March 18, 2008

One more time, so when it happens, people won't be able to say they weren't warned: GET YOUR MONEY OUT OF COUNTRYWIDE, WASHINGTON MUTUAL AND INDYMAC!!


Banks will now start to fail. Don't take chances.

Period.

The Fed and taxpayer will bail some of 'em out. Some will be bought up, wiping out their shareholders. But others will fold up shop and just go away, leaving their account holders, especially the fools who carried more than the FDIC limits, in a world of pain.

The FDIC will pay out some of the first to fail, but then the FDIC itself will need to be bailed out by the taxpayer. And by the time the FDIC gets around to paying (if they pay), the dollar itself will be even more worthless.

And the first to fail? The banks who have the most wildly-overvalued toxic mortgage garbage still on their balance sheets. Better safe than sorry, and in my personal opinion, just looking at the stocks of some of these banks should show you that things are quite stable there today.

IF YOU HAVE MONEY AT COUNTRYWIDE BANK, INDYMAC BANK, E*TRADE BANK, WASHINGTON MUTUAL OR ANY OF THE OTHER GARBAGE LENDERS, GET IT OUT NOW AND GET IT OUT FAST.

I would imagine none of you do. HP'ers are in the know. But there's a lot of people out there that for whatever reason (what's on Idol?) still have no idea what's going on or what's to come. That's who we need to reach.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/23681280

Cramer: Bear Is Only the Beginning

The implosion of Bear Stearns over the past week wasn’t just a run on one bank, Cramer said during Monday’s Mad Money, it could be the beginning of a run on all the banks, including the brokerages.

Anonymous said...

So how do you find out if your bank or investment service is exposed to substantial risk from these toxic products? My 401K is with US Bancorp. The reports I can get from them are only about the funds in my own account. Where would I look to know what kind of stuff *they* are invested in?

Anonymous said...

I hope the Bear shareholders sue the dickens out of these criminals!

Anonymous said...

Why is Citibank not mentioned?

They sit atop a Mt. Everest of illiquid paper.

Anonymous said...

Keith - the insulated Idol watchers are only going to realize there is a problem when they get notice that their HELOC has closed or when they try to Refi to pay off their credit cards or buy a new hummer. I would not worry too much about their savings - there probably is none.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the other anon. You say get the money out, but you fail to say what bank is safer. Is HSBC a safe bank for example? Or are they on the chop too?

Anonymous said...

IS THAT BECAUSE THESE CLOWNS CAN'T GET THEIR MONEY OUT OF THE HOMEDEBTORS LIKE ME???

JINGLE MAIL!!!

JINGLE MAIL!!!

MAIL THOSE KEYS TODAY!!!

DOPES!!!

christiangustafson said...

I pulled my last few CDs from E*Trade a couple of weeks ago.

You can't cancel an account online. You have to call them. They will ask you why you are leaving, and insist on an answer. Tell them.

Hiding out in treasurydirect.gov right now. If that bank fails, it's time to go long brass and lead.

David said...

Also move money out of Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan and others due to their huge derivate contracts.

Mammoth said...

Here’s something that all you Bitter People will enjoy reading:

Last Saturday an acquaintance invided us to come out and have a look at the boat he just bought for $25,000.

While we sipped wine inside the cabin, he told us how much work he has already put into it, and how much more it still needs – he gave a figure of $20,000. Plus, he pays ~$270/mo. for a slip at the marina.

This guy’s wife doesn’t work; he bought her a Lexus last year, and they have no savings whatsoever.

Punch line: He is a manager at Washingtom Mutual.

Hahahahahahahaha!!!


-Mammoth

Mammoth said...

Forgot to mention in my above post:

The guy voted for Bush twice!

Anonymous said...

So, I have a seriously high balance on my WaMu Visa. Should I just sit back, make the minimum payments, and wait for inflation & WaMu's collapse to pay it off for me? (I'm only half kidding here)

Anonymous said...

I've got $$$ in Citibank, but I'm figuring they will be better off than most banks as they seem to have direct access to the deep pockets of middle east oil sheikdoms.

I'm not too pleased with the notion of Citibank coming to be owned by various emirs, but I'm figuring they will be better off than other banks as I haven't heard of the same funding being made available to other banks.

Am I off base? I don't really want to keep it under my mattress.

edd browne said...

If I still had common stock in these evil empires, I might sell on a "rally" if they ever have one.

If I had 90k in an FDIC-insured
account, I might settle for
a "bank walk".
Maybe take 30k now, then 30k
next month, and leave 30k for
the failed-bank process, just
to help out, you know.

Refuse to buy overpriced said...

As I've mentioned before, I see no need to take my dollars out of ING Direct. They are not contaminated with bad mortgages.

Moving all your money out of dollars into commodities is a very bad idea if you want to play it safe. The Federal Reserve may very well start to take its duty to protect the dollar seriously, in which case the commodities bubble will burst.

Work hard, spend less than you earn, improve your skills, keep your word, don't ever let yourself be bullied or stampeded into an ill considered transaction - and you'll get through this OK.

Anonymous said...

What about Suntrust?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

I've got $$$ in Citibank, but I'm figuring they will be better off than most banks as they seem to have direct access to the deep pockets of middle east oil sheikdoms.

We just moved our entire 401k from Citi. We rolled over into an IRA with a focus on currencies, foreign trusts and treasuries, very little stock exposure. Citi is right in the center of this entire contagion. Had Bear Stearns been allowed to fail, all of the other big banks would have taken the hit through the 30:1 leverage they have all been using. That is why the Fed had to bail them out with J.P. Morgan.

It is not that Citi will go under although they have more exposure than anyone, it is more likely that all of those around Citi will tank and then Citi will be left as the counterparty to all of the leveraged losses.

Don't count on the Arabs saving you. The entire world is walking away from the US. Our days of high flying gambling are over. We made very good money the last 6 years with our Citi 401k, but the party is over. It is about capital preservation now.

Think carefully if you have a lot of money there.

Anonymous said...

Do you guys think my money would be safer in my local credit union instead of Bank of America who just bought crappywide?

Anonymous said...

Me again with $$$ in Citibank -

My total accounts with them are just under the FDIC limit, so I'm presuming I'll be safe - but the burning question in my mind is: Do we know of any major bank that has zero exposure to CDO/MBS crap? I would ponder moving my account, but certainly not to WaMu, BofA, etc.

Anonymous said...

Ok, guys....anyone else here remember the Resolution Trust Corporation, or am I showing my age by mentioning it?

If my memory serves me correctly (sorry, been watching too many "Iron Chef" reruns...), that didn't turn out too badly. They might resurrect that old idea and give it another go.

In the meantime, well....if all of a sudden the local grocery doesn't wanna take my Wamu or Wells Fargo debit card, I'll worry about it then. I don't recall any problems with checks drawn on my failed S&L, and I don't think I'll have one if/when these guys give up the ghost.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Me again with $$$ in Citibank -

My total accounts with them are just under the FDIC limit, so I'm presuming I'll be safe - but the burning question in my mind is: Do we know of any major bank that has zero exposure to CDO/MBS crap? I would ponder moving my account, but certainly not to WaMu, BofA, etc.

We are all exposed. There is no completely safe place, unless you are a gold bug like so many here.

We live in interesting times :-)