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Category: Drawing On Observations

24 Nov 2008

Citibank

By roibal , , , , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint When the first whispers of the subprime motgage meltdown started, Citigrpup's then COE Charles Prince resigned claiming Citi had 11 billion in writedowns. Once the nations largest bank, today we know that Citibank had been taking huge risks and had far greater exposure to subprime mortgages than it let on. Yesterday Citi owned up to 65 billion in writedowns. Citi's Stock plunged to 3.77 as Citi entered into desperate talks with the treasury. The government has stepped in with an additional 20 billion to guarantee Citi's 306 billion in assets. ...

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20 Nov 2008

Tom Daschle

By roibal , , , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint Obama has chosen Tom Daschle to be Secratary of Health and Human Services. Daschle graduated South Dakota State University with a degree in political science. He served three years in the US Air Force as an intelligence officer, spent five years as an aid to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk, was elected to the US Congress in 1978, and the US Senate in 1986. Daschle rose to Minority Leader in 1994 and served briefly as the Senate Majority Leader before loosing an election in 2004 to John Thune. Daschle was an early supporter of Barack Obama and served as national co-chair for Obama's presidential campaign. President-elect Obama also named his chief campaign stratagist, David Axelrod, as his Senior Adviser. ...

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19 Nov 2008

Eric Holder

By roibal , , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint President-elect Obama chooses Eric Holder to be Attorney General. A Columbia Law School graduate, Holder was appointed by Ronald Reagan to serve as Superior Court Judge of the District of Columbia. He stepped down in 1993 to accept an appointment to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1997 Holder was elevated to Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno in the Clinton administration. He was generally viewed as a centrist in the Justice Department. ...

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18 Nov 2008

Automakers Update

By roibal , , , , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint Nancy Pelosi will not schedule a vote on the bailout until it is clear the bill will pass the senate. That may not be feasible until after January 20th when the democrats will increase their numbers. Ford, perhaps the healthiest of the three, has burned through seven billion in assets in the third quarter but has enough liquidity to survive into the new year. GM however is only months away from closing up shop and warned it might not see years end. While that news may have some wanting to act quickly, Pelosi did say that auto makers will need to show long term economic viability before being considered for a loan. That makes sense. After dividing the 25 billion between the big three, that provides each with a little over eight billion each. When you consider that Ford and GM are loosing about two billion a month, that gives them a four month win ...

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14 Nov 2008

Auto Bailout

By roibal , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint The US Senate is attempting to pass a bill giving 25 billion dollars in emergency aid to the US auto makers. Leaders say they might not have the votes, but if they did, would it help? GM is loosing 2 billion dollars a month and has 16 billion left before they could no longer meet their obligations and goes out of business. Even if GM could retool and start producing smaller, more fuel efficient cars in the small window the law makers are hoping to give them, they still have to deal with a prolonged downturn in the economy combined with nearly half a million former workers drawing pensions and health benefits. Cost cutting plant closings and layoffs only seem to magnify GM's problems, creating a greater percentage of those drawing a GM check and benefits while not contributing to producing a product. That business model has made it impossible for ...

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12 Nov 2008

Oils Slippery Slope

By roibal , , Doodles 0 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint After Opec nations agreed to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day, the price of oil is still falling. As world demand slips and the strength of the US dollar increases, the price of a barrel of oil fell below 60 dollars yesterday. Secretary General of OPEC, Abdallah Salem el-Badri has called for an emergency meeting before the scheduled December meeting of Opec nations. He can't be pleased,.. but Americans are thankful for the reprieve at the pumps. ...

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11 Nov 2008

Veterans Day

By roibal , , Doodles, My Family 11 Comments

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint My Father, Joseph R. Roibal Jr. or Jose to his friends, served in the US Navy during the Korean War. While serving a long tour at sea, a virulent strain of streptococcus running throughout the ship led sick bay to run out of antibiotics. An infection settled in Joseph's kidneys, leading to his medical discharge from the Navy, eventually to total renal failure, and after many years of dialysis, to his early passing at the age of 57. If the above seems like a small footnote, that's intentional. He never let that monumental event define who he was. A first generation American, he was a strong man in body and mind, a hard worker, tough as nails on the outside, but a loving caring guy to the core....I miss him. ...

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