Illinois may pull money from Wells Fargo if Obama suitmaker is shut down

[Robbien]

Source: Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune

CHICAGO, May 07, 2009 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- WFC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The fight to keep the Hartmax Corp. suit factory in Des Plaines, Ill., alive stepped up Thursday when the state treasurer threatened to pull Illinois' business from Wells Fargo & Co. if the bank backs a bid that could lead to liquidating the company.

"Unless the company remains open, they will not be doing business with the state of Illinois any longer," Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias told a crowd of workers outside the factory, who gathered on their lunch break.

The Chicago-based manufacturer, which makes suits for President Barack Obama, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 23 and is in talks to be sold soon. The Des Plaines factory, opened in 1982, employs 600 workers making men's suit coats. The company employs roughly 3,000 union workers in the U.S.

Backdropped by signs saying "Wells Fargo gets bailed out, workers get sold out," union leaders said they worry that a new owner would close the factory and liquidate the company or send production overseas. They say the bank has an obligation to protect jobs in light of the $25 billion it received in federal TARP bailout money.

"Wells Fargo has to understand that if they take a short-term approach they're creating the same problem that got us into this mess," said Tom Balanoff, president Service Employees International Union state council.

Read more: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2316537/

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Nice to see state officials stepping up.

[aquart]

1. Bloody fucking about time!

Beat those bastard bankers when they're down!

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Now if they'll just stand fast and not cave, the way politicians

usually do.


Tansy Gold, native Illini

[Psephos]

3. Banks got in trouble in the first place by making economic decisions based on uneconomic thinking

This sounds like more of the same.

I've had enough of playing dumb with money to win political points. If the Hartmax operation is bankrupt, then it's time to take stock of why that happened in the first place...and then stop pretending tossing good money after bad is going to lead us anywhere except down.

Whatever happens with the company should be done on the basis of good accounting and honest business assessment. Look at the royal effing mess Chrysler has turned into, with GM to follow.

[Alcibiades]

5. But let's apply the same standard to Wells Fargo as well

And Citigroup, and the other financial entities adjudged too big to fail. Hartmax has been going broke slowly, but those jerks at the big banks went bankrupt overnight, taking the entire global economy with them. Who's more blameworthy here?

What counts as sound economic decision making is a matter of debate. Some folks think its good to hold onto industries that make things. Other folks think it's good to throw money at Wall Street and the big banks. The people who determine what the consensus is in economics have been so wrong about so much that I don't think it's worthwhile to use their standards to determine which industries to save and which to allow to fail.

[robinlynne]

8. Thank-you!

[avaistheone1]

11. Now that sounds fair.

[WriteDown]

12. So you want to force the suit maker to take money...

That they don't need? Let's not forget that Bernacke FORCED Wells Fargo to take the TARP funds and they've been objecting to it ever since.

[Robbien]

6. When banks cut off lines of credit to businesses

those businesses have a problem conducting business.

Wells Fargo got its hand burnt by playing with the CDO & CDS fire and therefore stopped lending.
Small businesses are paying for the bank's folly.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. WFC did not get burnt by playing with CDS and CDOs in irresponsible ways.

They only need extra capital to shore up their Wachovia takeover - a move they made to help alleviate systemic risk.

[BR_Parkway]

16. You may want to check again - according to this report - Wells is #

8 and Wachovia was #19 in their list of the Top 25 responsible for the crisis

http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/economic_meltdown/the_subprime_25/

[Lucky Luciano]

17. I only said they did not get burnt...WFC has not sustained

anywhere near the kinds of writedowns that others have. They may have issued some subprime loans, but remember that number is relative to their enormous size. It says Citi offered fewer of those loans, but they have written down almost $100B - why? Because Citi got mixed up in the crazy CDO market and was left holding the hot potato.

[Omaha Steve]

10. Sound economic thinking

Don't buy at China-mart. Buy an American made product like these suits. So simple and puts people in the US to work. When they make $, they buy cars, homes, etc.

[w4rma]

4. I want new laws in place the take the decision making for these matters away from the banks. (nt)

[xchrom]

9. recommend

[madrchsod]

13. in whiteside county illinois wells fargo has the majority of foreclosures

we were shopping for a home loan in 2003 and we were warned to stay away from wells fargo. good thing we went to a local savings and loan.

[Kokonoe]

14. I hope Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias didn't say anything bad over the phone.

When the Illinois governor threatened bank of America the same way, he was charged the next day.

[davsand]

15. Well, Alexi IS looking at running for Senator.

we just went to a fundraiser for him a while back, and he does have an exploratory committee going for a run for Obama's old Senate seat.

Just sayin...



Laura