WaMu Is Seized, Sold Off to J.P. Morgan,
In Largest Failure in U.S. Banking History

Welcome to chaos: Arab nations hit hard as world markets crash

European Central Banks Offer More Dollars From Fed (Update3)

“Imploded*” Banks:

Military or Market-Driven Empire Building: 1950-2008 – by Prof. James Petras

… raising the stakes: The demise of Washington Mutual Inc., the largest banking failure in U.S. history, sent a fresh message to Washington of the fragility of the financial system.In a sign of the extraordinary tension, at one point in the afternoon Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson interrupted a small gathering of Democratic leaders at the White House with a plea for them not to say anything that might blow up the troubled deal, according to three people familiar with the matter. In doing so, the Treasury secretary got down on one knee, a gesture that one of these people described as a moment of levity in a rough day.

A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market. Crashes are driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors. They often follow speculative stock market bubbles.

---

New Information from the FDIC
Here are the latest additions and updates to the FDIC’s Web site. You will also find over a year’s worth of What’s New items archived under the Previous Listings link below. We welcome your questions, comments or suggestions; please send e-mail to the Webmaster webmaster@fdic.gov.

• FDIC Board Meeting – The FDIC Board of Directors met in open session on September 26, 2008; documents are available.
  –Posted September 26, 2008
• Acquisition of Washington Mutual Bank – Banking operations of Washington Mutual, Inc were sold in a transaction facilitated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the FDIC. All deposit accounts and all loans have been transferred to JPMorgan Chase Bank.
  JP Morgan Acquires All Qualified Financial Contracts as Part of Washington Mutual Acquisition
  Washington Mutual Bank Investors – Additional Information
  Continuation of Contracts Transferred From Washington Mutual Bank
  –Posted September 25, 2008

• Bank Find
• Money Smart – A Financial Education Program
• Are My Deposits Insured?
• Certificates of Deposit: Tips for Savers
• Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE – Online Version)

What we have here is a situation that requires serious scrutiny.  We are no longer “average joes”. This is where you and I must take a crash course in the money structure of this country and how to avoid loosing everything down to our underpants.  Try to remember that course in school that tried to teach you how to be responsible with your paycheck?  It is time for remedial education.

U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission
Providing financial education resources for all Americans

The 10 Money Smart Training Modules

Bank on It an introduction to bank servicesBorrowing Basics an introduction to creditCheck It Out how to choose and keep a checking accountMoney Matters how to keep track of your moneyPay Yourself First why you should save, save, save

Keep It Safe your rights as a consumerTo Your Credit how your credit history will affect your credit future Charge It Right how to make a credit card work for youLoan To Own know what you’re borrowing before you buyYour Own Home what home ownership is all about

Bush remains upbeat on the bailout … whew? I feel better already.  Let the professional politicians take care of it all, just like they have in the past.  Forgive my skepticism, politicians don’t have the credentials to manage their own money, why should I trust them with mine, your or the country’s?  Politicians must have Financial advisers to manage their own campaigns and portfolios. They are fully dependent on the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve governors to explain what is going on with the economy. Without fully understanding, they endorse what they are told, what choice do they have?  You and I are in the same boat.  We have to trust what we are told.  That’s because too few of us are adequately educated about money matters.  What we think we know is what our favorite pundits tell us.  Today, there are unlimited resources on the web to educate you, some are good and some are bad.  First step is to vet the source.  Make sure you are not at a scam page.  The USA has bought in to a grand PONZI Scheme that we are still buying in to.

“Ponzi” Schemes

Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s. Ponzi thought he could take advantage of differences between U.S. and foreign currencies used to buy and sell international mail coupons. Ponzi told investors that he could provide a 40% return in just 90 days compared with 5% for bank savings accounts. Ponzi was deluged with funds from investors, taking in $1 million during one three-hour period�and this was 1921! Though a few early investors were paid off to make the scheme look legitimate, an investigation found that Ponzi had only purchased about $30 worth of the international mail coupons.

Decades later, the Ponzi scheme continues to work on the “rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” principle, as money from new investors is used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses. For more information, please read pyramid schemes in our Fast Answers databank.

Oh yes, our economy has hit a tree, and the drunk driver is Wall Street backed politicians, who are victims of sleeping around on the country they are married to.