Bankruptcy as Economic Stimulus
by ilene - October 21st, 2010 8:04 pm
Bankruptcy as Economic Stimulus
Courtesy of Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker
With bankruptcy this lucrative, who needs solvency?
Lehman Brothers’ demise has so far meant more than a billion dollars in fees for its reorganization pallbearers. Makes you think we missed a great opportunity for economic stimulus by propping up so many other faltering companies up…
From DealBook:
Lehman Brothers Holdings on Monday said it has paid more than $1 billion to its lawyers, consultants and financial advisers since filing the largest U.S. bankruptcy two years ago, Reuters reports.
Professional and other fees totaled $1.01 billion through September 30, up $51.8 million from $961.3 million a month earlier, a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan shows.
Lehman’s bankruptcy is the costliest in U.S. history, surpassing Enron and WorldCom, according to the UCLA Law School professor Lynn LoPucki.
Well, I want in on some of that action! Maybe I’ll walk over and see if they could use a blogger on the job or something. I mean, since it’s a carrion feast anyway, how could one more beak in the mix hurt anyone?
Source:
Lehman Bankruptcy Fees Top $1 Billion (DealBook)
75% Of Law Schools Need to Close?
by ilene - August 30th, 2010 4:56 pm
Maybe colleges should offer pre-law reality courses. First, teach about how expensive the law degree really is. Second, show movies comparing and contrasting the fun of law school with the stress and tedium of legal work, and third, create charts and tables displaying the employment statistics for outcomes awaiting law school graduates. – Ilene
75% Of Law Schools Need to Close?
Courtesy of Jr. Deputy Accountant
Somehow I stumbled into the world of jaded law school students – either current or former – and it isn’t pretty. At least with accounting you A) don’t have this cockfight over who went to the better school B) as much student loan debt and C) a better chance at a job even if it does mean you have to compromise your integrity a tad along the way. Wha?!
Someone employed in accounting (not to rub it in) should verify these numbers and confirm that they’re f*^ked up. Please.
Higher education. Pffft:
If the law schools are producing 45,000 new JDs annually and our nation only needs 19,000 or 16,245 new attorneys to replace the 1/40 that retire, then 57.8% or 63.9% of the law schools need to close, assuming that they all produce the same number of new JDs each year.
So, now we finally have a number to use--60%. As in, "Cut the number of law school seats by 60%." Or, "We need to close 60% of the law schools." However, since our nation already has a huge backlog of unemployed and underemployed-involuntarily-out-of-field attorneys, it would be better to cut the number of law schools by 75%.
The kids in Berkeley have been quiet about getting their fees jacked up since November of 2009 so I guess they figured out how to pay for it. I’ve dealt with some of them and no offense to UCB but they have some serious work to do for what they’re charging these kids. The least they can do is let them out knowing how to properly use the word your.
Close ‘em. Open a f*^king book and don’t "pay" $65,000 a year to be told to open the wrong ones.
The education factory has failed. See also Low Loan Repayment Is Seen at For-Profit Schools via the NYT:
At some for-profit colleges, the repayment rates were startlingly low. For example, 33 of the 86 Corinthian Colleges’
Boehner Tells Bankers to Stand Up to Those Senate Punks
by ilene - March 19th, 2010 12:06 am
Boehner Tells Bankers to Stand Up to Those Senate Punks
Courtesy of JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
"O heaven,…put in every honest hand a whip to lash the rascals naked through the world." William Shakespeare, Othello
Senate Minority Leader John Boehner told the American Bankers Association to ‘stand up to those punks’ in the Senate who want to regulate them. He said ‘staffers’ but that is because professional courtesy prohibited him from saying ‘Senators.’
Perhaps Mr. Boehner feels a burst of confidence since Timmy and Ben and Larry have his back. And of course the bankers to whom he was speaking already have 25 lobbyists fighting against reform for every Congressman in Washington, and buckets of cash to spread around.
Actually, the only ones who seem to be underrepresented and in trouble in Washington these days are the American people.
The Dodd bill has its good points, but contains some bizarre twists. The ruling that the Fed would only supervise banks of over 50 billion seems particularly bizarre. Mr. Hoenig of the Kansas City Fed objected to this today. As well he might, since his district contains NO banks worth more than $50 billions, and he would be presumably out of a job.
This is classic Democrat blundering. Spend many months negotiating and seeking partnership with people who would just as soon place their hands in a meat grinder as make any reasonable compromise, and then toss off some bizarre legislation seemingly out of nowhere, after having made a big deal out of wishing to be ‘bipartisan.’ The Democratic party seems leaderless.
One thing for which I will give credit. Mr. Obama has certainly united his country — in believing that he is one part corrupt Chicago politician and two parts a rather ineffective waffler who mistakes campaign-style speaking for leadership and timidity for consensus building.
Leadership in the real world is measured by getting the job done, and being recognized as effective by your own people and your key stakeholders, inspiring them with confidence and the ability to do even more than they might have imagined.
The American President reminds me of a corporate executive at a company which had recently acquired mine who was clearly over his head in his current position. When asked why he did not meet his commitments, he replied without hesitation, "My people are incompetent."…
Here Comes ANOTHER JUDGE!
by ilene - August 26th, 2009 4:18 pm
Good to see, hints of justice within the normal functioning of government.
Here Comes ANOTHER JUDGE! (BAC)
Courtesy of Karl Denninger at The Market Ticker