1. Yves Smith on how to nationalize the really big banks. And more here; Citi's half trillion in foreign deposits is another issue.
2. Data paparazzi.
3. Dambisa Moyo.
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We all know that Robert Rubin must know much more than anyone else about Citigroup and Citibank. Although it is not clear, apparently he is now an advisor to BHO (or at least he’s close to BHO and L. Summers). Since Rubin was part, a big part, of the problem, let us give him the opportunity of being a big part of the solution. Let BHO set the objectives of any solution to Citigroup and Citibank and then ask Rubin to design and implement a plan to achieve them. The only conditions: first BHO should make public the objectives and justify them, second BHO should publicly justify his approval of Rubin’s plan, and finally Rubin should report publicly at least once a week on the progress of implementing his plan. I don’t care how much money Rubin is paid to do it; actually I think he should be paid a lot to do it in a very short period of time.
Tyler, you may start a discussion of what objectives BHO should set for solving the Citigroup/Citibank problem. My proposal is to eliminate big companies that cannot fail, so: (1) if Citigroup does not repay all government loans in a very short period of time, the government will force its liquidation, and (2) break down Citibank in as many banks as possible to be sold as soon as possible. Rubin’s plan has to define how short that time should be and how to liquidate Citigroup, and how to divide and sell Citibank.
Please don’t tell me that Rubin would be a traitor to Citigroup/Citibank executives and staff. As I see the situation, right now he’s a traitor to the Dems that have given him the opportunity to earn so much money in Citigroup. Years ago in another country, something similar happened; and it worked.
Scotland Bank ist krisis
von Raivo Pommer
Die verstaatlichte britische Großbank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will sich Medienberichten zufolge von zahlreichen Unternehmensteilen trennen und bis zu 20 000 Jobs abbauen.
Der neue RBS-Chef Stephen Hester will sich künftig auf das Kerngeschäft der Bank konzentrieren und die übrigen Geschäfte für einen späteren Verkauf zunächst in eine Unterabteilung der Bank auslagern, wie mehrere britische Medien am Wochenende berichteten. Zuvor war war bereits spekuliert worden, dass RBS bis zu 20 000 Stellen abbauen werde. Das wären etwa 10 Prozent der weltweit Beschäftigten.
Zu den ausgelagerten RBS-Sparten sollen die Geschäfte in Asien und Australien gehören. Außerdem will sich RBS den Berichten zufolge aus der Hälfte der 60 Länder zurückziehen, in denen die Bank derzeit Geschäfte betreibt. Zudem werde erwartet, dass RBS ein neues Rettungsprogramm der Regierung in Anspruch nimmt und faule Kredite in Höhe von mindestens 200 Milliarden Pfund (225 Mrd Euro) auf Kosten der Steuerzahler gegen Zahlungsausfälle versichert.
Die Pläne sollen am Donnerstag vorgestellt werden, wenn RBS seine Zahlen für das abgelaufene Geschäftsjahr präsentiert, hieß es in den Berichten weiter. RBS hatte bereits einen Rekordverlust in der britischen Unternehmensgeschichte von 28 Milliarden Pfund in Aussicht gestellt. Die Bank war im Strudel der Finanzkrise ins Schlingern geraten, auch weil 2007 Teile der niederländischen Bank ABN Amro übernommen worden waren. Mittlerweile befindet sich RBS zu 68 Prozent in Staatsbesitz.
From the article on Moyo:
“you are perhaps the first African to request in book form that all development aid be halted within five years.”
Has anyone at the NYT ever heard of Axelle Kabou? She’s from Cameroon and she published her analysis that calls for the same thing (ending aid) in 1991, “Et si l’Afrique refusait le développement”
Or, a little bit more recent, James Shikwati from Kenya.
I’m looking forward to reading “Dead Aid” to see how close Moyo is to those two.
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