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Bailed-Out Companies Pressured TARP Pay Czar To Keep …

www.huffingtonpost.com1/24/12

The official overseeing executive pay for bailout firms limited cash compensation and made some reductions in pay, but still approved compensation packages in the millions, the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) inspector general said in the report. Former U.S. pay … In Mexico in the mid-'90s Wall Street engineered a currency coup that tripled the debt owed by small businesses and family farms and also allowed for them to be massively ratejacked on top of it.

Taxpayers Still on the Hook for $133B from Bailouts | Nanavaty …

www.nndcpa.com1/26/12

The federal overseer of the government's bank bailout program says taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion on investments in 458 bailed-out banks and companies, including failed insurer American International Group (AIG: 25.31, 0.00, 0.00%), General Motors (GM: 25.08, … SIGTARP now warns TARP could be cemented in the government's architecture as a permanent bailout program, even though the public initially “perceived TARP as primarily a bank bailout.” …

Government watchdog Christy Romero says that U.S. taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion by companies that received bailouts, and adds that much of it will never be recovered.

TARP – Troubled Asset Relief Program

The bailout debt which was launched at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 will continue for years, says a report issued Thursday January 26, 2012 by Christy Romero, who is the acting special inspector general for the $700 billion bailout.

What’s worse is that some bailout programs, such as the one to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing mortgage payments, will continue into late 2017, and they will cost the government an additional $51 billion, plus or minus a few billion dollars.

The report also notes that the roller coaster stock market slowed the Treasury Department’s efforts to sell off its stakes in 458 bailed-out companies, which include insurers, American International Group Inc., General Motors Co. and Ally Financial Inc.

The Present Share Prices And Needed Share Prices

AIG’s shares closed Wednesday at $25.31, while GM ended at $24.92 and Ally isn’t publicly traded.

They were $28.73 a share for AIG, and $53.98 for GM so it could take a long time for the market to rebound to that level.

The report concludes that it will also be challenging for the government to get out of the 458 companies as the market remains volatile and banks struggle keep afloat in the tough economy.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP

Congress authorized $700 billion for the bailout of financial companies and automakers and $413.4 billion was paid out.

So far, the government has recovered about $318 billion.

The Treasury’s Response

Treasury spokesman Matt Anderson said the department,

"has made substantial progress winding down TARP and has already recovered more than 77% of the funds disbursed for the program, through repayments and other income".

"We’ll continue to balance the important goals of exiting our investments as soon as practicable and maximizing value for taxpayers".

To be fair however, it needs be said that the government has recovered its investments in four of the companies that received the most aid:

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Chrysler Group LLC and Chrysler Financial, which is the automaker’s old lending arm.

Criminal Activity

In Romero’s quarterly report to Congress, she said her office,

"has uncovered and prevented fraud related to TARP".

Investigations by her office have resulted in criminal charges against ten people and three convictions.

JURIST – Paper Chase: Egypt court convicts former Mubarak regime …

JURIST – Paper Chase: Egypt court convicts former Mubarak regime minister in corruption case.

Publish Date: 09/18/2011 19:09

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/09/egypt-court-convicts-former-mubarak-regime-leader-in-corruption-case.php

Wael Ghonim's letter to Tantawi – Blog – The Arabist

A Powerful piece of writing Wael Ghonim !!! It should be printed and hung on every lamp post / bus stop/ bazaar/ coffee house wall. Thank you, arabist.net for posting it on your website. Sep 17, 2011 at 7:30 PM | Unregistered …

Publish Date: 09/16/2011 19:58

http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/9/16/wael-ghonims-letter-to-tantawi.html

Following the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Egypt, Wael Ghonim, who is in charge of marketing for Google in the Middle East and Africa wrote on Twitter on Saturday Sept 10 2011,

"What we are witnessing now is contrary to what I dreamt of. We need to wake up quickly and mend our ways in order to achieve the revolution’s dream".

"What we are seeing are actions driven by emotions that are stripping the revolution of its context, leading us to celebrate imaginary victories. If we don’t use our brain, it will fail and result in frustration for an entire generation that dreamt of changing its nation".

It’s more than than six months since the start of the revolution that removed Hosni Mubarak from power in Egypt and there is no political reform in sight; Egypt’s economy is collapsing; and chaos reins with the streets more dangerous now than they were for decades.

Wael Ghonim is an internet activist whose Facebook page partially triggered the revolution in Egypt, and regardless of his self-perceived noble goals, one might reasonably ask whether Google should have fired him or not.

Ghonim rose to fame after an emotional interview following his incarceration by Egyptian police during which he was interrogated regarding his work as the administrator of the Facebook page.

He started the Facebook page and incited whilst being employed by them as, Regional Product & Marketing Manager of Google Middle East and North Africa, and given his job, I’d personally say that he should not have started or continued with the webpage, without first resigning from Google.

TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011 and added, "We are all Khaled Saeed".

A Ray Of Light In The Darkness

On a Facebook page that is affiliated with the Egyptian opposition movement, members had been asked to vote whether they supported or rejected the violence around the embassy and as of Saturday evening, nearly 63,000 of the 75,000 respondents said they opposed it.