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Bailout Supporters Received 51 More Campaign Contributions From Financial Interests
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Man Known As Clark Rockefeller Pleads Not Guilty to Kidnapping Daughter
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Paul Newman Made Sure His Charities Would Outlive Him
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Citigroup to Take Over Wachovia Banking Assets
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John Mccain Has a Long Complicated Relationship With Gambling Interests
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Inspector General Kotz Gets Expert Help on His Sec Audit
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Paul Newman dead, at 83
Actor Paul Newman died yesterday of cancer. He was 83.
Newman was known not only for his many films, but for his philanthropic and political activities.
Newman’s Own, which manufactures salad dressings, sauces and other foods, donates profits to charities. The organization reports having given away more than $250 million since 1982. Newman was a major benefactor of his alma mater, Kenyon College.
Hint: Click in map to explore connectionsStory continues below interactive map
Click to activate the interactive map (requires Java)MAP HINTS: Click expands a name. Control+Click centers map on a name. Solid lines are current relations. Dotted lines are former relations. For advanced tools choose Tools > Options from the menu at top. More help. Not seeing the maps? Please go here to check for the latest version of Java.He was also a contributor to Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and wrote occasionally for the liberal magazine, The Nation.
Newman won an Oscar for his role in the 1986 movie, “The Color of Money,” and received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to film.
He is survived by his wife, Joanne Woodward, who co-starred with him in “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” and the made-for-TV movie, “Empire Falls.”
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FDIC chair Sheila Bair likes a story with a happy ending Muckety.com
Rock and Brock are twins. Brock is a saver. Rock is a spendthrift.
When their grandfather hires them to do chores, promising to match every penny they save, Brock accumulates hundreds of dollars, while his brother goes on a buying spree.
Brock eventually shares his fortune with his twin, who learns his lesson. The story ends with the brothers as adults, both millionaires and both understanding compound interest.
The author of this children’s book, called Rock, Brock, And the Savings Shock, is Sheila Bair, who no doubt hopes that the current financial crisis will have a similar happy ending.
Bair is chair of the FDIC, which seized Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest S&L, on Thursday. The agency is likely to have to bail out more banks in coming months, straining FDIC finances in a way that hasn’t occurred since its inception in 1934, in the midst of the Depression.
The FDIC backs all all accounts up to $100,000 at member banks, and it has never failed to pay up.
In the current climate, banks will billions of dollars in assets are at risk. Thirteen banks have failed thus far in 2008 and the agency maintains a list of more than 100 other endangered institutions.
As of June 30, the FDIC’s insurance fund totalled $45.2 billion for claims – not enough to cover the collapse of several major banks. Even if the proposed bailout plan receives congressional approval, it won’t address FDIC’s need for cash.
Bair has said the FDIC is preparing for a likely succession of bank failures, and plans to raise insurance premiums paid by the banks.
More importantly, she says, there are plenty of buyers interested in buying up the distressed institutions. As she told CNBC:
I have people calling us every day, interested in investing in banks. There is a lot of market interest out there and that’s good, because that is good to try to move these banks. You don’t want to close them, but if they have to be closed, move them back into the private sector as quickly as possible, with minimal cost to us. And if we have multiple bidders that helps us get the price we need.
Bair was appointed to a 5-year term as FDIC chair in June 2006. Before joining the agency, she taught at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She previously served as assistant treasury secretary, senior VP at the New York Stock Exchange, and counsel to Bob Dole.
Her husband, Scott P. Cooper, is the lobbyist for the American National Standards Institute.