WEB OF DEBT BLOG

The Fed Now Owns the World’s Largest Insurance Company — But Who Owns the Fed?

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Ellen Brown

The Federal Reserve has assumed sweeping new powers in the last year. These increasingly controversial encroachments on the public purse warrant a closer look at the central banking scheme itself. Who owns the Federal Reserve, who actually controls it, where does it get its money, and whose interests is it serving?

It’s the Derivatives, Stupid! Why Fannie, Freddie and AIG All Had to Be Bailed Out

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Why the extraordinary bailout measures for Fannie, Freddie and AIG? The answer may have less to do with saving the insurance business, the housing market, or the Chinese investors clamoring for a bailout than with the greatest Ponzi scheme in history, one that is holding up the entire private global banking system. What had to be saved at all costs was not housing or the dollar but the financial derivatives industry; and the precipice from which it had to be saved was an “event of default” that could have collapsed a quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble, a collapse that could take the entire global banking system down with it.

http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/its_the_derivatives.php

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 38 Comments »

Take a Load Off Fannie: Bailout or Nationalization for the Mortgage Giants?

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Ellen Brown

The U.S. Treasury recently sought and was granted an unlimited credit line for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with the authority to buy their stock, effectively nationalizing them; but this could mean $5 trillion more in liabilities for the federal government, causing it to lose its own triple-A rating. What to do? There is a solution that would salvage the mortgage giants and cost the taxpayers nothing . . .

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 10 Comments »

WAG THE DOG: HOW TO CONCEAL MASSIVE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Last week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had just announced record losses, and so had most reporting corporations. Unemployment was mounting, the foreclosure crisis was deepening, state budgets were in shambles, and massive bailouts were everywhere. Investors had every reason to expect the dollar and the stock market to plummet, and gold and oil to shoot up. Strangely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 300 points, the dollar strengthened, and gold and oil were crushed. What happened?

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 18 Comments »

FANNIE AND FREDDIE: GIVING AWAY THE FARM

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Last week, Congress passed a housing bill that gave the Treasury Department a blank check to inject billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars into mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, snatching them from insolvency. To accommodate this blank check, Congress obligingly raised its debt ceiling by $800 billion. Ouch! That’s nearly a trillion dollars. Why was it necessary to incur this potentially crippling public debt to bail out two completely private, for-profit behemoths, which have run themselves into bankruptcy with their own risky investment schemes? Policymakers said it was essential to maintain the country’s creditworthiness with foreign lenders, which today hold about one-fifth of Fannie and Freddie securities. According to a July 21 report by Heather Timmons in The New York Times. . .

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 5 Comments »

Standing up to the banks: how to challenge your foreclosure

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Ellen Brown

In response to an article I posted recently called “Standing Up to the Banks,” www.webofdebt.com/articles, a number of people have written to ask for help in defending their foreclosure actions. I started to put together materials, when I discovered that it had already been done. The Consumer Warning Network is an excellent website providing specific directions on how to raise the produce-the-note defense —

http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/2008/06/19/produce-the-note-how-to/

It states:

Using the “produce the note” strategy is something all homeowners facing foreclosure can do. If you believe you’ve been treated unfairly, fight back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.

WHO OWNS THE NOTE?

Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it. This is the document that proves you owe the debt.

During the lending boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street. In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money, many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy. Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part from problems they created, and don’t have the proper paperwork to prove they have a right to foreclose.

THE HARM

If you don’t challenge your lender, the court will simply allow the foreclosure to proceed. It’s important to hold lenders accountable for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It’s just a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.

When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads like this: “…the Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.” In other words, they are admitting they don’t have the note that proves they have a right to foreclose.

If the lender is allowed to proceed without that proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you again.

A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.

FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS

This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality.

Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the problem worse with predatory servicing.

Most homeowners just want these lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don’t forget lenders made incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we’re in today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home, destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it hard for your lender to take your home. Make ‘em produce the note!

STEPS TO FOLLOW

A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:

Use the first form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank legal request to your lender asking that the original note be produced, before it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live, call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.
If the lender’s attorney does not respond within 30 days, file a motion to compel with the court and request that the court set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge to order the lender to produce the documents.
The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners, because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing. In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note affidavits, but in many cases, that’s no longer enough to satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the true owners of the note. For example:

In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying to seize.

B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit against you:

Use the second form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank letter to your lender which also requests they produce the original note, before taking foreclosure action against you.
If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to foreclose, follow the steps above.

UPDATE: CNN features The Consumer Warning Network and the “Produce The Note” strategy. Borrowers are putting this plan into action and getting results!

Consumer Warning Network Featured on CNN

THE LATEST: Borrower wins more time to fight foreclosure! At a court hearing Tuesday, a Pinellas County, Florida Judge denied Wachovia the right to proceed with its foreclosure against borrower Jacqueline O’Brien (profiled in the CNN story). Instead, O’Brien was granted a continuance, as she pursues the produce the note strategy. Wachovia expressed interest in renegotiating the terms of the loan, rather than continuing the court battle.

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Chris Hoyer adds in an email:
When people ask for individual lawyers we either refer them to their local bar referral system or, when they can’t afford a lawyer (most often), we give them this link : http://www.lsc.gov/map/lscprogramdirectory.asp
which allows them to find free legal advice in their area. We have had lots of people show success recently from the feedback we have gotten.

Filed under: Networking | 58 Comments »

PUTTING THE “FEDERAL” BACK IN THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Ellen Brown

In a July 19 Wall Street Journal article titled “Why No Outrage?”, James Grant notes that financial behavior that would have been met with outrage in the 19th century is now met with near-silence from a too-tolerant populace. Why? He suggests that the lack of outrage may be because the old 19th century Populists actually won . . . .

http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/federal-back-fr.php

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 4 Comments »

Time for New Rules

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Paul Mason, “Fannie Mae: The Credit Crunch Meets the F-word,” BBC News, July 12 2008 —

“The panic on Friday about the two US mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is followed by the collapse of California’s IndyMac, a regional mortgage lender. . . .

“All over the world, slowly but surely, the state is becoming exposed to the debts and liabilities of the finance system. . . . On this basis I will make a prediction. Soon the ideology will move into line with the practice. Soon somebody will argue that a state-backed finance system, with much heavier regulation, is better than the one the world’s leaders have been trying to patch together at the G8 summit. . . .

“Roosevelt and his allies did not start out with a coherent vision of what to do in the face of the crisis. They improvised . . . I am not advocating a return to Rooseveltian state capitalism – but I do think the evolution of FDR’s thought is worth studying. Because what basically happened was that a coalition of interests determined to stop the finance sector from destroying the world economy found a leader prepared to go beyond muddling through and to envision a new kind of market economy where the state’s mission was to defend the little guy against the steamroller of unemployment, hunger and speculation.”

Let the Lawsuits Begin: Banks Brace for a Storm of Litigation

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Lawsuits threaten the banks from all sides – from state attorneys general, consumer class actions, and investor backlash. Shifting liability for the subprime debacle back to the banks could bankrupt even the biggest banks. But that might not be the end of the world . . .

http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bracing-storm.php

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 9 Comments »

THE SUBPRIME TRUMP CARD: STANDING UP TO THE BANKS

Posted on June 29, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Ellen Brown, Articles, June 26^th, 2008

More than 1.5 million homeowners are expected to enter foreclosure this year, and about half of them are expected to have their homes repossessed. If the dire consequences Jefferson warned of 200 years ago have been slow in coming, it is because they have been concealed by what Jerome a Paris calls the Anglo Disease – “the highly unequal economy whereby the rich and the financial sector . . . capture most of the income but hide it by providing cheap debt to the middle classes so that they can continue to spend.” . . . .

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary | 11 Comments »

IS SPECULATION DRIVING UP FOOD AND OIL?

Posted on June 13, 2008 by Ellen Brown

This question is hotly contested. Traders in commodities futures say futures trading cannot drive up the physical price. It is the physical price that ultimately determines the futures price rather than the reverse. But there seems to be more to it than that. A number of good recent articles suggest that speculation is indeed largely responsible for the massive inflation in food and oil today. See, e.g. —

John Mauldin, “Colliding Bubbles, US Unemployment, the Credit Crisis and Oil Price Surge,” June 7, 2008 —

. . . I have been pondering for a few weeks about whether the long-only commodity index funds are really affecting the markets. Basically, these funds have become a huge part of the commodities market. It is clear that enough buying and in size will affect any market, but these funds do not take delivery. They “roll” their exposure as they get close to expiration, so they are not involved in the spot price. In theory, the spot price should be a function of immediate supply and demand.

But, it is not that simple, as Louis Gave reminded me. Looking at recent CFTC data, investors known as “commercials” were long 827 million barrels of oil. In the early part of the decade it was 3-400 million barrels. Commercials are supposed to be those who are hedging their production of oil. But large oil companies rarely hedge, and smaller producers only hedge a portion of their oil (see more below). Has supply increased over 100%? I think not.

Where is the increase in commercial interest coming from? The clear answer is long-only commodity index funds and ETFs. They simply buy baskets of commodities at whatever the price is, speculating on the rise in the price of the overall commodity market. It is a one-way trade . . . .

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4987.html

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Community Currency Goes Global

Posted on June 12, 2008 by Ellen Brown

This was posted by Robert Taft of Upton, Wyoming on the “Join in the Debate” page, but it adds an interesting ferment to the debate and bears repeating here. Noting that Ithaca Hours (local community currency) are expanding as far as China, he suggests that both interest AND gold act as a break on trade, and that neither is necessary for a freely circulating medium of exchange. This is what I’ve been trying to say about a truly “national” bank — if the national community owned the bank rather private bankers, the bank could be a profit-free, interest-free venture that simply provided ready credit to the people. Controls would have to be imposed (no interest-free credit for speculation, etc.), but basically we would just be monetizing our own promises to repay. That is, in fact, the credit system we have now, except that parasitic privateers get to draw a perpetual tribute off the top. Robert Taft writes:

According to the Ithacahours website http://www.ithacahours.com their debt-free money is going global. Great slap at the central banksters. While they may not state it in wording they have apparently discovered the basic axiom for debt-free money:

“There is a basic axiom on money that is either unknown by monetarists or ignored in favor of the many schemes used to enrich the few at the expense of the many. It goes like this:

“As universal prosperity is dependent upon the ability of Money to flow (its “velocity”), nothing may be done to money that would in any way impede that flow.”

“This would exclude things like using commodities for money (gold, silver), adding bankers’ gimmicks like interest to money, or in giving money additional uses beyond its sole legitimate use as a “medium of exchange.”

“Money needs to be “created” into circulation by a system’s wealth producers, never “borrowed” or “spent” into circulation by its bankers or consumers. It needs nothing backing it but the integrity of its issuers (in a second-rate democracy there can be no integrity).

“That is the rule, though it cannot be applied in this time and place. Money issuance is government’s most sovereign prerogative, yet in honest form is as unobtainable as is the only workable FORM of self-government, a Republic.

“Had we a Republic, one of the very few prerogatives granted to the upper levels of government would be money issuance, a completely worthless medium of exchange, which being worthless would never be hoarded but would be quickly spent for something that one coveted for its intrinsic value. This velocity is what produces UNIVERSAL prosperity. Lack of velocity is what creates wealthy and impoverished classes of people, plus the struggling middle class that actually produces the wealth, and unfortunately, their ranks are constantly diminishing.”

While debt-free money cannot be instituted at this time by corrupt governments, obviously it can and is being utilized by some communities around the world. This is the biggest advance in monetary policy since the ’30s when thousands of communities and counties across America issued currency that circulated during the Roosevelt bank holiday. Damn shame they quit it when the banks reopened. They proved we don’t need the banksters leeching off our productivity. Another great advantage with Ithicahours or any local currency is that it is not acceptable outside the local economy and is therefore not siphoned off like a national or international currency would inevitably be. Central banks, including and since the first Bank of the US started by Hamilton do nothing for local economies but allow wealth concentration in the hands of the few while impoverishing the many.

This budding concept needs widespread distribution. It must be instituted when present governmental structures and the monetary systems they spawn collapse of their own internal rot and putrefaction.

Filed under: Brainstorming | 10 Comments »

Three short subprime videos and a power point

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Ellen Brown

“Tent City” – signs of things to come

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBIJH6–vsM

“The Last Laugh – Subprime” – how we got here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D2mOWsIhOg&feature=related

“Fight Foreclosure: Make ’Em Produce the Note!” – how to get out of it

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kswEb-iVsms

And one clever power point with stick figures . . .

“The Subprime Primer” —

http://docs.google.com/TeamPresent?docid=ddp4zq7n_0cdjsr4fn&skipauth=true&pli=1

Filed under: Brainstorming | 1 Comment »

Are you ready for economic collapse? Americans are less prepared than the Soviets were

Posted on April 30, 2008 by Ellen Brown

The train has already derailed, but our media are barely reporting it. Dmitry Orlov lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union during the cold war. In his book “Reinventing Collapse” he compares the preparedness of the Soviets prior to the cold war to the preparedness of Americans today.
Below is a link to an excellent review of his book. A little knowledge and prep now will be priceless later . . . .

http://www.energybulletin.net/23259.html

Here are some interesting responses I got when I forwarded this by email:

Tore Dahlin wrote:

It is interesting that Orlov discussed this matter a year-and-a-half ago, as though he had a crystal ball into 2008.

I believe that all of our economic problems boil down to nothing but problems with macro organization and management. From a strictly technical point of view, all of our present problems are easily solved. The question only becomes, how do we get the needed consensus to enact the simple, but sweeping, solutions to almost instantly turn things around? It is like we are all sitting together in an old wreck of a car that is sputtering along and about to blow, when we could all just get out and get into a sleek new model. I guess as a society we get too attached to the old jalopy and think it’s the greatest thing to be driving even as we see the oil leaking out and the steam escaping the radiator. (Well, enough of that metaphor).

Patrick Hedemark wrote:

Thank you – both for this analsysis and again for the “antidote” to it – your book “Web of Debt”.

What I find so amazing now for me – after studying all of this for so long now is the fact that even the “predictions” of dire consequences by so many “experts” amount to a back handed acceptance of the “system” as reality – when in fact – it is really illusion.

The “notional value” ascribed to our money itself – as well as its by- products – the stock exchange and its myriad of “ponzi programs” as well as the housing and mortgage “industries” – are alll supported with the original “presumption”; that pretense is the equal of reality.

“Collapse” is tantamount to “disillusionment”. To be in illusion is unwanted, yet most people associate the term “disillusioned” with an uncomfortable and/or unwanted condition. Like the spouse that would rather suffer uncertainty as to the fidelity of their “other” rather than knowing he or she is in fact a scamp and that the only genuine solution to their ignorant condition is to know the truth, leave the bum and find “the real McCoy”.

Collapse is both inevitable and desirable. The destruction of all fictitious notional value is the very best thing that could happen to us all. Real Money – for Real Labor and Real resources – created by WE THE PEOPLE (THE GOVERNMENT) and delivered – IN SPITE OF THE SCREAMS OF THE PARASITES – will be the ACTUAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AMERCAN REVOLUTION!!

Filed under: Brainstorming | 5 Comments »

Conferences in April and May: The UnMoney Convergence and Building a New World Conference

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Last week I attended an excellent conference in Seattle called the UnMoney Convergence. I’ve been so busy that I don’t know that I can give it justice here, but I wanted to add a note. I’d estimate that about 50 people attended, although I didn’t count. It was largely a community currency group, so that was the main focus of the discussions. The structure was interesting: anyone who wanted to could speak or organize a group. The two full days of the conference were divided into 7 time slots, and the large hall (in the Seattle Town Hall) was divided into 5 meeting places with letter labels. That made 28 possibilities for groupings, one or more of which you could sign up to lead (giving name and topic on a large bulletin board). When it was your appointed time, you went to your corner and waited to see if anyone showed up. I signed up for two, at the end of each day, and on the first one, guess what — nobody showed up. At least not at first, but then a person I really wanted to talk to wandered over, and we had a very fruitful discussion. On the second day, my group was better attended and we had another very good discussion. Other group leaders attracted substantially better followings and were more formally prepared, with slide presentations and so forth. What was cool and unusual was that the conference organizers themselves were basically agenda-free, and the people who came with their own agendas (including me, though only for practice, being a duck among swans), often wound up losing interest in their own pet project in favor of some of the others. One drawback with the approach was that if you played the butterfly, flitting from group to group (one of the options we were encouraged to take, which I did), you were liable to miss important points and didn’t dare ask for a replay, which could have been lengthy. But overall it was a very congenial and supportive group, and a great opportunity for networking. I won’t try to discuss the particular talks, partly because I didn’t catch the whole gist of most of them; but if you’re interested in learning more you can go to the session notes at the UnMoney Convergence website, <a href=”http://unmoney.wik.is/Session_Notes”>http://unmoney.wik.is/Session_Notes</a>.

Not having had a chance to write up this interesting experience myself, I’ll post the review of Tom Palumbo and Ann Williams —

The first international conference of the World Prout Assembly, “Building a New World,”

World Prout Assembly: Religion Pt. 1 – AOL Video
Video Search Results – tag: prout – AOL Video

Building A New World
By Tom Palumbo and Ann Williams

As history has illustrated, the opulent green and sleepy mountains of the western part of Virginia have nurtured seeds of change. Again, in late May, the Virginia countryside heard cries of “Revolution!”. Not unlike the Colonie’s war cry against Imperial powers, people are standing up to a global crisis of immense proportions demanding immediate and ongoing solutions.

The event was a 4 day conference over Memorial Day Weekend entitled, “Building a New World”. Held on the Radford University campus, the gathering was the first summit of the World Prout Assembly.

Conference organizer, Garda Ghista, spoke of the need for “a great and immense movement…to sweep our nation; a positive force that through its sheer {energy} will have the capacity to…constitute hope and a new direction…”. The group brought together an eclectic think-tank of innovative people who study societal dynamics and influences on today’s culture.

Notable activists such as Cindy Sheehan ( A “Gold Star Mother for Peace”), Attorney Lynn Stuart, Robert Jensen, David Swanson, Kathy Kelly and many others led panel discussions geared towards a new global renaissance.

Several Hampton Roads residents were in attendance including Tench Phillips, co-owner of The Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk (www.narocinema.com). He called the events of the “Building a New World” conference “an unprecedented weekend… of organizers, authors, academics and film-makers coming together in a true grass-roots democratic movement to teach and learn from one another.”

Prominent critics of the war and neocon agenda aligned with Adam Kokesh and his colleagues of Iraq Veterans Against the War (www.ivaw.org), who recently testified in landmark Winter Soldier hearings. Iraqi-American physician Dahia Wasfi (www.liberatethis.com) presented a workshop on “The Sorrows of Race, Gender and Class.” Documentarian Danny Schecter presented “In Debt We Trust.”He and NYT Bestselling Authors Steve Alten (The Shell Game) and William Blum (Rogue Nation) each spoke on the urgency of Media Reform.

The vast array of topical challenges facing our nation and world today ranged from verified voting, economic quagmire, sustainable communities, environmental concerns and unanswered questions from the 9/11 attacks.

Advocates for change from Hampton Roads, included Chris Jaramillo, Joe Fillipowski, Dr. DC Amarasinghe, and members of PETA who participated in a full slate of workshops such as “Right to Healthcare,” “End of Empire,” “Prevent Unwanted Presidencies: Election Fraud,” “Civil Liberties and Constitutional Rights,” and “Taking Back the Media.”

Father Roy Bourgeois, co-founder and director of School of the Americas Watch, shared numerous struggles for non-violent change and victories towards the path to healing a broken world. His listeners were moved by his gently saying, “We know not what we have within us…” and we must recognize and celebrate the power of a “Solitary Witness”.

Pastor Rev. Pamela Anne Bro. of Living Waters Sanctuary, of Virginia Beach, offered an energetic presentation at the conference entitled “Spiritual Practices on the Path to Peace.”

There was an appeal for local activists to urgently challenge folks to wake up, pronto. Read. Research. Hone critical thinking skills. To do this they are peacefully armed with countless resources including websites ie; www.911Truth.org, books, DVD’s and infinite persistence. The unified hope is that the world can be a better and just place for everyone. You will likely recognize them as they engage people in line, at the movies, on the streets, at gas-stations, grocery stores or along the Boardwalk. They are the contemporary Town Criers of Hampton Roads.

The sense from most people participating was that in spite of ongoing global crisis, imminent change is happening. Our survival depends on how flexibly, creatively and effectively we respond to our challenges. The gathering has shaped a pro-active vision of fundamental change be it called a revolution, an awakening, a paradigm shift or a new American Renaissance.

Filed under: Networking | Tagged: Add new tag | Leave a comment »

Meltdown – in the news March 27 2008

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Credit Crunch Fallout: Germans Fear Meltdown of Financial System

Germany and other industrialized nations are desperately trying to brace themselves against the threat of a collapse of the global financial system. The crisis has now taken its toll on the German economy, where the weak dollar is putting jobs in jeopardy and the credit crunch is paralyzing many businesses.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,543588,00.html

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Predatory Lenders’ Partner in Crime (by then N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer) February 13, 2008, Washington PostSeveral years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders. Some were misrepresenting the terms of loans, making loans without regard to consumers’ ability to repay, making loans with deceptive “teaser” rates that later ballooned astronomically, packing loans with undisclosed charges and fees, or even paying illegal kickbacks. In addition, the widespread nature of these practices, if left unchecked, threatened our financial markets. Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers . . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

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Is an International Financial Conspiracy Driving World Events? Richard Cook, March 27, 2008

Was Alan Greenspan really as dumb as he looks in creating the late housing bubble that threatens to bring the entire Western debt-based economy crashing down?

Was something as easy to foresee as this really the trigger for a meltdown that could destroy the world’s financial system? Or was it done, perhaps, “accidentally on purpose”?

And if so, why? . . .

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8450

________

Argentina, Brazil to Drop U.S. Dollar in Bilateral Transactions

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/16/content_7800121.htm

Filed under: In the News | 1 Comment »

How to Contest Your Own Foreclosure

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Ellen Brown

The author quotes Jefferson on the threat posed by a private banking system to our national liberties, then notes that many if not most foreclosures may be illegal because the securitized trusts pursuing them don’t have recorded evidence that they own the loans. Yet most foreclosures go through by default because the homeowners don’t contest them. Raising this simple defense could be done without an expensive attorney, and it could allow homeowners to stay in their homes much longer or to settle on better terms. Moe asks what would happen if a massive wave of homeowners started fighting back and making banks prove they have the right to foreclose . . .

“Moe’s Views and Theories on the Mortgage and Banking Crisis” (March 25, 2008)

http://www.loansafe.org/forum/moes-views-theories-mortgage-housing-crisis/521-i-believe-banking-institutions-more-dangerous-our-liberties-than-standing-armies.html

Filed under: In the News | 6 Comments »

In the News the Week Ending March 23,2008

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Ellen Brown

Tent cities have sprung up outside Los Angeles as people lose their homes in the mortgage crisis. See this short BBC Production. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnOOo6tRs8

Richard Cook, “Whose Money Is It?” (March 23, 2008) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8424

Gretchen Morgensen, “Federal Reserve ‘rescues’ Sink Speculators” http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/23/business/morg.php

Filed under: In the News | Leave a comment »

The Bear acquisition: JP Morgan consolidates its holdings at the expense of teachers and other public employees

Posted on March 17, 2008 by Ellen Brown

At a 1968 meeting of the secretive globalist group known as the Bilderbergers, a U.S. official named George Ball spoke of creating a “world company.” Ball was U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs and a managing director of banking giants Lehman Brothers and Kuhn Loeb. The “world company” was to be a new form of colonialism, in which global assets would be acquired by economic rather than military coercion. The “company” would extend across national boundaries, aggressively engaging in mergers and acquisitions until the assets of the world were subsumed under one privately-owned corporation, with nation-states subservient to a private international central banking system. This weekend, banking giant JP Morgan added to its share of the world company when it bought Bear Stearns at $2 per share, a 98% discount, aided by backup funding from the Federal Reserve. Who bore the loss? Teachers and other public employees. See —

Catherine Austin Fitts, “Morgan Bags the Bear” (March 16, 2008), www.solari.com/blog/

She writes:

Well, Eliot Spitzer’s resignation was just in time. Can you imagine what he would have said about this? As of December 31, 2007, the New York State Teacher’s Retirement System owned 493,007 shares of Bear Stearns stock at a cost basis of $24,736,363.42 or $50.1745 per share. The year end value was $43,507,867.75 or $88.25 per share. As of March 31 2007, the New York State and Local Retirement System owned 453,385 shares of Bear Stearns stock at a cost of $34,443,043 or $75.97 and a valuation at that date of $68,850,650 or $145.24 per share. JP Morgan has just announced that they are going to buy Bear Stearns at $2 per share. Bear Stearns stock closed at $30 per share on Friday and at $57 per share on Thursday. Which means JP Morgan is not paying a premium to market. Rather, they are paying a 93% discount to market. This means that the New York teachers and public employees invested $59 million in Bear Stearns and their investment is now worth $1.9MM, a loss of $57 million. If you look at their opportunity cost, the New York pension plans could have sold in June 2007 before reality hit mortgage market valuations at $151 per share. From that point of view, they have lost $149 per share, or $141 million.

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