BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the housing crash, mortgage meltdown and other stuff

Have at it. Keep it clean. Use tinyurl. Enjoy.

If it wasn't so true it'd be funny - "Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In"

This one from The Onion is classic.

Bubble after bubble after bubble.

How else are we supposed to buy crap we don't need?

WASHINGTON—A panel of top business leaders testified before Congress about the worsening recession Monday, demanding the government provide Americans with a new irresponsible and largely illusory economic bubble in which to invest.

"What America needs right now is not more talk and long-term strategy, but a concrete way to create more imaginary wealth in the very immediate future," said Thomas Jenkins, CFO of the Boston-area Jenkins Financial Group, a bubble-based investment firm. "We are in a crisis, and that crisis demands an unviable short-term solution."

The current economic woes, brought on by the collapse of the so-called "housing bubble," are considered the worst to hit investors since the equally untenable dot-com bubble burst in 2001. According to investment experts, now that the option of making millions of dollars in a short time with imaginary profits from bad real-estate deals has disappeared, the need for another spontaneous make-believe source of wealth has never been more urgent.

Despite the overwhelming support for a new bubble among investors, some in Washington are critical of the idea, calling continued reliance on bubble-based economics a mistake. Regardless of the outcome of this week's congressional hearings, however, one thing will remain certain: The calls for a new bubble are only going to get louder.

"America needs another bubble," said Chicago investor Bob Taiken. "At this point, bubbles are the only thing keeping us afloat."

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"I don't feel comfortable putting my money in any bank. What are we supposed to do - hide our money under the mattress?"

- A lady standing in the IndyMac line of desperation, July 2008

And then one Total Failure said to the other Total Failure....

"You know, God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject"

- Nancy Pelosi, The Worst Speaker of the House Ever, speaking about The Worst President in the History of the United States, July 2008

Meanwhile, Rome burns.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

When will we hit bottom?

What will that look like?

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"I believe we have turned a corner and that our business is improving"

-Disgraced and soon-to-be-arrested former IndyMac CEO Michael Perry, just weeks before his company collapsed and was seized by the US government, April 2008

Ron Paul on Fox Business talking about inflation as the greatest tax.

America's counting on you Ron Paul.

No more Mr. nice guy.

The Revolution needs a leader.

Step it up. START SHOUTING.

Jim Bunning vs. Hank Paulson. Finally, a Senator with some balls. The other 99 of 'em - worthless. But Bunning's lookin' good out of the pen

"When I picked up my newspaper yesterday, I thought I was in France"

"Where is the money going to come from?"

And he gets Paulson to finally admit it - "The taxpayer"

Folks, watch Bunning do what Ron Paul should have done. Watch Jim Bunning tell it like it is. WATCH JIM BUNNING SHOW SOME RAGE!

To see a Republican dress down the Republican Treasury Secretary was inspiring. Maybe this shows the GOP, one person at a time, is on the way back to finding its soul. Hey, I'm an optimist.

Here's a list of the most "walkable" cities. Yes, you can live without your car.

You can live without a car.

You can shop locally.

You can avoid the gas station.

Really.

Here's a list of 40 big cities, led by San Fran, NYC and Boston, based on their 'walk score', and an article about the results.

Here's a better list, of walkable small towns, and another one with small and medium cities - note that Boulder is #1 (of course).

HP'ers know that I don't drive anymore - haven't for years. I walk everywhere, and take the trains, the buses, the metros and the tubes. But cities in Europe are built for this, not for the car. America is different. Or at least it was different. The change is gonna come. Quickly.

America's love affair with the car and suburbia is over.

Future generations of Americans are going to be looking for a different way of life - one not built around the car. Some cities and towns will get it and re-engineer, others won't. Some will see massive investment in public transportation, pedestrian zones, bike lanes and re-urbanization. Others will do nothing. And then Americans will make their choice.

And those homes in the far-flung exurbs that realtors were pushing?

Worthless.

Oh, you're not gonna like this...

I'm gonna be gone for a week folks - you're on your own starting Friday.

Heading to the Black Sea, rumor has it there's an internet cafe in town so I'll try to get comments up, but it's gonna be slow at best.

And yes, I know, I know, next week's gonna be interesting.

Get some popcorn.

And post things here until the 25th that I need to know...

FLASH: FIVE YEARS TOO LATE, FBI IS CONFIRMED TO BE INVESTIGATING LIAR'S LOAN KING INDYMAC FOR FRAUD. GREAT. WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

WHAT TOOK THE INCOMPETENT IDIOTS AT THE FBI FIVE YEARS TO FINALLY GET AROUND TO THIS, WE'LL NEVER KNOW.

Man, I'm happy to see this, but damn...

The very definition of "closing the barn door after the cows got out"

Michael Perry - you're going to jail. Your glorious frog-march-in-daylight is just days away. But you're lucky - you should have been arrested years ago. Mortgage fraud used to be a crime in America. If you're planning on fleeing to Mexico, you might want to get packing right about....... now.

Source: FBI investigating Indymac for fraud

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI is investigating Indymac Bancorp for fraud, a source tells CNN.

The California-based bank was taken over by federal regulators last week.

Indymac's collapse was the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

A source said the federal government is looking into whether the bank engaged in fraud when it made home loans to high-risk borrowers.

The source said the investigation is focused primarily on the company, not individuals.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Do you feel like you're getting a good ROI on your tax dollars?

(considering they're going toward bailing our corrupt bankers and mortgage fraudsters, in addition to a stupid war in Iraq and interest on the stupid debt, instead of education, health care, job creation, infrastructure, science and you know, things that would make America a better place to live)

Ron Paul has a few things to say to Ben Bernanke. Too bad he forgot to ask hard questions.

Even Ron Paul is pulling his punches.

What we need is a politician who forcefully speaks the truth to power.

Forcefully.

Ron Paul should have eaten Bernanke for lunch. He didn't. He just whined, and whined, without asking hard-hitting questions.

Here's what I would have had to say, for starters:

"You, sir, have failed America. You have let inflation roar, you've bailed out your banker buddies at the expense of the taxpayer and the American worker, and you are corrupt. It is my goal to see you out of a job, and to disband your shadowy organization. My first question is, how laughable do you find the current government's inflation data, and are you also in favor of hiding the truth on the inflation data, because the truth would make the entitlement mess even worse?"

Here's RP. This could have been better. What would you have asked Bernanke if given the chance?

FLASH: Inflation up most in 26 years

America make sure you send a big thank you to Ben Bernanke and his banker buddies.

Your currency has been debased, and it's only going to get worse. And oh, these "official" government numbers as you should know by now are a crock of sh*t. True inflation is much, much worse.

Yes, inflation is roaring, and Bennie and the Inkjets could care less.

And all of it without a vote. Unelected leaders destroying America.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Double-digit increases in gasoline prices helped push up the consumer price index by 1.1%, in June, the biggest increase in 26 years, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The unexpectedly large increase in CPI was led by a 6.6% increase in energy prices and a 0.8% increase in food prices.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 0.3%, the biggest increase since January.

The figures were worse than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were forecasting a 0.8% rise in the CPI and a 0.2% gain in the core CPI.

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"Heck no they're not saving, because their net worth is growing. If your net worth is growing, in financial assets and other assets, you can spend more than your annual income!"

- Michael Perry, disgraced and soon-to-be-arrested former CEO of liar's loan king IndyMac, October 2007

(hat-tip to BTC - everyone check out his report from the infamous speech where Perry gave the world these words of wisdom)

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr on the Fannie and Freddie bailout

Hopefully one day soon the GOP rediscovers their Libertarian voice. Until then, they'll be out of power. Period.

The "oops I really said that out loud?" John McCain Quote of the Day

"Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed."

- John McCain, telling the American people his inner-most thoughts on the Social Security Ponzi Scheme, July 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Worst President in the History of the United States

Here's Bush on Fannie, Freddie, the housing crash and gas prices.

Idiot.

Unqualified, incompetent, arrogant idiot.

May future generations forgive us.

More historic images coming out of California of screwed savers camped outside fraudster Michael Perry's IndyMac bank branches - c/o the OC Register

I hope Michael Perry remembers these images after his arrest and conviction, as he rots away for the rest of his life in jail.

Rampant mortgage fraud perpetuated by Michael Perry and the management and employees of IndyMac caused this mess.

And now it's time for the arrests to start.

Now.

Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine

Watching this again, knowing what we know now, is actually pretty interesting... Plus it's just really funny.

Meanwhile, the VIX coming up again on a 5-year high. Bearish sentiment is everywhere. Blood in the streets. Banks are failing.

Time to buy? Or would that be nuts?

YouTube video of the people who obviously didn't read HP, standing in the line of desperation outside IndyMac

Ignorance is not bliss.

What is it with sheeple? They stood in lines to buy "investment condos" not too long ago, and now they're standing in lines trying to get what's left of their money out of the bank who lent the money to investors in "investment condos".

When you're standing in a line with sheeple, you can pretty much assume you're screwed.

Ya gotta feel sorry for these people, to a point. I don't know what else we could have done.

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"This is a flare-up in the financial forest fire that is far beyond anything we've seen before"

- Christopher Low, chief economist FTN Financial, speaking about the insolvency of Fannie and Freddie, and bank collapses to come, July 2008

hmmm...

And then the banks started to fail, people got in lines, and the talking heads finally woke up

Good questions (asked too late) in this MSM report.

Where were the regulators?

Where was Chris Dodd?

Where was Ben Bernanke?

Where was Barney Frank?

Where was Sheila Bair?

Where was George Bush?

Here's two of the mortgage broker idiots who brought down the American financial system (NSFW)

I wonder what the mortgage brokers will do next.

Taco Bell? Used cars? Cocaine distribution? Back to the call center? Chain letters and Ponzi Schemes? Robbing old ladies? Amway sales? Herbalife?

Jail?

FLASH: HERE'S A PHOTO OF THE LINE OF PANICKED SAVERS OUTSIDE INDYMAC. THIS SCENE WILL BE REPEATED AT WAMU IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. DON'T LET THIS BE YOU

And then Northern Rock came to America. In waves.

In my personal first-amendment protected opinion, WaMu will fail in the next few days. I have no financial interest in WaMu. I just want to make sure my readers, and their friends and family, know what's coming.

Do your own research. Come to your own conclusions.

The bank failures are here. Starting with the toxic lenders who fell in love with mortgage fraud and liar's loans.

Deal with it.

The bank failures are here.

IndyMac depositors line up for cash after seizure

PASADENA, California (Reuters) - Hundreds of worried IndyMac Bancorp Inc customers descended on the company's branches on Monday to withdraw their money, after regulators seized what was once one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States.

Washington Mutual says its capital position is strong

SEATTLE (AP) -- Responding to a sharp plunge in its share price and investor worry about continued problems in the mortgage market, Washington Mutual says it has enough spare cash and strong capital ratios to handle the downturn.

HousingPANIC URGENT WARNING TO AMERICANS - GET YOUR MONEY OUT OF THE BANKS NOW

* Do NOT keep any money beyond FDIC limits in ANY bank

* Assume your bank will fail - do your own due diligence. Ask questions. Get it in writing.

* Are your mutual funds protected? Your trading accounts? Your CD's? Your money markets? Your 401k's? Know who has your money, and if it's protected

* Especially avoid banks exposed to Subprime, Alt-A and Option ARM lending

* Avoid all banks with concentrations in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona

* Get ready for the next implosion - construction loans going bad in droves

* Tell your friends and family. Last one out's a rotten egg.

* You ain't ever seen anything like this folks. Unless your were alive in 1929.

* Get popcorn. Lots and lots of popcorn.

Many more US bank failures likely after IndyMac

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. banks may fail in far greater numbers following the collapse of the big mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc, straining a financial system seeking stability after years of lending excesses.

More than 300 banks could fail in the next three years, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy, who had in February estimated no more than 150.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

You, the American Taxpayer, are personally on the hook now for hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars, because of the greed, fraud and criminal activity of toxic loan kingpins Michael Perry and Angelo Mozilo, enabled by an army of do-anything-for-a-commission mortgage brokers and realtors, all condoned by incompetent and corrupt leaders like Chris Dodd, George Bush and Alan Greenspan.

So, how does that make you feel?

FLASH: THE UNITED STATES TAXPAYER HAS JUST BAILED OUT THE KINGS OF THE GREAT HOUSING PONZI SCHEME - FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC

* US Treasury increases credit lines, backed by mortgages that haven't been marked-to-market
* Government to buy shares, existing shareholders to get diluted
* Fed to open discount window and lend money directly to Fannie and Freddie at near 2% that we all know will not get paid back. Loans backed by dodgy mortgages
* Changes to be added to disastrous Dodd/Shelby Housing Gambler Bailout bill
* Senator Dodd's "everything's OK" statement from yesterday looking even more clueless or corrupt tonight
* This is the beginning, the first steps. As home prices keep dropping and people keep walking away from their depreciating debt-traps, it'll only get more interesting from here. Especially if Fannie or Freddie had to mark to market.
* Got gold?

Treasury, Fed move to rescue Fannie and Freddie

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The White House and the Federal Reserve moved Sunday to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from failing.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the global reach of Fannie and Freddie necessitated unprecedented action.

The Treasury has moved to increase its existing line of credit to Fannie and Freddie. In addition, Treasury have been given the power to buy the two companies stock.

In a separate vote, the Fed board of governors voted to open its discount window lending facility to Fannie and Freddie. In return, Paulson asked Congress to rework a measure in the housing bill moving through Congress to give the Fed a formal role to work with the new GSE regulator that the legislation would create.

Senator Chris Dodd - we are all laughing at you now. Resign. Go away. You failed America. Stop digging.

That's it.

I can't take any more of this monkey.

Someone make him stop.

He makes David Lereah, Lawrence Yun and the Iraqi Information Minister actually look honest by comparison.

Sen. Dodd calls Fannie, Freddie 'fundamentally strong'

Embattled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "fundamentally strong" and questions about their capital are unwarranted, a top U.S. Senate Democrat said Friday afternoon.

"This is not a time to be panicking about this. These are viable, strong institutions," Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said at a Capitol Hill press conference.

The comments came as the two government-sponsored enterprises continued to be the focus of growing fears they could be insolvent or could face a capital crunch. Shares of Freddie Mac were recently down 10% following strong declines earlier this week, while Fannie Mae shares were down 24%.

"The economics are fine in these institutions and people need to know that," Dodd said. There's no reason "to talk about failure," he added.

The FDIC has $52 billion in their tiny little kitty, used to insure $4.4 trillion of the $6.8 trillion deposited in America's bank accounts

Americans have $6.8 trillion deposited in institutions.

$4.2 trillion is FDIC insured

And the FDIC only has $52 billion tucked away to back the entire system.

One more time, the FDIC only has 1% put away to back the entire thing. And Americans stupidly have $2.6 trillion sitting out there at naked risk.

(side note - just think how dumb you had to be to have more than the FDIC limits sitting in IndyMac. Amazing)

In the end, after the banks fail, and the tiny little FDIC kitty is swiftly blown away, the 'insured' deposits will still be backed up. But you-know-who will be called upon to cut the check.

You and me.

The taxpayer.

And once again, if this happens, Bennie and the Inkjets would just get those printing presses going.

And the US currency emergency would go into high-gear.

Got gold?

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

Do you think your fellow Americans are paying attention now to what's going on?

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"I would reject a loan and the insanity would begin. It would go to upper management and the next thing you know it’s going to closing. I’m like, ‘What the Sam Hill? There’s nothing in there to support this loan.’”

—Audrey Streater, former Indymac underwriting team leader, June 2008