From a friend of mine who's in the know and has taken the time to do a little digging:
URGENT: It is now 11pm Sunday in NY. I bring you the future: Lehman/Amex bankruptcy, by the time you wake up -Monday.
THIS AFFECTS YOU You will FEEL this one for a LONG time. Here's Why:
Who is Lehman Brothers... REALLY... ?
HUNDREDS of "prime status" corporations, including American Express, Halliburton and Kerr-McGee. Starting in the Amex merger, the combined firms became Shearson Lehman/American Express. In 1988, Shearson Lehman/American Express and E.F. Hutton & Co. merged as Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc.
...in other words, this is ENRON and WORLDCOM -all over again!
But the most interesting "connection" is Lehman's ownership of the "Crossroads Group" (owner of EDS corp, the most bizarre secret company in America) and a main constituency of the strange "Carlyle Group"!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Think about it... the Fed refuses to prop up the biggest banking failure in history (considering all its peripheral assets). Among its components are EDS, the mysterious Dallas defense contractor so secret its ops/budget is not reviewed by Congress, and photos are banned from inclusion in Google maps. Ross Perot originally begat EDS, then sold it to GM, which sold it to Crossroads (after which it became part of a secret still unknown zero accountability government "business"). Other "parts" of Lehman are the Cheney/Bush mob's Halliburton, the "chief thief" of Iraq-scam funds. And MOST bizarre, the Carlyle Group, a secret Bush and Saudi owned/fronted global military hardware scamming finance club that brought us the archaic, useless "Crusader" Howitzer/Battering Ram and "Bradley Fighting Vehicle" (which taxpayers spent billions on, and the military refuses to use because they are death traps).
WHAT?
The fed refuses to save this company? Then consider the Bush/Cheney and its tainted "Pachyderm Party Group" to be "politically sterile". It does not matter what Gallup says, U.S. elections are decided by what Wall Street is willing to tolerate -or not. Power has ALREADY SHIFTED...
MONDAY, Sept. 15 2008 EVENTS:
On September 13, 2008, Timothy F. Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York called a meeting on the future of Lehman, which included the possibility of an emergency liquidation of its assets. Lehman reported that it had been in talks with Bank of America and Barclays for the company's possible sale. The New York Times reported on September 14, 2008, that Barclays had ended its bid to purchase all or part of Lehman and a deal to rescue the bank from liquidation collapsed. Leaders of major Wall Street banks continued to meet late that day to prevent the bank's rapid failure. Bank of America's rumored involvement also appeared to end as federal regulators resisted its request for government involvement in Lehman's sale. Also on September 14, 2008, The New York Times reported that Lehman will file for bankruptcy protection for its parent company, Lehman Brothers Holdings, while keeping its subsidiaries solvent during the bankruptcy proceedings. A group of Wall Street firms agreed to provide capital and financial assistance for the bank's orderly liquidation and the Federal Reserve, in turn, agreed to a swap of lower-quality assets in exchange for loans and other assistance from the government. Lehman's bankruptcy would be the largest failure of an investment bank since Drexel Burnham Lambert collapsed amid fraud allegations 18 years earlier. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) offered an exceptional trading session on Sunday, September 14, 2008, to allow market participants to offset positions in various derivatives on the condition of a Lehman bankruptcy later that day. This Sunday biz is TOAST popping up. When the market opens in NYC in a few hours, there will be a scramble to dump assets for this corpse and MANY others.
FIRST SIGNS OF TERMINATION:
On August 22, 2008, shares in Lehman closed up 5% (16% for the week) on reports that the state-controlled Korea Development Bank was considering buying the bank. Most of those gains were quickly eroded as news came in that Korea Development Bank was "facing difficulties pleasing regulators and attracting partners for the deal." It culminated on September 9, when its shares plunged 44.95% to $7.79, after it was reported that the state-run South Korean firm had put talks on hold.
Investor confidence continued to erode as Lehman's stock lost roughly half its value and pushed the S&P 500 down 3.4% on September 9. The Dow Jones lost 300 points the same day on investors' concerns about the security of the bank. The U.S. government did not announce any plans to assist with any possible financial crisis that emerged at Lehman.
On September 10, 2008, Lehman announced a loss of $3.9 billion and their intent to sell off a majority stake in their investment-management business, which includes Neuberger Berman. The stock slid 7 percent that day. Lehman, after earlier rejecting questions on the sale of the company, was reportedly searching for a buyer as its stock price dropped another 40 percent on September 11, 2008.
LB/Amex BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Expect the worst, and like Enron, watch these jerks walk away with billions in the next few hours/days:
Richard S. Fuld, Jr. Chairman/CEO -nicknamed by Wall Street as "The Gorilla" -Fuld serves on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (note: NY FRB was the ONLY entity who tried to save Lehman w a new sucker/buyer) -yet even Fuld's own executive board refused to bear the dirty load! Michael L. Ainslie John F. Akers Roger S. Berlind -Broadway Musical Producer (obviously useful for economic-tap dance) Thomas Cruikshank -chairman and CEO of Halliburton Energy Services from 1989 to 1995. Under his tenure in the early 1990's, Halliburton provided extensive theft services to Kuwait in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm. Marsha Johnson Evans Sir Christopher Gent -Vodafone ex-CEO (deposed) Roland A. Hernandez Dr. Henry Kaufman -Salomon Brothers accountant and general nobody John D. Macomber -former director of Export-Import Bank of the United States (deposed)
CONCLUSIONS: If you have an Amex card, cut it up now and STOP making payments. Accounting will crater anyway, and huge "mistakes" in over billing are likely. But let the account stall, or if that makes you nervous, just pay interest (and pay ONLY a legal rate in your state regardless of what the bill says). Your account can be settled later at reduced "discount rates" for cash, when Chapter 11 officers are appointed. This alone is a good tip. Wait and see. Why should the Bush mob run away with all the assets? Save some of your own!
Last, if you are wise, you will see "the writing on the wall" and get with the winning team. Donate, become a known contributor... and reap some benefits from that inside connection "during the next administration". If they don't have enough "stock" to save their own ass, they are history. Bad history. House page butt-humping history.
GEN Price at posting:
10.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
