Today's Moment Of Economic Zen...The Fed Announces Another 800 BILLION Dollar In Bailouts

Maybe I'm just getting old but I remember when 100 BILLION freaking dollars was a lot of money. Now it's just tossed out before breakfast as part of the normal course of the day's business.

Today's Bailout Bingo winners...mortgage and consumer debt holders. Congratulations!

The central bank will purchase as much as $600 billion in debt issued or backed by government-chartered housing-finance companies. It will also set up a program of $200 billion to support consumer and small-business loans, the Fed said in statements today in Washington.

...Separately, under the new Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, the Fed will lend up to $200 billion on a non-recourse basis to holders of AAA rated asset-backed securities backed by “newly and recently originated” loans, such as for education, automobiles, credit cards and loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, the Fed said.

The Fed hopes to have the TALF running by February. Traditional investors in the asset-backed securities include securities lenders and bank-affiliated conduits, the government officials said.

As the old saying goes a billion hundred billion trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money.

posted by DrewM. at 10:57 AM

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