TARP Will Likely Be A Money-Loser For Taxpayers: Fortune

Fortune:

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- One of the things they teach in Successful Investing 101 is to cut your losses short and let your winnings run. But when it comes to the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the government is stuck doing the opposite. Its gains are being cut short, because its most profitable investments are being closed out, yet its losses will continue running.

The big gains come from stock-purchase warrants that Congress insisted the Treasury get as part of the $244 billion of TARP loans it made to 662 banks and bank holding companies. Warrants, which give holders the right (but not the obligation) to purchase stock at a fixed price for a fixed period, are designed to offer taxpayers a chance to make some serious money if the stock prices of the bailed-out banks rise.

Read the whole story: Fortune

Comments

[Sundialsvc4]

Having swindled the American people, now they swindle the American Treasury.

Uh ... funny thing about organized-crime, or crime in general: it doesn't stop. It walks through the remains of a burnt-out building with a torch, looking for scraps of wood to set on fire.

This is why our Constitution lists "bribery" alongside "treason."

Is it "smart?" Is it "taking the long view?" Hell, no. It's "gimme money and I'm gone," except that there is really no place to go. The building has been burned and sooner or later it will be winter again. It will be cold and hungry times.

Crime doesn't stop to think about that. The crime of bribery leads to all sorts of other crimes, all of them centered around one and only one thing: "money." Even though that "money" is being churned-out from absolutely nowhere at all to the tune of a million dollars a minute(!), in that very strange world that's all there is or will ever be. Money.

[smchp]

lol.....AIG up something like 66% this week. Funny how I don't see Fortune rushing to put out a story on this. At least not until they can figure out how to attach a dark cloud to this silver lining.

[sonofsamphm1c]

And C went up over 10%. Great timing on the editor's part!

Lol.

[smchp]

AIG up another 20% or so after reporting their first profit since 2007. Gosh, talk about bad timing on the article of doom and gloom.

[jde]

That darned Obama! Using his secret time machine to travel back and wreck the economy. Right under Bush's nose.

[jde]

There should have been more government controls on the bailout money.
Oh wait, that would be socialism.

[chocolatecity]

Obama hasn't even spent most of his half of the TARP funds. It's not his fault that Paulson flipped the script and just gave away a bunch of money.

[sonofsamphm1c]

No TARP money was given away. All TARP money will be repaid.

Obama fully supported TARP, and that is a good thing. His economic team has done a superb job of both repairing and administering TARP.

He spent it down to about 119 billion, and since then they have taken in around 60 billion in repayments, so they should have around 179 billion in unused lending authority. I think.

[loki]

But those super rich elitist who graduated from the ivy greed schools really do feel that this is their birthright. They think we should be proud to be helping to keep them rich and in mansions , yachts, high priced hookers and other expensive things. Its not like they really worked for their money to get rich, so they shouldnt have to work to keep on being rich either. Thats the job of the working class and working poor. We should be proud that we get to pay for the immense growth of their vast wealth and want to work harder, longer and for less money just to make sure they get more and stay happy.
I mean really, isnt that what life is all about anyway?

[nomadicexpat]

your envy of those who succeeded where youve failed is showing

[jde]

Jealousy reference! Everybody drink!

[jde]

Haha. Cue trust fund baby rage now.

[getoffmedz]

The TARP funding was arranged by the previous administration, y'all.

[rich misty]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/view/

Bush-Paulson

[Common Sense 101]

Half of it spent by Obama.

[rich misty]

TARP legislation, drafted by Bush and Paulson, determined all of the salient terms of the bank bailouts.

Why do Republicans blame Obama for Bush? Is it because Obama is black?

[loki]

funny, half spent by Obama, but less than 20% has actually been spent.
Thats a good spin. you come up with that all on your own? Or did Hanity prompt you to say that?

[Tiggy]

Yes, but it is the Treasury Sec. that has absolute spending and restriction discretion! And that includes Mr. G himself who is part of the Obama Admin. Not to mention that Obama received 1/2 the TARP funds to use as he saw fit. So while we can blame Bush, and rightfully so for a lot of things, Obama does not get a pass on this.

[loki]

Shhh... Republicans really want to use that to bash democrats. They dont want the truth out.

[Chazmania]

great my hard earned tax money is going to make some lazy wall street crook rich. God bless America huh?

[Tiggy]

You betcha and not just your money, but money from your children, your grandchildren and your great grandchildern. Mine too! But look on the bright side, the money paid to the rich will secure the future for their children, their grandchildren and their great grandchildren.

[sonofsamphm1c]

This article could not be more incorrect.

C - up 10% today
AIG - up 63% today

[sonofsamphm1c]

Kind of stalled the enthusiasm for doom and gloom.

Lol.

Oh no, Obama-Geithner-Summers-Bernanke knew what they were doing! It's a disaster for the HuffPo.

[BabblingBrooks]

The real reason is that, even if some profit was returned, THE DEMOCRATS WOULD SPEND IT!

[cheff114]

Hey BabblingBrooks - Last time I checked, Clinton left us a $559 billion surplus while GW Bush & the Republican-lead congress left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit. The Democrats the big spenders? Sure.

[rich misty]

That's a fact

[Common Sense 101]

And what is Obama up to now in just 6 months?

[BabblingBrooks]

And these are the people who want to run our health care?

[rich misty]

Republican prefer torture over health care, they support torture.

[LeLoup]

They don't want to run it.
They want it to run more honestly. Public option is designed to force the ins co. to stop hiking premiums as they please.

But Hey! Be my guest...pay more for less coverage if you like it. But where I come from, capitalism is designed to offer MORE for a better price.

[abelenkpe]

Sadly, I am not surprised.

[sonofsamphm1c]

This moran is wrong in so many ways it's impossible to know where to begin.

So I'll stick this down his lemon meringue hole:

C went up 10% today

AIG went up 67% today

This at a time when the economy is probably still contracting.

Lol. Not only is the government likely to get their money back, any recovery in the next 4 years will send them well into profitability.

[LeLoup]

LOL!
You remind me of those climate change deniers who will scream that global warming doesn't exist because it was cooler in their neighborhood in the last week.

Like a price spike like today MUST define a long term trend.

Pathetic lack of reasoning skills.

[DASChicago]

I knew it, I KNEW IT!!! The faciliators were being too mousey now we know exactly why! Grrrrrrrrrrr!

It's my opinion if it wasn't for Eliz Warren and Neil Barofsky we would not know up from f'in down.