If anyone here is trying to PUMP us up, its not necessary and as Tim said makes me look bad. We have 6 terminals here at the office and 2 postings came from here according to Tim.

I will say this again as I did on The News Tribune 8 months ago. Please stop.

Three reasons I think Ray or Dan knows nothing.

1. His web site 500reality has a Google PR of 3. That means that NO ONE GOES TO OR LINKS TO THE SITE.

2. The IP thing.

3. Everything he posts is full of buzzwords and catch phrases as opposed to knowledge or substance just like every other salesman on the planet. I had a VC job that required me to qualify companies technical claims for Venture Capital so I have at least a decent undertstanding of online BS.

Dan M // Mar 16, 2008 at 10:00 pm

the only reason i come here is to read ray’s posts. Appears the only people who hate this guy are realtors and realtors. look what hes built. i live in kent and drive by his massive signs everyday on the way to work. check out his real estate company. I think the boys fear him and his red fin buddies.

Gee, “Dan”, it’s interesting that your IP Address is exactly the same as RAY PEPPER’s.

Yes, and the people of Tibet are really not loving their Chinese overlords either.

The guys who have the guns win, regardless of who has the Prom Queen crown.

Paying down debt is never bad unless you are a creditor earning interest.

Cash in hand is always good, especially when the neighborhood meth addict finds it.

Remember, living causes death.
The ultimate place of security is the grave.

I think you are safe with anything under 100K in a bank. You might not be able to get the money out right away, but the federal govt will get the money to you within a reasonable time.

If there is an honest to God bank run that cripples our government, your only hope is to be long guns and lead.

I heard about a web site run by the government will give the numbers on the stability of different banks. I’ve heard that WAMU, Wachovia and maybe Wells Fargo are in trouble. Does anyone know the url of the governement site. Which banks are not in the mortgage mess?Obviously JPM is a place to move money but what about a credit union like Boeing Credit Union?

I’m totally out of stocks and have been selling short housing and financials (SRS and SKF) so I will be all right if my bank is here in a week. I would also like to know about FDIC insurance. I’ve heard that it is incapable of handling a real bank run and has been pretty well gutted but I don’t know much about it. Can someone with real insight and experience (NOT RAY) please advise.

The only reason that the Fed covered BSC is because they had JPM as a middle man. Essentially JPM was on the hook for BSC, the Fed probably has no problem at this point taking collateral from JPM, BSC collateral would be a different story.

As the situation deteriorates from here, the Fed is only going to be able to do so much. I wouldn’t worry about savings accounts unless you have more than 100k in any single account. Small to medium sized banks with more exposure to the mortgage markets are going to be the most risky.

I guess it could get past the point where the Fed actually has the ability to step in?

(time to put some money under the mattress?)

I don’t think its that bad. The Fed is a private bank, they take collateral and only collateral that has value. They have no interest in going bankrupt themselves. Keep in mind it is only a 28 day loan at the discount window, so the loan will need to be paid back soon. If JPM can’t pay back the loan, the financial system as we know it will be in much worse shape than anything seen since the Great Depression.

That’s not true! They are getting one and a half cents on the dollar from Bear’s stock price a year ago (LOL). More importantly, I suspect that they don’t have to give back the hefty bonus checks they’ve gotten over the last few years.

This will probably turn out to be American capitalism at its finest – JPMorgan can toss all the losses in Bear’s portfolio at the Fed, and then sell Bear’s HQ building and any other real assets Bear has lying around for a nice chunk of change. Given how desperate the US government to have this deal happen before the market opens on Monday, I’m sure that JPMorgan was very careful to make sure that all the losses would be picked up by the Feds.

The best thing about this deal is that Bear employees, who own about one third of outstanding shares, make nothing from the deal. i.e. they are punished for their poor performance. The integrity of the US banking system is maintained (for what it is worth) for now.

It’s a great thing when individuals are punsihed for their failings. It happens so rarely in UN business.

JPMorgan Chase Buys Bear Stearns for $270 Million

yup, $2/share

and it gets even better…

Fed Cuts Discount Rate, Says Dealers May Borrow

Another quarter point discount rate cut.

Will we still be crazy when WAMU, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Chitibank go under?

Sorry Singliac, you look like the crazy one to me.

The approval rating of the Bush Administration is well below standard indicating America is truly against the ideals that have been set in motion. America is increasingly calling for an end to the war in Iraq and the show of support for Obama type “CALL TO ACTION” behavior indicates a resistance of our Democratic America to collapse.

But Americans love to say one thing and do another. Come November they will again vote for a “protective daddy” in McCain, who has vowed to war for 100 years. Offense, mind you, not defense. Voters will lap up whatever falsehoods are thrown out against Obama; he’ll be swiftboated just like Kerry was. The country has become too dumb to save itself.

I can’t see why anyone would think that ever expanding debt not going to kill us, probably sooner rather than later.

They are the same people who believe that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, and think the theory of evolution is poppycock. Unfortunately they are fully half of the population. We’re doomed by ignorance.

Pepper why not give these bubble guys your seminar on 911 and the Greenspan put. I got a copy of it from the Boeing BBall league. I’d like to hear it live.

The approval rating of the Bush Administration is well below standard indicating America is truly against the ideals that have been set in motion. America is increasingly calling for an end to the war in Iraq and the show of support for Obama type “CALL TO ACTION” behavior indicates a resistance of our Democratic America to collapse.

I do NOT believe the Bush Admistration has been able to install fear in America about our “internal enemy. ” External yes, but militant radical groups in America are very few and not viable threats.

Our media seems to support all anti-war movements with ALOT of air-time and the harassing of citizen groups is very different from what was observed in past history.

911 has triggered a series of events that has indeed caused the current state we are in. Was 911 due to happen at some point in time . OF COURSE.. Is this assault on Democracy fiction? I believe comparing any past regimes of government is beneficial but still like comparing apples to oranges.

I hope I’m correct!

1) Go to YouTube and watch the Naomi Wolf video entitled “The End of America” (filmed at UW lecture).
2) Watch the Alex Jones DVD “Endgame”

clifs notes version…(from End of America lecture…10 steps to despotism)

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2. Create a gulag
3. Develop a thug caste
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
5. Harass citizens’ groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law

It is time to rip away the veil of illusion that has been cast over us…..

I can’t believe there are still people who look at me askance when I tell them that WaMu WILL COLLAPSE. They simply will not exist in 2010. What will Seattle look like with a giant WaMu smoking crater in it?

BTW, WaMu, thanks for the puts, you were great, want a cigarette?

I’m starting to see the car campers again here in Seattle: http://deflationland.blogspot.com

From the price of oil, the dollar, housing, consumer credit deterioration, confidence, interest rates, Boeing, and Hillary and Obama I must say each and everyday when I wake up…NOW WHAT?

The Buffett is coming to an end and my oh my what a ride its going to be.

Ray Pepper
http://www.500Realty.net

I am getting more and more concerned that no one realizes the gravity of the situation. Bear Stearns almost went bankrupt last week! The fifth largest US Bank had to be saved by the Fed using depression era laws. The fed is running out of tools. I think a serious bank run is inevitable and I’m not really sure the FDIC can cover it.

What scares me the most is hearing stock analysts talk about the ups and downs in the market. For three generations Americans have not seen the type of real financial catastrophe that happens in other parts of the world. We don’t seem to be unable to truely understand what this means. The federal government’s only response is to add more debt to the problem. It seems that the panic we are trying so hard to avoid is only making the problem worse. Optomism is actually killing us. Our country has turned into a giant pyramid scheme. As long as we all keep thinking how great it is the pyramid can keep growing. Someone needs to get in front of the problem and tell America that we are in very serious trouble. The government need to tell people to put every dime we have into paying down consumer debt and government debt. I can’t see why anyone would think that ever expanding debt not going to kill us, probably sooner rather than later.