patrick.net

OO Says:

> Btw, I found Valentine Day weekend to be extraordinarily
> busy both at shopping mall or restaurants, is it an indication
> of short-term bottom, or an indication of desperation of
> our kind to secure good sex?

I was up in the Napa Valley over Valentine's Day weekend and I have never seen it this dead. We were at Meadowood and the place felt about 25% full with very few diners with us for lunch in the grill and dinner upstairs on Friday night. There was a good crowd at Martini House on Valentines Day, but not a lot of people around on Saturday and Sunday in St. Helena and Yountvill (even with the extra people out to watch the TOC roll through)...

P.S. Welcome back Randy (and it would be nice if we got new threads more than twice a month)...

Of course he is already talking about 2012. That is his only job.

This is why I don't know why everyone was so excite about him last year.

We were at Meadowood and the place felt about 25% full with very few diners with us for lunch in the grill and dinner upstairs on Friday night.

Haven't been there for a while. Are they all renovated yet?

FAB's observation fits with the general picture that recessions cause people to stay closer to home. Junkets to Vegas, Napa, and the like will be down. Local destinations will be up, at least for the time being.

Napa is close enough to home. No flying required.

The problem with the whole cramdown/assistance picture is that it is fundamentally intractable and unsolvable.

Homedebtors are not on the hook in most states and most cases, because of non-recourse loans, option of bankruptcy and the lack of old-school debtor's prison.

Banks are not on the hook, because in reality it is the bank depositors that are. That is, until FDIC steps in and places the banks in receivership (keep in minf that that receivership is one step beyond what is typically known as "nationalization").

The whole big song-and-dance about mortgage rework is all about keeping the homedebtors and the banks in the game long enough to work off some of the losses, and in parallel prop up prices by inflating the monetary base.

I think everyone knows that the above is true, but it does not hurt to repeat it every so often.

Mind you, I am not defending any of the above, especially the part about inflating the monetary base and propping up house prices. I'm simply reciting what the big picture is.

PP, so then why did the people show up in Napa for a "romantic weekend"?

I thought FAB said Napa was dead during that weekend.

The responsibility for the big holes in the TARP lie with Henry “3-page” Paulson and George Bush. Lest anyone forgets.

I didn't mean we are good with these guys. We already know what these guys are, just had some hopes on the new guy. What I am tired of is digging new holes to fill the hole we are in. He throws a Trillion around and talks about bringing deficits under control (or starting a discussion about it). He talks about helping responsible home owners and we all know it can be gamed easily. He does all the nice talk and his actions are far from his talk. His pay restrictions on executives just covers a few top guys who will be compensated different ways at a later time.

To save money, this is the best romantic suggestion...

Let's be spiritual and meditate. You and me. Close our eyes. I see roses...

Politicians, and their voters, must understand that inaction is often the best course of action.

The "let's do something about it" mentality must change. It only reflects the arrogance and ignorance of humanity.

Let’s be spiritual and meditate. You and me. Close our eyes. I see roses…

Yeah Pete, that'll get you laid.

Yeah Pete, that’ll get you laid.

It is all in the mind. ;-)

Correction:

PP, so then why did the people NOT show up in Napa for a “romantic weekend”?

PP, so then why did the people NOT show up in Napa for a “romantic weekend”?

Napa is quite expensive. Perhaps people want to save money.

Need to market my "Mind, Body, Spirit - How to date a girl for free" video. :)

Well, if you don't consider so-called "fine dining" an expense, then you may be correct, or at least up to a point.

Close your eyes, and imagine you are geting a spoonful of Creme Brule...

I taste vanilla.

Only one event this Bank Failure Friday?

Only one event this Bank Failure Friday?

Yes, only vanilla creme brule.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/806418a0-0140-11de-8f6e-000077b07658.html

Citi is trying to force the US taxpayers to convert the taxpayers ownership of preferred shares (purchased under TARP-1 in Oct/Nov) into common shares.

The motivation is obvious:

1. Citi does not want to pay back the preferred shareholders (THAT's YOU!!) the principal, nor the interest.

2. Citi wants to convert the preferred into essentially worthless common stock

3. Citi is going to ask for another capital injection in the form of selling preferred stock to the public (US taxpayers), but not until the previous batch of has been made worthless.

JUST SAY NO !! Under TARP-1, Paulson overpaid tremendously for the preferred stock, thereby shifting the losses to the taxpayers.