who wants to be a billionnaire?

Cos67's stock market quiz

Study the recent history of the US Federal Reserve and come back prepared.

Question 1
Cash giveaways from the Fed are designed for:
a struggling American companies
b stockbrokers' wives
c European banks with a cashflow problem
d American homeowners whose house value is underwater

If you said C, then you're right.
take $50 Million, tax free from the Bernank

Question 2
Being under investigation for fraud in the US means
a a trip to jail
b confiscation of assets
c an orange suit
d a cash giveaway from the Federal Reserve Bank

If you said d, your sensing a trend here

Question 3
If you were two days from declaring bankruptcy
a you would start packing boxes
b you would hire lawyers
c you would get saved by the Federal Reserve
d you would steal your employees' pensions

Although d is tempting for bankers, the answer is c.

Question 4
If you had been bailed out by the ECB, then
a the party begins
b you owe a debt of gratitude to Europe
c you are adding to Europe's problems
d you are still eligible for a bailout from the Federal Reserve

Too many choices, but d is correct.

Question 5
If you were proud of your actions you would
a tell the world
b write a blog entry
c tell your mom
d try to keep it a secret until the Official Secrets Act means you have to actually tell the US taxpayers what you did with their money

Take a guess what the Federal Reserve did? They tried to keep it a secret, but Congress got them.

Alright, so you've got all 5 questions correct. Collect your $9.2 billion,
Dexia sure did.
this is the story of Belgium's Dexia. Same MO as the other big banks.

-Cos67 ¬(%^D>
checkitout:

Fed’s Biggest Foreign-Bank Bailout Kept U.S. Municipal Finance on Track
By Bob Ivry - Apr 7, 2011 3:00 AM GMT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-06/fed-s-biggest-foreign-bank-bailout-kept-u-s-municipal-finance-on-track.html
A European bank that got the most Federal Reserve discount window help during the financial crisis received a total of about $300 billion in loans, guarantees and cash infusions from governments and central banks. It also owned subsidiaries implicated in bid-rigging that prosecutors say defrauded U.S. taxpayers.

Details of Fed lending released last week show that Dexia SA (DEXB), based in Brussels and Paris, borrowed as much as $37 billion, with an average daily loan amount of $12.3 billion in the 18 months after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in September 2008. The House subcommittee that oversees the Fed plans hearings on the central bank’s discount window lending to offshore financial institutions next month.

By lending to Dexia, the Fed kept money flowing into local government projects throughout the U.S. as well as the money market funds that invested in them. Dexia guaranteed bonds issued by entities as varied as the Texas State Veterans Land Board in Austin and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“If Dexia went bankrupt, it could have been a catastrophe for municipal finance and money funds,” said Matt Fabian, a Concord, Massachusetts-based senior analyst and managing director at Municipal Markets Advisors, an independent research company. “The market has extensive exposure to foreign banks.”