TAM Blog

This Saturday, Oct. 11 from 9am to 5pm Octoberfest is happening at Brookside Elementary at 116 Butterfield Road in San Anselmo, CA.  It's a fun day for the family and includes music, food, games, prizes, arts & crafts, book sale, baked goods, haunted house, obstacle course and a giant slide.

To learn more about it or anything about schools in Marin, contact me.

Kira Swaim | Owner | Tam Realty | 415-209-4750 | kira@tamrealty.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Banking giant Citigroup said Thursday it had ended talks with Wells Fargo about reaching an agreement to acquire parts of the struggling bank Wachovia and is no longer looking to buy any of Wachovia's assets.

Citigroup also said that it would not seek to block the merger agreement between Wells Fargo and Wachovia but that it would still seek damages from the two banks for breach of contract.

Wells Fargo has submitted an application to the Federal Reserve Board seeking expedited approval of its merger with Wachovia, the company in a joint statement with Wachovia.

Citigroup, Inc. (C, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC, Fortune 500) have been competing to purchase all or part of Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) for the past week.

Citigroup announced on Sept. 29 that it was taking over Wachovia's banking operations for $2.2 billion with backing from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

However, Wells Fargo offered just four days later to buy Wachovia outright for $15.1 billion with no federal assistance whatsoever.

Citigroup first tried to stop the Wells Fargo deal in court last weekend and subsequently decided to seek up to $60 billion in punitive and compensatory damages. Wachovia, meanwhile, also sought in court to keep Citigroup from blocking the deal with Wells Fargo.

The three banks agreed on Monday to halt any legal action until Wednesday to allow room for negotiation. On Wednesday, they extended this legal standstill until Friday.

However, Citigroup said in its statement Thursday that the two companies' acquisition plans were too different to come to a mutually acceptable agreement.

"We did not seek the Wachovia transaction; Wachovia brought it to us," said Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit in a statement. "We will redouble the focus on our five core businesses."

After Citi said it wouldn't attempt to block the rival merger, the Federal Reserve said in a statement that it would start the regulatory approval process needed for Wells Fargo to buy Wachovia.

"We are delighted to stride ahead with Wells Fargo in creating a coast-to-coast financial institution -- one of the strongest financial firms in the world," said Wachovia Corporation President and CEO Robert K. Steel in a statement.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act by a 263 to 171 vote. The legislation was signed into law by President Bush, capping what has been a very tumultuous two weeks for the credit and financial markets.

Passage of the Act should enable the credit markets and the U.S. financial system to set the stage for their eventual recovery. It is an important first step.  The health of the nation’s housing market is critical to the financial well being of every household in the country.

Here’s what the legislation does:

Helps American families keep their homes by requiring the Treasury Dept. and any federal agency that owns or controls troubled mortgages to modify those mortgages wherever possible; this may include reducing the principal or interest rate; and extends till the end of 2012 the exclusion from federal income tax of mortgage debt forgiveness.

Addresses the credit crisis by allowing financial institutions to immediately sell $250 billion in troubled assets to the U.S. Treasury Department under the newly created Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Another $100 billion would be made available upon the President’s request. Should the President deem it necessary, and with Congressional review, the Treasury Dept. may utilize the remaining $350 billion.

Protects taxpayers by allowing the Treasury Dept. to take an ownership stake in participating companies. In addition, if after five years TARP has incurred a net loss, the President must propose legislation that would force participating companies to reimburse the government to make up the difference.

Sets up an insurance program, funded by the financial industry, to guarantee companies’ troubled assets, including mortgage-backed securities purchased prior to March 14 this year.

Curbs executive pay for companies utilizing TARP.

Sets up two oversight committees, a Financial Stability Board, and a congressional oversight panel, to which the Financial Stability Board would report.

Creates renewable energy tax breaks for individuals and businesses, including a deduction for the purchase of solar panels; as well as continuing other tax breaks that were set to expire; and extends relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by another year.

Allows the SEC to suspend the required mark-to-market accounting standards and orders a study to be done on the rule’s impact on financial institutions.

Shields bank deposits by temporarily raising the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000 from $100,000; and temporarily increases the federal insurance level for credit union savings to $250,000, both till the end of 2009.