The Paulson Shopping Spree - Now Insurance Companies Want in

From Paulson Weighs Buying Stakes in U.S. Insurers, Regional Lenders (Bloomberg):

The U.S. Treasury is considering taking stakes in insurers, as it prepares a new round of capital injections targeted at regional banks and other financial companies, a person briefed on the plan said

Some life insurers have asked the government to make the participation of life companies mandatory because firms don't want to identify themselves as needing funds

Mandatory to get taxpayer funds simply because they do not want to identify themselves?

Additional details are how the Treasury didn't anticipant the drop in the markets. Right, they scream Fire in the Theater and are now surprised?

What about this? Is anyone wondering why after getting money from the Treasury financial institutions seemingly are going on a merger and acquisition spending spree:

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said it is acquiring National City Corp. for about $5.2 billion in stock after getting a $7.7 billion infusion from the Treasury.

Weren't they supposed to use that money to lend to others?

Mish's Global Economic Analysis comments say it all:

Translation: Just what we need, a faster way to waste taxpayer funds. As soon as we burn that up, we can come back for another $750 billion.

Banks, brokerages, Insurance companies already in the bailout pot.

So what's next? Homebuilders? Hedge Funds? Pension Plans? The stock market itself? After all, we all know the stock market only goes up, let's print $10 trillion and buy stocks.

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