AmEx becomes bank to stabilize funding

Money.CNN.com

"The Federal Reserve, using emergency power to act swiftly, granted approval for AmEx and American Express Travel Related Services to become bank holding companies. 

The move will give AmEx the ability to grow its deposits -- a more stable form of funding -- and provide it greater access to Fed funding and government rescue programs."

To the tune of some $3.5 billion. Problems are appearing though, as the bailout money is quickly--very, very quickly--running out. From Clusterstock.com:

"There's only $60 billion left of the first $350 billion tranche of what was once known as the Trash Asset Removal Plan (and is now known as the only pot of available money in the world). So many companies of all shapes, sizes, and flavors are demanding cash that Treasury can barely process the requests.

Congress will presumably order the Treasury to immediately begin doling out the second $350 billion, which, a few months ago, was seen as a sort of "just in case" reserve fund. No more."

The bottom of this barrel is far away, but don't get your hopes up: We are the barrel and the people in charge of plundering it don't give a rat's ass if We bottom out so long as their pockets and their cronies get the big bucks. 

How bad can it get? How about the U.S. of part of A. being downgraded as a credit risk? 

"The United States may be on course to lose its 'AAA' rating due to the large amount of debt it has accumulated, according to Martin Hennecke, senior manager of private clients at Tyche.

"The U.S. might really have to look at a default on the bankruptcy reorganization of the present financial system" and the bankruptcy of the government is not out of the realm of possibility, Hennecke said."

And another--similar--conclusion, from European financial analysts:

"We believe that the growing imbalances in the U.S. economy, its twin budget and current account deficits, its lack of domestic savings, and the erosion of its industrial base, have now reached a point where a severe recession, culminating in a substantial decline in the over-all American standard of living, is imminent. The Federal Reserve, Congress, and the President, for political expedience, are likely to continue seeking to delay this adjustment, unfortunately in ways which will exacerbate its severity, making the inevitable recession that much worse, and increasing the probability of a hyper-inflationary outcome, which would render the U.S. dollar, and all U.S. dollar denominated financial assets, practically worthless in terms of real purchasing power, potentially creating a situation of extreme financial, political, and social unrest."

Maybe The Onion was right...