Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — to change their status to bank holding companies.

[rgG]

OK, let 'er rip. What do you think of this latest maneuver to bolster Wall Street.

Extraordinary actions by the Federal Reserve Sunday evening to allow the two banks full access to the emergency discount window open to commercial banks, along with that of the London broker-dealers of Morgan and Goldman (and including Merrill Lynch) was meant to send an unambiguous message that the Fed was not going to let these institutions fail while they made the transition to becoming commercial banks.

Here's the link to the facts as of now:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26828495

[Gutenberg]

Sponsored by the same folks who scuttled protections for individuals caught in the mess. Nuf sed as far as I am concerned. Vote no.

Oh, maybe not nuf sed--the administration still wants to turn Social Security over to these jokers. In fact, we should be asking how much of this money comes from the Social Security trust fund. After throwing a few of their own under the bus, the thieves can continue business as usual.

[mikeylikesit]

They want their actions made not subject to later court review. Does that sound familiar and why would we (the people) want that?

[$tevie]

The way I understood it, I thought it sounded good. This means they have to stop playing all those leverage games that I've never been able to grasp, yes?

[Gutenberg]

I think what it means is that the investment bank side can get NO-cost loans from the commercial side. I do not think that is good--another teat to suck, so to speak.

[Wags]

Gee, wonder if the fact that Paulson worked for Goldman Sachs has anything to do with it? I'm sure we can trust him, though. He did take an oath to uphold the Constitution, after all. I mean, if Cheney can start a war with lies then give his former company an unlimited no-bid contract then why not. That has worked out well, no? Paulson can cite plenty of precedent. I heard today that one of Paulson's aides leaked a memo that said they were preparing to buy back GS's bad debts at above market rates. Socialism for the rich elite seems to be the exception to their free market rhetoric.

[mikeylikesit]

$tevie wrote:
The way I understood it, I thought it sounded good. This means they have to stop playing all those leverage games that I've never been able to grasp, yes?

I don't think even they know right now, they're in panic mode. That they would propose such a fantastic commitment of public money and insist on a free hand with no oversight is clearly bad public policy.