The war on banks continues

It's bad enough that big banks are getting hit with new regulations, fees, and taxes.

Now community banks are feeling the same squeeze.

The problem is the administration in Washington.

They want the banks and related institutions to pay for the mortgage market blunders committed by the Congress and the regulatory agencies.

Economic growth will be hampered by the unwillingness of small banks to make loans.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

"We're hearing complaint after complaint," said Chris Cole, senior regulatory counsel for the Independent Community Bankers of America, speaking last week at the National Association of Attorneys General convention in Washington.

Bankers say a downgrade forces an institution to put more money in reserves, makes them reluctant to loan money and increases their FDIC premiums.

Those consequences are among the chief reasons many small businesses are finding it difficult to borrow money from their local, small banks, said Cole, whose group represents about 5,000 community banks with about $1 trillion in total assets.

http://legalnewsline.com/news/225958-community-bankers-decry-overregulation

Getting short the bond market

In the months to come there will be many opportunities to short the bond contract.

One of the best opportunities is provided by US Treasury auctions.

We are now in the middle of a $13 billion long bond auction.

Pay close attention to the way bonds trade for the next week or so.

Paterson advised clients to sell bonds at the 117.16 level with a 16 tick stop.

Traders will close out the position on the next major sign of weakness.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

Money Numbers

The money supply is not going down.

MZM looks like its bottoming.
M1 is growing.
M2 is still weak.

Test

There has been a problem posting to this weblog.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco