Really
 

No posts about the massive investment back collapse? We're fucked.

I wish I knew more about the situation to comment on it. From the little I do know, I wonder if the Fed's shouldn't have helped out AIG. Almost as a, 'you got yourself into this, get yourself out'. But then again, that might be wrong.

I would like it if they could cut the pay of/fire/layoff the executives that got the company in that mess.

That would be nice, wouldn't it?

I'm not commenting on it because I like that GC, for the most part, is where I don't have to think about this stuff.

In short, it sucks. Most of my friends, and a good number of our clients, are involved in big-time investment banking. I think Middle America may feel the financial crush before I will, but we're feeling the emotional crush here in NYC.

I hesitate to say we're effed but I also would not merely call this an "adjustment". What is your feedback on it, PG? I could post fun quips from Daily Show or Colbert, but you know how those would go (they've been hilarious, though). Or I could start a big lecture about how more regulation is needed in certain sectors (as the mortgage industry clustermuck loudly screams), but we know how that would go here as well. I do know my husband and I and other members of our family made the conscious decision not to panic and start selling or withdrawing or moving things around in a tizzy. I don't know that we have much choice but to ride it out at this point, do we? Despite the obvious lack of oversight, competence and care that's been happening at the highest levels, we are almost forced to still lay some kind of trust that things will stabilize because what's the alternative?

I have a few friends who have either A) just started working for one of the companies involved or B) worked there as a summer associate/intern, and are now freaking out about their jobs. We talk all the time in law school about the economy, and how it's affected the hiring practice of firms and companies, but nothing like this.

I feel for everyone involved; employees, investors, everyone - just a bad situation.

My bf has been calling this for the last 1.5-2 years. Seriously. He thinks it could come close to what we saw during the Great Depression. It terrifies me the way he talks about it; for a long time I ignored what he was saying, but it's all been coming true so now I think he really does know what he's talking about. I'm glad I moved some of my money into bonds several months ago, but he says that bonds are about to bust, too.

This was definitely a long time coming. There isn't a whole lot to say, our economy (like all capitalist economies) is cyclical and it will recover to be stronger than its ever been but in the short term things aren't looking good. There are going to be lasting effects felt by everyone here because companies will not have the capital to operate and our unemployment rate is going to go very high.

Teachers all over are worried. Some of our retirement funds are tied up in these. I don't want to lose any money, because no way am I teaching past 60!

Here are the terms of the AIG bailout:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...Ld0&refer=home

The CEO is going to be replaced by the former CEO of Allstate Ins. It doesn't detail who else will get replaced. It looks as if the exiting CEO may still get a huge bonus:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09182008...xit_129673.htm


http://www.postchronicle.com/news/br...12172602.shtml

Willumstad only held the job for a few months...I think that the former CEO needs to shoulder some of the blame for this and should be prosecuted....for something..don't know what but these execs need to be held accountable.

So the former CEO of AIG, the man responsible for running the company into the ground, left last June with a severence package worth $47 million!! THis is criminal...

http://www.directorship.com/sullivan-to-receive--47m

What is up with this????? There is a crime here, there has to be! I wish I could do a crappy job and still earn truckloads of money!

The government bailed out AIG to the tune of 85 billion at an 8.5% interest rate.

This is something we've talked about ad nauseum (sp?) at work. I don't work in that industry, but it certainly is affecting everyone's 401k and other industries that tend to rely on people to spend money on non-essential products.

I have some friends in the industry and the feeling is not good. It's scary that Lehmans' could survive the Great Depression but couldn't survive this... whatever it is... b/c so many people in Washington don't want to call it a recession. I'm not going to pretend I know what happened in their business, but I think they got greedy and got mixed up in the subprime business which helped spell their doom. Again, I don't know the specifics, so if that's not what happened with them I will stand corrected.

Like someone else mentioned, I think it's really crappy that the executives who made the decisions to screw over their company are the ones getting the nice severance packages while their employees are left jobless and their actions are screwing up the already-shaky economy.

hell, meet handbasket.