Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

SIV Rot Found in Money Funds

Posted on December 6, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

WSJ.com, SIV Exposure Seen at Some Money Funds

Liquidity crisis?

Posted in Econ & Money: Mortgage Mess | Comments Off on SIV Rot Found in Money Funds

Details on Florida Fund Restructing (Plus Full List of Bag-Holders)

Posted on December 5, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Via the Miami Herald, Agency head quits as state fund reels, come links to very useful documents for those trying to follow what's happening in the Florida Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) (administered by the State Board of Administration):

The Herald also highlights some local winners and losers:

Among those who got their money out before the state froze the fund:

Broward County: $227,534,594.02

Broward County School Board: $274,130,570.93

City of Fort Lauderdale: $277,366,602.43

City of Miami: $49,350,000.00

Miami-Dade School Board: $111,879,297.14

Miami-Dade County government: $514,657,752.68

Among those with money still in the fund:

Miami Dade College: $146,026,551.67

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation: $1,974,709,602.79

City of Coral Gables: $32,009,946.93

City of North Lauderdale: $24,566,106.14

Broward Community College: $39,010,779.35

So at a (maximum — could be significantly less if they don't rush to liquidate) 14% haircut, my hometown, Coral Gables, stands to lose up to $4.5 million, and Miami-Dade Community College could lose up to $20 million? Those are big numbers, but I suppose it could have been even worse. The hapless Citizens Insurance remains the biggest potential loser, at up to almost a quarter billion.

Earlier items:

Posted in Econ & Money: Mortgage Mess | Comments Off on Details on Florida Fund Restructing (Plus Full List of Bag-Holders)

I Am A Plaintiff

Posted on December 5, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

I've just received notice that I'm a member of the class in the In re Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1409) case. The defendant credit card companies are settling massive claims that they bilked card holders by manipulating fees and exchange rates on foreign-currency purchases. They of course deny everything, but are still coughing up a massive payout — one in which consumers will get actual cash instead of valueless coupons.

The proposed settlement offers me three choices:

  1. $25 cash money.
  2. Estimate how many days I was abroad in 1996-2006, and get a rebate of 1% of what they guess I spent with my credit card based on some formula they do not disclose. Key to that formula is whether I characterize my travel as sometimes/often/mostly “business,” “visiting friends or relatives,” or “vacation or leisure”. (In fact it was some of each.)
  3. Provide detailed receipts of my credit card usage abroad in that period and get 3% back.

Option 3 is out — too much work.

But I think I can figure out how much I was abroad by going over my back calendar files. It was a lot.

Posted in Law: Everything Else | 46 Comments

It’s Gary Farber Pledge Period

Posted on December 5, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Say what you like about sometime discourse.net commenter Gary Farber, but even when he's having medical issues and hard times, he's not doing the hard sell for his pledge drive:

Amygdala: IT'S GARY FARBER PLEDGE DRIVE WEEK!

I've been understandably asked at times why someone should help me. And, truth be told, I can't think of any particularly good reason. So I certainly don't expect help from anyone: if you've done it before, you've arguably done your part. If you've not, there's no good reason you should start, and not help someone more deserving instead.

Gary is applying for SSI, because he hasn't worked enough to be eligible for Social Security disability.

Why's he asking?

I, in panic-stricken fashion, semi-coherently explained my situation of lifelong recurring clinical depression, as well as other health issues, and that I'd finally decided to apply for Social Security disability, having rightly or wrongly put off that option for decades.

I, with utter shame, loathing, guilt, self-hatred, and a feast of other negative self-directed emotions — as is my wont — asked for people's help, and an amazing number of people did help, in many ways, including the most important way to help, which was with hard cash. At the time, I said I was afraid I'd need to ask for help again within three months.

Now it's almost a year later, and I've just paid the December rent of $500 and the phone bill ($35), and I'm now down to a total of $241.00 in my bank account, and $22 in my pocket.

…

(The horrible fear that has loomed larger every day and night in my consciousness, and in the pit it creates in my stomach, in the past year is that you won't, in sufficient numbers, again. My fear is that one can't go back to the well again. That I'll wind up with only a few donations, and a few links, and just a bit of response, and have no idea what to do to survive with my disabilities and inabilities and problems until such time as my disability claim is approved. Terror over this has been the dominant theme in my life in recent months, and all I can say is that I'm hoping you'll help it go away, at least for a while.)

OK, maybe not quite the soft sell.

Every year I'm torn — give to people or give to causes? Mostly I do causes on the theory that systemic changes will in the end help more people. But the people need help now.

Posted in Blogs | 1 Comment

Florida Quarantines the Radioactive Securities

Posted on December 4, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Florida Moves to Guard Assets:

… the pool, whose assets were hit by mass withdrawals after reports it had about $2 billion of holdings tied to wobbly subprime mortgages, could be reopened on a restricted basis as early as Thursday.

… about 86 percent of the pool's assets would be placed in one fund. A second fund would be walled off and would contain worrisome assets, totaling about 14 percent of the total. The restructuring places limits on withdrawals.

Oh, and they found the first candidate for scapegoat:

Immediately before the vote, the board's executive director, Coleman Stipanovich, resigned after seven years in the post.

Earlier posts:

Posted in Econ & Money: Mortgage Mess | Comments Off on Florida Quarantines the Radioactive Securities

Bush as a Potted Plant

Posted on December 4, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Kevin Hayden has it half right:

The American Street » Blog Archive » Let's assume Bush was telling the truth today: Even if we grant him the credibility that he was telling the truth about the NIE report (which was withheld from the public all year… by whom?) ask yourself if the world's most powerful leader is suggesting World War II may be possible, and if his team is failing to let him know what the NIE said till a week ago, and if he had a vague suggestion in August that the NIE contained different information that was notable, then:

1) This is December. Why did he wait three months for a followup?

2) If his staff is withholding such critical information for all year, doesn't it indicate someone's judgment is faulty?

No, it means the staff knows better than to interrupt the Bush brush clearing with pesky details. And Cheney and Addington make the decisions. Or at least made them until Gates teamed up with the CIA…

I'd really like to see someone asking the GOP candidates in a debate to grade the Bush presidency. How many would dare give it even a B-? But how many would dare go lower?

Posted in Iran | 2 Comments