Obama's Neverending Recession: Dozens of Banks Missing TARP Payments

With the latest news that 68 banks - all "too big to fail" 18 months ago- are at least two quarters behind in the repayment of their TARP funding, maybe it's time that the idea of the government propping up failed businesses with taxpayer funds gets another look. And while we're at it, does anyone know when Obama's Recession will finally pass muster and become a legitimate depression?

More Than 90 Banks Miss TARP Payments

More than 90 U.S. banks and thrifts missed making a May 17 payment to the U.S. government under its main bank bailout program, signaling a rising number of lenders are struggling to meet their obligations.

The SNL Financial statistics show 91 banks missed their dividend payment under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The statistics, compiled by SNL Financial from U.S. Treasury data, showed 91 banks and thrifts skipped the May dividend payment under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. It was the first missed payment for 23 of the banks; for the others, it was at least their second miss.

The number of banks missing their TARP payments rose for the third straight quarter. In February, 74 banks deferred their payments; 55 deferred last November.

SNL Financial's analysis found 20 banks have missed four or more payments since the program began in 2008, while eight banks have missed five payments.

Under the TARP program, the U.S. Treasury invested in preferred shares issued banks looking for funds. The banks were to make regular dividend payments to the Treasury, and have the right to repurchase the shares at some point in the future.

While many of the largest U.S. banks easily repaid billions in TARP aid, more than 600 smaller banks still hold $130 billion from the program, created at the height of the financial crisis.

In some cases, small banks are renegotiating the repayment terms. Midwest Banc Holdings [MBHI 0.02 -0.004 (-16.67%) ], for example, agreed to swap $84.8 million in preferred shares issued under the TARP program in 2008 for $15.5 million in common shares. That would have meant an 80 percent loss for the government—and the U.S. taxpayer—on the initial investment. But the swap was contingent on the bank raising more private capital, which it failed to do. Regulators seized the bank in May.

The next quarterly TARP payments to the U.S. Treasury are due by August 16.

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BP Chairman Creates His Own Man-Made Disaster

How's this for a want ad? Wanted: British multi-national conglomerate seeks one telegenic, well-spoken public relations executive who can explain things and not talk down to people. Our ideal candidate does not automatically elicit reactions of rage from brief exposure to questions, and doesn't think business owners, property owners, and coastal southerners are "little people."

I wonder why they can't seem to fill that spot?

BP comment about 'small people' causes anger

NEW ORLEANS – The BP chairman's comment that the oil giant cares about "the small people" received an icy reception on Wednesday from residents along the Gulf Coast.

BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg told reporters in Washington: "I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don't care, but that is not the case with BP. We care about the small people."

Justin Taffinder of New Orleans was not amused.

"We're not small people. We're human beings. They're no greater than us. We don't bow down to them. We don't pray to them," Taffinder said.

Svanberg is Swedish, and his comments may have been an unintentional slight. But coastal residents are angry over the oil spill disaster and at BP CEO Tony Hayward's comments that he "wants his life back."

Terry Hanners, who is retired from state and federal law enforcement and has a small construction company in Gulf Shores, Ala., said the "small people" remark revealed something about BP's frame of mind.

"These BP people I've met are good folks. I've got a good rapport with them," said Hanners, 74. "But BP does not care about us. They are so far above us. We are the nickel-and-dime folks of this world."

Asked about the BP chairman's remark, BP spokesman Toby Odonetold The Associated Press in an e-mail that "it is clear that what he means is that he cares about local businesses and local people. This was a slip in translation."

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Bachmann-Palin Overdrive video

You're gonna love this...

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A Conservative is Born

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Democrat Congressman Assaults Student

For the people who didn't see enough evidence of the thuggish nature of the Democrat Party in their public policies, maybe this video will be enough for them to acknowledge the lowest-common-denominator nature of elected Democrats in Washington. It's time to take out the trash, folks - vote Republican in 2010!

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Saudi Clerics Want Breast Milk for Everyone!

What should you do the next time you're offered breast milk by one of your work colleagues? Drink up! So say Saudi clerics who are helping their citizens answer these and other pressing societal questions. I'm glad they figured this one out... happens ALL the time around my office. So much so that we were able to get rid of the powdered creamer by the coffee machine.

Saudi Clerics Call For Adult Breast-Feeding

In a surprising development, two senior Saudi clerics today said that Saudi Arabia’s women should give their breast milk to male colleagues and acquaintances in order to safeguard the Islamic law that forbids mixing between the sexes. The clerics, however, failed to reach an agreement among each other on how the milk should be conveyed.

Recently a fatwa had been issued in the country about adult breast-feeding to establish "maternal relations" and preclude the possibility of sexual contact. The fatwa has already generated enough debates and it is likely that the debate over such explicit topics may force the Saudi government to introduce stricter regulations about how and when fatwas should be issued.

Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, had recently said that women who come into regular contact with men, who are not their relatives, should give them their breast milk in order to make them their relatives.

"The man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman. He should drink it and then becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the women without breaking Islam's rules about mixing," Al Obeikan said, according to Gulf News. "

Obeikan’s remarks were followed by an announcement by another powerful Saudi cleric Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini, who asked women to allow the men to suckle the milk directly from their breast.

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Obama Praises Anti-Semite Thomas, Misses the Point

No big surprise here. Obama, heaping praise on that hateful old bigot of a woman, Helen Thomas, focuses on what she said being "out of line," while completely ignoring the real issue - which is that this old bag spent the last 50 years poisoning the American people in a million slanted words. Hmmm... maybe that really IS Obama's point, after all - that the Helen Thomas story serves as a reminder to his other liberal fascist friends to NEVER tell the people what's really on your mind, as the most effective attacks come from "objective" sources.

Obama calls long-time journalist's comments 'offensive,' but praises career

By Jordan Fabian - 06/08/10 09:43 AM ET

Controversial comments made by the dean of the White House press corps, Helen Thomas, were "offensive," but at the same time she had a remarkable career, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

During an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Obama criticized Thomas's remark that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and move back to Germany and Poland, but did not go so far as to say they will taint her five-decade career, which ended abruptly on Monday when she announced herretirement.

"Well, her comments were offensive," he said. "It is a shame, because Helen's someone who has been a correspondent through I don't know how many presidents — was a real institution in Washington. But I think she made the right decision."

Thomas's remarks touched off a controversy last week and she came under pressure to quit her job as a Hearst Newspapers columnist.

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• Helen Thomas quits after Israel remarks

The 89-year-old Thomas began her White House reporting career in 1960, covering the presidency of John F. Kennedy for UPI. She eventually covered 10 presidents and earned praise for being a trailblazer for women in the press.

Hearst announced that Thomas would retire, effective immediately, on Monday after apologizing last week. Thomas's criticisms of Israel have come to a head since she transitioned from reporting to column-writing.

Asked if he thinks her comments on Israelis will taint her legacy, Obama said the remarks "were out of line, and hopefully she recognizes that."

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