While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are stationed at 737 bases, in 130 nations around the world, defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Henry M. Paulson, Jr., secretary of the treasury, tells reporters in a debriefing at the White House that “Our banking system is a safe and a sound one.”

       [added 5/9/2021]

       As the Great Recession continues around the world,

• The central Bank of Indonesia reduces by two percent the rate charged commercial banks to borrow overnight.
• The Reserve (central) Bank of Australia makes1,400,000,000 “dollars” worth of loans to commercial banks — three times what they had been asking for.
• The Reserve (central) Bank of India refinances 1,320,000,000 “dollars” worth of loans it has made to commercial banks.

       NOTES:

• Insurer American International Group stock lost 31% of its value in a sing le day down 5.41 “dollars” per share, to end at 12.14 “dollars” per share. AIG’s stock had fallen nearly 80% since the beginning of 2008.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 504.48, its worst drop since 9-1-1 (9/11/2001).
• Also, Lehman Brothers (investment) bank, burdened by 60,000,000,000 “dollars” in delinquent mortgages declared a 639,000,000,000 “dollar” bankruptcy — the biggest in the nation’s history.

       Postscript: Four weeks later at a liquidation auction, the outstanding bonds of Lehman Brothers sold for eight “cents” on the “dollar.”

       [added 5/9/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.

       Under threat of removal from their positions from Benjamin S. “helicopter Ben” Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (a Federal agency) that oversees the privately owned Federal Reserve System of (central) Banks and Henry M. Paulson, Jr., secretary of the treasury, the Board of Directors of the (commercial) Bank of America votes to purchase insolvent investment bank Merrill Lynch in an all-common stock (having voting rights, but no guaranteed dividends) swap worth 50,000,000,000 “dollars.”  Before the takeover by 15,000,000,000 “dollars” for executive performance bonuses on losses that totaled up to 21,500,000,000 “dollars.”

       NOTE: John Thain, Chairman of Merrill Lynch had been hiding a 15,000,000,000 “dollar” gap in ML’s balance sheets, which he did not reveal until after the sale received Federal financing, and then went on a skiing vacation to Vail, colorado.  Thain had also proposed a 10,000,000 “dollar” performance bonus for himself.

[added 5/9/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.