OBAMA NEARS AGREEMENT WITH MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LED GOVERNMENT TO FORGIVE $1 BILLION DEBT
Nearly 16 months after first pledging to help Egypt’s failing economy, the Obama administration is nearing an agreement with the country’s new government to relieve $1 billion of its debt as part of an American and international assistance package intended to bolster its transition to democracy, administration officials said. The administration’s efforts, delayed by Egypt’s political turmoil and by wariness in Washington about new leaders emerging from its first free elections, gained new urgency in recent weeks, even as the United States risks losing influence and investment opportunities to countries like China. President Mohamed Morsi chose China for his first official visit outside of the Middle East. In addition to the debt assistance, the administration has thrown its support behind a $4.8 billion loan being negotiated between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund. Last week, it dispatched the first of two delegations to work out details of the proposed debt assistance, as well as $375 million in financing and loan guarantees for American financiers who invest in Egypt and a $60 million investment fund for Egyptian businesses.
A new scandal in the banking industry is undermining its image, already tarnished by rogue trading at JPMorgan Chase and the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse. At the heart of the scandal: manipulation of Libor, the most widely used interest rate in the world. In congressional testimony Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he thought the Libor system was "structurally flawed." USA TODAY reporter John Waggoner explains the Libor scandal and what it means to you.
Thinkstock Enlarge Thinkstock Sponsored Links Q: What is Libor? A: It's the London interbank offer rate, an interest-rate benchmark for many other rates, from commercial loans to mortgages. Libor is also an important index for derivatives, which are complex agreements whose value derives from a benchmark. Libor is the most widely used interest rate in the world. Estimates of how much is tied to Libor vary from $350 trillion to $800 trillion. To put that in perspective, $350 trillion would pay for all U.S. government spending for 96 years. STORY: NY Fed told of interest rate manipulation in '07 STORY: Sorry, savers: Interest rates set record lows Q: How is Libor calculated? A: Once a day, major London banks tell Thomson Reuters the interest rate they would expect to pay on a loan from another bank. Thomson Reuters drops those rates in the highest and lowest 25% and averages the 50% in the middle. There are actually 150 Libor rates, with maturities from overnight to one year, and in different currencies. Libor is an important element in many interest rate swaps, a way of insuring floating-rate loans from a surge in interest rates. Q: Wait, what? The interest rate they would expect to pay? Not the rate they actually pay? A: Right. It's kind of an honor system. At the heart of the controversy: Some banks artificially inflated or deflated their rates, depending on what would benefit them most. Some may have deflated their rates to give the impression that they were more creditworthy than they actually were. During the financial crisis of 2008, the rate was more of an estimate, since banks weren't lending to anyone. Q: So who was hurt? A: It depends. If Libor was artificially high when you took out a loan, then you paid more on the loan than you should have. Conversely, if Libor was artificially low, you may have paid less than you should have. Naturally, those who figure they were ripped off are filing lawsuits. The city of Baltimore, for example, is suing large banks involved in setting Libor, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank and Deutsche Bank. Barclays agreed to settle charges of manipulation and pay U.S. and British regulators $450 million. Both JPMorgan Chase and Citibank have said in the past few weeks that they, too, are under investigation. Q: Did anyone besides the banks involved know about the rigging of Libor? A: Yes. The New York Federal Reserve Bank did and sent a lengthy list of suggestions on how to change the process. The British Bankers Association, which oversees the process, was slow to respond, according to Bernanke. The Fed is looking into whether any U.S. banks were involved in rigging Libor. Q: Will Libor be scrapped? A: Possibly. Central bankers discuss in September whether Libor can be fixed, or whether something less vulnerable to abuse can be substituted.
they just keep making up 'value' 'responsibility' 'freedom' as they see fit.....hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
anything with virtual value could be substituted....most folks don't even know what the VALUE OF THEIR LAND/SCHOOL TAXES ARE
where is the value for the investment? what exactly are we investing in? what is the actual cost for land/school tax investments?
the equalization the levy the rate the bill moodys
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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