Bloomberg: $16 Billion to Fannie Mae *Yawn* Just another Day in Cramerica

Well, that didn't take long - at least they didn't sneak this one in on a Friday night [Jan 25: Freddie Mac Saddles Up for Another $35B] Fannie's on deck! So we have $49B Freddie, $18B Fannie and we're just getting this party started. $67B of the "no more than $200B" in taxpayer obligations we were promised as the "cost" for this cluster(mess) already spoken for.

Heck - that could pay for 4 auto bailouts with $7 B left over for new area rugs!

• Fannie Mae, the largest source of home-loan money in the U.S., said it will need to tap as much as $16 billion in emergency funds from the U.S. Treasury Department to stay afloat as deterioration in the housing market persists.
• Fannie’s planned request, announced today, follows Freddie Mac, which said Jan. 23 that it will need as much as $35 billion more in federal aid. Unprecedented mortgage losses drove the net worth of both companies below zero in the fourth quarter, they said in separate securities filings.

Again, just imagine what is going on in the "pristine" Federal Reserve balance sheet as it sucks up car loans, consumer loans, mortgage backed securities - of which they are fighting the press tooth and nail from divulging the details. Surely when these securities are on Fannie/Freddie's "safe" balance sheet they do damage, but when they go to the Federal Reserve balance sheet they are MAGIC! *POOF* No cost to taxpayers.

Meanwhile the beat goes on in the alternative universe called Wall Street - Citibank ready to go with a new private jet order (12 seater - nice!). The same Citigroup that is technically worth zilch without the US taxpayer. Zoom Zoom... just want you to know so you can show pictures to your grandkids what they are buying.

• Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed.
• The French-made luxury jet seats up to 12 in a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center, according to Dassault's sales literature. It can cruise 5,950 miles before refueling and has a top speed of 559 mph. There are just nine of these top-of-the-line models in the United States, with Dassault's European factory churning out three to four 7Xs a month.

Seriously, I cannot make this stuff up. Reverse Robin Hood - alive and well; Cramerica: for the corporation, by the corporation. I wonder how far $50 million could go to save an untold amount of small businesses.

Late note: Texas Instruments adds 3,400 new future backhoe / bulldozer operators to the Obanaconomy

• The chip maker also announced a plan to cut 3,400 jobs, or 12% of its work force.