My Conversation with John Snow

John Snow is in a unique position to assess the recent economic downturn. As former Treasury Secretary and now a top executive at Cerberus Capital Management, one of the world's largest private investment firms, he spoke to me about the extent and the causes of the recent market turmoil.

Comments

[engineer68]

This SOB nearly ruined CSX railroad. His mismanagement has resulted in multimillion dollar lawsuits because of delaying maintenance. Lives were lost in accidents and large amounts of property were damaged by this clown.

[Stanley]

These "junk loans" were designed with "interest only" "5-yr baloons" and "no money down" and "no income verification" means that the market was wide open. Millions of consumers suddenly became eligible to borrow much more than ever before but way over their heads. Record credit card debt at high rates goes wild. Refinancing came in to save the economy and more "junk loans" were printed. The Fed lets this happen to keep the economy going and prints money like mad as we go into enormous debt. The dollar based on assets (houses) was put under huge pressure to devalue. As the dollar dropped like a rock the assets were bound to as outside investments move elsewhere and the economy grinds down. Housing prices drop and all the junk loans are in jeapordy. The banks made a fee on every single transaction then sold off the "junk loans" to investment banks who repackaged them and sold them to hedge funds, leveraging the payments as interest against know real principle. The huge growth of these funds created a enormous appetite for this window dressed bad risk. The investment bankers made billions focussed on greed then economics. Citibank loses billions the CEO gets $50 million. Bear Stearns fails the CEO makes 55 million. Now tax payers pick up the tab. What cost is there for losing? The speculators and shylocks were all playing with our money.

[mmckinl]

Charlie Rose : Sycophant to the plutocracy ...

Inviting Snow to discuss the economy is a farce. As is inviting Kissinger to discuss foreign policy. As are most of Charlie's guests on respective issues regarding governance or economic issues.

Rose is mostly just a platform for the apologia of empire neoliberalism.

[stillfresh]

Did you see Charlie Rose "interview" Ted Turner? HEY CHARLIE, STOP INTERRUPTING!!!! It was unwatchable!

[ErnestineBass]

I used to like Charlie Rose. Now I can't stand him.

[bethinCary]

John Snow has been making money and laws off the backs of Americans by cornering a monopoly on the transportation industry for his own capitalistic interest for over 20 years now..

that's all he's ever been interested in.

[joebhed]

Charlie,
You're not going to get a lot of comments on a typical fat capitalist mouthpiece who will blame the entire failure of free-market capitalism on those dumb, poor borrowers who took out too much debt on their dream homes.
When this was discovered, it led to a failure of confidence in the MBS market generally, and that lack of confidence has now spread to virtually every sector of the financial services industry.
Those dumb old pofolks.
They believed their bankers, who were lying, of course, which is in itself more than adequate proof of the failure of the regulatory system now in place.
OK, so, you got that, Charlie.
First, the borrower screwed up.
Then, regulation failed, as it often does due to the law of unintended consequences.
Yes, the FED should bail us all out, using a newly-devised form of Treasury-backed security, which, as we know, comes about by borrowing money from private bankers who create it out of thin air due to their own money-making powers.
Of course, the reason such an issuance has any power to restore confidence is because it is backed by the full faith and credit of the American taxpayer.
Who started this mess in the first place.
It's a confidence game.