Yep, sure enough. It looks like Waxman is going to be taking our newly reclusive Dick Fuld.
Provided my connection holds, I will be delivering all the gritty details right here.
Stay tuned.
10:06: As usual these things gavel in late. For awhile there I was afraid I was going to have to listen to voters all morning.
Bess has joined me. Now this should be fun!
10:10:06 AM ohbabyitsbess: what's with waxman pronouncing it "lay-men" brothers
10:10:09 AM ohbabyitsbess: is that a subtle diss?
10:10:27 AM equityprivate: Ber-NAN-Kee. Like Hankey?
10:11:46 AM equityprivate: Waxman sort of reminds me of Paulson. I don't know, bald men all look the same to me.
10:12:40 AM ohbabyitsbess: he doesn't look anything like paulson to me
10:13:07 AM equityprivate: I think I am blinded by the anti-capitalist glare.
10:13:40 AM ohbabyitsbess: i wonder if any of the "damning documents" waxman is reading from were obtained by the Wall Street Snitch Y Bitch Line his office set up
10:13:49 AM ohbabyitsbess: http://dealbreaker.com/2008/09/house-announces-wall-street-sn.php
10:15:26 AM equityprivate: He's really winding up for some blistering swings. Waxman is already on the Bush's Cousin connection, Fuld as ducking all responsibility, steering Lay-Man-Brothers to the abyss.
10:15:39 AM equityprivate: And it hasn't been 10 minutes.
More after the Jump.
10:15:55 AM ohbabyitsbess: "while mr. fuld and other lehman brothers executives got rich they were steering our economy toward a precipice"
10:15:58 AM ohbabyitsbess: that was deep
10:16:35 AM ohbabyitsbess: "a short seller lehman despised"
10:16:38 AM ohbabyitsbess: einhorny!
10:16:40 AM ohbabyitsbess: shout out!
10:16:58 AM ohbabyitsbess: ok, his mispronunciation is getting super annoying
10:16:59 AM equityprivate: WOAH! He dug up something on using the Korean infusion to institute a buyback and to burn Einhorny!
10:17:14 AM equityprivate: I think you are right about the snitch y bitch line!
10:19:23 AM equityprivate: Fireworks already. Waxman just gaveled a minority member down to prevent opening statements by all members. Wow.
10:19:27 AM equityprivate: Re-JEC-TED.
10:19:41 AM ohbabyitsbess: the guy seriously looked like he was about to cry
10:20:37 AM ohbabyitsbess: rep. tom davis "when the music stopped"
10:20:39 AM ohbabyitsbess: this is painful
10:20:51 AM equityprivate: Rep. Tom Davis, the ranking member, is doing the best he can to save this hearing for capitalism.
10:20:56 AM ohbabyitsbess: "words matter"
10:20:59 AM equityprivate: That's a wasted goal I think.
10:21:02 AM ohbabyitsbess: who writes this crap
10:21:03 AM equityprivate: Hah... yeah.
10:21:10 AM equityprivate: His admin?
10:21:20 AM ohbabyitsbess: i hope they jam in as many cliches as possible
10:21:29 AM equityprivate: Tom: "As we watch them, the markets are watching us." Well, Dealbreaker sure is!
10:24:07 AM equityprivate: Poor Tom Davis. I did like his line about "making hostages of low income borrowers" in reference to Fannie.
10:24:32 AM equityprivate: But he really is swimming upstream.
10:24:56 AM ohbabyitsbess: someone is leaning over waxman's shoulder whispering something
10:25:02 AM ohbabyitsbess: what could it be?
10:25:10 AM ohbabyitsbess: something about erin callan
10:25:13 AM ohbabyitsbess: he's back
10:26:11 AM equityprivate: Ok, I am astounded. Who challenges Waxman with the rulebook? The minority members are insisting on opening statements. Unfortunately, Waxman's staff was quick with that rulebook. Wow. The minority is really trying to burn time.
10:26:52 AM equityprivate: Waxman keeps repeating "The Member will state his Parliamentary Inquiry" like he is O'Riley or something.
(Bess is too excited to both watch Fuld and type, so I'm taking over. She will pop in sporadically).
With all the professors at University of Chicago, the best they could do was Zingales?
A big hunk of republicans have bailed now that Waxman rejected them on the opening statements.
I was waiting when someone would use the "using homes as ATMs" and, woudln't you know it, the same yahoo (Robert Wescott) throws in the Dutch Tulip bubble.
Nell Minow is apparently dense enough to thing that it is "an honor to testify before the committee." Then she has the ovaries to tell Waxman "I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so." Oh yes, she's so smart. If only we had listened to her, we would have strung up Dick Fuld years ago and everything would be just fine. I'm only exaggerating here a little on Ms. Minow. Believe me.
10:40 am: The Paul Volker Rule is proposed by Ms. Minow: If Paul Volker can't understand it, it shouldn't be on the market. (Minow's little cheer squad gives her kudos for that one). That frightens me.
10:48 am: The VIX is at 56. Ouch.
10:53 am: Carolyn Maloney seems to love long lists that include "billions."
Glass-Steagall is "not complicated," she insists. Her efforts to get the panel to agree that it was a mistake to roll it back were rather firmly rebuffed by at least half the panel.
By request: Maloney's Staff-
"...is not the sub-a-prima... is dee lack of trans-par-anci."
Rep Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) seems to like to call Fuld "Mr. Fold." That's quite funny, actually. Note to employees in a regulated industry: This is who is going to be reading your email. He's reading Bush's cousin's email for the second time today. He wonders how "Mr. Fold" sleeps at night. Heh.
Well, there it is. They are going to call for a special counsel. We knew that was coming. It is amusing that he cited Code Pink to call for "Jail, no bail," to bring it up though. That's John Mica. He does question why Fannie and Freddie are not being held to account in these hearings. Good question.
Dennis Kucinich wants to know why we didn't have these hearings before we voted on that damn bailout bill that, by the way, he did not in any way support, no sir! And why did Paulson save AIG and not Lehman. Wasn't it because Hank was saving Goldman Sachs? And why is the price of tinfoil skyrocketing?
The American Dreamtm has been stolen by the mortgage originators, says Congressman Turner. They knew there was no value there. None at all. String 'em up!
No, no. It was executive compensation that caused all this disaster. Too bad we can pay you Congresscritters more! *smooch smooch*
Hey, just a minute. Over the weekend, we've seen the testimony that Mr. Fuld is about to make. He is going to blame everyone else. So, panelists, would you give me some ammunition to burn his ass when he gets in here? Was he selling his shares? Oh, I'm the only one here who can pronounce "Lehman" properly, even if I still like to call Dick, "Mr. Fold." And, you know, I think I will re-read the "...hurt Einhorn bad," quote.
Well, CEOs should never be allowed to sell shares while they are in the company. (That's clever).
The Lay-man board was totally incompetent. For instance, the former head of Telemundo. (What are you trying to say, Congresswoman Watson? Huh?)
Hey, since you guys were obviously tapping the phones over there at Lay-Man and have the power to read minds of the senior managers there, what exactly were they thinking when they were doing their conference calls with investors? They are all lying sacks of shit, right? And these CDS things, they are, like radioactive and destroy pension savings, kill children and dogs while ruining the country, is that true?
Well, I am the only investor up here and despite the fact that my organizations pension fund is down over 9% on the year going into this crisis (and I really don't want anyone to know how it has gone the last few weeks) I can tell you exactly how to reform the system totally.
No, no... it is a stupid, dees idea.
I see these executives who have been fired from Lehman (he got it right) got paid severance. That looks crazy to me.
Very good, Congressman! You are so handsome, and smart! I wish I could have like ten million of your babies!
The folks at home, do we tell them that this was Wall Street, or a casino?
This tan did not come from Baltimore, trust me. I know. These Wall Streeters are not living in the same world as us. So, what is it? Is it the parties that they go to, over there in New York? Studying the Boardroom is like anthropology, and they call Dick Fuld "The Gorilla," maybe we should have Jane Goodall in there. Yuk... yuk... yuk. (No, I'm not kidding).
Nothing I say is of any consequence at all. Well, there was that one good zinger I got in. I hope my wife had TIVO set. With any luck I can watch myself call Angelo Mozilo "That great American industrialist," five or six times before she forces me to put QVC back on.
There are two Republicans left in the room. That's telling. And Mica is shocked, shocked, to learn that the Chairman might refuse to hear Republican opening statements.
Ok you, lot. You're gone. Where's Fuld?
His Fuldness gets his own thread. See you over there.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:10AM
burn baby burn, s&p below 1,000 by day's end...
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:11AM
Waxman....who put glasses on the mole?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:13AM
Waxman's nostrils are too big.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:16AM
Waxman is digging this ... I bet he has a boner
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:16AM
this liveblogging is so so so painful. it is completely devoid of any content, LOL or otherwise useful information. it is like when the porno channel used to come in like kinda fuzzily and maybe if you strained your eyes you could see a boob.
awful, just awful.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:19AM
Too long, didn't read.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:23AM
Agree with #5, too hard to get through the "ohbabyitsbess" and "equityprivates" to get to the words in an IM convo.
Please just give us stuff like "Waxman notes Bush connection..." rather than cutting & pasting.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:25AM
Senator, you don't get to complain about expensive lobbyists influencing the legislative process. You are the legislative process. You get to vote however you want, regardless of how many fancy dinners and vacations the nice man from Fresno buys you.
Also: way to jump over the six years between the Clinton White House w/ Republican Congress to the Bush White House with a Democratic Congress. That is surely worth some kind of medal at some olympics. Probably not the regular olympics, but, you know, some kind of special olympics.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:27AM
Mmmm. Argument over committee opening statement rules. Just get to the questions to the witnesses, geez.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:28AM
at least chnge text color from monikers
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:29AM
and boom goes the dynamite!
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:30AM
who is this freak - sounds like the guy who sold me my vespa
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:33AM
Are there really no Americans who can give this testimony? I can't listen to this clown. Luigi is doing a job Americans won't do.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:35AM
What was all that talk about Lemon's ?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:36AM
canines. dogs to the layperson.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:37AM
Most (if not all) guests,
Put on your fucking helmets/mouthguards, and stop bitching about the text.
Pathetic. Really.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:38AM
Waxman is a boob.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:39AM
shouldn't this lady be chasing kids off her lawn
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:42AM
Perhaps somebody should ask Waxman how it came to pass that, with better than a full year's notice that Wall Street and the global financial system were headed for serious trouble, he's still so unfamiliar with the whole subject that he has no idea how "Lehman Brothers" is pronounced. One doesn't get the sense that he's been keeping abreast of the situation through discussions with knowledgeable parties.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:44AM
major institutional investor? Long Krispy Kreme since day 1
Posted by Seaman Bodine , Oct 06, 2008 10:47AM
this is all moot - cramer called for everyone to get out of the market; all should be clear from here
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:48AM
This fucking bailout is working great!
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:50AM
who is the dyke in the background
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:51AM
Wearing two huge pink buttons where your boobs are is classy.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 10:55AM
Astoria... oh yeah she looks like a masseuse
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:09AM
The economist from UChicago is just trying to add instability to the market since he and his brother Mario are very long gold coins.
-C
P.S. Anyone else think the Citi/FIDC bid vs. Wells' bid for WB illustrates what a debacle gov't involvement has been? (damn Ron Paul being right again)
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:11AM
run Dickie run -- all the way to Venezuela... this is a lynch mob
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:14AM
How can these people be able to pass such judgement when they do not seem to have paid enough attention to be able to pronounce 'Lehman' correctly ?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:19AM
Don't worry everyone. Dems like Waxman are merely looking out for the "little guy" now that their lack of oversight of the Fannie and Freddie monsters they created has brought our financial system to its knees.
Soon (particularly under an Obama administration) you'll all be working for guys like him.
Better crank up the camppaign contributions to the Dems. Works like KY, except the KY you'll get has sand in it.
Washington will be a one-party town, and that party will have no accountability because the MSM is, and has been, in the tank for them.
All of this mess is your fault (and the Republicans fault). All of it.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:22AM
Gotta love them Bodymore, Murdaland people.
Omar don't scare.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:22AM
Gotta wonder if Maloney and Fuld have ever shared canapes at a MOMA opening gala and she has counted on his financial support.Now, poor Dick is an orphan.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:27AM
Michael Turner seems to make sense. Nobody else can put a sentence together.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:40AM
Did Diane Watson just say that current law doesn't allow shareholders to choose corporate board members?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:44AM
The market is tanking because people are paying attention to congress for the first time and realizing the kind of "talent" that gets elected to public office.
The dude from Chicago just said we should be more like Italy... great.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:45AM
If you do not like the board or the manner in which a board is elected, do not buy the stock or sell what you have. Is this too difficult for Congress to understand ?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:49AM
Quite frankly, who gives a shit about what Fuld has to say. The market is in a complete meltdown, and we haven't even seen the beginning. It's like staring at a roadside accident while not realizing that you are driving straight into the back of an 18 wheeler about to be decapitated.
And those fucking Europeans who were so smug about their socialist economies, are now taking it up the ass like techno freaks on ecstasy at a rave.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:49AM
McCullum could not sound dumber right now
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:51AM
35 Thats like saying if you don't like the President, move to Canada. Not the way things work. Its not a simple yay or nay. Reality is that you buy the stock (or stay in America) and work the system to get it more to your advantage.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:56AM
38 That's like saying "I'm an idiot! An idiot I tell you!"
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 11:59AM
Here we go... tell us Congress, what is leverage please ?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:00PM
Uh, we're in good hands. What a bunch of scum-sucking animals.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:00PM
This is among the most frustrating and infuriating things I have ever seen. These Congressmen can't even prounounce the company name correctly (LEH-MAN, not LAY-MAN), nevermind comprehend all the relevant terms and concepts... I'm exasperated just typing this.
Ugh. I give up. I love this country but these people ought to be doing my dry cleaning.
****As I type this, the Professor testifying at the moment is explaining to these drones the meaning of leverage... Horror show
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:01PM
OMG! Iceland is bankrupt!
But that's not the worst! Hardy AMIES IS BANKRUPT!
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:02PM
what do you mean 'these people'?
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:05PM
Fuld I hope you are wearing an asbestos suit
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:14PM
Sarbanes is an Italiano. Leave him alone-ah. He's an a'northeran Italiahhn.
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 12:26PM
Betty McCollum looks vaguely milf-y....
Posted by guest , Oct 06, 2008 2:28PM
I told you mothers.. S&P 500 below a 1000 by day's end..
Posted by guest , Oct 07, 2008 8:20AM
Nell Minow is apparently dense enough to thing [sic] that it is "an honor to testify before the committee." Then she has the ovaries to tell Waxman "I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so."
Why wouldn't it be an honor to testify before a Congressional committee? My mother says you should always start by thanking your host for inviting you. Is that a problem?
The "I told you so" reference was to my previous appearance before the same committee earlier this year, along with Messers. Mozilo, O'Neal, and Prince, when I told the committee that the perverse incentives of the executive compensation of the financial firms were leading to self-destructive decisions. But I appreciate the compliment to my, uh, courage.
Thanks for watching the hearing (my mother also said I should always say something nice). If you ever have questions about corporate governance or executive compensation, let me know.
Nell Minow
The Corporate Library