This is similar to what Vladimir Putin's regim...

2015-05-15T15:51:14.657-05:00

This is similar to what Vladimir Putin's regime does to move Russian tax dollars into his pocket.

The USA is like an old steam ship lost in the midd...

2015-05-15T14:23:46.335-05:00

The USA is like an old steam ship lost in the middle of Pacific Ocean. Nearly out of water, and food for the crew and no more coal to burn. So the solution is start tossing the crew over the side, and begin to break up the wooden ship for fuel for the steam engines.

Like the Toll Road the money is made for some on the commissions, and the expenses they can charge for. Eventually some poor sole has to bite the bullet and take a loss. The poor sole in these instances is going to be the taxpayers (99%) when financial institutions fail.

Goldman and Barnes, doing God's work yet again...

2015-05-15T11:23:33.988-05:00

Goldman and Barnes, doing God's work yet again. When does the U.S. fiat dollar Ponzi scheme blow up?

Sometimes a city is forced into these things by a ...

2015-05-15T10:37:56.634-05:00

Sometimes a city is forced into these things by a contractual termination event, like the downgrading of your bond rating which happened to Chicago Schools, and sometimes its just an early termination fee that actually costs more than keeping the old higher interest bonds thru to their term, like the situation in Oakland. If these bonds don’t really need to be refunded, which would be the case if interest rates haven’t changed so very much since the initial issuance, then you have a case of churning which just drives the fees paid to the underwriters and the attorneys sky high. I think its Minneapolis, and maybe the State of Minnesota, that statutorily caps such fees and delineates when refund bonds can be issued and under what circumstances. If the taxpayers aren’t going to realize a real savings of about 3% annually, including all these fees the churning causes plus the termination fees, then the State won’t allow the refunding bond swap, period. These things got popular for a while because wild swings in interest rates freaked out State Treasurers who then wanted some swap protection. But now, with interest rates near zero and very limited exposure for big swings, it seems to me there has to be some bottom line advantage to triggering the termination event fees. If we can’t save 3% over the life of these bonds, then what is the purpose of canceling the old and starting new. If the only reason is to churn fees for the big boys, then somebody ought to put a stop to it. This stuff is the new stuff of white collar fraud, and Goldman Sachs has been hauled before the SEC, the bankruptcy courts and before States Attorneys General for years over these kind of transactions. We ought to be sure we approve of paying them a hundred million dollars in fees before following thru. Because that would fund a lot of pothole repairs or hire a lot of cops. And somebody is actually paying that money. I call them taxpayers. I don’t know what the Barnes and Krieg mouthpieces call the funding source; probably patsies. Remember, Goldman has a reputation for referring to its clients in especially derogatory, demeaning terms, implying the clients don’t understand what they are really doing, and are only there to shovel money into Goldman coffers.

Comments on Advance Indiana™: Indiana Finance Authority Paying Nearly $106 Million In Swap Termination Fees To Goldman Sachs For Stadium And Convention Bonds

This is similar to what Vladimir Putin's regim...

The USA is like an old steam ship lost in the midd...

Goldman and Barnes, doing God's work yet again...

Sometimes a city is forced into these things by a ...