Here's where we can start looking for the money

[spinbaby]

In an article from 2007:

...the 25 highest-paid hedge-fund managers in the US had an average income of $540 million in 2006, with the top three pulling in over $1 billion each.

The sums racked in by hedge-fund managers dwarf even the incomes of top corporate CEOs and Wall Street bankers The average among them earned nearly $1.5 million a day, every day, for the entire year—or over $1,000 every minute.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/apr2007/hedg-a27.shtml

[Tesla]

1. I hope they learn what it is like to need money

since they had so much and didn't help others in need

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Now where did I put that...?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Cayman Brac...

Is where the warehouses are supposed to be,

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Setting my GPS accordingly...

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. ...

:evilgrin:

[yardwork]

3. I know someone who knows a hedge fund manager and she says he's making something like $10 M/day

I don't get it.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. There is just something wrong with that. Obscene is what it is.

[yardwork]

10. That's what the hedge fund manager told her! He said, "I make an obscene amount of money."

Assuming that hedge fund managers are intelligent - and I figure that they must be - even some of them knew that the chickens would come home to roost.

Of course, when they're making billions a year, they'll probably have a soft landing.

[Romulox]

6. Liquidity crisis = the obscenely wealthy decided to horde MORE money. nt

[Winterblues]

8. The average among them earned nearly $1.5 million a day,

Just paupers compared to Exxon's earnings. Exxon has had a Net Profit of OVER One Hundred and Ten Million Dollars a Day, day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year with no let up in sight......And fuel prices just keep on rising. Country First,,rah rah rah USA USA USA...

[anigbrowl]

11. What some people don't get

is that that is a drop in the bucket. It's a lot of money to you and me, but even if everyone on Wall Street gave back all their money for the last 5 years and started taking minimum wage, the financial system and the economy would be in just as deep trouble as before.

This situation has cost every American about $5000 so far (in loss of future earnings) and is likely to end up costing several times that before it's over. Of that, maybe $10 or $15 went into the pockets of the fat cats. Seeing them go broke will be emotionally satisfying, but it won't fix the problem.

[chill_wind]

12. Time article today: Let Risk-Taking Financial Institutions Fail

Let Risk-Taking Financial Institutions Fail
By Ari J. Officer and Lawrence H. Officer Monday, Sep. 29, 2008


"Follow the money. Average Joes and Janes are not the holders of the other side of complicated, over-the-counter derivatives contracts. Rather, hedge funds are the main holders. The bailout will involve a transfer of wealth — from the American people to financial institutions engaging in reckless speculation — that will be the greatest in history."


(...)

Rescuing financial institutions is not the best solution. Yes, banks are needed to provide capital to businesses. But it is not necessary to spend $1 trillion to maintain liquidity. If the government is to intervene, it should pick and choose which claims to purchase: claims that are directly tied to mortgages would be a good start.

Let financial institutions fail, merge, or be bought out. The shares of the faltering institutions will be devalued, and they are likely to be taken over by stronger institutions-as has already happened. This consolidation of the financial sector is both efficient and inevitable; government action can only delay the adjustment.

The government should not intervene. It should leave overleveraged financial institutions to default on their derivatives obligations and, if necessary, file for bankruptcy. Much of the crisis has arisen from miscalculating the risks involved in a large book of positions in these derivatives. It is only logical that these institutions pay for their poor management.

Rather than bailing out Wall Street, we propose that the government should buy up the actual mortgages in question and do nothing else. The government should not touch any derivatives, that is, claims that do not directly tie into the actual mortgages. If money becomes too tight, then the Fed can certainly increase its loans to financial institutions.

Let the poorly managed, overly risk-taking financial institutions fail! Always remember that Wall Street and the real economy are not the same thing.


More: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1845209,00.html?imw=Y