Archive for February 6th, 2009
Continue Reading February 6th, 2009

A reader named Bryan informed me of this Web site, apparently someone is making a movie of the downfall of Washington Mutual and collecting the stories of former employees and shareholders. It’s a pretty slick looking site.
Bryan also asked if I thought the government takeover of WaMu was a mistake. The bank’s assets exceeded its liabilities, he noted, and private equity firms had recently pumped $7 billion into the firm. Some of those private equity investors believe the government acted too quickly in taking over the bank and wiping out shareholders in the process.
“What “if” the FDIC used WaMu to bail out JP Morgan?” Bryan writes. “The government, for some reason, has anointed JPM the golden child by handing them Bear Stearns and WaMu. Maybe they needed deposits to shore up JPM?”
What do you all think?
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Continue Reading February 6th, 2009
Though Beth and Ken Wilson’s 5,000-square-foot, four-bedroom home in Union, Ky. wasn’t exactly cramped when they bought it in 2005, they yearned for a space that could accommodate the passions of their two oldest sons (their three boys are now 17, 12 and 2) yet allow adults to enjoy activities too. So shortly after they purchased the home, the couple decided to turn the house’s dark, mostly unfinished 2,000-square-foot basement into a livable lower level.
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Continue Reading February 6th, 2009
With retailers across the country closing stores and filing for bankruptcy in the face of a weakening economy, CVS pharmacy is among the few bucking that trend. The firm is making plans to accommodate growing distribution demands with the development of a new 750,000-square-foot facility in Chemung, N.Y. The project carries a price tag of $90 million to $100 million.
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