Mario's basketball gameMario has to avoid Goomba's a score as many baskets and points as he can |
Showing posts with label GAME. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GAME. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Mario's basketball game
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Symbian Anna review - How does the game change?
Well, Symbian Anna is an evolution of Symbian^3. It fixes most of the things that were annoying in Symbian^3 and also adds new features that were missing.
The biggest improvement that is very noticeable is the overall speed of the new Symbian. The previous iteration used to lag here and there making it a mixed bag from the user experience point of view. Most of the lags are gone now, and the user experience is more fluent than any touch enabled Symbian available.
The text input
One of the most expected and needed updates is the text input. The Symbian^1 alphanumeric keypad was inherited by Symbian^3 without notable improvements, but Anna finally changes that. A full QWERTY split-screen portrait and landscape keyboard is available now, and it is used by most of the applications. There are times when you find yourself in the same situation as with the original S^3, in a full screen input dialog, but that one also has the portrait QWERTY enabled. I'm sure it's just a matter of time, before all apps will use the split screen keyboard.
The full QWERTY is not the best in business, but it does have some features that other QWERTY keyboards are missing, like the editing menu, or the arrow keys for moving the cursor around.
The icons
Another big change is the icon theme, which is the same icon theme used on MeeGo, where icons are square with very well rounded corners. The icons for folders are more visible, and things are not as confusing as the were with previous iterations. The folder icons are filled with a single color and have suggestive imprints over them. In other words it's almost impossible to mistake a folder for an app with the new Symbian Anna.
In the settings menu, and most of the apps provided by Nokia, the list icons are now monochrome, bringing a more minimalistic look to the icons.
The homescreen
Another big improvement is the speed of the homescreen and the way the widgets are refreshed. The swipe gestures on the homescreen lead to immediate homescreen slides compare with the old version where you used to swipe left or right and after a fraction of a second, the homescreen would scroll over.
Th widgets show a loading circle when they are refreshing so you know what happens with them at all times, as opposed to the old way where you had no idea a widget was refreshing until it actually finished.
And the improvements do not stop here. Some applications got notable updates, and here they are.
The Calendar
The calendar display includes the events for the current day as well as the full month view. A nice touch is that now the month view has pinch to fullscreen. When you pinch in, the full month view shows on the entire screen, and if you pinch out, the month view also shows the today events too.
The calendar got another improvement in the form of the new event dialog. It's now easier to add and configure a new event than it was on the previous version.
The file manager
The file manager was pretty good to start with, but now it has a new feature, that was very much needed, the mark multiple items. The file manager switches the view to checkbox selectable items, and you can mark as many items as you want by just touching them. The file manager still misses the range mark ability, but it's still very usable. In other words you may not need an alternate file manager again.
The email client
The email client got a big improvement in the speed chapter, and scrolling trough your email list is now smoother that it ever was on Symbian. The email view is also faster, and the email client seems to be now suitable for all email needs.
The camera application
The camera application also got a boost, and now the settings view is better organized, closing the gap between the old camera app, and the best camera applications in business.
The browser
The browser got a huge update. Nothing about this new browser reminds you of the old Symbian browser. Even if the user experience is still a bit clunky, the browser is far better that it ever was on Symbian. The speed of the page loading is better, the address bar is new, and the menu is better organized. You have a soft back button which is very helpful in many situations, and you can open a new window whenever you like.
The contacts application
The contacts application was also updated, and the search trough contacts is done now by typing on the QWERTY keyboard instead of the old alphabet that was popping out on the old version. This kind of search seems more natural than before.
Additions
In addition to the usual application package, Symbian Anna comes with the topApps application pre-installed. The topApps application gives you a hand in deciding which apps you should download to your phone, have three categories, Featured, Staff picks and Reviewed. The user interface is similar to the Ovi Store interface and it is a good place to start when you're looking for applications.
All in all, Symbian Anna brings more background changes, in terms of optimization and speed, than user interface changes. It removes most of the nags that Symbian^3 inherited from Symbian^1, and if you compare Anna to S^1 they don't seem to be from the same planet.
It's pretty clear to me that Nokia is preparing for Symbian Belle later this year, and by the looks of it, it will change the way we perceive Symbian in a big way.
Good job Nokia!
The biggest improvement that is very noticeable is the overall speed of the new Symbian. The previous iteration used to lag here and there making it a mixed bag from the user experience point of view. Most of the lags are gone now, and the user experience is more fluent than any touch enabled Symbian available.
The text input
 |  |
One of the most expected and needed updates is the text input. The Symbian^1 alphanumeric keypad was inherited by Symbian^3 without notable improvements, but Anna finally changes that. A full QWERTY split-screen portrait and landscape keyboard is available now, and it is used by most of the applications. There are times when you find yourself in the same situation as with the original S^3, in a full screen input dialog, but that one also has the portrait QWERTY enabled. I'm sure it's just a matter of time, before all apps will use the split screen keyboard.
The full QWERTY is not the best in business, but it does have some features that other QWERTY keyboards are missing, like the editing menu, or the arrow keys for moving the cursor around.
The icons
 |  |
Another big change is the icon theme, which is the same icon theme used on MeeGo, where icons are square with very well rounded corners. The icons for folders are more visible, and things are not as confusing as the were with previous iterations. The folder icons are filled with a single color and have suggestive imprints over them. In other words it's almost impossible to mistake a folder for an app with the new Symbian Anna.
In the settings menu, and most of the apps provided by Nokia, the list icons are now monochrome, bringing a more minimalistic look to the icons.
The homescreen
 |  |  |
Another big improvement is the speed of the homescreen and the way the widgets are refreshed. The swipe gestures on the homescreen lead to immediate homescreen slides compare with the old version where you used to swipe left or right and after a fraction of a second, the homescreen would scroll over.
Th widgets show a loading circle when they are refreshing so you know what happens with them at all times, as opposed to the old way where you had no idea a widget was refreshing until it actually finished.
And the improvements do not stop here. Some applications got notable updates, and here they are.
The Calendar
 |  |  |
The calendar display includes the events for the current day as well as the full month view. A nice touch is that now the month view has pinch to fullscreen. When you pinch in, the full month view shows on the entire screen, and if you pinch out, the month view also shows the today events too.
The calendar got another improvement in the form of the new event dialog. It's now easier to add and configure a new event than it was on the previous version.
The file manager
 |  |
The file manager was pretty good to start with, but now it has a new feature, that was very much needed, the mark multiple items. The file manager switches the view to checkbox selectable items, and you can mark as many items as you want by just touching them. The file manager still misses the range mark ability, but it's still very usable. In other words you may not need an alternate file manager again.
The email client
The email client got a big improvement in the speed chapter, and scrolling trough your email list is now smoother that it ever was on Symbian. The email view is also faster, and the email client seems to be now suitable for all email needs.
The camera application
The camera application also got a boost, and now the settings view is better organized, closing the gap between the old camera app, and the best camera applications in business.
The browser
 |  |
 |  |
The browser got a huge update. Nothing about this new browser reminds you of the old Symbian browser. Even if the user experience is still a bit clunky, the browser is far better that it ever was on Symbian. The speed of the page loading is better, the address bar is new, and the menu is better organized. You have a soft back button which is very helpful in many situations, and you can open a new window whenever you like.
The contacts application
 |  |
The contacts application was also updated, and the search trough contacts is done now by typing on the QWERTY keyboard instead of the old alphabet that was popping out on the old version. This kind of search seems more natural than before.
Additions
 |  |  |
In addition to the usual application package, Symbian Anna comes with the topApps application pre-installed. The topApps application gives you a hand in deciding which apps you should download to your phone, have three categories, Featured, Staff picks and Reviewed. The user interface is similar to the Ovi Store interface and it is a good place to start when you're looking for applications.
All in all, Symbian Anna brings more background changes, in terms of optimization and speed, than user interface changes. It removes most of the nags that Symbian^3 inherited from Symbian^1, and if you compare Anna to S^1 they don't seem to be from the same planet.
It's pretty clear to me that Nokia is preparing for Symbian Belle later this year, and by the looks of it, it will change the way we perceive Symbian in a big way.
Good job Nokia!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Card to Meet with Petersen to Decide Fate of Ender's Game Movie
According to a scooper for AICN, Orson Scott Card confirmed the rumored expiration date for the deal with Warner Bros for the rights to Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow and said he'd have another meeting with director Wolfgang Petersen to decide if the movie is going to be made at all:
I sat in on an Orson Scott Card lecture this evening at the University of Missouri in Columbia. While he spent most of the lecture speaking on his theory that the stories passed down through generations has shaped our culture - which was interesting, he did manage to talk a lot about the status of the Ender's Game movie.
Apparently the studio option on the book runs out on December 7th and he has, what I would characterize as, a moderate hope that the movie will become a reality. He plans to sit down with Wolfgang Peterson after he squares away the Posideon Adventure and give his latest script idea, which he described as a combination of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, one final try. He said that if the deadline comes and goes then he will most likely end the attempt to bring the book to the big screen. Card was hopeful that the combination of the two books will work out the script problems in that the "buddy" movie approach would open up a practical way to reveal Ender's thoughts without any dreaded internal dialouge.
He sincierly seemed commited to coming up with a script that remained faithful to the original material - even if he doesn't write the script personally. Card said that the special effects would be revolutionary, ruling out wires or the Apollo 13 diving airplane technique, and that effects houses are lining up to get involved should the movie recieve the green light.
Skittles game
on our new facebook page, Annie left this idea just moments after I started up the page. I can tell the facebook page is going to be a great resource for ideas and information! Check it out!
"We take a bag of Skittles and I draw names and the child comes to the front of the room. They close their eyes and put a skittle in their mouth and try to guess the color. If they get it right then the get to pick a song, but if it's wrong then it's my choice. It's a great way to review program songs, the kids love it, and it's super easy...hardly any planning involved. I always give each child 3 or 4 skittles after singing time so there's no fighting."
Some variations I thought of for reviewing ONE song:
Skittles game:
(As always, be sensitive to food allergies.
Fruity candy is usually safe, but always get approval from the primary presidency first!)
"We take a bag of Skittles and I draw names and the child comes to the front of the room. They close their eyes and put a skittle in their mouth and try to guess the color. If they get it right then the get to pick a song, but if it's wrong then it's my choice. It's a great way to review program songs, the kids love it, and it's super easy...hardly any planning involved. I always give each child 3 or 4 skittles after singing time so there's no fighting."
Some variations I thought of for reviewing ONE song:
- You could use this like I use the magic potion game. Write out the words to a song on a dry-erase board using marker colors to match the colors of skittles you have. If they guess the correct color, you erase that color of a word. If they guess it wrong, you don't erase any words. You can switch this, depending on the tendency of your primary, i.e. they prefer to get them wrong so they don't have to erase any words. :)
- The color of the skittle represents a certain phrase of a song. If they guess it right, they sing just that phrase. If they guess it wrong, you sing the entire song.
- The colors represent different ways to sing the song, if guessed correctly. If guessed wrong, you just sing it normal.
- Do you have any ideas? suggestions?
Love this idea, Annie! Thanks so much!
R-Rated Ender's Game?
Is it possible that Wolfgang Petersen is planning for an r-rated Ender's Game movie? It looks that way, according to MTV.com:
Now that he's done treading water with "Poseidon," director Wolfgang Petersen is turning his attention to "Ender's Game," a passion project he envisions as an R-rated version of one of Hollywood's most successful franchises. "I think 'Harry Potter' was inspired by 'Ender's Game,' " Petersen insisted, citing the 1985 sci-fi novel he's adapting.
Petersen cites "Potter" and the ultraviolent Japanese cult flick "Battle Royale" to give an idea of the tone he's leaning toward. "It's one of the projects at the top of my list of what I want to do next. I've been involved with it for quite a while," Petersen said, crossing his fingers. "We're getting another script for it in a few weeks, and then we'll see what we can do with that." ...
Will Poseidon Impact Ender's Game?
Wolfgang Petersen's Poseidon opened last weekend to a lower than expected .2 Million dollar opening in the US and less-than-stellar reviews. The film, which costs more than 0 million dollars to make, is currently 29% Rotten at RottenTomatoes, which critics blasting the cardboard characters, cheesy dialogue, and un-inspired directing by Petersen.
Warner Bros is the studio behind both films, along with Petersen's last effort, Troy, which made up for it's disappointing US box office results by doing well overseas. Studios frequently reward directors of their successful films by allowing them to make riskier movies. But will that happen with the Ender's Game movie?
Will the failure of a popcorn flick like Poseidon finally send a message to Hollywood that movie goers want more than mindless action and special effects? Or will Ender's Game seem to risky for Warner Bros after costly flop like Poseidon?
Warner Bros is the studio behind both films, along with Petersen's last effort, Troy, which made up for it's disappointing US box office results by doing well overseas. Studios frequently reward directors of their successful films by allowing them to make riskier movies. But will that happen with the Ender's Game movie?
Will the failure of a popcorn flick like Poseidon finally send a message to Hollywood that movie goers want more than mindless action and special effects? Or will Ender's Game seem to risky for Warner Bros after costly flop like Poseidon?
Petersen Still Wants to Direct Ender's Game
Despite all of the problems facing the Ender's Game movie, Wolfgang Petersen is still interesting in directing it and told IGN that he believes that the movie will be made.
Last spring, Warner Bros placed the film into turnaround, essentially giving up on the project. Orson Scott Card said that he and the producers were shopping the script to other studios and that a director could not be hired until the financing had been arranged.
But now it looks like Petersen is still involved in the project.
He told IGN that he is working on developing three films, including Ender's Game, and that he had met with Orson Scott Card recently about it. He called it "a very, very tricky adaptation and an incredibly fascinating concept" and believes that he will some day make the film.
Last spring, Warner Bros placed the film into turnaround, essentially giving up on the project. Orson Scott Card said that he and the producers were shopping the script to other studios and that a director could not be hired until the financing had been arranged.
But now it looks like Petersen is still involved in the project.
He told IGN that he is working on developing three films, including Ender's Game, and that he had met with Orson Scott Card recently about it. He called it "a very, very tricky adaptation and an incredibly fascinating concept" and believes that he will some day make the film.
Ender's Game Movie Searching for New Director
io9 reports that Wolfgang Peterson is no longer directing the Ender's Game movie and producers are currently meeting with candidates to find a replacement.
Peterson's involvement in Ender's Game has been in doubt since last month when it was announced he would be directing the scifi movie Uprising.
EG Producer Lynn Hendee also gave a number of updates on the current status of the film:
In other news, Marvel Comics announced today that there will be an Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow comic book series, written by Chris Yost (New X-Men, X-Force), with art by Pasqual Ferry (Ultimate Iron Man) and overseen by OSC.
This could be a warm-up for the Ender's Game movie, since Card explains that, "I'm hoping Marvel will show [Hollywood] how it's done, because you guys know how to put the story down in a visual way so that it comes to life."
Peterson's involvement in Ender's Game has been in doubt since last month when it was announced he would be directing the scifi movie Uprising.
EG Producer Lynn Hendee also gave a number of updates on the current status of the film:
- Orson Scott Card is currently working on revisions to his latest draft of the script.
- Casting will not begin until a director is chosen, so it's too early to speculate on who might be cast to play Ender Wiggin.
In other news, Marvel Comics announced today that there will be an Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow comic book series, written by Chris Yost (New X-Men, X-Force), with art by Pasqual Ferry (Ultimate Iron Man) and overseen by OSC.
This could be a warm-up for the Ender's Game movie, since Card explains that, "I'm hoping Marvel will show [Hollywood] how it's done, because you guys know how to put the story down in a visual way so that it comes to life."
Ender's Game Comic from Marvel
There hasn't been any news on the movie recently. However, it has been announced that there will be a comic book based on Ender's Game, published by Marvel comics, that will be released this fall.
It seems like these comics will be a sign of what's to come in the movie. Orson Scott Card said at the San Diego Comic-Con that the look of the Battle Suits and character design will be the same in the movie and video game.
You can view the designs for Ender Wiggin and the Battle Suits here.
Orson Scott Card will not be writing the series. Instead, veteran comic and animation writer Christopher Yost will be writing it. Card has had high praise for Yost saying, "What he came back with was so powerful that it made me feel like I was reading the story for the first time. It came totally alive."
Yost has previously written X-Men: Emperor Vulcan, a story that featured alien invaders that drew comparisons to the Buggers.
Also, Yost has written several direct-to-video animated features for Marvel Studios. Many EG fans have wondered if animation would be the best way to make an Ender's Game movie. Perhaps, Marvel Studios might consider a big screen animated feature of Ender's Game? Just some food for thought....
It seems like these comics will be a sign of what's to come in the movie. Orson Scott Card said at the San Diego Comic-Con that the look of the Battle Suits and character design will be the same in the movie and video game.
You can view the designs for Ender Wiggin and the Battle Suits here.
Orson Scott Card will not be writing the series. Instead, veteran comic and animation writer Christopher Yost will be writing it. Card has had high praise for Yost saying, "What he came back with was so powerful that it made me feel like I was reading the story for the first time. It came totally alive."
Yost has previously written X-Men: Emperor Vulcan, a story that featured alien invaders that drew comparisons to the Buggers.
Also, Yost has written several direct-to-video animated features for Marvel Studios. Many EG fans have wondered if animation would be the best way to make an Ender's Game movie. Perhaps, Marvel Studios might consider a big screen animated feature of Ender's Game? Just some food for thought....
Fill-in-the-blank game
Lame title, I know. Let me know if you can think of something else to call this...
So, the songs have hopefully all been taught, and now we just need to polish up and review all the songs from the year.
This is a quick-prep activity that you can use on many songs, or just one song.
We chose to work on just one song.
Object:
When the piano stops playing, fill in the words.
Game:
1) Have two players come up to the front of the room.
2) Roll the dice to find out how many words the kids will need to remember, after the pianis t stops playing. (For example, I rolled a 5)
3) Start singing the song, and the pianist will pick a spot to stop playing.
4) Starting with the next word, the kids will need to fill in the next words. Since we rolled a five, the kids will need to write in the next five words. I love my dry-erase boards for this, but you could also use the chalkboard, or a regular piece of paper.
5) This is NOT a race game, so if BOTH kids get it correct, both teams get a point.
6) In between "rounds," we sang through the whole song/verse. While we were singing, I'd walk around and pick the next two players, and motion them to come up to the front. I like this game, because there is really little "down time" and the kids need to concentrate on the exact words.
7) The "winning team" got to listen to a personal performance of the song/verse, by the losing team. :)
Tips:
Some primaries may not be able to "handle" competition games, and be so concerned about the losing/winning that reverence becomes an issue. I have a great primary who just enjoys playing the game, so we can do these competition games.
I think this is appropriate for SR primary only, since writing words is involved. You could play a similar game with the juniors, by just having them SAY the words.
Marvel's Ender's Game Comic Books
The Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow comics have started at Marvel comics, and overall both has been met with praise from both critics and fans alike. I’ve been rather impressed by the quality and how well both novels translate to comic book format.
I believe the Ender’s comics are only available in specialty comic book stores. All five issues of each of the limited series will eventually be collected into a hardcover edition that will be available at bookstore as well, but that will likely be in nearly a year.
Like with most comics, there have been delays. The third issue of Ender’s Game: Battle School will be out in late January, and a release date hasn’t been set for the fourth issue. It might be best to wait for all the issues to be collected, than to read both of the series serial style.
Ender’s Game: Battle School
Script: Christopher Yost
Pencils: Pasqual Ferry
Issue #1: October 8, 2008
Issue #2: November 19, 2008
Issue #3: January 28, 2009
Issue #4: March 2009
Issue #5: April 2009
Ender’s Shadow: Battle School
Script: Mike Carey
Pencils: Sebastian Fiumara
Issue #1: Dec 3, 2008
Issue #2: January 7, 2009
Issue #3: February 25, 2009
Issue #4: March 2009
Issue #5: April 2009
I believe the Ender’s comics are only available in specialty comic book stores. All five issues of each of the limited series will eventually be collected into a hardcover edition that will be available at bookstore as well, but that will likely be in nearly a year.
Like with most comics, there have been delays. The third issue of Ender’s Game: Battle School will be out in late January, and a release date hasn’t been set for the fourth issue. It might be best to wait for all the issues to be collected, than to read both of the series serial style.
Ender’s Game: Battle School
Script: Christopher Yost
Pencils: Pasqual Ferry
Issue #1: October 8, 2008
Issue #2: November 19, 2008
Issue #3: January 28, 2009
Issue #4: March 2009
Issue #5: April 2009
Ender’s Shadow: Battle School
Script: Mike Carey
Pencils: Sebastian Fiumara
Issue #1: Dec 3, 2008
Issue #2: January 7, 2009
Issue #3: February 25, 2009
Issue #4: March 2009
Issue #5: April 2009
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Is the Ender's Game Move Dead?
I keep getting asked this question, so I figured I should put up a post about it.
Is the Ender's Game Movie dead? Well, not completely. It currently is not in pre-production at any studio. There isn't a director attached. So, don't go lining up for tickets any time soon. It's going to be years before its in theaters.
However, Orson Scott Card is still working on the script and hasn't given up wanting Ender on the big screen.
On his blog at Hatrack, OSC said in February of 2009:
The Ender's Game comics continue to be published by Marvel, and the success of these could be key to the movie eventually being made. The problem is that a movie with the number of special effects that Ender's Game would need would make it expensive. And movie studios won't give out that amount of money without knowing that the finished product is going to be profitable. Seeing the movie visually is important, especially since so much of the book is dependent on what Ender is thinking and feeling.
In 2008, OSC said in an interview to Marvel.com, "I'm hoping Marvel will show [Hollywood] how it's done, because you guys know how to put the story down in a visual way so that it comes to life."
The Ender's Game comic is being written by Marvel Animation producer & writer Christopher Yost.
Many fans have been wanting an animated Ender's Game film, rather than live action. Perhaps this be something Marvel Animation might be interested in?
As a sidenote, Disney acquired Marvel last year, but no word yet on how this could impact Ender's Game. OSC has been closely associated with Marvel Comics, and other than the Ender's Game and Alvin Makercomics, he has written Ultimate Iron Man.
So, in short, the movie isn't quite dead. It's just a matter of getting a studio interested in making it again. The comics will wrap up this spring, and hopefully that will attract some interest.
Is the Ender's Game Movie dead? Well, not completely. It currently is not in pre-production at any studio. There isn't a director attached. So, don't go lining up for tickets any time soon. It's going to be years before its in theaters.
However, Orson Scott Card is still working on the script and hasn't given up wanting Ender on the big screen.
On his blog at Hatrack, OSC said in February of 2009:
I'm finishing up the screenplay for the Ender's Game movie.
The Ender's Game comics continue to be published by Marvel, and the success of these could be key to the movie eventually being made. The problem is that a movie with the number of special effects that Ender's Game would need would make it expensive. And movie studios won't give out that amount of money without knowing that the finished product is going to be profitable. Seeing the movie visually is important, especially since so much of the book is dependent on what Ender is thinking and feeling.
In 2008, OSC said in an interview to Marvel.com, "I'm hoping Marvel will show [Hollywood] how it's done, because you guys know how to put the story down in a visual way so that it comes to life."
The Ender's Game comic is being written by Marvel Animation producer & writer Christopher Yost.
Many fans have been wanting an animated Ender's Game film, rather than live action. Perhaps this be something Marvel Animation might be interested in?
As a sidenote, Disney acquired Marvel last year, but no word yet on how this could impact Ender's Game. OSC has been closely associated with Marvel Comics, and other than the Ender's Game and Alvin Makercomics, he has written Ultimate Iron Man.
So, in short, the movie isn't quite dead. It's just a matter of getting a studio interested in making it again. The comics will wrap up this spring, and hopefully that will attract some interest.
AIG AUTO INSURANCE BANKRUPTCY : A GAME OF CHICKEN
An AIG bankruptcy filing did not hinge on the resolution of these contracts, thus there could not have been a game of chicken.
Details (greatly simplied but still quite wordy): This story is set in November of 2008, but to understand it we have to go back two months earlier - to September. In September 2008 the clearing price of mortgage-backed securities implied a high rate of mortgage default with low recovery on foreclosed property - a decline in real estate values such as never seen before. Observers were still debating whether prices were correctly forecasting widespread defaults or whether prices were merely depressed due to illiquidity. For institutions levered to real estate the distinction was very important because it meant the difference between short-term liquidity problems and long run insolvency which would force bankruptcy
To understand liquidity problems, we need to understand collateral. In order to minimize credit risk to each other, financial institutions ask for collateral from each other. As trades slowly move up or down in value, cash and securities flow between institutions so that everyone owes each other approximately nothing and the effects of a sudden bankruptcy are much smaller than they otherwise would be. Having collateral in hand means not having to worry about why your counterparty's trades are marking down so low - you are 100% insured by the collateral and if prices rebound you'll just give it back. And if your counterparty goes bankrupt you won't take a loss. Lehman was long real estate and, due to falling prices and having to post collateral, come September they ran out of cash. Regulators shopped them to other banks whose traders pored over Lehman's books and concluded "the company is insolvent, not just illiquid" so "goodnight Lehman Bros".
AIG was in the same boat as Lehman however AIG is an insurance company - this opened up three problems. (1) Banks are usually regulated by federal entities like the Fed and the SEC, so they all fit into similar frameworks nationwide. However insurance companies are only regulated by states. States are not particularly great at regulating because they are small and every state does things differently. (As a side note for fans of health care reform, regulating insurance companies at the federal level and creating national competition is the single most important reform needed. Lack of this in the so-called reform bills is proof that the legislation is all about creating health care entitlement without any real reform.) You can't just call in JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs to tell you what to do here because a bank can't really analyze an insurance company over a weekend. (2) Next, the ratings agencies had assigned AIG their highest rating, AAA, meaning that people who didn't want to do a lot of their own credit analysis, but didn't want to take any risk of default, were the sort of people who bought AIG bonds - that is to say, AIG bonds were largely being held in accounts that were presumed to be taking no risk by their owners. If you go back to news stories from September 2008 you will find many shrill voices invoking the spectre of systemic melt-down, but those voices tend to come from holders of AIG bonds, not random investors worried about "the system". (3) As an insurance company the general public was very broadly exposed to AIG in pensions, annuities, home insurance, etc... and these people aren't holding any collateral at all, but would account for a lot of votes at the polls come November. So, because of these three complications, the same politicians who let Lehman go under decided, at about the same time, to bail out AIG.
Now, there are lots of ways to do a bailout. This very same month, the largest financial entities in the world, Fannie and Freddie, were bailed out - and basically by the federal government saying "we simply guarantee all the debts and obligations of Fannie and Freddie". (Note that, in the end, the agency bailout is where the "taxpayer" will take almost all his lumps. But the politicians don't talk about this too much because Washington spent decades exempting Fannie and Freddie from any meaningful regulation and encouraging them, via various acts of congress, to facilitate mortgage loans to people who probably couldn't afford homes, but would make U.S. home ownership "more diverse".) In the case of AIG the bailout took the form of an billion loan. It is important to remember at this point the debate over whether real estate securities were down because a bunch of mortage defaults were coming or just because nobody wanted to own the bonds. The politicians were still hoping for the latter and hoping that a loan would tide AIG through its illiquid period and into a time when the securities recovered. The TARP legislation was debated this same month, and the original intent of TARP was to buy these securities, thus creating a market for them, and a recovery in their prices. (In the end, however, TARP was not used in this way. It was used to invest in banks, for which no legislation was required anyway, and auto companies - which was probably illegal.) The TARP debate informs us that in September the politicians were not believing the market-implied rate of mortgage default. So, AIG used its bailout money to keep collateral flowing on its real estate positions. The thinking on this was that it stopped the counterparties from closing out the trades and thus "locking in the loss".
Now let's move forward to November 2008, the subject of this post. By November those debating that real estate securities were down due to illiquidity rather than coming defaults had given up their argument. A wave of defaults was coming and everyone finally realized that a lot of people who took out sub-prime mortgages always had the intention of defaulting because they didn't want to own a home so much as speculate on real estate going up. Back at AIG, their positions had continued to go against them and it became pretty obvious that AIG was insolvent, not just illiquid, and a more aggressive bailout was going to be needed if they were not to declare bankruptcy. But now if AIG goes bankrupt the government is in for a loss too since it has made all these loans. So "in for a penny in for a pound" the feds decide to up the bailout. Among many issues to be sorted out in the fresh bailout is that AIG still has all these real estate positions which keep bleeding money and, since AIG made the wrong calls on this all along, the feds decide to close out all of these positions.
At this point, the "unlimited bailout" decision has been made, and the discussion over mopping up these positions is a sidebar, not super important at the time (but it will become very politically sensitive a year later). The feds would like to save a few bucks by negotiating the close-out on these trades with the banks. However, because all the banks are holding lots of collateral, and some of them are even insured against AIG defaulting, they expect to be paid in full just like everyone else exposed to AIG. The feds aren't calling PIMCO and asking them to take 80 cents for their AIG bonds, they are calling retirees and asking them to take 80 cents for their pension annuities, and the aren't calling up auto insurance holders and asking them to take 80 cents for fender-bender repairs. Further, the insured banks wouldn't take a loss even if AIG went bankrupt unless you buy the end-of-the-world systemic melt-down scenario. But, even if you believe that, why aren't all of AIG's creditors being asked to contribute? Indeed, why not everyone in the world, since all benefit from there being no global melt-down. The banks are not the primary beneficiaries of the bailout, the bondholders are - bondholders have no collateral. In essence, there is nothing for the fed to negotiate, so they abandon the effort.
So, back to Steve's question. AIG was going to go bankrupt without a bailout, and negotiating 80 cents on the dollar for its real estate positions would not have changed that either way - so no game of chicken. For political reasons, the decision was made to bail them out. The banks were not asked to pay a disproportionate amount towards that bailout, and intelligent minds can debate whether or not they should have, but the case is far from clear. Lastly, I will add that I am unconvinced that letting AIG go bankrupt would have created a systemic meltdown, but it is clear why those involved in the bailout would say that. It is human nature that when you make a convenient but unpopular choice, your first defense is likely to be that you didn't really have a choice. The choice to bailout AIG was convenient and unpopular, but I don't agree that it would have led to systemic meltdown, and the historical arguments on my side are quite strong. Panics happen every 10 to 20 years and it is never the end of the world.
Vehicle insurance (also known as auto insurance, car insurance, or motor insurance) is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents and against liability that could be incurred in an accident.
Details (greatly simplied but still quite wordy): This story is set in November of 2008, but to understand it we have to go back two months earlier - to September. In September 2008 the clearing price of mortgage-backed securities implied a high rate of mortgage default with low recovery on foreclosed property - a decline in real estate values such as never seen before. Observers were still debating whether prices were correctly forecasting widespread defaults or whether prices were merely depressed due to illiquidity. For institutions levered to real estate the distinction was very important because it meant the difference between short-term liquidity problems and long run insolvency which would force bankruptcy
To understand liquidity problems, we need to understand collateral. In order to minimize credit risk to each other, financial institutions ask for collateral from each other. As trades slowly move up or down in value, cash and securities flow between institutions so that everyone owes each other approximately nothing and the effects of a sudden bankruptcy are much smaller than they otherwise would be. Having collateral in hand means not having to worry about why your counterparty's trades are marking down so low - you are 100% insured by the collateral and if prices rebound you'll just give it back. And if your counterparty goes bankrupt you won't take a loss. Lehman was long real estate and, due to falling prices and having to post collateral, come September they ran out of cash. Regulators shopped them to other banks whose traders pored over Lehman's books and concluded "the company is insolvent, not just illiquid" so "goodnight Lehman Bros".
AIG was in the same boat as Lehman however AIG is an insurance company - this opened up three problems. (1) Banks are usually regulated by federal entities like the Fed and the SEC, so they all fit into similar frameworks nationwide. However insurance companies are only regulated by states. States are not particularly great at regulating because they are small and every state does things differently. (As a side note for fans of health care reform, regulating insurance companies at the federal level and creating national competition is the single most important reform needed. Lack of this in the so-called reform bills is proof that the legislation is all about creating health care entitlement without any real reform.) You can't just call in JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs to tell you what to do here because a bank can't really analyze an insurance company over a weekend. (2) Next, the ratings agencies had assigned AIG their highest rating, AAA, meaning that people who didn't want to do a lot of their own credit analysis, but didn't want to take any risk of default, were the sort of people who bought AIG bonds - that is to say, AIG bonds were largely being held in accounts that were presumed to be taking no risk by their owners. If you go back to news stories from September 2008 you will find many shrill voices invoking the spectre of systemic melt-down, but those voices tend to come from holders of AIG bonds, not random investors worried about "the system". (3) As an insurance company the general public was very broadly exposed to AIG in pensions, annuities, home insurance, etc... and these people aren't holding any collateral at all, but would account for a lot of votes at the polls come November. So, because of these three complications, the same politicians who let Lehman go under decided, at about the same time, to bail out AIG.
Now, there are lots of ways to do a bailout. This very same month, the largest financial entities in the world, Fannie and Freddie, were bailed out - and basically by the federal government saying "we simply guarantee all the debts and obligations of Fannie and Freddie". (Note that, in the end, the agency bailout is where the "taxpayer" will take almost all his lumps. But the politicians don't talk about this too much because Washington spent decades exempting Fannie and Freddie from any meaningful regulation and encouraging them, via various acts of congress, to facilitate mortgage loans to people who probably couldn't afford homes, but would make U.S. home ownership "more diverse".) In the case of AIG the bailout took the form of an billion loan. It is important to remember at this point the debate over whether real estate securities were down because a bunch of mortage defaults were coming or just because nobody wanted to own the bonds. The politicians were still hoping for the latter and hoping that a loan would tide AIG through its illiquid period and into a time when the securities recovered. The TARP legislation was debated this same month, and the original intent of TARP was to buy these securities, thus creating a market for them, and a recovery in their prices. (In the end, however, TARP was not used in this way. It was used to invest in banks, for which no legislation was required anyway, and auto companies - which was probably illegal.) The TARP debate informs us that in September the politicians were not believing the market-implied rate of mortgage default. So, AIG used its bailout money to keep collateral flowing on its real estate positions. The thinking on this was that it stopped the counterparties from closing out the trades and thus "locking in the loss".
Now let's move forward to November 2008, the subject of this post. By November those debating that real estate securities were down due to illiquidity rather than coming defaults had given up their argument. A wave of defaults was coming and everyone finally realized that a lot of people who took out sub-prime mortgages always had the intention of defaulting because they didn't want to own a home so much as speculate on real estate going up. Back at AIG, their positions had continued to go against them and it became pretty obvious that AIG was insolvent, not just illiquid, and a more aggressive bailout was going to be needed if they were not to declare bankruptcy. But now if AIG goes bankrupt the government is in for a loss too since it has made all these loans. So "in for a penny in for a pound" the feds decide to up the bailout. Among many issues to be sorted out in the fresh bailout is that AIG still has all these real estate positions which keep bleeding money and, since AIG made the wrong calls on this all along, the feds decide to close out all of these positions.
At this point, the "unlimited bailout" decision has been made, and the discussion over mopping up these positions is a sidebar, not super important at the time (but it will become very politically sensitive a year later). The feds would like to save a few bucks by negotiating the close-out on these trades with the banks. However, because all the banks are holding lots of collateral, and some of them are even insured against AIG defaulting, they expect to be paid in full just like everyone else exposed to AIG. The feds aren't calling PIMCO and asking them to take 80 cents for their AIG bonds, they are calling retirees and asking them to take 80 cents for their pension annuities, and the aren't calling up auto insurance holders and asking them to take 80 cents for fender-bender repairs. Further, the insured banks wouldn't take a loss even if AIG went bankrupt unless you buy the end-of-the-world systemic melt-down scenario. But, even if you believe that, why aren't all of AIG's creditors being asked to contribute? Indeed, why not everyone in the world, since all benefit from there being no global melt-down. The banks are not the primary beneficiaries of the bailout, the bondholders are - bondholders have no collateral. In essence, there is nothing for the fed to negotiate, so they abandon the effort.
So, back to Steve's question. AIG was going to go bankrupt without a bailout, and negotiating 80 cents on the dollar for its real estate positions would not have changed that either way - so no game of chicken. For political reasons, the decision was made to bail them out. The banks were not asked to pay a disproportionate amount towards that bailout, and intelligent minds can debate whether or not they should have, but the case is far from clear. Lastly, I will add that I am unconvinced that letting AIG go bankrupt would have created a systemic meltdown, but it is clear why those involved in the bailout would say that. It is human nature that when you make a convenient but unpopular choice, your first defense is likely to be that you didn't really have a choice. The choice to bailout AIG was convenient and unpopular, but I don't agree that it would have led to systemic meltdown, and the historical arguments on my side are quite strong. Panics happen every 10 to 20 years and it is never the end of the world.
Vehicle insurance (also known as auto insurance, car insurance, or motor insurance) is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents and against liability that could be incurred in an accident.
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