funds as a result of issuing new currency in larger and larger quantities.

KP: In other words, credit?
Khazin: Yes. The U.S. was able to make the next step in technological progress as a result of this excess demand. They accomplished the collapse of the USSR and numerous other significant fears. But… The boom took place thanks to resources that were supposed to provide for future growth. The country ate its own resources two generations ahead of time. The U.S. built up tremendous debt. This is clearly seen if we compare the growth of debt in U.S. households with the entire U.S. debt and GDP. The economy is growing at an annual rate of 2-3, or at a maximum 4 percent. But debt is increasing at a rate of 8-10 percent.

KP: Well, let the debt keep growing… The U.S. lived fine up until now without a problem… Better than we did!
Khazin: Yes, the U.S. did create a very high standard of living by stimulating consumer demand. Generations lived without having to experience poverty. But it’s impossible to live forever in debt. Household debt has now surpassed the national economy — more than $14 trillion. Now it’s time to pay up. Of course, Wall Street tried to postpone this collapse. I won’t go into detail about derivatives and other such financial assets, but this was just a gasp for air before an inevitable death.

Another problem in the U.S. is that powerful industries were built around this growing demand. Whatever decision Wall Street takes right now, the demand is going to fall. What will happen to these industries? In 2000, we estimated that 25 percent of the U.S. economy would disappear. Today, we think the number is closest to one-third — if not more.

KP: That’s a lot!
Khazin: That’s an incredible amount! But what exactly does this mean — the destruction of one-fourth of the U.S. economy? It means an uncontrollable increase in unemployment, a horrible depression, a sharp increase in the effect of social services on the budget… Now, the U.S. is jumping all over the place doing everything its can to rescue this fraction of the economy. The government is stimulating banks and manufacturing… But regardless, in 2-3 years, the U.S. will face a crisis similar to the Great Depression.

Who is Who
Mikhail Leonidovich Khazin was born in 1962. He studied mathematics at the Yaroslavl University and Moscow State University. In 1984-1991, he worked at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1993-1994, he worked at the State Working Center of Economic Reforms. In 1995-1997, he was the head of the Credit Policy Department at the Economics Ministry. In 1997-1998, he was the deputy head of the Presidential Economics Department. In June 1998, he left state service. At the moment, he is president of the consulting firm, Neokon.

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Interview with Chicago’s Windy City Writers’ blog

http://windycitywriters.com/blog/2008/11/19/interview-author-stephen-edds.html

By Walt McElligott

(*Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors of The Losing Game, T.E. Scott and Stephen Edds, and do not necessarily represent those of the article’s author, Walt McEligott, or of the Chicago Writers Association.)

Co-authors Stephen Edds and T.E. Scott don’t hold back their cards when it comes to their feelings about Wall Street. Their new book, The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street (Hidden Truth Publishing), is a stinging indictment of the American financial industry.

In the book, the authors pose questions such as, “Would you gamble your retirement on a game that’s rigged?” Then they provide their own answers. “You are now. For decades, the American people have been held captive in their financial lives by the limited knowledge of and an inherent trust in Wall Street, only to see that trust violated time and time again by greed and corruption.”

Or they ask leading questions such as, “Why are you trusting your 401(k) and pension to a corrupt and unregulated market? Would you take your retirement money to Las Vegas to gamble?”

Edds, a freelance writer from Indianapolis, shares the story behind the book in this interview for the Chicago Writers Association. As in the book, he pulls no punches when it comes to Wall Street, which he charges is “fleecing” Americans out of their hard-earned money.

———————————————————————————————–

CWA: The Losing Game describes “Wall Street as the largest gambling casino in the United States, where the games are fixed and the house ALWAYS wins.” What experience do you or your co-author have that qualifies you to write a book like this?

Edds: I have a BA degree from Hanover College and also worked for 15 years in the field of corporate marketing communications. Like many people, I had a very limited knowledge of Wall Street until I met T.E. Scott. Through months of research and conversation, I realized T.E. had seen through the illusion and deception of Wall Street and I joined his mission to help spread the word.

As for T.E. Scott’s qualifications, he is a retired entrepreneur and business owner who not only worked as a union laborer for United Airline for 32 years, but then built his small business into a multi-million dollar company before he retired.

Together, we apply well-reasoned arguments, unwavering logic, and common-sense insights to expose the stock market and commodity markets for what they are: brilliantly marketed con games designed to separate working families from their money without accountability or prosecution.

CWA: Am I correct that you are describing a type of psychological warfare happening on Wall Street?

Edds: Exactly. In the book, we talk about how over the years, Wall Street has implemented a form of psychological war, using propaganda, marketing and the complexity of the market itself, to keep us in the dark about their true intent.

In The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street we are able to show the bottom-line basics of how Wall Street is fleecing millions of Americans every day with Congress and the media as willing accomplices. Scott presents a revolutionary perspective that uncovers the deceptive conditioning of the American worker to place their trust and money in Wall Street without question.

For example, how many times have you read about how “now is the best time to invest with the market down”? It’s marketing and sales, pure and simple, disguised as news.

CWA: Simple people, like me, have been led to believe that the only way to solve our “financial crisis” is to dump a trillion of our hard earned dollars into Wall Street. Does The Losing Game help us understand what is really happening?

Edds: The Losing Game exposes Wall Street’s motivations and speaks to the involvement of the media, academic world and Congress to lay out clearly why we’re in this mess to begin with. It didn’t start in 2008, 1987, or 1929, and it’s not going to change anytime soon!

This is the book you MUST read before even thinking about investing in Wall Street! Average people believe they’re making a safe investment, when in fact, they are gambling in a casino where all the games are rigged!

CWA: Is your book for the everyday blue- and white- collar worker?

Edds: Yes, we wrote the book especially for those people who don’t like reading investment books. We use simple terminology to walk the reader through the process of what REALLY happens when you pay into your 401 (k) or retirement plan. It’s amazing that millions of people who would never buy a lottery ticket or step into a casino hand their money to Wall Street, which is just as much of a gamble as a slot machine. We believe it will help anyone break through the myths and demand accountability from Wall Street. Readers need our book to help them understand that they are trusting their 401(k) accounts and pensions to a corrupt and unregulated stock market.

CWA: What is the difference, if any, between “gambling your hard earned paycheck” at one of Harrah’s casinos and the stock market?

Edds: You’ll have better odds at Harrah’s and the games are honest. Gambling boats and casinos are promoted as pure entertainment, with no reason to promote themselves as something other than what they are. The markets, however, are promoted as performing an important business function with a vital economic value.

In a casino, you are playing games marketed as a fun activity. No value attaches to the games themselves. The gambler knows he is gambling, and the name of the game is insignificant. A poker game is a poker game. Roulette, craps, blackjack are just games. They have no vital economic importance to society.

Las Vegas never denies that the casinos are primarily gambling facilities. You know upfront that even with the best restaurants, star-studded shows, and luxurious amenities, available to enhance the gambling environment and to bring your money into the specific casino, you are still gambling. You may enjoy these activities, but try as you might, you can’t hide the fact that you are at a casino to gamble.

To camouflage the market’s reality (that it’s a huge gambling casino) Wall Street managers needed to convince the public that people were actually investing to enhance their savings and promote the economy of the United States. This is a formidable task. Wall Street had to circumvent all of the entertainment and amenities that casinos offer and change your mindset to get you to believe that the stock and commodity markets are a business function vital to everyone’s well being.

CWA: In other words, I freely gave my money over to a huge gambling casino when I invested in my companies 401(k)?

Edds: You did so because you (and thousands like you) trusted that you’re investing your money. You’ve been convinced that the “games” are actually a legitimate financial venture. To get you to believe you’re investing, the exchanges had to attach something of value to the names of the games. They took symbols that we believed were vital to our economy and used them as titles on their games (stock names, commodities, etc.), which allowed them to seduce the public into thinking they were investing in something of substance. In reality, they’d merely changed the title of the games, but it’s still the same gambling games that you find in Las Vegas.

CWA: I note that your book makes several provocative claims, one of which is that the stock and commodity markets are “minus-sum” propositions for investors. Please explain.

Edds: “Minus-sum” is one of the primary factors that make Wall Street a “losing game” for investors. The Losing Game describes this concept in great detail, but briefly, minus-sum refers to all of the “hidden costs” that make it impossible to get ahead in the stock market. These costs include brokers’ fees and commissions as well as the taxes the IRS collects whether you win or lose.

CWA: What is the most important thing to keep in mind in playing the Wall Street “game”?

Edds: Two things. One, the main element of all the games is that players or investors are trying to predict an unpredictable, and the odds are stacked in favor of the house. Two, the odds are that you are going to lose money in the market.

CWA: What is the difference between gambling at a casino and gambling in the stock market?

Edds: A major difference between gambling at a casino and gambling in the markets is that the markets present advantages to an elite few that the average investor doesn’t have. In a casino, you may be treated as a high roller, with VIP treatment and access to parts of the casino that average people will never see. But at the end of the day, the games you choose to play for a high buy-in are the same games average people are playing on the main floor.

On Wall Street, an elite few have access to inside information, a seat on the exchange, the ability to act on information instantly as opposed to when it hits the public, and access to information that the public doesn’t receive. Some of this is legal, some not. All of these advantages result in an increase in the odds in favor of a select few, to the detriment of average investors.

CWA: Please explain the similarity you draw between Las Vegas and the New York Stock Exchange.

Edds: At a casino, there is a strong natural tendency for an investor to ignore losses and focus on winnings. Casinos encourage this tendency by making sure that every quarter won in a slot machine causes lights to flash and makes its own little jingle in the metal tray. Seeing all the lights and hearing all the clinking, it’s not hard to get the impression that everyone’s winning.

If you watch the floor of the NYSE, with all of the yelling and running around and the flashing lights and the stock ticker, one cannot help but be caught up in the excitement, thinking that fortunes are being made on the floor. But losses are mostly silent.

CWA: The great illustrations for your book were drawn by John Marr. Is he available for hire as an artist to other writers?

Edds: Certainly. The funny thing is that John is a friend of T.E. Scott and initially a skeptic of the concepts Scott was developing for the book. Not only did Scott change John’s mind, but he contributed some fantastic and funny illustrations. If any Chicago Writers Association members are in need of John’s talents, I’d suggest that they e-mail me at: <Stephen (at) stephenedds.com> for his contact information.

CWA: What are your current writing plans?

Edds: Right now, I’m completely focused on promoting The Losing Game. Publishing the book is only step one – our primary objective is to create a grassroots movement that gets people to stop investing in the stock market – and start investing in themselves. As a nation, we’re drowning in debt, the bailouts will NOT work. If we can’t make changes at the grassroots level, we’ll be forced to enact Federal legislation that takes control of the currently unregulated financial markets. If everyone just stops giving their money to Wall Street and invest in themselves and their communities, this won’t be necessary.

My writing is focused on the losinggame.com blog

CWA: Many thanks Stephen, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your thoughts with the Chicago Writers Association. Best wishes to you and Mr. Scott on the success of The Losing Game.

Today’s Blog Tour Stop…Paperback Writer

http://rebecca2007.wordpress.com/

Today’s stop on the blog tour is an interview with Paperback Writer. Stop by and leave a comment and let them know you’re supporting their efforts.

“My Way on Wall Street” in The Lake County (OH) Sentinel

http://www.thelakecountysentinel.com/emilmarinoopinionmywaywallstreet33.html

My Way on Wall Street

April 1, 2009

Opinion by Emil Marino

There’s so many experts in Washington now, it’s making me retch. This past week I threw out my Economics book and started to read comic books as I used to when I was a pimpled face kid.. President Obama is making so many television appearances, I’m beginning to think that he’d rather hear himself talk and work himself into a Hollywood role of playing a President, rather than reading the Economics book I threw away. This week, we’ll have the biggest “circle-jerk” in history. Leaders from G-20 countries are meeting to discuss and solve the world financial crisis and how to solve it. (He-He) Does that make your 401K feel more secure now?

O.K. O.K. We believe the President is doing everything he can to help us poor bedraggled retches out here. But, how in God’s name can creating a THREE TRILLION, FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLAR DEBT going to help us in the next few years? I implore you Mr. President, tell us how PRINTING MONEY and BORROWING MONEY won’t create the worst inflation this country has ever had in the coming years. If you think that bread, milk, and other food products we have to buy daily and weekly are expensive now, just wait until hyperinflation of 20 or 30 percent will affect your eating habits. We will definitely be losing a lot of weight from eating less, which for many of us is a good thing.

Now for the market folks. Does anyone know where the bottom is? I sure don’t. Listening to many of the experts on television (CNBC), most say when the DOW hit 6470 March 9, that was the bottom. Maybe so; maybe not so! I don’t know about all you readers, but I fear with all that’s going on, that a financial recovery isn’t in my forecast anytime soon. In all my years (50 years) investing and following the markets, I’ve never seen times as bad as they are right now. Who caused all of this? I’ve been telling everyone reading my columns for three years; the POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON! BOTH PARTIES! They’re SUPPOSED to put in controls in the banking system, the economy, and stock markets. But all they did is beat their chests and blame every body else, while filling their pockets with raises every year.

There’s a new book published in December 2008 called “THE LOSING GAME. Why you can’t beat Wall Street.” Written by T.E. Scott and Stephen Edds. I’ve conversed with Me. Edds and I told him I would endorse the book in my column. Anyone that reads this book will think 50 times or more before putting more money into the stock market due to this financial holocaust in our world today. If nothing else, reading the book will teach you, in detail, many of the things I’ve been trying to say in my columns. I believe it will open everyone’s eyes. If anything substantial happens in the next few weeks, look for a “Special Edition” of a My Way column.

As for my opinion on a few stocks, here’s what I’m still holding:

McDonald’s (MCD)

Verizon (VZ)

AT&T (T)

SPDR S&P BIO-TECH ETF (XBI)

SPDR HEALTHCARE SELECT FUND (SLV)

POSTED 04/01/2009 00:00

Gary Weiss tells us why we shouldn’t be excited by yesterday’s market gain

Our friend, Gary Weiss is once again on top of the situation when it comes to pointing out not only the compulsive deception that drives Wall Street, but the complicity of Congress and the media to promote the agenda of Wall Street without any investigation.

Here’s the point: I’m convinced Wall Street WANTS you to be mad at AIG and the bonuses, because not only is it so beside the point, it allows them to pass stuff like mark-to-market that resumes their “business-as-usual” money grab with no one paying attention. So, they take a PR hit and a few brokers lose their jobs?

Minor collateral damage.

The key to populist anger is to focus it in the right direction, and with the right information. If you let the ones you are angry with direct your anger, you lose, we lose and nothing changes.

gary-weiss.com

Thank you Gary! Keep up the good fight, and let you friends in NYC know a couple of guys in “fly-over country” are helping get the word out.

Read Gary’s article below:

gary-weiss.com

The Market Celebrates Pro-Bank-Fraud Measure

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 10:44 AM PDT

The stock market is up spectacularly this afternoon. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it is gaining for a terrible reason: relaxation of mark-to-market accounting rules that are supposed to keep bank financial statements honest.

Reuters reported:

U.S. stocks jumped 4 percent on Thursday after world leaders agreed to pump an additional trillion dollars into the economy to fight the financial crisis and on rule changes aimed at giving banks flexibility when dealing with toxic assets.

Already, the mark-to-market pushers are gloating. Something called the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, whatever the hell that is, just emailed a gloating press release saying as follows:

The events leading to the Dow’s climbing over 8000 today can be properly called the Mark-to-Market Relief Rally. More than any expected action of the bureaucrats and politicians at the G20, the decision expected today of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to relax strict application of mark-to-market accounting mandates, urged by members of Congress of both parties, it what’s giving investors something to cheer for.

That’s right. Let’s hear it for cooking the books. Hip hip hooray!

Isn’t it just wonderful that congressmen from both sides of the aisle are still capable of doing something stupid?

gary-weiss.com

The Market Celebrates Pro-Bank-Fraud Measure

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 10:44 AM PDT

Reuters reported:

U.S. stocks jumped 4 percent on Thursday after world leaders agreed to pump an additional trillion dollars into the economy to fight the financial crisis and on rule changes aimed at giving banks flexibility when dealing with toxic assets.

The events leading to the Dow’s climbing over 8000 today can be properly called the Mark-to-Market Relief Rally. More than any expected action of the bureaucrats and politicians at the G20, the decision expected today of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to relax strict application of mark-to-market accounting mandates, urged by members of Congress of both parties, it what’s giving investors something to cheer for.

That’s right. Let’s hear it for cooking the books. Hip hip hooray!

Isn’t it just wonderful that congressmen from both sides of the aisle are still capable of doing something stupid?

gary-weiss.com

The Market Celebrates Pro-Bank-Fraud Measure

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 10:44 AM PDT

Reuters reported:

U.S. stocks jumped 4 percent on Thursday after world leaders agreed to pump an additional trillion dollars into the economy to fight the financial crisis and on rule changes aimed at giving banks flexibility when dealing with toxic assets.

The events leading to the Dow’s climbing over 8000 today can be properly called the Mark-to-Market Relief Rally. More than any expected action of the bureaucrats and politicians at the G20, the decision expected today of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to relax strict application of mark-to-market accounting mandates, urged by members of Congress of both parties, it what’s giving investors something to cheer for.

That’s right. Let’s hear it for cooking the books. Hip hip hooray!

Isn’t it just wonderful that congressmen from both sides of the aisle are still capable of doing something stupid?

The Market Celebrates Pro-Bank-Fraud Measure

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 10:44 AM PDT

Reuters reported:

U.S. stocks jumped 4 percent on Thursday after world leaders agreed to pump an additional trillion dollars into the economy to fight the financial crisis and on rule changes aimed at giving banks flexibility when dealing with toxic assets.

The events leading to the Dow’s climbing over 8000 today can be properly called the Mark-to-Market Relief Rally. More than any expected action of the bureaucrats and politicians at the G20, the decision expected today of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to relax strict application of mark-to-market accounting mandates, urged by members of Congress of both parties, it what’s giving investors something to cheer for.

That’s right. Let’s hear it for cooking the books. Hip hip hooray!

Isn’t it just wonderful that congressmen from both sides of the aisle are still capable of doing something stupid?

Blog tour starts at The Book Connection

Join author T.E. Scott and Stephen Edds as they travel the blogosphere in April 2009 with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Public Relations on his first virtual book tour to discuss his business/personal finance book, The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street.

The first stop is TODAY at The Book Connection and Stephen Edds will be online all day to answer your questions about The Losing Game, AIG, the bailout and how you can avoid falling prey to Wall Street

T.E. Scott exposes the stock market and commodity markets for what they really are — brilliantly marketed rip-offs. The Losing Game simplifies a very complex system that Wall Street has designed to separate the masses from their money without accountability or prosecution. As a result of this design, they have tricked us into believing that the stock market and commodity markets are something they are not.

Wall Street is fleecing millions of Americans every day with brokerage houses, Congress and the media as willing accomplices. With their help, the American public is fooled into thinking that investing is safe and convinced that, if they’re smart and listen to the right people, they can accumulate wealth quickly. And when we fail, our tax money bails them out.

Praise for The Losing Game…

Easy, yet informative read, and combines a little bit of humor with some eye opening data and ideas. I would recommend this book for those with any bit of interest in the stock market. — The Wild Investor.com

T.E. Scott founded and spent twenty-five years as CEO of Scott Pet Products,(scottpet.com) building the enterprise into a multimillion-dollar company in Rockville, Indiana. Before starting that business, Scott spent thirty-two years working as a baggage handler for Eastern Airlines. When he lost most of his pension after the company went bankrupt in the 1980s, Scott started on the road to exposing the true nature of Wall Street. Scott is retired and resides in Veedersburg, Indiana.

“T.E. Scott has written a timely and thought-provoking book,” says Cheryl Malandrinos, Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion Public Relations. “I can see many water cooler discussions over The Losing Game.”

If you would like to follow T.E. Scott on his virtual book tour, visit the official Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour site at http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/.

T.E. Scott’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours, a virtual book tour agency for authors who want quality service for an affordable price. More information can be found on their website at www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com.

The Losing Game blog tour begins April 1st (no foolin’!)

We’ll be all over the blogosphere in April promoting “The Losing Game.” If you see one of your favorite blogs listed, make sure you visit them on our day. If you know or have a blog that wants to participate, please let us know and we’ll get you scheduled.

Apr 1 http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/

Apr 2 http://thewildinvestor.com/why-you-cant-beat-wall-street/

Apr 3 http://www.scribevibe.blogspot.com/

Apr 6 http://currenteventsinbooks.blogspot.com/

Apr 7 http://www.divinecaroline.com/

Apr 8 http://www.thebookstacks.com/

Apr 9 http://www.bizzia.com/yieldingwealth/

Apr 10 http://www.americanchronicle.com/

Apr 13 http://www.pageonelit.com/interviews/TheLosingGame.html

Apr 14 http://the1stpage.blogspot.com/

Apr 15 http://blogcritics.org/books/

Apr 16 http://bookexcerpts.wordpress.com/

Apr 17 http://rebecca2007.wordpress.com/

Apr 20 http://bookchase.blogspot.com/2009/02/losing-game-why-you-cant-beat-wall.html

Apr 21 http://windycitywriters.com/blog/2008/11/19/interview-author-stephen-edds.html

Apr 22 http://www.books-and-authors.net/Interviews/TheLosingGame.html

Apr 23 http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-11887/TS-189980.mp3

Apr 24 http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com/

Apr 27 http://www.popsyndicate.com/books

Apr 28 http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/2009/03/losing-game-virtual-book-tour-09.html

Apr 29 http://thebookrack.wordpress.com/

Apr 30 http://www.freebookexcerpts.com/2008/11/05/the-losing-game-why-you-cant-beat-wall-street-by-te-scott/

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to Keep Madoff Donation Money

We’re non-partisian here at The Losing Game, but since the Republicians are generally viewed as the most pro-Wall Street, I thought this would be both interesting, and infuriating:

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to Keep Madoff Donation Money

From the Hill:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has apparently decided to keep $100K in contributions from Bernie Madoff, who faces up to 150 years in prison for swindling billions from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Elie Wiesel, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick in a massive Ponzi scheme.

In campaigns, one side often calls on the other to return money for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s valid, sometimes not. Regardless, it’s Campaign 101. But when the contributor in question is the single biggest financial criminal in history, there can be no question that those illicit funds should not remain in campaign coffers.

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) gave thousands in Madoff donations to charity. Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) are doing the same.

Given the economic uncertainty our nation faces and that Madoff not only fleeced the rich and famous but major corporations such as HSBC — in other words, Madoff swindled all of us — the DSCC’s decision is shockingly tone-deaf.

However, what’s almost equally surprising is the virtual silence from the media. During the Enron scandal, returning campaign money was a daily drumbeat, as were the news stories discussing Enron’s purported ties to President Bush. Now, when the Democratic Senate campaign vehicle makes the conscious decision to keep $100K in Madoff money, stolen just as if it came from a bank holdup, there’s little to no outrage. Why?

Here’s a suggestion for members of the media — ask Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who himself was robbed by Madoff, what he thinks of the DSCC keeping stolen money in order to help fund his colleagues’ Senate campaigns this election cycle.

Today’s Business News

Today in Business News

1. The US has made a new weapon that destroys people, but keeps the building standing. It’s called the stock market.

2. Do you have any idea how cheap stocks are? Wall Street is now being called Wal-Mart Street.

3. The difference between a pigeon and an investment banker: the pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW.

4. What’s the difference between a guy who lost everything in Las Vegas and an investment banker? A tie!

5. The problem with an investment bank balance sheet is that on the left side nothing’s right and on the right side nothing’s left.

6. I want to warn people from Nigeria - if you get any emails from Washington asking for money, it’s a scam. Don’t fall for it.

7. What worries me most about the credit crunch is that if one of my checks is returned stamped ‘insufficient funds’ I won’t know whether that refers to mine or the bank’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Stock Market Terms

CEO –Chief Embezzlement Officer.
CFO– Corporate Fraud Officer.
BULL MARKET — A random market movement causing an investment banker to mistake himself for a financial genius.
BEAR MARKET — A 6- to 18-month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry.
VALUE INVESTING — The art of buying low and selling lower.
P/E RATIO — The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.
BROKER — What my broker has made me.
STANDARD & POOR — Your life in a nutshell.
STOCK ANALYST — Idiot who just downgraded your stock.
STOCK SPLIT — When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.
FINANCIAL PLANNER — A guy whose phone has been disconnected.
MARKET CORRECTION — The day after you buy stocks.
CASH FLOW — The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.
YAHOO — What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.
WINDOWS — What you jump out of when you’re the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR — Past year investor who should be now locked up in a nuthouse.
PROFIT — An archaic word no longer in use

A quadrillion here and there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money

One of the topics we cover in “The Losing Game” is the confusion surrounding derivatives, which Warren Buffett calls “financial weapons of mass destruction.” According to DK Matai, Chairman of the ACTA Open, worldwide outstanding derivatives amount to 1.114 QUADRILLION DOLLARS!! What that means, in simple terms, is that there are pieces of paper people are holding that have a published value of $1,114 TRILLION. Where is that money going to come from, and what will happen to these investors who are caught holding worthless pieces of paper?

Derivatives were created as a new revenue source for Wall Street, with very little understanding or oversight implemented. As long as the exchanges made their money, what happens when the bubble bursts is none of their concern.

That day is coming as well.

Silicone Valley Watcher.com says the derivative bubble equals 190,000 per person on the planet.

“According to various distinguished sources including the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland — the central bankers’ bank — the amount of outstanding derivatives worldwide as of December 2007 crossed USD 1.144 Quadrillion, ie, USD 1,144 Trillion. The main categories of the USD 1.144 Quadrillion derivatives market were the following:
1. Listed credit derivatives stood at USD 548 trillion;
2. The Over-The-Counter (OTC) derivatives stood in notional or face value at USD 596 trillion and included:
a. Interest Rate Derivatives at about USD 393+ trillion;
b. Credit Default Swaps at about USD 58+ trillion;
c. Foreign Exchange Derivatives at about USD 56+ trillion;
d. Commodity Derivatives at about USD 9 trillion;
e. Equity Linked Derivatives at about USD 8.5 trillion; and
f. Unallocated Derivatives at about USD 71+ trillion.

Quadrillion? That is a number only super computing engineers and astronomers used to use, not economists and bankers! For example, the North star is “just” a couple of quadrillion miles away, ie, a few thousand trillion miles. The new “Roadrunner” supercomputer built by IBM for the US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has achieved a peak performance of 1.026 Peta Flop per second — becoming the first supercomputer ever to reach this milestone. One Quadrillion Floating Point Operations (Flops) per second is 1 Peta Flop/s, ie, 1,000 Trillion Flops per second. It is estimated that all the data found on all the websites and stored on computers across the world totals more than One Exa byte of memory, ie, 1,000 Quadrillion bytes of data.”