On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 17:41:56 -0700, "azotic"
wrote:

WaMu may be the next taxpayer surprise. People with more than 100k on
deposit at WaMu would be
wise to start moving thier money to another bank in my opinion.
-------
Best advice I have seen in a while. Suggest those 5% CDs from
GMAC bank. Just make sure you don't have over 100k$ in any one
account.

FWIW -- It looks like the conservatorships of Freddie and Fannie
are a "credit event" in the terms of the CDS agreements. The
numbers involved are not finance but astronomy....
1,400,000,000,000$US for just these two corporations.

For more info click on
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/...ult-swaps.html
"From Bloomberg:

Investors may be forced to settle contracts protecting more
than $1.4 trillion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds against
default after the U.S. seized control of the companies in a bid
to bolster the housing market.

Thirteen ``major'' dealers of credit-default swaps agreed
``unanimously'' that the rescue constitutes a credit event
triggering payment or delivery of the companies' bonds, the
International Swaps and Derivatives Association said in a memo
obtained by Bloomberg News today. Market makers for the privately
traded contracts will discuss how to settle them in a conference
call at 11 a.m. in New York, the document said.

``This is a big deal,'' said Sarah Percy-Dove, head of credit
research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management in
Sydney. ``The market is not experienced at settling a credit
event for a name of this size, so it is a bit of an unknown.''...

Both companies also are among 125 companies in the benchmark
Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, the most
actively traded contract in credit markets...

The actual money exchanged may be limited, though, according
to analysts at CreditSights Inc. Buyers of the contracts are paid
face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash
equivalent."

An additional problem is that far more CDSs appear to exist than
actual bonds, estimated as an order of magnitude [i.e. 10X]
this ups the amount of dollar transactions through the system in
the future because of just these two "credit defaults" to
14,000,000,000 $US.

for the markets' take on the effect on the US national debt see
http://www.reuters.com/article/marke...0080908?rpc=44

Public Service Announcement -- Please fasten your seatbelts and
make sure your tray tables and seat backs are in the full upright
and locked position. In the event of an emergency place your head
firmly between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye....