VLEMX "keep informed"

The Jenner and Block report on Lehman just keeps on giving. Today I am going to focus on FRBNY's culpability in the apparent Lehman fraud - that is, the role that FRBNY (and thus Tim Geithner) played in keeping an insolvent institution afloat through the use of fraudulent artifices. We must look first to what the PDCF, or "primary dealer credit facility" was created to be. The report does this for us: Under the PDCF, the FRBNY would make collateralized loans to broker ‐ dealers, such as LBI, and in effect, act as a repo counterparty. Unlike a typical counterparty, though, with the creation of the PDCF, the FRBNY was generally understood by market participants to be the “lender of last resort to the broker ‐ dealers.” 5332 Reflecting the fact that broker ‐ dealer liquidity had become increasingly dependent on overnight repos to obtain short ‐ term secured financing, 5333 the PDCF was structured as an overnight facility. Pursuant to the F...

It is very sad what happened to Haiti. The US military presence – 2,000 additional airborne troops were due to arrive on Tuesday to join 1,000 already on the ground – will focus on securing aid delivery points in advance and then ferrying in supplies. Mr Gates has said US soldiers are under orders to defend themselves, as well as Haitians and foreigners who face a threat. US troops ramped up their operation to ferry food and other supplies by helicopter to victims of the disaster. My question is this, what is the U.S. doing there? Nation building? Should this operation be under U.N. control only? Why are we doing this? We are not saving people. What are we doing? I thought we were there to help not build.