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Showing posts from January, 2011

Pros and cons of the financial-sector rescue...

Two interesting headlines in the WSJ: One headline says "J.P. Morgan Profit Jumps 47%. " The other reads: " New Hit to Strapped States ." So what is the new hit to the distressed states? Borrowing costs are on the rise. Here's an example of the duress states are feeling: In Texas, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has taken control of a debt that it back-stopped in a 2001 deal that requires the public agency running the Houston Texans' football stadium to pay back a 30-year bond over the next three-and-a-half years. "Think of having a 30-year mortgage, and then someone suddenly says you have to pay your house off in five years," said Janis Schmees, executive director of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, which built the stadium. "That is pretty much our scenario." A representative for J.P. Morgan declined to comment. What shows as profit for bankers exerts an extremely heavy burden on everyone else.