Robert Peston finds something puzzling: B&B collapse to cost City £9bn

All of which begs a big question: why on earth didn’t those big banks club together to rescue B&B rather than let it collapse and be nationalised.

Surely that would have been cheaper for them.

Their apparent inability to act collectively for their common good is not altogether encouraging.

The City in the UK = Wall Street in the US. £9bn = $16.6 billion US. Financial Services Compensation Scheme [FSCS] in the UK = Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC] in the US.

The FSCS and FDIC are both funded by the financial institutions they insure, not tax dollars. If the money runs out, the banks get an assessment for more.  Wall Street and The City have not been acting in their own best interests, and that’s why governments have to get involved.

McClatchy cuts to the chase: For once, Congress heard as voters protested bailout plan

Hensarling, Cummings and lots of others had pleaded with their leaders to give them a bill they could explain easily back home. Constituents wanted Congress to act, they said, but were suspicious of what they might do.

Instead, many members found the compromise that emerged to be too complex, fueling constituents’ qualms.
…

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., recalled how many people voted for hard-to-understand measures such as the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill or 2002 legislation giving President Bush broad authority to wage war in Iraq, only to learn later that they’d signed blank checks to Bush that would come to haunt them.

“There were a lot of eyes rolling on this bailout. We’re heard this kind of thing before,” said Flake, who voted no.

It’s not that people don’t understand there are problems, nor do they think the problems should be ignored, but they want a clear explanation of the problems, and a clear explanation of what Congress is voting on before they will go along. The way this thing was sprung on Congress and the people is really suspicious. The fact that people are not being given time to read and digest the supposed solution, makes them more suspicious. They know what the Hedgemony has done in the past, and they don’t want it to happen again.

Position: 39.0 N 48.4 W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 220 miles [350 km].
Minimum central pressure: 995 mb.

It is 585 miles [940 km] South-Southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

This is a “fish botherer” and is included for information purposes only.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

The Stock Market and Bailout Bill are both “FAIL” right now.

The House Roll Call page is also “Fail”, so I’ll go with the MSM’s 205-228.  So much for “leadership”.

Update: Here’s the vote.

MSNBC tells us that Citigroup buying Wachovia banking operations

NEW YORK – In the latest byproduct of the widening global financial crisis, Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp. in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses from Wachovia’s $312 billion loan portfolio, with the FDIC covering any remaining losses, the government agency said Monday. Citigroup also will issue $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants to the FDIC.

The FDIC says that Wachovia didn’t “fail” and they just “assisted” in the purchase. Yeah, right.

This was the last of the major banks with problems, so what is Congress mucking about for?

Happy 5769!

At sunset Rosh Hashanah begins, so get your honey, challah, and apples ready.

[If they don’t vote soon, Congress will shut down for the holiday, so don’t bet on a bill being passed.]

CNN reports that Cadbury recalls Chinese-made candy in chemical scare

LONDON, England (CNN) — British confectioner Cadbury has recalled all of its Chinese-made candy products over fears they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine, a company statement said Monday.
…

The following 11 products are included in the recall, according to Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety:

• Cadbury Dark Chocette, 45 grams.
• Cadbury Dark Chocette, 80 grams.
• Cadbury Eclairs, 180 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Pumpkin, 150 grams.
• Cadbury Dark Chocolate, 40 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dark Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 312 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 300 grams.

People won’t trust Cadbury after this. Years of “good will” have been thrown away over possible gains in profits.