HousingPANIC - The Housing Bubble Blog with an Attitude Problem, 2005 - 2008: BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the housing crash and mortgage meltdown

February 04, 2008

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

322 comments:

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Anonymous said...: You are wasting each others collective time talking about an event that will surely never take place.
January 25, 2008 3:31 PM

Hey, you illiterate shit for brains moron renting retards. I told you from the beginning that this horse shit conference would take place when hell freezes over. Panhandling, aluminum collecting, squatting and shit-hole renting is not the way to success or asset ownership. Blowfly takes risks and gets rewards while you fart on your mother’s sofa. I’m sick and tired of this endless drivel and personal insults on this blog. Why should an educated gentleman such as myself listen to you dirt bag scum?; January 28, 2008 7:42 PM
Anonymous said...: This is too funny - I was just on Craigslist looking at volunteer opportunities when I came across this ad - this woman is looking to sell her kidney for a mortgage

http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/vol/554334430.html; January 28, 2008 11:15 PM
Anonymous said...: ok I'm sorry - but here is another ad in the volunteer section of craigslist (NYC) - it's a realtor in Brooklyn looking for a volunteer intern. So basically they want someone to work as slave labor so they can make a profit without paying for help. I guess realtors really must not be doing that well.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/vol/554268815.html; January 28, 2008 11:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey all

I say East St. Louis because it's cheaper and centralized... probably cooler than Vegas in the summer too.; January 29, 2008 1:00 AM
Anonymous said...: The Shrub-peror's State of the Union:
1 Trillion Iraq Goatf'k Accomplished - Check
Foreclosure Society - Check
8 Trillion New Medicare Deal - Check
Dollar at new lows vs Euro & Snow Peso - Check
No Bureaucrat Left Behind - Check
No Wall St. Bank Left Behind - Check

Please do a state of the union recap, keith!; January 29, 2008 4:24 AM
Tyrone said...: Schiff Comments on the 60 Minutes story.

Schiff on Glenn Beck.; January 29, 2008 6:23 AM
Aaron Krowne said...: ml-implode also contemplating vegas pilgrimage.; January 29, 2008 7:02 AM
Tyrone said...: McCain and Miss Teen SC... LOL
(special guest: Ron Paul)

Long version:
John McCain and Miss Teen USA South Carolina

Short version:
John McCain & Miss Teen SC on Economics.

LOL; January 29, 2008 7:31 AM
www.DollarPANIC.blogspot.com said...: IRAN seeks to become the first ever nation to invite a nuclear pre-emptive strike by backing a global superpower into a corner.
-----------------------------------

Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar
Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:45:41

Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari
The long-awaited Iranian Oil Bourse, a place for trading oil, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, will soon open.

Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters the bourse will be inaugurated during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest.

"All preparations have been made to launch the bourse; it will open during the Ten-Day Dawn (the ceremonies marking the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran)," he said.

The Minister had earlier stated that the Oil Bourse is located on the Persian Gulf island of Kish.

Some expert opinions hold inauguration of the bourse cold significantly devalue the greenback.

----------------------------
Round 1:

Iran pulls the plug on the dollar.
The US pulls the plug on nuclear war.

Round 2:

China and Russia get into the Act, and before you know it; poof world population is reduced by 70% in the blink of an eye.

Round 3:

In a few years 99.9999% of all humands and other life on Earth dies off from "nuclear winter" and radiation exposure.

Round 4:

Who cares as .0001% of the human population survives in man-made caves and inherits planet wasteland.; January 29, 2008 7:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Another fine innovation the great state of california has given
us....

http://www.youwalkaway.com/; January 29, 2008 6:34 PM
Anonymous said...: 2.18 MILLION empty houses.
195,000 freshly built.

http://tinyurl.com/2f9djh; January 29, 2008 8:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Apologies if this has already been posted. Countrywide reports 33% delinquency rate on sub-prime loans:

http://tinyurl.com/2tpagp; January 29, 2008 8:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Keith,

HERE'S A GREAT STORY for you to post.

It is about a company that hides it's website,

http://intelligentcommunityservices.com/

because the owners made a killing catering todevelopers with a full range of services from waste-water to high-tech services for ugly concrete bunker style condos with a paramilitary looking security guard force and high tech security. The condo buildings are being built along the South Water Front in Portland Oregon.

The condos are soold to people that can afford at least $500,000 for a condo, and live there only a few weeks out of the year. They claim to be "Green", that is certified as green energy conserving buildings.But think how much energy would be saved if they never built the condos, not to mention the destruction of the wildlife habitat along the water front. Also the friendly community culture of Portland is being destroyed by these carpet baggers.

The company is called "Intelligent Community Services Inc" or ICS in Beaverton, Oregon.

Employees of the company are treated like crap, subjected to the temper tantrums of the obnoxious company president. There is a high turn over rate, employees are regularly fired, some quit in disgust, unable to bear the bullying of the vulgar company president. When an employee is fired, the employees ridicule and exchange fond smiles, and crack slick jokes about the unfortunate one. This is a company culture of arrogance of smug self-satisfaction.

Oh yeah, there is nepotism; family members and their brown-nosers have better job security. Oh and, the hottie in the front office with the C(t)USH job and private front office, sneers condescending at the at the lowly soon to be fired employees, for she knows that her C(t)USH job is secure, you wanna guess why? Yep! Heeehee!!!

This company is profiting from the housing debacle, treats employees like disposable toilet paper, and ruins the community. May the housing bust very hard, and may these corporate fascist goons be taught some hunility.

GO HOUSING BUST! I REFUSE TO BUY ANY REAL ESTATE UNTIL IT RETURNS TO 1996 PRICES! BUST CRASH POP DECLINE, may the wicked greedy ones gt what they deserve!!!!!!!!

Hopefully the housing bust will teach the company some humility.

May the bubble bust loud and hard. May the persecutors be toppled from their fascist thrones and be devoured by the hungry masses.

January 28, 2008 7:00 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...; January 29, 2008 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Ramen-Mania is here!

http://tinyurl.com/2wtb8k

man are we screwed!; January 29, 2008 10:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Brutal verdict on Mozillo and Countrywide here ...

http://financialsense.com/editorials/
englund/2008/0128.html; January 29, 2008 11:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Yahoo Finance Q&A:

New home sales fell by a record amount last year as median prices stagnated.
What's in store for 2008?

Slump will worsen.......... 57%
Housing activity neutral.. 32%
We're headed higher...... 11%

58453 Votes to date; January 30, 2008 12:09 AM
Anonymous said...: GOLD TO DA MOON ALICE!!!!!!!!; January 30, 2008 1:48 AM
Martin Hristoforov said...: You guys ever hear of "The World". It is like a map of the world created by artificial islands next to Dubai. And hundreds of them ranging from 250,000 sq/ft to 900,000. Just check the video, it is ridiculous!

http://tinyurl.com/yo6bp8; January 30, 2008 2:04 AM
Anonymous said...: Watch the stock market tomorrow. Very high probability of a major meltdown. Ambac and MBIA might get downgraded, and if a rate cut doesn't come as expected it's a recipe for a disaster.; January 30, 2008 3:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Miami Condo Developer Sues Real Estate Blogger

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/397020.html; January 30, 2008 4:03 AM
Anonymous said...: The IMF just released their semi-annual Global Market Risk update:

http://www.imf.org/External/Pubs/FT/fmu/eng/2008/index.htm

I find most interesting is the chart (fig 2) showing subprime defaults by year.

The Sept chart (Fig 1.6) showed 2004s, 2005s defaults peaking although higher than usuall. 2006s were a moon shot. (http://www.imf.org/External/Pubs/FT/GFSR/2007/02/pdf/text.pdf)

The new chart (fig 2) shows that 2005s are also growing unconstrained... and 2004 is linear. 2007s are even worse than 2006s.

Fig 4 shows that 2007 prime defaults are tracking a new curve too...; January 30, 2008 4:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Dissident employees of Argentina's national statistics institute repeated claims that their bosses have misreported annual inflation to help the government mask soaring prices.

The best bets in the currency market may be Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, where economists predict central bankers will keep interest rates unchanged, or even raise them

Japan's decade-long fight against deflation may be over, only to be replaced by inflation.

Inflation expectations are rising in China, and increases in the global prices of grains and edible oils could further boost food prices in the country

Philippine annual inflation is expected to tick up to between 3.7-4.4 percent in January due to higher food prices and energy costs, the central bank said on Tuesday.

Vietnam's central bank will probably let its currency rise to the highest since October 2003 to combat inflation.

Malaysia's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 14th straight meeting, refraining from a rate cut as inflation accelerates.

Singapore's inflation hit a 25-year high in December as transportation and food costs surged. The consumer price index rose 4.4 percent from a year ago after rising 4.2 percent in November, the Department of Statistics said in a statement Wednesday.

In a bid to keep inflation under control the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key interest rates unchanged in its credit policy review.

The Saudi Arabian government announced Tuesday, a series of urgent measures which it said are designed to curb inflation and improving living standards in the Kingdom.

Qatar is considering dropping its dollar peg in favour of a basket of currencies or revaluing its riyal among policy options to fight rising inflation.

Jordan's Finance Minister Hamed al-Kasasbeh has said the country's inflation rate is likely to climb to its highest level in 18 years in 2008

The Bank of Israel, seeking to rein in inflation, left the country’s key interest rate for February unchanged from January.; January 30, 2008 7:38 AM
Anonymous said...: The Federal Reserve may push interest rates below the pace of inflation this year to avert the first simultaneous decline in U.S. household wealth and income since 1974.

The threat of cascading stock and home values and a weakening labor market will spur the Fed to cut its benchmark rate by half a percentage point tomorrow, traders and economists forecast. That would bring the rate to 3 percent, approaching one measure of price increases monitored by the Fed.

``The Fed is going to have to keep slashing rates, probably below inflation,'' said Robert Shiller.

Europeans are convinced they will be hit by budget-restricting price rises this year, according to a survey that highlights widespread inflation fears across the continent.

Inflation is expected to range between 5.8 percent and 7 percent in Russia in 2009

The Slovak central bank said it expects the economy to continue to grow strongly in 2008, but warned that food and fuel price rises are likely to accelerate inflation.

Parents are paying more than £8,000 a year for a full-time nursery place, according to a survey of childcare costs which shows an annual above inflation increase in England for the sixth year in a row - the highest in Europe.

Bank of England hopes tough talk will control inflation

Indonesia's consumer price index is expected to remain high in January compared to the previous month driven by rising prices of food products

Ecuador will impose price controls on basic foods including rice, milk, corn, bananas and flour in a bid to stem creeping consumer costs, Agriculture Minister Walter Poveda said Tuesday.; January 30, 2008 7:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Inflation targeting is yet to be formally adopted by the Federal Reserve (Fed), but recent market and Fed actions already prove that it is a failure.

At the whim of trouble in the markets, Fed Chairman Bernanke has made it clear that he is inclined to flood the markets with liquidity at any cost; he said: “We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks.”

Contrast that with John-Claude Trichet's comments: the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) recently said that during times of financial turmoil, it is imperative that inflationary expectations remain firmly anchored.

The Fed's increasing isolation is also apparent from recent comments by Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England who said that investors had been mispricing risk for far too long and that “the repricing of that risk … is not a process that we should try to reverse.”

Let me be clear: we have no problem with a central bank to switch into emergency mode per se. But the way the Fed has wobbled into emergency mode, claiming to be vigilant on inflation while debasing the dollar in the process smells of hypocrisy.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/
Article3537.html; January 30, 2008 8:02 AM
Anonymous said...: As in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing.

When their credit ran out, the game stopped.

That is what happened to us in the twenties, said Marriner S. Eccles who served as Franklin Roosevelt’s Chairman of the Federal Reserve

So when Uncle Benny stop lowering will the game be over.; January 30, 2008 8:20 AM
Anonymous said...: Blogger mhrist said...

You guys ever hear of "The World". It is like a map of the world created by artificial islands next to Dubai. And hundreds of them ranging from 250,000 sq/ft to 900,000. Just check the video, it is ridiculous!

http://tinyurl.com/yo6bp8

Yup, and they are eating dirt in Haiti. Little dirt cookies. You can even buy them at the market. Yummy

http://tinyurl.com/3x3kmr; January 30, 2008 3:38 PM
Anonymous said...: .

Life's a Bitch.......

Don't vote for one!

.; January 30, 2008 4:03 PM
Anonymous said...: .

Vote for Monica's boyfriends wife!

.; January 30, 2008 4:09 PM
brokersleaveyoubroke said...: Great picture of Mozillo.

http://tinyurl.com/2885b9

This may be a duplicate post, google burped the first time I posted it.; January 30, 2008 4:11 PM
Anonymous said...: i have said it before and i am going to say it again. the ron paul campaign is being sabotaged from the inside as well as the outside and it is not the stranger that does this. it is his so-called friends who are doing this. who knows why. it is all very suspicious....; January 31, 2008 2:14 AM
Chris said...: I found this story embedded after the end of another article on the Bloomberg website -- looks like it was posted about 10 days ago.
---------------------------

"Walter Buczynski, an executive vice president at Fieldstone Mortgage Co., murdered his wife and committed suicide by jumping off the Delaware Memorial Bridge, according to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News. The story said he owed more than $650,000 in taxes. He stood to receive a bonus up to $100,000 under a program Fieldstone proposed last week. Fieldstone, a subsidiary of Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, stopped making loans in August after financing dried up. The Columbia, Maryland-based company filed under Chapter 11 in November, having been the originator of $5.5 billion in residential mortgages in 2006. The case is in re Fieldstone Mortgage Co., 07-21814, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland (Baltimore)."; January 31, 2008 2:44 AM
www.DollarPANIC.blogspot.com said...: WHAT'S THE NEXT BUBBLE POLE

Results as of the time of this post.

Stocks 43 (15%)
Metals 107 (39%)
Bonds 16 (5%)
Agriculture 60 (22%)
Real estate 3 (1%)
No more bubbles 41 (15%)
--------------------------------
Commentary:

It's interesting that the majority of HPers think that Metals are going to be the next bubble.

It's possible, but if so we are in the very early stages now; only completing the 1st leg of 3 in the precious metals bull market.

I have read that by the time J6P wakes up in mass and dumps stocks in IRAs to buy PM; GOLD will be north of $7,000 and SILVER will be north of $100.

If PM is the next bubble, we have a long way and many years to go before reaching the final blowoff stage.; January 31, 2008 6:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Has Saudi Arabia follow the US Federal Reserve with another 0.5 rate cut.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut its base rate by 50 basis points on Thursday to 4.5 per cent, following a similar cut overnight by the US Federal Reserve, a spokesman for the HKMA said.

The Fed cut its target for the federal funds rate, or the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, to 3.0 per cent from 3.5 per cent on Wednesday in response to global market turmoil and fears of a US recession.; January 31, 2008 6:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Inflation? Deflation? Stagflation?

I dunno.

But here's news from the unpredictable China (or Extremistan):

China Warns of Serious Impact on Crops
Thursday January 31, 5:50 am ET
By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer
China Agriculture Official Says Snow Disaster Impact on Winter Crops 'Extremely Serious'

BEIJING (AP) -- A top agriculture official warned Thursday that snow battering central China has dealt an "extremely serious" blow to winter crops, raising the likelihood of future shortages driving already surging inflation.

http://tinyurl.com/37oqb4; January 31, 2008 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey all of you China fans, please do me a favor and type expedia.com into your browser, buy yourself a ticket to Bejing and move there. And please don't forget to take Ron Paul with you.; January 31, 2008 1:59 PM
Anonymous said...: IMHO, if gold (notice the lower case 'g' since gold is NOT some sort of god but simply an element) goes to 7k/oz, silver ('s', not 'S') should be around $440/oz. But since everything I've read indicates that there is five times more gold than silver right now silver should be 35k/oz. How cool would that be?; January 31, 2008 7:20 PM
Anonymous said...: This is the kind of story I love the most....

Homebuilder TOUSA, calls bottom in Q4, 2007, trying to scare up buyers.

Gets delisted from NYSE.

Declares bankruptcy....

http://tinyurl.com/2aw7pv; January 31, 2008 9:02 PM
Anonymous said...: A few months ago I remember reading about a house proposal that said the mortgage interest deduction would be phased out for McMansions (anything over 3,000 sq ft.) Does any body know where that stands? I doubt they'd do it during an election year. Just wondered as I'm "working" on my taxes and wondered if ya'll that follow DC had heard anything.; January 31, 2008 9:48 PM
Anonymous said...: ***GOLD will be north of $7,000 and SILVER will be north of $100.****

Nice that mental institutions allow inmates to access the blogs.; January 31, 2008 10:19 PM
Anonymous said...: Regarding the next bubble poll, there has been some talk that "alternative energy" will be the next bubble. i.e. biofuels, solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, anything to take the place of oil, gas and/or coal. Has anyone else heard or thought about this? Paul Farrell wrote an article at Marketwatch.com mentioning this earlier this week. He said this bubble has already started back in 2005 and will peak and self destruct around 2013.; February 01, 2008 3:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Australia's central bank is expected to raise interest rates to a 12-year high next week as rising inflation outweighs concerns about the recent turmoil in global financial markets and the increasingly bleak outlook for the US economy, economists said Friday.

Most data released this year, including stronger-than-expected inflation, shows the Australian economy continued to grow at a fast pace in the last few months of 2007 even as the rest of the world showed signs of slowing, supporting the case for another rate hike when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meets next Tuesday, they said.

The market's consensus forecast is for a 25 basis points increase, adding to the cumulative 50 basis point increases in August and November.; February 01, 2008 5:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Annual inflation in the euro zone jumped to a new high 3.2 percent in January, the European Union (EU)'s statistics bureau Eurostat estimated on Friday.

The figure, including new eurozone members Malta and Cyprus for the first time, was the highest since the single currency was introduced to world markets as an accounting currency in 1999.

It rose from 3.1 percent in the previous two months and stayed well above the two percent ceiling preferred by the European Central Bank (ECB) for the fifth consecutive month.; February 01, 2008 5:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Dutch producer prices were sharply higher in December compared to a year earlier as inflationary pressure looks unlikely to ease in the short-term, analysts said.

Prices of goods leaving Dutch factories were 8.8 pct higher year-on-year.

The increase is partly due to a hike in prices in the petroleum processing industry, which were almost 34 pct higher than in December 2006.

But inflationary pressure is not expected to lessen in the near future.

Cereal and milk prices in particular are on the rise and and oil prices will also contribute to increasing inflation, although the effect of the latter is mitigated by the weak US Dollar, economist Cheryl Kalshoven says.

'The interest rates for inter-bank lending are on the rise and the financial markets are pressured by the crisis', Kalshoven says in a report on the economic prospects for 2008.; February 01, 2008 6:03 AM
Anonymous said...: WORRIES about the soaring cost of living are being felt across Asia, but in few places is there more concern than in Vietnam, where the government this week said the annual inflation rate had hit 14.1%, its highest since 1995. On January 30th the central bank raised its various official interest rates by up to 1.5 percentage points to try to prevent an inflationary spiral.

The country is suffering from the worldwide surge in the cost of fuels and foodstuffs—food prices are up by a whopping 22% year-on-year.; February 01, 2008 6:06 AM
Anonymous said...: All the GCC central banks except Oman yesterday cut key policy interest rates by 50 basis points in the wake of the cut in the US on Wednesday.

"The rate cut is in line with the US cut and it was essential to hold the peg with the US dollar and decrease speculation on local currencies," said Securities and Investment Company head of asset management Shakeel Sarwar.

To some extent the effect is going to be inflationary.

Both Qatar and the UAE are facing an advanced state of inflation and the consensus of analysts is that there will be a revaluation.

These countries have less flexibility and are expected to eventually revalue.; February 01, 2008 6:12 AM
Anonymous said...: South Korean consumer prices rose 3.9% year-on-year in January, the National Statistical Office said Friday.

This compares to 3.6% inflation in December and 3.5% in November. On a monthly basis, consumer prices climbed 0.5%, faster than the 0.4% growth registered in December.; February 01, 2008 6:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said last week that inflation may match the highest in a decade this year. The comments suggested that policy makers, due to cut interest rates next week, face a dilemma

``Monetary policy is not able to affect this near-term inflationary pressure much, but higher inflation would make a looser monetary policy more difficult to put in place,'' Ehsan Khoman and Simon Kirby, research officers at Niesr, said in the report today.; February 01, 2008 6:18 AM
Anonymous said...: South Africa main inflation gauge surged to 8,6% last month, a near five-year peak, and will Test Bank's Mettle

The annual rise in inflation measured by CPIX accelerated from 7,9% in November, surpassing forecasts and climbing further above its 3%-6% official target range for the ninth month in a row, Statistics SA said yesterday.

Price pressures have come mainly from rising costs of food and fuel, both global trends which monetary policy cannot address.

Inflation measured by the headline consumer price index also surpassed forecasts last month, rising by an annual rate of 9% versus 8,4% in November.

For the whole of last year, CPIX, which excludes mortgage costs, rose an average 6,5% -- up from 4,6% the previous year.; February 01, 2008 6:36 AM
Anonymous said...: China’s latest export is inflation. After falling for years, prices of Chinese goods sold in the United States have risen for the last eight months.

Soaring energy and raw material costs, a falling dollar and new business rules here are forcing Chinese factories to increase the prices of their exports, according to analysts and Western companies doing business here.

The rise was a modest 2.4 percent over the last year. But even that small amount, combined with higher energy and food costs that also reflect China’s growing demands on global resources, contributed to a rise in inflation in the United States. Inflation in the United States was 4.1 percent in 2007, up from 2.5 percent in 2006.

Because of new cost pressures here, American consumers could see prices increase by as much as 10 percent this year on specific products — including toys, clothing, footwear and other consumer goods.; February 01, 2008 6:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Spanish inflation continued to accelerate in January with the European-Union harmonized index of consumer prices rising to 4.4 percent for the year, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday.; February 01, 2008 6:41 AM
Anonymous said...: The Turkish Central Bank has raised its 2008 inflation forecast to a mid-point of 5.5 percent from 4.1 percent just three months

The Czech finance ministry has raised its 2008 forecast for consumer price inflation

Polish central bank chief Slawomir Skrzypek today said GDP growth of 5.5-6.0 pct is within reach this year.; February 01, 2008 6:44 AM
Anonymous said...: portland oregon in the news:

www.katu.com/news/15091776.html; February 01, 2008 7:13 PM
Anonymous said...: I am 63 and OWN a 2200 sq ft home free and clear thanks to an American Bank Treasonous Mortgage (30yr fixed) (ABTM30). It is NOT on a left or right coast of the US. It is NOT worth 999.000 since I dont live in CA. I paid originally 25,000 for it new--about 50K in remodel?improve. I really could care less what it is worth as it is my HOME forever, unless I cant pay the taxes on it (building schools, roads, and etc for all the younger folks. I have a home of my own and thats the way it should be. My regret is that folks of this day and time are so screwed. I was screwed myself with the Conventional ABTM30), but I presevered and and made it. Today, well I am glad I dont have to do it again!!!!
Adavid; February 02, 2008 3:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Mark Carney, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker who takes over the Bank of Canada today, may resist matching Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's rapid interest-rate cuts in a bid to secure his inflation credentials.; February 02, 2008 3:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Sri Lanka's annual inflation will remain at around 16-20 percent in the first half of 2008, the central bank said on Friday, due to the removal of a fuel subsidy and high global commodity prices.

Inflation measured on a 12-month moving average was 16.4 percent in January on a new index, up from 15.8 percent in December, while consumer prices rose 20.8 percent from 18.8 percent during the same period.; February 02, 2008 3:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Russia's Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 10.25 pct in a bid to control inflation, the bank said in a statement.

The decision to raise the rate was taken by the bank's directors and was aimed at 'containing inflation and lowering the dynamic of the money supply,' the statement said.

The announcement came a day after the Russian government unveiled plans to tackle inflation, which came to 11.9 pct in 2007, far higher than a previous estimate of 8.0 percent.

Inflation has become a major political issue amid growing public concern about rising prices, particularly on fuel and food, ahead of a presidential election on March 2.; February 02, 2008 4:08 AM
Anonymous said...: Peru's inflation accelerated last year at the fastest pace since 1998, increasing the chances the country's central bank may raise lending rates this week.

Inflation stemmed mainly from rising prices for imported commodities such as soybeans, wheat and oil, institute director Renan Quispe said. The data will probably spur Peru's central bank to raise its lending rate this week, said Boris Segura, a Latin America economist at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Food prices rose 6 percent in Peru last year, while gasoline prices rose 11 percent. Clothing, hospital and schooling costs, and electricity rates all climbed 3 percent, while bus fares increased 7.5 percent, the institute said.

``Prices are rising across Latin America,'' Quispe told reporters in Lima. ``Price stability this year will depend on product supply and the exchange rate.''; February 02, 2008 4:15 AM
Anonymous said...: The worldwide wheat shortage has contributed to the inflation

Wheat prices surged above $10 a bushel for the first time ever on Monday amid concerns that strong demand globally could result in a grain shortage in the United States next year — worsening food price inflation.

Unprecedented demand for agricultural products from fast-growing countries including China and India has exacerbated the supply crunch.

In the market panics of previous years, prices would rise to a level that developing countries couldn’t afford. But it’s not clear where that peak level lies now, said Mark Schultz, chief analyst with Northstar Commodity.

Analysts say consumers should expect that higher wheat prices will eventually work their way into the grocery aisle.; February 02, 2008 4:23 AM
Anonymous said...: European Central Bank council member Nicholas Garganas said Inflation `Major Concern,' ECB on Alert; February 02, 2008 4:43 AM
Anonymous said...: In addition to being the driver behind the country's manufacturing growth, Guangdong also produces fruit and vegetables that feed the rest of China. But the unusually frigid weather continues to threaten that supply line.

Vegetable prices jump 50 percent
A top agriculture official warned Thursday there may be future food shortages and higher inflation. "The impact of the snow disaster in southern China on winter crop production is extremely serious," Chen Xiwen, deputy director of the Communist Party's leading financial team, told reporters. "The impact on fresh vegetables and on fruit in some places has been catastrophic."

In Beijing, vegetables have gone up an average 50 percent.

And at the Dong Jiao market, fruit vendors unanimously complained that prices were rising by the day.; February 02, 2008 8:20 AM
Anonymous said...: China's heaviest snowstorms in half a century worsened today, forcing the government to release emergency food supplies

The government will sell 18,000 tons of pork from reserves before the Lunar New Year holidays start on Feb. 6 to help ease price rises, Xinhua said, citing the Commerce Ministry. More than two weeks of snow has bought transport networks to a standstill, killed 15.8 million livestock and caused economic losses of at least 53.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion).

``Inflation is a big concern,'' said Wang Tao, head of Greater China economics and strategy at Bank of America Corp. in Beijing. ``Food prices were already on the rise before the storms, and the weather could really have an effect on supplies.''

Heavy snows were expected in eastern and central provinces including Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejing today, Xinhua said, citing the metrological station. More may follow on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, the report added.; February 02, 2008 8:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Pakistan's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate for a second straight meeting amid concern inflation may accelerate.

State Bank of Pakistan lifted its discount rate for commercial lenders by half a percentage point to 10.5 percent for the six months ending June 30, the central bank said in a half-yearly policy statement in Karachi today. The decision was expected by four of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Inflation is being driven by rising food costs and may quicken from January's 8.8 percent rate as people hoard essential good before the Feb. 18 election, fearing violence after the voting.; February 02, 2008 9:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Norway's outgoing deputy central bank chief Jarle Bergo said on Friday Norwegian interest rate policy was nearing a point where it no longer should allow inflation to rise.

"We're approaching a point where it is no longer necessary to push inflation higher," Bergo told a seminar in Sanderstoelen, a mountain resort in central Norway.

Bergo's comments come at a time when financial markets are split over whether Norges Bank will raise interest rates further to neutralise inflation or refrain from tightening to keep Norway's strong, albeit slowing economy on track.

Norges Bank held its main interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent last month and said underlying inflation was rising faster than expected after a long period of slow growth and stood at 1.75-2.5 percent.; February 02, 2008 9:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Consumer spending slowed in December and inflation continued to rise, the government said Thursday, leaving the Federal Reserve less maneuvering room as it ponders policy decisions in the months ahead.

A closely watched gauge of inflation that excludes food and energy ticked up last month, to a 2.2 percent annual rate.

Over all, prices in December were 3.5 percent higher than they were a year ago, far above the Fed’s so-called “comfort zone” of 1 to 2 percent.

High inflation puts the Fed in a difficult situation. The central bank primarily sets monetary policy by changing a crucial interest rate. Lowering the rate stimulates growth, but also causes prices to rise, increasing the risk of inflation.

In its most recent policy statement, released Wednesday, Fed officials said they expected inflation “to moderate in coming quarters, but it will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.”

The Commerce Department report also showed that personal income levels rose 0.5 percent in December. Disposable income — after-tax salary adjusted for inflation — has risen 2.1 percent since December 2006.; February 02, 2008 9:18 AM
Anonymous said...: Before World War I Germany was a prosperous country, with a gold-backed currency, expanding industry, and world leadership in optics, chemicals, and machinery. The German Mark, the British shilling, the French franc, and the Italian lira all had about equal value, and all were exchanged four or five to the dollar.

That was in 1914. In 1923, at the most fevered moment of the German hyperinflation, the exchange rate between the dollar and the Mark was one trillion Marks to one dollar, and a wheelbarrow full of money would not even buy a newspaper. Most Germans were taken by surprise by the financial tornado.

Why did the German government not act to halt the inflation?

A cheaper Mark, they reasoned, would make German goods cheap and easy to export, and they needed the export earnings to buy raw materials abroad. Inflation kept everyone working.

So the printing presses ran, and once they began to run, they were hard to stop. The price increases began to be dizzying.

The flight from currency that had begun with the buying of diamonds, gold, country houses, and antiques now extended to minor and almost useless items -- bric-a-brac, soap, hairpins. The law-abiding country crumbled into petty thievery.; February 02, 2008 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Greg Swann's Market Basket is looking a bit dire:

http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/MarketBasket.pdf; February 02, 2008 2:58 PM
Tyrone said...: UBS facing subprime banking investigations: report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. government prosecutors are investigating whether Swiss banking giant UBS misled investors by reporting inflated prices of mortgage-backed securities it held despite knowing those valuations had eroded, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday said it was looking into whether fraud occurred in the packaging and selling of complicated mortgage securities like collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), the Journal said.

Fraud in CDOs?? How could this be? BWAHAHAHA; February 02, 2008 8:18 PM
Anonymous said...: A phoenix reporter goes out with the county sheriff serving eviction notices, and they get to taser an irate renter, with pictures too!

http://tinyurl.com/2zkma3; February 03, 2008 2:30 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm taking a real estate class so I can better understand my enemies.

This is what's wrong with our appraisal system:

An appraiser who is using the market comparison approach to appraise a single-family residence should probably NOT use the selling price of which of the following?

A. A similar home that was sold by owners who were forced to sell at any price because of financial difficulties
B. A similar home that sold over six months ago
C. A similar home that sold recently but is located in another neighborhood
D. A home of similar size but situated on a corner lot

The correct answer is "A", according to the results of this quiz. This is why real estate is so over-valued and continues to be so today. They define how to ignore a low comp as truth.

-leggo; February 03, 2008 2:56 AM
Anonymous said...: STRENGTHEN THE ORDER OF THE DNA , SPEND TIME USING THE THEORY OR AGING REVERSAL AS A MEDICAL CURE, PERHAPS A TECHNOLOGICCAL RECHARGE OF THE ADNEOSINE, THYMOSINE, GUANOSINE, CYTOSINE, OR THAT WHICH "ORDER" OF WHICH IN ITS NON FADED ORDER SAYS YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE, YOU WERE WHAT YOU WERE AND YOU WILL BE WHAT YOU WILL BE (DEAD..WHEN TO SICK FROM FADING); February 03, 2008 3:57 AM
Anonymous said...: TRILLIONS FOR WAR????????????????????/; February 03, 2008 3:58 AM
Anonymous said...: STOP TRYING TO CURE BIRTH DEFECTS. UNLESS YOU CONSIDER THE ABILITY TO EXCESSIVE AGINGS AS A BIRTH DEFECT............; February 03, 2008 4:01 AM
Anonymous said...: A LINE OF A ON A LINE OF C, ON A LINE OF G ON A LINE OF A ON A LINE OF T OR WHICH EVER ORDER OF A ,C , G ,T THAT SAYS YOU ARE WHAT YOU WERE UBFADED ACGT ORDER...........YOUNG AND STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT DISEASES.................; February 03, 2008 4:06 AM
Anonymous said...: HOW??????????????????????////////; February 03, 2008 4:08 AM
Anonymous said...: GET THAT STRAIGHT IN A TECHNOLOGICAL MANNER AND PERHAPS THAT MAY BE A GOOD ANSWER TO NOT SAY "SCREW THE NEW WORLD ORDER"..............; February 03, 2008 4:18 AM
Anonymous said...: 99.9999 PERCENT CHANCE OR 1 IN A HUNDRED BILLION THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS THE SAME ORDER OF ADNEOSDINE, GUANOSINE, THYMOSINE , AND CYTOSINE THAN YOU..................................AND ONCE UPON YPUR TIME THE ORDER WAS UNFADED...............; February 03, 2008 4:31 AM
Anonymous said...: AUSTRALIA'S economy is strong but faces a serious inflation problem because of the policies of the former government, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said today.; February 03, 2008 5:55 AM
Anonymous said...: In the 1890s the United States was divided over the question of the monetary standard. Should the dollar float, be fixed in terms of gold or silver, or some combination of the two?

Fisher was also the first economist to distinguish clearly between real and nominal interest rates:

r = (1 + i) / (1 + inflation) − 1

where r is the real interest rate, i is the nominal interest rate, and inflation is a measure of the increase in the price level.

When inflation is sufficiently low, the real interest rate can be approximated as the nominal interest rate minus the expected inflation rate.

The stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression cost Fisher much of his personal wealth and academic reputation.

He famously predicted, a few days before the Stock Market Crash of 1929, "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."

Irving Fisher stated on the 21st that the market was "only shaking out of the lunatic fringe" and went on to explain why he felt the prices still had not caught up with their real value and should go much higher.

On Wednesday the 23rd, he announced in a banker’s meeting “security values in most instances were not inflated.”; February 03, 2008 6:37 AM
Anonymous said...: All during the 1960s, France's de Gaulle began to take . . . dollar export earnings and demand gold from the U.S. Federal Reserve, legal under Bretton Woods at that time. By November 1967 the drain of gold from U.S. and Bank of England vaults had become critical.

The weak link in the Bretton Woods Gold Exchange arrangement was Britain, the "sick man of Europe." The link broke as Sterling was devalued in 1967.

That merely accelerated the pressure on the U.S. dollar, as French and other central banks increased their call for U.S. gold in exchange for their dollar reserves.

By May 1971 even the Bank of England was demanding gold for dollars, and the drain on US reserves had become intolerable.

Nixon did the only thing he could under the circumstances: he abandoned the Gold Exchange program altogether, and in August of that year a system of floating currencies was instituted.; February 03, 2008 6:43 AM
Anonymous said...: "Fear and Greed" and "The Path of Less Resistance"

In a world of free floating currencies Hedge Funds and Speculators can now borrow dollars at rates considerably below consumer price inflation.

Will this be a new chapter in "Dollar Carry Trade" as Inflation take center stage.

So why is Total Fed Credit going down.; February 03, 2008 7:10 AM
Tyrone said...: Those who claim that there is a bubble in house prices are wrong...
brunopowroz

This moron has been banned at least once by YouTube. Lets see how long before this account is banned.; February 03, 2008 7:15 AM
Anonymous said...: WHAT IF SPECULATORS BID UP THE METALS VALUE OF THE NICKEL(A SEMI WORTHLESS MINERAL?) TO 45,000 BUCKS? AN OUNCE, AND IT WAS A CRIME TO MELT IT DOWN, WOULD THE ELITISTS? START SNORTING IT?...AND WE WOULD START RESORTING TO PETTY CRIME TO GET A NICKEL......WHAT THE HECK ARE WE SAYING? STOP HINDERING THE PEASANTS ACCESS TO COPPER WATER PIPES????ONLY A NICKEL,,,,,,,,,,; February 03, 2008 7:54 AM
Anonymous said...: YES THEY ALLOW THE NUT CASES ACCESS TO COMPUTER WORLD WIDE WEB MEDIA............; February 03, 2008 7:55 AM
Anonymous said...: JUST GIVE US A REASON FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER.....................; February 03, 2008 7:57 AM
Tyrone said...: Newsweek Joins the fray...

The U.S. Economy Faces the Guillotine
"Yesterday was a s––t storm and today really isn't any better," said a glum broker in a green trading jacket outside the New York Stock Exchange.

Of course, at every stage, policymakers and business leaders have declared the damage contained, only to see the financial mold spread like dry rot. "It's following the well-trodden paths of past financial folly," said Ken Rogoff, professor of economics at Harvard. "Just like this one, most banking crises in the past were also driven by rising real-estate and equity prices. It takes time to sort it out."

More and more business people and economists think the United States and the rest of the world may be moving in different directions.; February 03, 2008 5:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Topic suggestion:

What single event did you observe that made you certain we were at the top of the housing bubble?

A:
My dumbass brother (pizza delivery boy, NO LIE) decided to get a real estate license in 2006. He thought he could sit on his ass and collect 6% on outrageously priced Bay Area homes. Never sold even one....
What's he doing now?
Back to pizza delivery.....

This is the same idiot who liquidated all his 401k stocks AT THE BOTTOM of the dot.com bust, early 2003, riding the crash all the way down. I told him, "Bob Brinker says now is the time to get back in.....you sold at the bottom perfectly...."; February 03, 2008 6:24 PM
Mitesh Damania said...: RON PAUL NASCAR

http://tinyurl.com/2zozdw; February 04, 2008 12:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Drove by a period bungalow on a big lot and picked up the info sheet. Det. garage, fireplace, etc. down from an insane $410,000 to a merely ludicrous $359,000. Four years ago, it was apparently at $225,000 to $250,000 (zestimate). Could a place like this drop another $110,000, give or take?
What happens if you make an absurdly low offer on an absurdly overpriced house? This is in a suburban area where prices are dropping, but as you can see, seems like a long way to go.; February 04, 2008 3:20 AM
Anonymous said...: check it out keith

mccain is a Maccabee...

oh Lordy....

http://www.forward.com/articles/12586/; February 04, 2008 5:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous area 51 said...

Topic suggestion:

What single event did you observe that made you certain we were at the top of the housing bubble?

A:
My dumbass brother (pizza delivery boy, NO LIE) decided to get a real estate license in 2006. He thought he could sit on his ass and collect 6% on outrageously priced Bay Area homes. Never sold even one....
What's he doing now?
Back to pizza delivery.....

This is the same idiot who liquidated all his 401k stocks AT THE BOTTOM of the dot.com bust, early 2003, riding the crash all the way down. I told him, "Bob Brinker says now is the time to get back in.....you sold at the bottom perfectly...."

February 03, 2008 6:24 PM<<

i remember several years ago, bob brinker got pissed off at someone who called into his radio show and had the nerve to criticize the all knowing, and all seeing alan greenspan aka grynspan....; February 04, 2008 5:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Looks like banks don't pay property taxes on repos:

http://tinyurl.com/25s6u4; February 04, 2008 7:18 AM
Anonymous said...: .
.
.

Internet Sea Cables Cut to stave off Oil Bourse?
.
.
.; February 04, 2008 8:16 AM
Anonymous said...: "Bob Brinker says now is the time to get back in.....you sold at the bottom perfectly...."

Bob Brinker may have been spot on in calling the March 2000 peak in the stock market -- telling everyone to get out of the market -- and then calling the March 2003 rebound. However, he was very late to the game in seeing the housing bubble. He also refers to Alan Greenspan as "the maestro", when in fact Greenspan was one of the worst idiots to ever hold the job of Fed Chairman.; February 04, 2008 12:22 PM
Princess Mononoke said...: H. Congress Resolution 40:
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada. The following link will take you to GovTrack.us

http://tinyurl.com/yvjwwo

According to tabulation on StopTheNau.org, 13 states have now passed similar resolutions opposing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the movement toward a future North American Union!; February 04, 2008 1:40 PM
Anonymous said...: My dumbass brother (pizza delivery boy, NO LIE) decided to get a real estate license in 2006. He thought he could sit on his ass and collect 6% on outrageously priced Bay Area homes. Never sold even one....

There is a big probability that you're as mentally challenged as your brother. Mental retardation is a genetic disorder that affects many American families producing one moronic, asinine imbecile after another. There is empirical evidence that low class rental communities and trailer parks produce these types of persona aka water heads. What are you going to be? An idiotic dimwitted rentard or a proud American home owner? Aha, blank stare and lolling tongue.; February 04, 2008 3:49 PM
Anonymous said...: This is a scary link about how banks don't have any depositor's money in reserve, it's all borrowed money from the fed.

http://tinyurl.com/22agfu; February 04, 2008 7:31 PM
Anonymous said...: MUST READ NYT article, featuring the usual suspects: Robert Shiller, Lawrence Yun, David Lereah.

Yun, talks out both sides of his mouth, first saying, "All real estate is local", then referring to *national* figures to make his point that price declines are minimal.

Lereah coins a new term, "housing balloon".....(HAHAHA)

In other news, Realtors have gone beyond "all real estate is local", to "micromarkets", meaning individual neighborhoods' price trends.......(HOW "LOCAL" CAN YOU GO?)
Next they will cite one single house whose price rises, against 100,000 who fall, and say, "SEE!, in this local mini-micromarket, prices are rising!"

http://tinyurl.com/2jota2; February 04, 2008 7:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Worried in Portland said...

This is a scary link about how banks don't have any depositor's money in reserve, it's all borrowed money from the fed.

http://tinyurl.com/22agfu

February 04, 2008 7:31 PM

Michael "Mish" Shedlock has been following this for a while. Here is his article. He is getting this info from the St Louis Fed
report and it includes the charts.

No one wants to hear about this. It is more important to beat the dead horse of housing prices everyday.

You have good reason to be Worried in Portland. Home prices will soon be forgotten when the banks begin restricting withdrawals.

http://tinyurl.com/2j9h3p

Citigroup just cut off 167,000 credit card customers last week. Wrote them letters and told them that no more credit would be extended to them.

Golly gee, I wonder how that will affect the price of my house????; February 04, 2008 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: "There is empirical evidence that low class rental communities and trailer parks produce these types of persona aka Blowfly."

I think there is a new disease plaguing the 6%ers--Ramen Rage. Any dinner that costs less than 20 cents a serving must have side effects associated with long term abuse.; February 05, 2008 1:20 AM
L'Emmerdeur said...: You did a poll on the next bubble. According to Mish, Faith In The Fed Is The Last Bubble.; February 05, 2008 2:21 AM
Anonymous said...: European producer-price inflation accelerated in December to the fastest pace in a year, boosted by surging energy costs.

Indonesia's central bank will probably keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second month after raising its inflation target for 2008.

Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and his colleagues will maintain the rate used as a reference for bill sales at 8 percent, according to all 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Bank Indonesia's decision is due in Jakarta tomorrow.

With consumer prices rising at their fastest rate in 11 years, China's inflation is not only a sign of economic woes, it has become a political challenge for a leadership worried that any slowdown will erode its support and trigger instability.

South Korea warned on Tuesday that the consumer inflation rate would probably stay above the top end of the central bank's target range for the time being but pledged to make containing inflation a top policy goal.

Taiwan's inflation rate probably accelerated for the first time in three months in January as food prices increased ahead of the annual Lunar New Year holiday.; February 05, 2008 2:44 AM
Anonymous said...: The December 2007 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area increased 3.8 percent over the past 12 months, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties -- the most reliable barometer for gauging inflation -- was about 4.2 percent higher in November 2007 than the same month in 2006.

People who are working in South Florida have seen their wages go up, but not nearly as much as inflation; February 05, 2008 2:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Canberra on Monday warned that Australia was facing a "very substantial" inflation problem as data from China, Singapore and Indonesia pointed to inflationary pressure from rising food, energy and housing costs.

"The inflation genie is out of the bottle," said Wayne Swan, Australia's treasurer, ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting on Tuesday that is expected to agree to raise interest rates. "We've got an inflation problem to deal with, and deal with it we will."

Colombia's peso climbed to a six-month high as a pickup in inflation in January boosted speculation the central bank will raise interest rates in coming months.

Philippine annual inflation rose to 4.9 percent in January, the highest in 15 months and exceeding forecasts; February 05, 2008 2:57 AM
Anonymous said...: One of the important objectives of The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 (HR 3915), which passed the House of Representatives Nov. 15, is to prevent YSP abuse. Will it?

The first version of the bill that I looked at would indeed have prevented YSP abuse, but it also would have eliminated mortgage brokers. The version passed by the House, modified after inputs were received from brokers, would not put them out of business, but neither would it prevent YSP abuse.; February 05, 2008 3:18 AM
Anonymous said...: Mortgage applications near 4-year high.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity rose 7.5 percent to 1,054.9 in the week ended January 25. It was last higher in late March 2004, the MBA said.

The MBA seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications soared 22.1 percent to 5,103.6, the highest since July 2003.

The Federal Reserve said it became tougher for U.S. companies and consumers to get loans in the past three months, particularly to buy real estate.; February 05, 2008 3:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Clifford Bennett, chief economist at Sydney financial services firm Sonray Capital Markets, forecast a new chapter in foreign exchange carry trades, with the now low-yielding US dollar replacing Japan's yen as the preferred currency to borrow in order to invest in high-yielders like the kiwi.

The Fed's recent cuts, which Bennett believes will be followed by more, have taken its key rate to 3 per cent against New Zealand's 8.25 per cent. "That New Zealand dollar stands out rather brightly in terms of yield plays. The New Zealand dollar will continue to be bought quite aggressively.; February 05, 2008 3:33 AM
Anonymous said...: New link at alternet

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/75228/

"Can't Pay Your Mortgage? Trash Your House and Leave
By Scott Thill, AlterNet. Posted February 1, 2008.

As housing markets tank, "trash-outs" are on the rise, leaving owners, lenders and banks fighting over who should pay the clean-up bill."; February 05, 2008 3:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Have you stooze your US Dollar today.

Dollar Carry Trade is back in play.

Few people can resist the lure of free money. Hence the recent fad for ‘stoozing’; borrowing large sums on credit cards with a 0% interest rate and investing the proceeds in a savings account.

Without having to advance a penny of their own money, the borrower can pocket a few hundred pounds a year in interest. When the credit card’s zero-rate period comes to an end, the borrower pays back the loan or, even better, rolls the debt over on to a new card. At one point a couple of years ago this trick was so popular that personal finance pages filled up with tips on how to do it.

Stoozing has gone out of favour somewhat since most credit cards began charging a balance transfer fee, making the returns less attractive (although you can still net 2%-3% a year from it). But the grown-up version of this trick hasn’t vanished; indeed, it continues to power asset markets around the world. And that may be storing up serious trouble for the future…

Of course, in institutional circles, stoozing goes by the more respectable name of the carry trade. But the principle is the same; borrow money at a cheaper rate than you can earn on an investment elsewhere, then sit back and enjoy the profits.; February 05, 2008 3:40 AM
Anonymous said...: The Australian dollar was higher against the US dollar after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates to a 12-year high to ease inflationary pressures in the economy.

The RBA announced its decision to raise rates by 25 basis points to 7.0 percent, the sixth hike in two years; February 05, 2008 6:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Developments in the Swedish economy indicate the interest rate should be raised.

“The present situation is one of the most difficult to assess that I have experienced during my time at the Riksbank,” said Deputy Governor Lars Nyberg in a speech Monday.

Swedish bank SEB interpreted Nyberg’s comments as more hawkish than expected

SEB also noted Nyberg’s decision to break the Riksbank’s customary silence about monetary policy deliberations as further evidence that the bank believes markets have gotten ahead of themselves.; February 05, 2008 6:10 AM
Anonymous said...: The seekers boarded the bus Saturday, questions on their minds and dollar signs in their eyes. Across the landscape of crashed dreams, they were hunting for treasures.

Possibilities abounded in South San Jose, where numerous "for sale'' signs dot the lawns. Again and again the bus stopped at select houses where the tenants left and foreclosure auctions failed, leaving lenders to repossess the homes.

Banks, explained the brokers and real estate agents who organized Saturday's tour of such "real estate owned'' properties, or REOs, do not regard these wood and stucco buildings as places to sleep, dream and raise families.

They consider them losses on their books — and need to sell them quickly, even if it's for tens of thousands — or more — below the so-called market price.; February 05, 2008 8:07 AM
Anonymous said...: L'Emmerdeur said...

You did a poll on the next bubble. According to Mish, Faith In The Fed Is The Last Bubble.

February 05, 2008 2:21 AM

Yup great article. There is a link in that article that goes to Minyanville. You might want to check this out if you haven't already.

Stephanie Pomboy: Economic Fear Taking Hold

http://tinyurl.com/2r2xrh

"Investors will eventually realize the Fed has just 300 basis points left to play with..."

Golly gee, I wonder how that will affect the price of my house????; February 05, 2008 3:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey Keith, next question for your blog:

Discuss: If Debt is Slavery, then Foreclosure is Emancipation.; February 05, 2008 4:00 PM
Unknown said...: How many days till a "surprise" FED cut???

There will be one... The credit market has frozen over and Ben will have no choice but to follow the ship down...

Or maybe he'll dust off the regulatory books over at the FED and force the banks to come clean so trust can be restored and the credit market will thaw???

Naw... He'll cut to almost zero before he even thinks about that option...; February 05, 2008 6:49 PM
Anonymous said...: I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

How's that relief rally working out? Where's that next bubble?

The Fed can drop to zero, but all they will get are skid marks.; February 05, 2008 9:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Foreclosure in Staten Island up 186% from December to January.

Finally NYC is going to feel the pain.

NYC Magazine had an article saying that a lot of foreign buyers are backing out of the condos for sale in NYC.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/foreclosures_on_staten_island.html

I don't know how to do the tiny whatever, sorry for the long link.; February 05, 2008 9:31 PM
Anonymous said...: http://tinyurl.com/32xrbx

Head and shoulders, are you ready?

http://tinyurl.com/2v55o8

We are so fucked....; February 05, 2008 9:43 PM
Anonymous said...: striker said...

http://tinyurl.com/32xrbx

Head and shoulders, are you ready?

http://tinyurl.com/2v55o8

We are so fucked....

Yes, but how will this affect the price of my house?; February 05, 2008 10:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Beignet said...
I don't know how to do the tiny whatever, sorry for the long link.

Go to: tinyurl.com

Just copy the URL you want to make teeny tiny and paste it into the box. Then copy the tiny whatever and paste it here.; February 05, 2008 10:15 PM
Anonymous said...: I deliver pizza's to help offset my loses in the stockmarket and what you said makes me mad.; February 05, 2008 10:25 PM
Princess Mononoke said...: >>>I don't know how to do the tiny whatever, sorry for the long link.
February 05, 2008 9:31 PM
=======================

Go to www.tinyurl.com, copy and paste the url you want to post in the box on the tinyurl website homepage. That's it. They will give you a new URL that you can post. It took me a while to get used to.; February 05, 2008 10:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Well the only way to put the politicians and big government as well as the crooks on wall street is for everyone to stop paying mortgages at the same time, and bring the NWO to its knees, in other words a bloodless revolution...hopefully, I'm fed up with all of em; February 05, 2008 10:46 PM