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

February 24, 2008

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

What's on your mind?

367 comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 367 of 367

Anonymous said...: put it on a clean river so joe 6 pack,; February 14, 2008 6:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Due to budgetary constraints, the Economic Indicators service (http://www.economicindicators.gov) will be discontinued effective March 1, 2008.; February 14, 2008 10:12 PM
Jim said...: The Situation: I have a $20K CD that just matured.

The Problem: I don't know what to do with the money. CD's < inflation, stock market not what I would consider stable but might consider buying some PHO (porfolio of water utilites) with it.

Anyone have any better ideas. I am only looking for a 5-6% return on investment, not a homerun.

-SRI; February 15, 2008 12:11 AM
Anonymous said...: http://www.newser.com/story/18257.html

the jewish bretheren don't like obama. ha ha ha. this should be interesting.; February 15, 2008 12:56 AM
Mitesh Damania said...: Wexler's Contempt for Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten bill passes the house. I donated some money to his campaign in celebration.

https://www.wexlerforcongress.com/multimedia.asp?ItemID=238; February 15, 2008 1:39 AM
Tyrone said...: Repo lots overflow with reclaimed cars

So many vehicles are being snatched from owners who stop making payments that some repo operators and auto auctioneers say lots are overflowing.

"We're experiencing significant growth in repo volume to the point where we're using additional lots to store them," says Tom Kontos, executive vice president of Indiana-based Adesa Auctions. "Our inventories are growing to record levels,"

"Our business has skyrocketed," says Patrick Altes, president of Falcon International in Daytona Beach, Fla. In recent times, his service saw a first wave of defaults that involved picking up boats and recreational vehicles.

Now, it's cars and trucks, often in affluent neighborhoods.; February 15, 2008 4:25 AM
Anonymous said...: If you have a choice between paying your property taxes or paying your mortgage on time which would you choose.

It seems to be pay the mortgage and postponed the property tax.

http://www.foreclosure.com/

Tax Liens: 606,888

Foreclosures: 203,701; February 15, 2008 8:28 AM
Anonymous said...: In the middle stage of the housing slump, as more and more home owners miss their property tax payment, many local cites and counties government agencies who depends on this source of revenue to pay their bond holders miss their interest payment also.

But now some of these local cites and counties government agencies are understanding the reflectivity of their decision can come back and haunt them.

How so, during the middle stage of the housing boom some of these same local cites and counties government agencies participated in down payment assistance program to help low income subprime borrowers who could not qualify for a FHA loan get into a house.

As long as house price continue to go up these local cites and counties government agencies' down payment assistance funds are safe, at the same time the property taxes are generated to pay off these funds.

Lets calls these down payment assistance funds a type of Municipal bond for short.

As more and more low income people borrowers join in these program, local cites and counties government agencies sells more Municipal bond, and generate more income and the cycles repeat itself until this non-sustainable business model can no longer support itself.

Now in the middle stage of the housing slump, holders of those Municipal bond are seeing that you can not have a business model based on exchange of money primarily by enrolling other people.

Like the subprime that began to unravel back in November of 2006, as one fail it weaken the other until those fail as well causing a stampede of failure by February of 2007.

Is it now the time of these Municipal bonds to fail; February 15, 2008 8:53 AM
Anonymous said...: Struggling Citigroup hedge fund bars withdrawals -WSJ

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has barred investors in its CSO Partners hedge fund from withdrawing their money, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday.

Citigroup suspended redemptions in CSO, a fund specialising in corporate debt, after investors tried to withdraw more than 30 percent of the fund's $500 million in assets, said the story.

CSO had an 11 percent loss last year, forcing Citigroup to inject $100 million to stabilise the fund, said the Journal.

Well, that's just a super goddamit isn't it? How does Citigroup think they can just tell the investors, "no soup for you".

Fits in the category of "Things that make ya go hmmmm"

Jane Z

Andrew!!! I am not diabetic.; February 15, 2008 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Got problems of your own? having problems covering your own bills? Well, soon you will have millions of more issues that are now your problem.

Obama, Hagel, Cantwell Introduce Bill to Fight Global Poverty

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Amy Brundage (OBAMA), Jordan Stark (HAGEL), Ciaran Clayton (CANTWELL), or Derrick Crowe (Rep. SMITH)

Legislation would aim to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R. 1302), which passed the House in September.; February 15, 2008 4:28 PM
Anonymous said...: This month's Atlantic Monthly has a nice article on the future Suburban slums.; February 15, 2008 5:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow, imagine that, Best Buy down.

I would be amazed, but am not given that their CEO just sold a shitload of stock a few weeks back.

Get on it Andrew Cuomo.; February 15, 2008 5:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Breaking News...

David Walker director of GAO resigned today.

It is time for Mr. Walker to endorse Ron Paul and take his 53 trillion in debt show on the road.

Per AP news:

"Mr. Walker has warned that the US government was on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action was not taken soon.

There were "striking similarities" between America's current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, he had said.

These included "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government."

********************************

This is not a good sign, people. This ship is sinking faster than I ever thought.; February 15, 2008 11:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Keith,
I'm in Switzerland next week. Do you know of any solid banks there?
The huge exposure of some major players there has me spooked.; February 16, 2008 12:05 AM
Anonymous said...: i'll tell you what's on my mind- debt deflation

you've got people making $40k/year buying $350k+ houses. not sustainable

you've got kids coming out of UNDERGRAD with $50-100k of debt, some coming out of professional school with much more than that. student loan crisis, coming soon...

you've got people who have to pay for their $4 coffees with a credit card and hope that the charge goes through

the average consumer's budget line is about to shift dramatically, and the result will be painful for the overall economy. i wish it weren't so, but there's nothing we can do as a society or as individuals to stop it at this point. so, the only relevant question is how best to profit from it???; February 16, 2008 2:27 AM
Anonymous said...: I started keeping track of instances in which the Bush administration would hide inconvenient data quite a while ago. Some of my favorite examples include:

* In March, the administration announced it would no longer produce the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which identifies which programs best assist low-income families, while also tracking health insurance coverage and child support.

* In 2005, after a government report showed an increase in terrorism around the world, the administration announced it would stop publishing its annual report on international terrorism.

* After the Bureau of Labor Statistics uncovered discouraging data about factory closings in the U.S., the administration announced it would stop publishing information about factory closings.

* When an annual report called “Budget Information for States” showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of fiscal crises, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

* When Bush’s Department of Education found that charter schools were underperforming, the administration said it would sharply cut back on the information it collects about charter schools.; February 16, 2008 3:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Who said Silicon Valley house price do not drop.

Take a look at the heart of Silicon Valley

Sunnyvale, CA

Asking: $450,000
Last Sale: $660,000 (03/29/2007)

Asking: $499,000
Last Sale: $625,000 (01/07/2005)

Asking: $499,000
Last Sale: $640,000 (12/11/2006)

Asking: $499,000
Last Sale: $563,762 (10/30/2007)

Asking: $499,000
Last Sale: $510,000 (06/20/2007)

Asking: $524,250
Last Sale: $605,000 (10/05/2005)

Asking: $525,000
Last Sale: $620,000 (02/22/2006)

Asking: $525,000
Last Sale: $680,000 (11/02/2006)

Asking: $528,000
Last Sale: $592,000 (05/18/2005)

Asking: $532,380
Last Sale: $685,000 (03/21/2006)

Asking: $535,000
Last Sale: $645,000 (06/15/2005)

Asking: $540,000
Last Sale: $575,100 (07/06/2007)

Asking: $550,000
Last Sale: $695,000 (11/08/2005); February 16, 2008 9:12 AM
Anonymous said...: WTF.... Detroit sales up?!?!?!?

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/BIZ/802150373; February 16, 2008 10:49 AM
Anonymous said...: no wonder you idiots live in rat infested apartments....you spend all day long posting 1000 word essays on blogs.

advice for you losers is this

Step 1. Get Job
Step 2. Move out of momma's basement
Step 3. Get haircut
Step 4. Get rid of Star Wars toys
Step 5. Meet girl

Then you will enter what we call the real world. Trust me it can be a lot of fun.; February 16, 2008 2:21 PM
Anonymous said...: BW HA HA HA HA HA HA

Detroit sales soaring. Jeezuz and you freaks still think there is a housing crash. Enjoy the 1 bed 1 bath shithole idiots.; February 16, 2008 2:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Not many of you are probably paying attention, but Muslim Albanians are getting closer to seperation of Kosovo from Serbia.

Kosovo to declare independance

Listen to their lies about being peaceful. Then watch the next video.

Do your own research on the topic, too much to discuss here. But, take a look at this video of the muslim Albanians burning down a Serbian Orthodox Church.

Listen to the church bell mockingly ring. Look at the kid ripping down the crucifix. We have it lucky here in America, things are still quite well. But pay mind to true evil in different lands, like Kosovo. Know that Kosovo might be given to the muslim albanians, but it is not theirs.; February 17, 2008 12:02 AM
Anonymous said...: an economist working for real estate research firm Beacon Economics says the California market has not hit rock bottom and the stats back him up.

"Your average homeowner in San Francisco, if they wanted to buy the average home, would have to have spent 70 percent of their household income to pay for that home," says Christopher Thornberg, Beacon Economics.

Real estate information company, DataQuick, shows total sales in the Bay Area are down close to 42 percent from last January and dropped more than 29 percent since December.

And when homes do sell, it's for a lot less. Prices dropped about 6.5 percent from December and 8.5 percent from January.

That means, on average, homes in the Bay Area lost $51,000 dollars in value in a year.

"The reality is prices are going to fall 35 percent in the state and in the Bay Area. I suspect they are going to fall between 25 and 30 percent before this is all over," says Thornberg.

So, people who are trying to buy a home at rock bottom may have to wait another year. Thornberg believes the Bay Area housing market will begin to stabilize in 2009. He also advises sellers to sell as fast as possible because prices will only drop even more.; February 17, 2008 3:13 AM
Farnooshyoga said...: 2009???? The date is wrong or else we are predicting a year out? :); February 17, 2008 3:55 AM
Anonymous said...: First off let me say i've been a long time reader and love the site. but it just dawned on me when i saw the remax video advertisement...
I know you have to make money too, but to accept cash from those you despise and talk so much trash about?

That's just like realtors lying their way to make that next commission...

I don't know what im trying to get at here but it seems like the ones you hate so much also help feed and pay your bills...; February 17, 2008 5:18 AM
Anonymous said...: 911 redux.

http://tinyurl.com/2qf3qj

do any of you really think a arab guy in some cave somewhere orchestrated this? nope he didn't ....so who did this?; February 17, 2008 5:55 AM
Tyrone said...: Housing bubble or new equilibrium?.... HUH??

Was There A Housing Bubble?
Alex Tabarrok takes a look at housing prices today and makes a seemingly odd argument about whether we're really in the midst of a housing bubble.

House prices have certainly stopped increasing and they have dropped but they have not dropped to anywhere near the historic average....If we don't see the massive drop back to "normal" levels then the run up in prices should be described as a shift to a new equilibrium — much as happened during World War II — see the chart. (It's an important question to ask what changed and why?). In the shift to the new equilibrium there was some mild overshooting, especially due to the subprime over expansion, but fundamentally there was no housing bubble.; February 17, 2008 6:17 AM
Tyrone said...: This I don't condone, but it does raise questions about the potential consequences of realtors' actions. There are plenty of nuts out there.

Lancaster County real estate agents receive death threats

by The Patriot-News Friday February 15, 2008, 12:18 PM
Several Lancaster County real estate agents received e-mails with death threats on Vallentine's Day.

The Lancaster New Era reports that several agents reported to Manheim Twp. police about having received e-mails stating that the recipient would be killed if they did not pay the writer between $5,000 and $30,000.

In all cases, the e-mail address was posted on the business's Web page, according to the newspaper.; February 17, 2008 6:30 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm a new agent in Michigan and im goin broke. A lot of my friends that are also agents think the market will come back in spring 2009; February 17, 2008 12:00 PM
Anonymous said...: As a long time HPer, I must tell you all:

I Bought A House !

Now, before you crucify me...

You must know that I fully believe this crash will take years to work thru. I am one of those folks that said 2012 to flat-line and 2015 before their is any movement upwards.

So here's what I did...

I bought something outside the DC/Baltimore bubble. Nearly two hours from my office!! I can work from home some and we get cheap hotels with the company. (My wife's kids are living with the father in DC burbs - he just lost his house to bankruptcy. So we also wanted to be close enough for seeing them.)

My wife will be looking for work in Harrisburg, PA - a stable Gov. economy that is never part of boom and bust.

My mortgage is under 1000 dollars. I can quit my job is I want after my wife starts working - something I am definitely considering as I am sick to death of working in I.T. and working in offices. I'd rather shovel horse crap working for myself than be part of the fake pretend-like-we-accomplish-something-real-but-we-don't white collar world.

Anyhow, the house...

About 30 minutes to state capital (Harrisburg), 15 minutes to York, close to my family. 5 wooded, private acres, 3B 2Ba 2000 sq ft of custom high-end construction built in 2002. It's not fancy but VERY well built so should be an energy/maintainence saver. The basement is plumbed and ready to go for another 1000 sq ft. Plus the outbuilding with 120Amp electric. Minutes to big lake, state park, nice river, and skiing.
Crime is low and schools/ ammenities are good. PA taxes are the only part that suck - around 300/month.

The price: 225

I couldn't have gotten a 1Br condo in crack dealer territory around DC for that.

Goodbye DC, goodbye crack dealers....

Thanks HP, maybe in 5 years I will return to a coastal city to live. But people are still out of their mind with expectations of selling prices. I got tired of waiting.

PS> The privately held bank I work for had their appraised value cut by 45% this year. And they didn't ever deal in subprime! I wanted a safe place to weather the coming storm.

Thanks for everything HPers. I see casualities all around me of this stupid Greenspan bubble economy. America is truly screwed.; February 17, 2008 2:03 PM
Anonymous said...: BTW - The house was listed at 280K last fall, relisted at 250K, then 240K, before we negotiated the price down to 225. It COULD fall further but not much since prices never really rose up there.

-----
Tyrone said -
(It's an important question to ask what changed and why?).

How about the destruction of America's economic diversity? That is the other 80% (non bubble areas). Everyone is moving to California/DC from Michigan and the heartland.

Also don't forget illegal invasion and the Greenspan/Bush destruction of the dollar.

Plus excess greed - everyone wanted to jump on the next bubble (in case they didn't strike gold in the .com bubble). It's hard trying to keep your investments ahead when real inflation is 10% and medical care when you retire approaches 1/2 million.

And don't forget we are in "the last stages of rapacious capitalism."

Quote from Kramer.; February 17, 2008 2:42 PM
Anonymous said...: This article should have the title: UK taxpayers, get ready because its BOHICA time once agian.

Government to Control Struggling British Bank

LONDON — The British government announced on Sunday that it would bring Northern Rock, the struggling mortgage lender, under its control. It was the first nationalization of a bank in more than a decade and a huge blow for the administration of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The government rejected two takeover proposals for the lender, which ran into trouble last year because of a money shortage that followed a subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. The government was forced to shore up the company with about £55 billion, or $107 billion, in loans and guarantees.

“The government has completed its review of the two detailed proposals received,” Alistair M. Darling, chancellor of the Exchequer, said at a news conference in London on Sunday. “But in current market conditions, we do not believe that they deliver sufficient value for money for the taxpayer. The government has therefore decided to bring forward legislation to take Northern Rock into a period of temporary public ownership.”

The Virgin Group under Richard Branson and the current management of Northern Rock had both submitted takeover proposals to the government’s adviser, Goldman Sachs, before a deadline earlier this year. Both suggested repaying the loans partly by issuing new shares. Mr. Darling said on Sunday that neither proposal had met all of the government’s objectives of securing financial stability, depositors’ money and taxpayers’ funds.

Under the government ownership plan, the taxpayers’ outstanding loans to Northern Rock will be repaid in full with interest, Mr. Darling said. The private sector alternatives did not meet this test, he said.; February 18, 2008 1:25 AM
Anonymous said...: This Yahoo Finance story is like a gentle version of something Keith would write.

http://tinyurl.com/35yaeq; February 18, 2008 3:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Here's a great snippet:

“‘If we can’t sell, we’ll just walk away,’ said Maria Ambriz, who with her husband, Jack, has watched the monthly payments on the Camarillo home they bought in the spring of 2006 soar from $2,500 to $4,700. They’re spending about 85 percent of their monthly income just to cover the payments.”

God I love the schadenfreude.....; February 18, 2008 7:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Saudi to discuss riyal revaluation, combating inflation

“So far we have not seen any solution to control inflation,” Abu Gharara told Al-Eqtisadiah business daily. Inflation in the Kingdom surged to a record high of 6.5% last December.

Inflation is partly driven by a rise in global commodity prices and the weak US currency.

“We’ll also discuss the possibility of revaluing the riyal against the dollar in tune with its devaluation against other international currencies,” the Shoura member said. He emphasized the need for reviewing the riyal’s exchange rate with the falling American dollar.

"Revaluing the currency is a possible way to face inflation and it will be one of the solutions the council will present today," Abu Gharara was quoted as saying in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat.; February 18, 2008 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...: REIC Media Co. Director calls bottom:

“Jonathan Dienhart, director of published research for Hanley Wood, suggests we may be nearing the bottom of this cycle in the new-home market. ‘The 30 percent decline in sales for 2007 is likely the largest annual decrease we will see during this downturn,’ he said.”; February 18, 2008 8:22 AM
Anonymous said...: Kuwaiti food prices increased an annual 6.1 percent in October, almost double the 3.7 percent they rose in September, sending consumer price inflation to a record.

Housing costs rose an annual 13 percent in October, the same as the previous month, according to a faxed statement from the Kuwaiti government.

Inflation in Kuwait accelerated to 7.3 percent in October from 6.2 percent in September, a government official said Feb. 14 under condition of anonymity.; February 18, 2008 8:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Under Bernanke's chairmanship, the Federal Reserve's steepest interest-rate cuts since 1990 are limiting his Asian counterparts' options to curb inflation.

Instead of raising their own borrowing costs or letting their currencies appreciate faster, governments are resorting to regulating meat and egg prices in China, stockpiling cooking oil in Malaysia and subsidizing utility bills in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Such measures may backfire. Artificial price curbs and subsidies only feed more demand for oil and other commodities, and ultimately will make it harder to contain inflationary pressures worldwide, officials from the Group of Seven nations warned at their Feb. 9 meeting in Tokyo.

``These policies run against the grain of what these countries, China for example, have been trying to do over many years, which is to move toward a more market-based economy,'' says James McCormack, head of Asian sovereign ratings at Fitch Ratings Hong Kong Ltd. ``Price controls won't work because they don't address the issue of supply-demand imbalance.''; February 18, 2008 8:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Inflation in Qatar rose slightly to 13.74 per cent at the end of December, its second-fastest pace on record, as rents and food prices surged in the Gulf state that is adopting price controls to curb price rises

Jordan's government needs to rein in spending to crimp inflation and narrow a current account deficit that has reached about 15 per cent of economic output, the Central Bank of Jordan's deputy governor said; February 18, 2008 8:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey Kids-!

The Dead Cat Bounce/Knife Catchers are out in force in DC this spring!

You will see BIG media I'm sure about the uptick in Jan & Feb here in NEW construction
(I work for a Builder-related industry & all of a sudden we are *busy* again)

The Builders are giving *free* options & all kinds of goodies away.

We were out this weekend & the Model Homes were full of X'ers & Y's thinking "it's a great time to buy!!!"

NOTE - this is NEW constuction ONLY - I don't think the resale market is doing well here at all (except for the Foreclosures & shorts)

FYI! You heard it here first!; February 18, 2008 10:58 AM
Anonymous said...: I know it isn't exactly related but can people on here please comment on if there is also a College Tuition bubble which fules a health care cost bubble? I can't see how people can pay for college if it keeps going up. Docotors have to go to college. I am sort of in denial thinking how coudl college tuition have a bubble but I though the same about the housin bubble. Any thoughts on this?; February 18, 2008 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...: There are several way of looking at this chart.

1.) Housing Price has allot further to fall,and it is the inverse of the 1920 to 1940.

2.) House Price over Inflation is not accurate. Is the current inflation number as calculated by Federal Government a true reflection of inflation.

3.) It is a combination of 1 and 2

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/
archives/2008/02/
was_there_a_housing_bubble/

Alex Tabarrok has generated quite a buzz over his suggestion that the “housing bubble” might be a myth. He begins with this graph of housing prices from Robert Shiller published in the NYT:

He goes further and posits that prices are unlikely to ever drop anywhere near the 110 level which means we’re not only not in a housing bubble but have established a much higher equilibrium.; February 18, 2008 8:13 PM
Anonymous said...: If this is truly a housing bubble then the dead cat bounce fulfill the fifth stage of the Triple Waterfall

What is the the making of the Triple Waterfall.

1. Optimism
2. Faith
3. Fanaticism
4. Sudden Shock (First Cascade)
5. Last Chance (Second Cascade)
6. Long-Term Collapse (Third Cascade); February 18, 2008 8:24 PM
Anonymous said...: WOW! And you thought you had a choice. Stupid sheeple, votes are for fools.

McCain and Soros?

appearently Teresa Heinz Kerry also!

HAHAHAHAHA; February 18, 2008 9:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Municipal Bond insurers, are called "Monolines" by Wall Street, because everyone thought they were only in one business ... the business of insuring municipal bonds. Instead, they have insured all forms of exotic investments, unbeknownst to the general public and most regulators and policymakers.

The "monolines" are suffering huge losses because they insured, not just muni-bonds, but also credit instruments tied to money-losing sub-prime mortgages. So, now that they are losing money, having insured these soured investments, they arguably have scant capital left to insure the trillions of dollars of muni-bonds that have been sold over the last many years. The monolines deny they are capital impaired, but regulators are scrambling to find billions of dollars in new capital to make sure that monolines have adequate capital to make good on their promises to insure everyone's favorite investment ... tax-free municipal bonds.

If the municipal bond insurers can't back those bonds, many institutions that were counting on the insurance to protect their muni-bond investments, may dump them in huge amounts, putting downward pressure on muni-bond prices and upward prices on yields ... hurting "mom and pop" investors who thought their "insured," tax-free muni-bonds were the safest investment around.

There are other dislocations going on in the muni-market that could also cause trouble. Some are quite complex and difficult to explain. But suffice to say, that if the situation in municipal bonds continues to deteriorate, it will affect not only the markets, but individual investors as well.; February 18, 2008 10:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Ambac Chief Executive Michael Callen also said that the company will no longer guarantee complex mortgage-related securities known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and even more convoluted securities called CDO squareds.

MBIA Chief Financial Officer Chuck Chaplin admitted some responsibility for that turmoil, under tough questioning during Congressional testimony on Thursday.

"We are culpable," Chaplin said. "The fact that we have engaged in wrapping the bonds that we have, especially in the mortgage area, has resulted in the problems that we're experiencing right now."

"We guaranteed overly complicated structures known as CDO squareds," he said. "We're not happy about that. We will no longer guaranty CDOs and CDO squareds."; February 18, 2008 10:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Monolines know that municipalities have the authority to sell real estate subject to a municipal tax lien.

So why haven't Monolines forced municipalities to sell these properties.

Is it because these properties are in the hands of the banks, and selling these properties at below market value will force more properties brought with subprime loan to go down in value adding more insurance risk to the bond insurers.

This in turn will cause more subprime borrowers to defaults as bank can no longer can carry their loan without insurance.

Once this process happens municipalities will have more real estate municipal tax lien and the process loops again until it all unwinds.

Are bond insurers better off selling municipal bond to Warren Buffet for pennies to the Dollar then to lose everything as the process loops again and unwinds before their eyes.; February 18, 2008 11:13 PM
Anonymous said...: If muni-bond insurers like Amback and MBIA are forced to break into two pieces, some banks could be badly hurt.

The halving of the firms would leave the muni piece of the businesses in one set of companies and the more risky structured investments pieces to operate on their own.

According to Reuters, if insurer FGIC is made into two companies "investment banks that traded with FGIC would be forced to take losses." Those banks probably include Citigroup, Societe Generale, and UBS.

Reuters reports further that "banks are generally facing the risks of big writedowns from hedges they put on with bond insurers."; February 18, 2008 11:21 PM
Anonymous said...: As banks are forced to take more losses, banks will become less likely to work with subprime borrowers causing more subprime borrowers to miss their real estate tax payments

This in turns will cause more Municipalities to miss their municipal bond payments and Monoline insurers are back to the same problem.

So why don't Monoline insurers sell their municipal bonds now for pennies to the dollar to Warren Buffet while he is still making the offer.

Do the Monoline insurers think the tax payers will bail them out once the process unwinds fast enough.; February 18, 2008 11:34 PM
Anonymous said...: If municipal bond price were to go down and municipal bond yields to go up, what impact will higher municipal bond yields have on corporate bond yields.

If corporations have to pay higher bond yields won't that cut into their corporate earnings.

If Corporate earnings takes a hit down corporations have to cut expense.

If corporations have to cut expense won't that have any impact to jobs.

So what will happen to the subprime markets once the corporations cut expense.

If the subprime market take another hit wouldn't the process loop again.

All this will be happening while the Federal Reserve is using up all of its ammunition.

May you live in interesting time Uncle Benny.; February 18, 2008 11:55 PM
Anonymous said...: The European Central Bank continues to remain concerned over the long-term risks to inflation, the Bundesbank said in its monthly report.

Hong Kong investors worry that January inflation data will prompt mainland authorities to embark on a new round of tightening measures.

"We believe the yuan will rise to 6.8 against the dollar by the end of this year. It may breach the 7.0 level by the end of June. The exchange rate has become the main tool for China to tame inflation,"; February 19, 2008 12:07 AM
Anonymous said...: inflation! Inflation! Inflation!

CRB Index Last trade 384.24

http://quotes.ino.com/
chart/?s=NYBOT_CR&v=d12; February 19, 2008 12:14 AM
Anonymous said...: Candles burning in boarded-up homes, a squatter killed by a fire set to keep warm — shows the determination of the homeless to find shelter.

Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown conditions: Sometimes the heat, lights and water are still working.

"That's what you call convenient," said James Bertan, 41, an ex-convict and self-described "bando," or someone who lives in abandoned houses.

While no one keeps numbers of below-the-radar homeless finding shelter in properties left vacant by foreclosure, homeless advocates agree the locations — even with utilities cut off — would be inviting to some.

"Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low-cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy,"

"There are some campgrounds and creek beds and such where people would be tempted to walk across the street or climb out of the creek bed and sneak into a vacant house,"

Many cities roust homeless from vacant homes, which more typically will be used by drug dealers or prostitutes than a homeless person looking for a place to sleep

Police across the country must deal with squatters and vandalism involving vacant homes:

East of San Francisco, a man was arrested in November on a code violation while living without water service in a vacant home; February 19, 2008 12:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Bay Area home auctions triple

Real estate broker Kenny Sessions has more than a dozen listings going to auction in the next two weeks. He says the banks usually sell at 80 to 90 cents on the dollar.

"Some of it is properties I've had on the market for 90 to 120 days and other properties I've had for 30 to 60 days so there really is on set pattern of what they choose to take to auction," said Sessions.

He says the home's condition can be good or bad but all are in foreclosure.; February 19, 2008 2:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Many pockets of the Bay Area - again, notably the exurbs - already have experienced double-digit price plunges.

But the bad news is, prices for the region as a whole, especially the expensive core counties, are still out of whack compared to income.

"Real estate prices would have to change drastically for anyone to consider the Bay Area as being affordable," said Paul Fassinger, research director at the Association of Bay Area Governments.

Economist Christopher Thornberg is more blunt: "Prices would have to come down from peak to trough about 40 percent to be back in line with income the way they were in the late '90s," he said.

Rosen said he thinks prices would have to fall 25 percent for a third of Bay Area residents to be able to afford a median-priced home. He thinks they will actually fall 10 to 15 percent.; February 19, 2008 2:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Are there any MLS number watchers out there?
In Utah, the inventory hardly went down during the dead of winter and it's starting to skyrocket already. The snow isn't even melted off the streets. Lot's of desperation!; February 19, 2008 3:16 AM
Tyrone said...: Radio clip with Schiff...

Peter Schiff 2/13/08 on mortgage principal writedowns.

I think the guy interviewing him is mentally handicapped. Keeps asking the same question, and he did buy a house.; February 19, 2008 3:25 AM
Anonymous said...: "do any of you really think a arab guy in some cave somewhere orchestrated this? nope he didn't ....so who did this?"

Shut up, already! You stupid, no-life, piece of crap!; February 19, 2008 3:29 AM
Anonymous said...: "BW HA HA HA HA HA HA

Detroit sales soaring. Jeezuz and you freaks still think there is a housing crash. Enjoy the 1 bed 1 bath shithole idiots."

No surprise since more than 75% of the listings are below 100K and more than 50% are below 50K -- you stupid, illiterate moron!; February 19, 2008 3:42 AM
Tyrone said...: Hurray!! They set aside enough money & profit to offset their subprime losses, so we'll make the stock go higher, now!! WTF?!

Bank of China Shares Jump After Subprime Report
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of China Ltd. rose the most in almost a month in Hong Kong trading after saying it has set aside enough money to cover its investments in securities tied to U.S. subprime mortgages.

The bank may have to write down the value of overseas securities by 35 billion yuan ($4.9 billion), analysts at BNP Paribas SA estimated last month. That would amount to three- quarters of profit in the nine months to Sept. 30, 2007.; February 19, 2008 6:18 AM
Anonymous said...: GOLD TO DA MOOOOOOOOOOOON ALICE!!!!!!!!!; February 19, 2008 6:23 AM
Tyrone said...: BWAHAHAHA

Drunken Realtor makes plea bargain
A Victoria realtor whose drunken, belligerent behaviour forced diversion of a U.S. flight to Denver has changed his plea to guilty of interfering with the flight attendants.

Russell Petrie, 30, struck a plea bargain that will likely result in a sentence of six to 12 months and up to a $10,000 fine, according to Colorado court documents.

Petrie will also be asked to reimburse American Airlines $7,757 for the cost of landing the Seattle-Miami flight in Denver.; February 19, 2008 6:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Banks in the United States have been quietly borrowing "massive amounts" from the U.S. Federal Reserve in recent weeks, using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago to help ease the credit crunch, according to a report on the web site of The Financial Times.

The newspaper said the use of the Fed's Term Auction Facility (TAF), which allows banks to borrow at relatively attractive rates against a wide range of their assets, saw borrowing of nearly $50 billion (25.6 billion pounds) of one-month funds from the Fed by mid-February.

The Financial Times said the move has sparked unease among some analysts about the stress developing in opaque corners of the U.S. banking system and the banks' growing reliance on indirect forms of government support.; February 19, 2008 7:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Wall Street banks expect billions more in write-downs

http://www.iht.com/articles/
2008/02/19/business/wall.php; February 19, 2008 7:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Regulators are trying to punish Wall Street for mortgage finance practices that expanded homeownership and spread risk among a host of new players -- but also may have duped borrowers and investors who supplied cash to fuel a housing boom that's turned bust.

A handful of state securities regulators and a couple of foreclosure-blighted cities have fired the opening shots with lawsuits trying to prove that investment banks and big lenders are guilty of more than just bad business decisions. Some regulators say greed and fraud underlie much of the subprime mortgage mess that has triggered a sharp increase in foreclosures.

Aside from the civil cases, the FBI is looking at possible criminal action, focusing on what Wall Street firms knew about the risks of mortgage securities backed by subprime loans, and whether they hid risks from investors.; February 19, 2008 7:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Monoline confusion triggers splitting headache for banks

The latest attempts to prop up the struggling monoline industry and particularly to protect the US municipal bond market are centered around the idea that each of the major bond insurers could be split into “good” and “bad” companies.

But such moves look set to cause chaos in the $45,000bn credit default swaps market. CDS traders buy and sell protection in case companies default on their debt.

“No one knows what a split would mean in practice, or even if it would be possible,” one New York lawyer said. “What’s worrisome is the uncertain status of the CDS contracts between bond insurers and investment banks.”

The question of what happens to CDS contracts that reference the monolines is hugely important. These contracts, which are worth billions of dollars, could be split between the good and bad halves, or not at all.

There is a great deal of confusion as to how these contracts would be split

CDSs provide a kind of insurance against non-payment of corporate debt and are often used to speculate on the creditworthiness of a company.; February 19, 2008 7:18 AM
Anonymous said...: 1. What are monoline insurers?

The monoline insurers are insurance companies that provide different forms of credit enhancement to participants in the financial markets. The first enhancements were aimed at guaranteed bonds issued by local authorities. Thus, Ambac and MBIA were established in 1971 and 1973 respectively to guarantee municipal bonds.

However, since 1985 these guarantees have also applied to structured products or derivatives such as ABSs and CDSs. According to the AFGI (Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers), out of total guaranteed bonds worth $2300bn, 62% are securities issued by municipalities, while 38% are structured products.

In the beginning, this financial guarantee could be supplied by any insurance company, whether it was a "monoline" or a "multiline", but Article 69 enacted by the State of New York Insurance Department in 1989 transformed the industry.

This law banned multiline insurers from conducting credit enhancement activities and restricted the activities of the monoline companies, for example by imposing minimum capital levels, eligible investments and individual risk limits.

Until recently, the financial strength of the monoline insurers ranged between AAA and A. The best rated among them adhered to professional standards according to which they restricted themselves mainly to insuring securities with a low risk of default. To keep to these standards, they therefore mostly insured investment grade bonds.

http://www.bfinance.de/inst/article.do; February 19, 2008 7:24 AM
Anonymous said...: “Creditworthiness is like oxygen: you don’t notice it when it’s around.”

Spoken over a decade ago, Warren Buffett’s words sound eerily prescient at a time when a liquidity squeeze is leaving markets gasping for air.; February 19, 2008 7:41 AM
Anonymous said...: They are the staples that nearly every family buys and uses: gas, milk, eggs.

All of them have seen shocking price increases recently. Now end of the year predictions for prices say they'll only keep going up and up. Next, bread could be costing you a lot of dough.; February 19, 2008 7:53 AM
Anonymous said...: The rising price of gasoline in Florida "makes no sense" but international markets are pushing pump prices slightly higher, AAA Auto Club South in Tampa reported today.

Friday's average price of unleaded regular in Florida was $3.076 a gallon - in contrast to $3.018 a week prior, AAA said in its weekly Fuel Price Brief. And, said the auto club, "Gasoline prices my edge higher."

Gas prices continue to rise in the Mid Ohio Valley Monday, some jumped as high as 33 cents in just a few hours.

Monday morning gas prices at stations in Vienna were $2.92, by the afternoon the price at the pump was $3.25.

Even across the river, prices in Ohio have gone up 8 cents from just a week ago.

Whether it's Ohio or West Virginia, they're all prices that drivers are not happy about paying.

A 7-cent jump in gasoline prices the past week could be the start of another volatile driving season for Metro Detroiters and motorists throughout the state and country.

Ouachita Parish gas prices jumped almost 10 percent this week following more than a month of gradual declines.

Gas prices in Massachusetts have risen for the first time in five weeks; February 19, 2008 8:02 AM
Anonymous said...: Crude oil prices jumped 70 cents to more than $96 a barrel Monday morning after a week of price jumps pushed by supply-side concerns.; February 19, 2008 8:08 AM
Princess Mononoke said...: Anonymous said...
>>>Legislation would aim to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Global Poverty Act (S.2433)....
February 15, 2008 4:28 PM
=========================

2015 WTF!!?? I reeeeally don't get it? President Bush passed a bill allowing the U.S. to contribute $100 BILLION dollars to certain African Nations. Now he's over there PIMPING himself as charitable. Puhleese!

Now come on folks... $100 BILLION not million. That should be MORE than enough to feed, clothe, and house every single person on the AFRICAN continent!!! TODAY and NOT 2015.

Where does the fricken money go? All of the politicians first (champagne, caviar, fine living) then by the time it trickles down to the PEOPLE there is ONLY enough for bread and water!!!! This is SOOOOO shameful!; February 19, 2008 11:24 AM
Anonymous said...: "We have not seen this volume since 3rd qtr 2006. Maybe the tide is turning??"
============================
All of my construction worker friends are back at work, even over the winter. Their new jobs are not in house building, however, but at home improvment/remodeling companies! This business apparantly is taking off. When I asked my friends who they mostly do work for, the answer is always the same: people pushing retirement who are fixing up their places to sell so they can downsize/move closes to kids, that sort of thing. With all thats going on, it seems that the boomers still haven't gotten the message, and think that housing will pick up again in the spring.

Sad.; February 19, 2008 5:29 PM
Anonymous said...: From Paranoid's Blog...

“Nicholas P. Retsinas, director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said the initiative announced last week by the Bush administration to grant some homeowners threatened with foreclosure a 30-day reprieve is like a ‘a stay of execution, but it’s not a pardon.’”

“‘Our government, particularly at the federal level, has underreacted to this market,’ Retsinas said before a group of about 60 people. ‘It’s a problem that calls for a very rapid and extensive government solution.’; February 19, 2008 6:53 PM
Towjam said...: I see this in every REO I list.

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/19/Business/In_home_foreclosure__.shtml; February 19, 2008 7:47 PM
Anonymous said...: 12 - steps to financial disaster.
America's economy risks the mother of all meltdowns
Financial Times
http://tinyurl.com/2p424m; February 19, 2008 9:37 PM
Mitesh Damania said...: Now come on folks... $100 BILLION not million. That should be MORE than enough to feed, clothe, and house every single person on the AFRICAN continent!!! TODAY and NOT 2015.

Where does the fricken money go? All of the politicians first (champagne, caviar, fine living) then by the time it trickles down to the PEOPLE there is ONLY enough for bread and water!!!! This is SOOOOO shameful!

It's the "keeping dictators in power fund" disguised as foreign aid and poverty elimination.

Africa is ripe for the taking. No human rights, extreme poverty, and endless supply of coveted natural resources.

I tell you we must end this empire before it's too late.; February 19, 2008 9:54 PM
Anonymous said...: OK, up until now this whole housing mess has been just an inconvenience. Now it's time to act! This is really going to hurt! Sucker us in to buying homes with too much debt is one thing, but highter beer prices means all out WAR! This is going to get real ugly!

http://www.gazette.com/articles/beer_33257___article.html/hops_price.html; February 19, 2008 11:18 PM
Markus Arelius said...: Keith, what effect will the housing bubble have on school districts? With homes overpriced and unoccupied for longer stretches,in theory, less and less property taxes will be collected by the counties. Less money for schools and communities. Some states (California) have a horrible track record as it is for investing in their state K-12 education (see California makeshift classroom structures with no AC).

We probably can't see a great deal of evidence of this happening yet, but by the end of 2008 one would think that a new set of alarm bells will be going off around the nation with counties unable to adequately fund school districts.

Renting is better right now, no question. But last I checked, renters don't pay counties property taxes. Homedebtors do.; February 20, 2008 12:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Centex Spokesman contradicts NAR claim "All real estate is local..."

“Through email, a spokesperson for Centex wrote, ‘Lower prices are necessary to sell homes in the current business environment. We don’t control market conditions and pricing is a significant issue nationwide, not just in one neighborhood.’”; February 20, 2008 2:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Price of oil is a bubble. A crash is coming I tell ya!; February 20, 2008 5:47 AM
Tyrone said...: Suzanne Researched This, with a twist

Thanks, Louminatti.; February 20, 2008 6:01 AM
Princess Mononoke said...: Mitesh Damania said...
>>>It's the "keeping dictators in power fund" disguised as foreign aid and poverty elimination.

Africa is ripe for the taking. No human rights, extreme poverty, and endless supply of coveted natural resources.

I tell you we must end this empire before it's too late.
February 19, 2008 9:54 PM
============================

I totally agree with you Mitesh! This evil is really fighting for survival at ALL costs. We all thought the Italian Mafia was bad, they pale in comparison to what the 'PTB' are up to...

and IF, I say IF because I AM praying HARD this doesn't happen. ALL of us will become casualties one way or another!!!

If this happens I would much rather live with the penguins in the freezing cold than live IN OPPRESSION. And I HATE the cold.; February 20, 2008 9:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Nicholas Retsinas eats crow.

http://tinyurl.com/3yzpmm

Remember when he was calling us Chicken Littles and wailing Cassandras?

Well now HE'S the one wailing: "WAAAAH! The government didn't react FAST enough!"

I thought there WAS NO HOUSING BUBBLE, Nicky?

Revenge is sweet.; February 20, 2008 11:23 AM
Anonymous said...: the_truth_hurts said...
As a long time HPer, I must tell you all:
I am sick to death of working in I.T. and working in offices. I'd rather shovel horse crap

Good morning imbeciles, morons, dip-shits and shit-hole renters. This is your wakeup call. I always knew that the average HP’er is a brain-dead code monkey found in the I.T. nerd farm in the basement. Shoveling horse-shit will be a very suitable skill to add to your otherwise decrepit resume that is otherwise full of lies and embellishments. Every time one of you dumb-shits applies for a job the recruiter sees that you’ve checked the RENTING box. In our society, renting is the equivalent of throwing your money into the toilet which is synonymous with being a mentally ill retard. I for one will not hire any drooling keyboard tapping idiot with a pony tail. Forget it! You will never join the ranks of the successful. Retarded shit-hole renting water-heads!; February 20, 2008 2:41 PM
Anonymous said...: This is how it's done.

Step 1) Buy an home with no money down using a liar loan and someone elses SSN. Mortgage payment per month $2,500.
Step 2) Rent the home for $1,500 per month requiring 1st, last and security (= $4,500).
Step 3) Never make a mortgage payment and collect 3 months additional rent (= $4,500). Send the lender the keys after collecting $9,000 in rent and let the house go into foreclosure.

This is how you make money in the housing market here in America. This is how renters get screwed bigtime!

Return to Step 1); February 20, 2008 4:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Mish wrote a few days ago:

Why The Fed Cannot Inflate Consumer Debt Away

* The Fed cannot put dollars in everyone's pocket.
* The Fed cannot create jobs.
* The Fed cannot force consumers with no money to buy houses to drive prices back up.
* The Fed cannot change consumer attitudes towards debt and spending.
* The Fed cannot force businesses to go on hiring sprees.
* The Fed cannot force wages to rise.
* The Fed cannot do anything about global wage arbitrage.

You can substitute any politician's name in the above for "The Fed" and get the same exact result.

It makes not a whit who wins this election. The money is gone. Nothing will bring it back. The government both republican and democrat are powerless to change anything. No money means no choice. America voted for the clowns that spent all of the money twice, and America cheered them on as they stole every last fucking dime and then began borrowing to keep the party going. Party on America!!!!

Now we all get to live with it. There is no magic black man or white woman or prisoner of war Grandpa or old "tight pockets" Paul that is going to change a goddamn thing about America, because you can't put your money where your mouth is if you don't have any money.

The mnoney is gone.

I wish the political people would leave, and HP would get back to being the blog that you could count on to get an "informed opinion" on economics and real estate, and the fact that the money is gone. Screw politics. It is what produced this whole nightmare for this country.; February 20, 2008 6:22 PM
Anonymous said...: http://docs.google.com/TeamPresent?docid=ddp4zq7n_0cdjsr4fn&skipauth=true; February 20, 2008 8:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Pennsylvania realtor and appraiser call bottom:

"Fisher and Chaladoff both expect home prices to level off within the next few months."
-Pocono Record 2/20/2008; February 20, 2008 9:11 PM
marinite2 said...: Kieth, did you see this commentary from Nicolas Retsinas (of Harvard)? Rather hipocritical of him given his previous boosterism:

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSDIS97085320080219; February 20, 2008 9:20 PM
brokersleaveyoubroke said...: A Miami high rise that was under construction is on fire. Oh darn, we'll just have to settle for the insurance and disappoint all those buyers who would have lined up to buy units.

http://tinyurl.com/247qmu; February 20, 2008 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Inflation rate for the year of 2007according to BLS

Miami-Fort Lauderdale 5.8%

Honolulu 4.8%

Chicago area 4.8%

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area 4.6%

Dallas-Fort Worth area 4.3%

Cleveland-Akron, Ohio 4.2%

Atlanta area 4.1%

Portland 3.9%

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area 3.9%

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County area 3.9%

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area 3.8%

New York area 3.7%

Phoenix 3.3%

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/
cpi_regreleases.htm; February 21, 2008 3:23 AM
Anonymous said...: The Fed Seems To Be Surprised By Inflation Yet Again

A report released this morning by the BLS showed an increase in the consumer price index (CPI) of .4 percent for January.

The year-over-year CPI grew to 4.3 percent from 4.1 percent the month before (and this is just what is being reported, see a previous inflation post for an alternative view on what the real inflation numbers are).

The policies being implemented by the government and the Fed are not favorable to containing inflation, and this news is no surprise to most people in the financial world .

Yet somehow these numbers seem to surprise the Fed each month, and then they downplay inflation in order to back up their policies.

http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/
blogs/investorcentric/2008/02/
fed-seems-to-be-surprised-by-
inflation.html; February 21, 2008 3:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Crude oil rose for a fourth day and closed Tuesday at a record 101.01 US dollars in New York

The weak US dollar contributed to the highly volatile market.

"Production is not going to increase. It will either decrease or be stable" OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Monday and on Tuesday Iranian Oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari; February 21, 2008 3:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Wheat shortage sends bagel, pizza prices soaring

Take a spoonful of population growth.

Add a pinch of ethanol.

Throw in a weak U.S. dollar and a drought in Australia.

That's the recipe for a staggering increase in wheat prices, which has caused the cost of bagels and pizzas -- to name just a few edibles -- to shoot through the roof. And it's not coming down anytime soon.

At Michael's Pizza in Farmingville, owner Michael Perrino is contemplating raising the price of a slice from $2 to $2.25. Perrino said the 50-pound bag of flour that cost $16 a few weeks ago will cost $30 next week. "Now it's like you're working for nothing," he said.

Business is off 2 percent to 3 percent at A&S Bagels in Franklin Square, said president Antonino Scolieri.

"We figure by middle of March we're going to go up another 5 to 10 cents per bagel," he said. "There's no end in sight at this point."

Scolieri said he will join bakers from around the country in Washington on March 12 to plead for help from federal agriculture officials and Congress.; February 21, 2008 3:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Gold for April delivery rose $8 to end at $937.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold is now extremely well-placed to set a fresh record high as investors continue to seek the metal's anti-inflationary and safe-haven attributes," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note.

Gold, which is typically seen as an inflation hedge, gained Wednesday after the Labor Department reported that U.S. consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January.

Inflation was stoked by large increases in energy and food prices but also showed increases in a host of underlying core prices.; February 21, 2008 3:41 AM
Anonymous said...: CORRECTED - Spot gold rose to a record high of $945.20 an ounce around 2100 GMT on Wednesday as surges in oil prices heightened concerns over inflation.; February 21, 2008 3:42 AM
Anonymous said...: THE Reserve Bank of Australia's concerns about wage inflation are expected to intensify, with economists predicting further pressure from the Government's industrial relations policy.

In the national labour market, wage growth is running at 4.2 per cent a year after rising 1.1 per cent in the December quarter, official figures released yesterday show.; February 21, 2008 3:44 AM
Anonymous said...: Nigerian consumer price inflation accelerated to 8.6 percent year-on-year in January, from 6.6 percent in December, driven by sharp increases in food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

Food prices, which make up more than 60 percent of the inflation basket, rose by 12.6 percent year-on-year in January compared with 8.2 percent in December, the bureau said.; February 21, 2008 3:47 AM
Anonymous said...: Ukrainian officials tried to soothe fears on Monday that the economy might not reach its 2008 growth target of 6.8 percent and inflation could exceed a 9.6 percent forecast; February 21, 2008 3:48 AM
Anonymous said...: ``Today's inflation and wage data out of Germany suggest there won't be an easing in inflation anytime soon.''

Inflation in the 15-nation euro region accelerated to 3.2 percent in January, the fastest pace in 14 years. The Frankfurt- based ECB, which aims to keep inflation just below 2 percent, on Feb. 7 left its benchmark interest rate at a six-year high of 4 percent.; February 21, 2008 3:51 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm thinking about Fukflation.

I've defined fukflation as the ecomonic afterbirth from 8 years of having a moron as president and a constipated old man as vice president.

Fukflation consists of a state in which economists argue constantly over inflation vs. defaltion vs. stagflation while the America middle class gets fucked.; February 21, 2008 7:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Subprime loans defaulting even before resets

It turns out that massive interest rate spikes aren't the problem -- many borrowers couldn't afford these mortgages even at the low, introductory interest rates.

Defaults are spiking well before resets come into play thanks to the lax lending environment of the past few years. Many borrowers were approved for mortgages that they had little chance of affording, even at the low-interest teaser rates.

Hybrid ARMs start with very affordable fixed-rate terms of two or three years. After that, rates can jump three percentage points or more, and then re-adjust even higher every six months to a year. On a $200,000 mortgage, a reset could add nearly $400 to the monthly mortgage payment.

In both 2006 and 2007, well over 40 percent of subprime borrowers were awarded mortgages with either little or no documentation of their ability to pay. With these so-called "liar loans," borrowers did not have to show proof of either earnings or assets.

And even when borrowers did go on the record about their earning power, it didn't bode well. Both 2006 and 2007 saw a large proportion of loans with high debt-to-income ratios (DTI), which indicates the percentage of gross income required to pay debt. In 2007 subprime originations, the DTI hit 42.1 percent, up from 41.1 percent in 2006. Borrowers were simply taking on more debt that they could afford.

During the boom, rapid price appreciation meant borrowers built up home equity quickly. That minimized defaults, since owners could draw from that equity to pay their bills - including their mortgages - through home equity loans.

But prices fell starting in 2006,leaving borrowers with less home equity to draw upon when they run into financial problems.

Median home prices fell 5.8 percent nationally, and by double digits in many areas. That, along with the deterioration in underwriting, changed the default math.

Owners with mortgages worth more than their homes simply began walking away from their homes when costs become unmanageable.; February 21, 2008 7:23 AM
Anonymous said...: How solid are Option Arm loan.

In an option ARM, the borrower can make a minimum payment each month that covers only a fraction of the interest. The unpaid interest gets added to the mortgage principal.

This can go on for a set period of time, typically five or ten years, or until the loan hits a limit - usually 110% or 125% of its original value - at which point the borrower has to start paying down the whole shebang. The monthly increase can be shocking.

One factor that makes things different from past downturns is that borrowers are showing a new willingness to walk away from their mortgages, even if it means destroying their credit.; February 21, 2008 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: New Zealand money markets continued the upward climb on Wednesday, as credit becomes harder to secure through lack of liquidity.

For investors the news was great as the 90 day rate rose to 8.75%, well above the cash rate. Long term bonds rose another two points.; February 21, 2008 7:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now purchase and guarantee home loans of up to $729,750, but does that make any of these loans safer for MBS investors.

In fact, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are carrying more risk. So shouldn't the higher risk be spread through all 30 years fix rate loans.

Shouldn't 30 years fix interest rate go up.

If inflation is going up should MBS investors tied their money on low paying long term debt, are they better off buying TIPS or short term debt.; February 21, 2008 7:56 AM
Anonymous said...: To the brain dead pizza chugging Inflationista poster here. Look you obese asshole, I don't give a flying f*ck or rats ass about the price of Pizza (carbs) and bagels (more carbs). All you freaking imbeciles can think of is the price of food and oil. As if I give a shit. As far as I’m concerned the price of gas should be $10 per gallon so all of you shit for brains IT monkeys and morons making $50k a year are squeezed. Anyway, I heard that IT spending is going to drop significantly this year and that means yours truly, yes you retarded water head, will be kicked out on the street. Some Chinese dude with a ponytail will take your job and work for 3 bucks an hour. Then, even your shit hole 1BR roach hotel will be unaffordable. Congratulations Jackass welcome to being homeless!; February 21, 2008 1:55 PM
Anonymous said...: City of Vallejo flirting with bankruptcy:

http://tinyurl.com/35u4hx; February 21, 2008 2:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Every time one of you dumb-shits applies for a job the recruiter sees that you’ve checked the RENTING box.

This guy cracks me up. Too dumb to even read the post he was responding to - the post was a confession that I just bought a house.

You sound like such an imbecile!!!

We ITers know that we understand what happens in corporate America better than any one employee in the place. That's because we have to design the databases and the business logic to perform everyone's job for them. If there was one field you were going to call stupid without looking stupid, it wouldn't be IT architects. We seldom do the same thing twice in our entire careers,... now get back to the Pharmacy and count those pills genius. One...two....threeeee...four..; February 21, 2008 4:35 PM
Anonymous said...: We seldom do the same thing twice in our entire careers

That my dear drooling tongue lolling f*ck-tard is because you're too asinine to repeat the same task multiple times without f*cking up. You've had a dream that you bought a house but you know it's impossible as you could not even get through filling a credit application. You also know that you’re too broke to rent in fact you're sitting on momma's sofa farting and exercising your biceps by moving your hand from the potato chip bag to your mouth. Spare me your incoherent drivel and feed the bullshit to yourself.; February 21, 2008 6:20 PM
Anonymous said...: I just got an offer in the mail from BOA for a 50k personal loan to "consolidate" all my debts. Its called the "clean sweep" loan. I am insulted and amazed that they would just assume I'd be so far in debt that I would need a 50k loan just to consolidate all of them!!! I pay my CCs off each month taking the bonus rewards as pure profit and have a grand total of 1900 USD in debt because of a special of 6 months no interest and I will make 5 monthly payments of 380 USD to insure its paid off before they try to get their interest hooks in me!!!; February 21, 2008 6:44 PM
Anonymous said...: * A historic portion of a country ripped away given to thugs, militant islamists, drug dealers, and slavers.

* US Embassy building burns.

* NATO and Russia squareing off.

=

Yeop, sounds like the perfect distraction for our problems at home!; February 22, 2008 12:28 AM
Paul E. Math said...: Inflation v. Deflation - here's a theory, feel free to tear it to shreds.

I've been thinking about drawing a distinction between a) domestic supply of USD and b) international supply of USD. Conclusion: prices in USD will rise despite a declining money supply.

Here's how it works:

1. Domestic USD money supply is shrinking due to bank write-downs, fractional reserve lending and reluctance of banks to lend money, despite a low fed funds rate.

2. Foreigners hold massive amounts of US dollars that will not buy them anything they want (http://tinyurl.com/ypt9p2
). As they try to get rid of their US dollars, this increases the international supply of USD while demand is declining and the value of USD declines.

So even though the domestic money supply decreases (deflation, in the classical sense), the effect on the price of goods is as though the money supply is being increased (classical definition of inflation) because foreigners are putting more USD on the market - prices in USD terms will go up.

This increase in the international supply of USD will have none of the stimulative economic effects that a normal fed-induced increase in the money supply would have.

So in actual fact you have classical deflation, a reduction in the money supply. But the result is the opposite, the contemporary definition of inflation, domestic prices will actually rise.

I foresee a rise in the prices of all goods and services with a large international market. All commodities would fall into this category, including precious metals and agricultural products.

I foresee a drop in the prices of items whose market is primarily within the domestic US. Real estate falls into this category.

My prediction for stocks in US companies, their rise or fall will depend on their dependence on the US market. Companies heavily dependent on the US market will fall while those whose ties to the US market are largely vestigial may thrive. Overall, US stocks will decline.

This is a recipe for disaster for the US economy.; February 22, 2008 1:59 AM
Anonymous said...: GOLD TO DA MOON ALICE!!!!!!!!!!; February 22, 2008 5:47 AM
Anonymous said...: Thought y'all might get a bit outraged at this one:

http://homeguide123.com/articles/FBI_Will_Not_Go_After_Borrowers_Who_Lied_on_Mortgage_Applications.html

Borrowers who defrauded lenders by lying on their mortgage application could be thrown in prison for up to 30 years and forced to pay a $1 million fine under the current federal law. But the FBI says there is no intention to pursue borrowers at this time.

...

In 2006, the FBI studied three million mortgage loans and found that 30 to 70 percent of early payment defaults can be linked to misrepresentations in mortgage loan applications.; February 22, 2008 6:10 AM
Anonymous said...: WaPo: RE auctioneer lonely as the Maytag repair man:

http://tinyurl.com/344n5w

(Maybe another contrarian sign, but see what you think).; February 22, 2008 1:11 PM
Anonymous said...: http://appraisalnewsonline.typepad.com/appraisal_news_for_real_e/amc_appraisal_management/index.html

Eappraiseit/First American drops SLAPP lawsuit against Florida appraiser.

What do they have to hide?; February 22, 2008 2:53 PM
tater said...: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/business/17swap.html?_r=1&ei=5087&em=&en=4de50bef1ea7fe57&ex=1203570000&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1203692439-IKISdt/CD8allxMwgJ3ncA&oref=slogin

Could this be another shoe to drop?
Experts say no. Before the bottom dropped out of this economy, these same experts said the Market was fine and that there was nothing but SMOOTH SAILING ahead for the economy.

Might be something to watch, IMO.; February 22, 2008 3:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Colombia's central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point in a bid to tame accelerating inflation.

Policy makers increased the overnight interbank rate to 9.75 percent, surprising 24 of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Most analysts expected the rate to stay at 9.50 percent.

The central bank's seven-member board has raised lending rates by 2.5 percentage points in the past 15 months. Policy makers had kept rates unchanged the previous two months because of concern that an increase would further strengthen the peso or unnecessarily slow economic growth.

Inflation remains elevated and expectations continue to deteriorate.

International food prices remain high, so inflationary pressure persists.; February 22, 2008 7:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Inflation in India rose more than expected in early February to a six month high on rising food prices.

The wholesale price index hit 4.35% for the year up to 9 February, as the price of vegetables, fruit and lentils rose.

Economists expect inflation to head higher still as last week's rise in fuel prices starts to take effect.

Inflation remains below the Indian central bank's target rate of 5% but economists say it could breach that level in the near future.

"The numbers are definitely higher than expectations,

"With the fuel price hike showing up in headline numbers from next week, inflation seems to be on an uptrend and may reach the 5 percent mark very soon,"; February 22, 2008 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: And a kick save by the PPT...; February 22, 2008 8:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Unfortunately one of the few things still made in America is inflation. In fact, it now ranks as our greatest export.

A significant by-product of the current global economic system, wherein Americans spend money they do not earn to buy foreign products that they do not make, is that trillions of dollars are now parked in foreign banks just looking for somewhere to go.

In a healthy trade relationship, a nation pays for its imports with equal exports that result from real productivity that pumps up demand.

In contrast, the current U.S. import boom has been created by the artificial demand of inflation, in which increased money supply has put more dollars in the hands of U.S. consumers.

Normally, such growth in money supply would result in more substantial increases in domestic consumer prices. However for a number of reasons, the United States has been able to partially dodge this bullet. In short, we have exported our inflation abroad.; February 22, 2008 9:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Now rising living of standards for workers in China and India are pulling up prices for energy and food. These three billion new consumers in China and India want to eat like you thus keeping inflation at an uncomfortable level.

But should you expect something different, after all what is the meaning of fiat currencies. If money is a measure of unit labor work, then shouldn't the product of Chinese and Indian labor be measurable.

Our foreign creditors have awaken and they know what four stages of the secular economical cycle the current global economic system is in.

Now our foreign creditors awaken to the true meaning of money and they are disposing their excess dollars by exchanging them for other currencies or commodities, such as gold or oil.

Now that our foreign creditors have awaken to the true understanding of money, the US Federal Reserve has been “forced” to print more money to keep the economy going thus making the US Dollar weaker.

Where will this all ends.; February 22, 2008 10:02 PM
Anonymous said...: In years past, foreign investors were happy to hold strong U.S. dollars, which they either saved as a store of value, or used to purchase mighty Wall Street stocks and bonds.

However, when the dollar began its epic swan dive, and U.S. investments began to grossly underperform non-U.S. alternatives, private investors dumped their dollars en masse by exchanging them for local currencies. The unwanted dollars then became the property and problem of foreign central banks.

If central banks did not buy these dollars, foreign citizens would have been forced to sell their surplus dollars on the open market. To prevent this from happening these banks have become the buyers of first and last resort. However, to sop up all of the excess supply, central banks must create more of their own, resulting in rapidly expanding money supplies.

As much as Wall Street and government economists pretend otherwise, the expansion of money supply is the essential definition of inflation. The real reason that prices are rising in China is that so many yuan are being printed to buy up all these surplus dollars.; February 22, 2008 10:05 PM
Anonymous said...: It is no accident that those regions experiencing the highest inflation are those with currencies pegged to the dollar. The formerly strong dollar provided a compelling rationale for nations with weaker currencies to maintain currency pegs.

The linkage provided badly needed discipline to their central banks and created confidence in their currencies. However, it makes no sense at all for a nation with a strong currency to peg to a weaker one. It is analogous to an honor student cheating on his exam by copying the answers from the worst student in the class.

Many economic analysts have noted that rising prices in China are now resulting in higher import prices for Americans.

Ironically, many have concluded that this is evidence of China exporting inflation to the U.S. rather than China merely returning the inflation to its original source.; February 22, 2008 10:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Initially, the strong productivity growth of these export nations worked to lower consumer prices and masked the inflationary impact of rapid money supply growth.

However, with prices now exploding throughout Asia and the Middle East, governments can no longer ignore the inflation problem.

China has recently imposed price controls to deal with rapid increases in consumer prices.

However, as this merely attempts to mask the symptoms of inflation rather than addressing its root cause, this policy will prove as ineffective as it did in the United States in the 1970’s.

Once all of these misguided cures fail, Asia and the Gulf nations will swallow the only medicine that will work.

They will completely pull the plug on their dollar pegs. When they do it will not just be the dollar, but the entire American economy that goes down the drain.

The manner in which this massive bundle of funds will be disposed will have a gargantuan impact on the trajectory of the world economy. Unfortunately for America, the decisions are out of our hands, but the ramifications will largely be ours to bear.

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Schiff/
feb222008.html; February 22, 2008 10:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Dr. Doom' Zeroes In On Inflation

With oil at $100 a barrel and stagflation in the air, Dr. Doom is at it again.

Peter Schiff called dot-com mania a stock market bubble early in the 1990s. He predicted the U.S. housing blow-up years ago. He called the 2003 deflation scare bogus, he recommended oil at $30 and he's been bullish for at least a decade on gold and other commodities that are hitting record highs.

Now, with Wall Street clamoring for lower interest rates to prevent a meltdown in the world's financial markets, Schiff -- who earned his nickname and antipathy from Wall Street peers for his dire prognostications -- is playing the contrarian again. He says the Federal Reserve should raise rates dramatically to prevent a catastrophic outbreak of inflation. If he's right this time around, we're all in trouble.

"The people who are saying that inflation is not a problem are the same people who have constantly had the economy and the investing landscape wrong, and now, they're wrong once again," says Schiff

http://www.thestreet.com/s/
dr-doom-zeroes-in-on-inflation/
markets/marketfeatures/
10404530.html?puc=_tscrss; February 22, 2008 10:15 PM
Anonymous said...: The crash inspires some pretty creative stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivp4YqGCI-s; February 23, 2008 12:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Ironic humor or no? The "I Love David Lereah" t-shirt at amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2svbxv; February 23, 2008 12:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Looks like Raleigh NC is getting hit by the housing bust also....

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/958890.html

RaleighGuy; February 23, 2008 2:46 AM
Anonymous said...: .

ALICE TO DA MOON GOLD!!!!!!!!!

.; February 23, 2008 2:53 AM
Anonymous said...: FORECLOSURE "VICTIMS" GO CRIMINAL:

Pissed foreclosure victim robs bank that did the dirty deed.....

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/022208/news_20080222053.shtml; February 23, 2008 5:41 PM
Let It Sink said...: Hey Keith,

Keith here from LetItSink.blogspot.com. I am pissed about this Bank Bailout BS. I would like to invite you and your readers into battle. I just posted my declaration of war on these weasels. What we need is some pissed off people with energy and ideas. I want to make sure the weasels in office understand that we are against donating our money to bank investors and managers.

Are you with me or against me?

Keith; February 23, 2008 5:45 PM
Mitesh Damania said...: Really good video of Dr. Ravi Batra, Economics Professor.

He points out that corruption is the root cause of poverty. AND there's going to be a revolution coming.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=123593

-OR- direct link to youtube http://tinyurl.com/399w8a

Watch all 4 parts!!!; February 23, 2008 7:36 PM
Anonymous said...: "We ITers know that we understand what happens in corporate America better than any one employee in the place. That's because we have to design the databases and the business logic to perform everyone's job for them. If there was one field you were going to call stupid without looking stupid, it wouldn't be IT architects. We seldom do the same thing twice in our entire careers,... now get back to the Pharmacy and count those pills genius. One...two....threeeee...four.."

Oh PUHHH LEEEZZZEE

IT workers are some of the laziest people alive. Always complaining about something.

IT ARCHITECT...double PUHH LEEZZE. At least coders earn their keep by doing something. Architects on the other hand do more bullshitting than anyone else.

And if you are any IT employee working for a corporation you are the biggest idiot out there. You could be doing the exact same thing and earning 3X your income by consulting. Those people I have some respect for. They know how to play the game.; February 23, 2008 7:38 PM
Anonymous said...: washington post 23 feb article on FB family in suburban baltimore is priceless!

start with the deer-in-the-headlights mama picture, holding her bad news bill/s.

home appraised for $560 k last year, but lender (USAA) cut their HELOC which they were using to pay for emergencies such as "pre-school tuition for the twins". wife's REIC job already went bye-bye, hubby's job selling large printers & copiers to the building industry sure to follow.

her reply when the lender told her the home value had dropped by a cool 100K : "you're wrong"

and most priceless of all, mama's final quote: "i thought i was too smart to have something like this happen to me". guess not.

Macaca; February 23, 2008 9:18 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080210/NEWS/385281042/1033/NEWS01

How do you do the tiny url?

"They kept telling me the values would go up. I figured I could refinance and fix my payments,” Gomez said."

I am so tired of see this sh$t everyday.

Beignet; February 23, 2008 10:00 PM
Anonymous said...: here's the url for the WaPo article above:

http://tinyurl.com/35g3a2

Macaca; February 24, 2008 1:20 AM
Tyrone said...: Now playing...
....... Brokeback Consumer.
More People Tap 401(k) Accounts for Cash
As home prices fall and banks tighten lending standards, more people are doing the same thing: raiding their retirement savings just to get by and spending their nest eggs to gas up SUVs, pay mortgages or put food on the table.

Some of the nation's largest retirement plan administrators, such as Great-West Retirement Services and Fidelity Investments, are seeing double-digit spikes in hardship withdrawals and increases in loan requests, a sharp departure from levels that traditionally varied little.

Administrators say consumers are using retirement savings to pay for unmanageable mortgages, maxed-out credit cards, and costly utilities and groceries.

Charlton and his wife used the retirement money and $7,000 from savings to pay down their credit card debt. They also cut monthly expenses by pawning a diamond ring and selling camera equipment he owed money on. And he's looking for someone to take over his $550 monthly payment on a gray BMW 335i he leased last April.

Great-West Retirement Services, the unit of a Colorado-based insurance company that manages 3.5 million accounts for employers, said hardship withdrawals jumped 14 percent last year, and the number of loans rose almost 13 percent, with a dramatic increase occurring in the fourth quarter.

Fidelity Investments, which jockeys with Vanguard Group as the nation's largest mutual fund provider, said it saw withdrawals surge 17 percent in 2007, with record withdrawals in December, but a smaller increase in loans. Vanguard saw no change.

"I've been doing benefits administration for 15 years and using 401(k)s to keep mortgage payments under control is new to me," Perry said; February 24, 2008 6:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Dear Afterthought (aka, socially uninformed religious troglodyte),

“Obama has no choice but to govern well because of the racists maniacs in America; and still they won't be grateful. I pray that he picks his VP wisely, because the assassins' bullets are everywhere.

The American people, and I am not excluding whites, far from it! The American people are bankrupt, not just fiscally and intellectually, but spiritually as well.”

Your paranoid commentary offers nothing constructive to the political debate. In fact, suggesting that our society is incapable of embracing a qualified bi-racial candidate and that an assassination attempt is a foregone conclusion is simply delusional and quite troubling (yes, Obama is half and raised by his white mother-so much for his “hood” credentials). Seriously, do you hear voices in your head too? Do yourself a favor and stop reading the headlines and watching network news. I suggest the Economist or perhaps listening to the BBC.

While I agree that many things in America are far from ideal, by world standards we are doing exceptionally well. Your unjustified American self-loathing hate speak only serves to stir up unproductive debate on political non-issues.; February 24, 2008 1:11 PM
Anonymous said...: Blogger Let It Sink said...

Hey Keith,

Keith here from LetItSink.blogspot.com. I am pissed about this Bank Bailout BS. I would like to invite you and your readers into battle. I just posted my declaration of war on these weasels. What we need is some pissed off people with energy and ideas. I want to make sure the weasels in office understand that we are against donating our money to bank investors and managers.

Are you with me or against me?

Keith

You know every bone in my body says I want these assholes to die. Along with all the idiots that helped them to do this, but what happens when the banks fail? And they are going to fail. That means we all lose. Kind of hard to have a revolution when your hungry and looking for firewood?

I might even overcome hunger pains if I knew that these people would be strung up in public so we could all watch them suffer. There won't be a single one of these scums go to jail. None of them. So they took the money, they want a bailout or we have Great Depression V2.

Are there even any choices now? I don't think so. A day late and a dollar short.

The Americano is Toast.; February 24, 2008 4:47 PM
W.C. Varones said...: Banks to Ambac:

You've got me? Who's got you?; February 24, 2008 5:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Keith I know that this is way down on the page, but when are you going to talk about the NAFTA super highway. Where as now ships will bypass the US, okay thanks Bill and Hillary those jobs gone, go straight to MEXICO ports ($5 bucks an hour)and then drive that Wal-Mart chinese made junk straight into the US. (goodbye trucking jobs and if you get one minimum wage)poor farmers loosing land and the US government lied and said no freeway like this was planned and then when the construction trucks showed up they had to admit yes they are building a superhighway. All of em LIARS. And everyone wants to feel sympathy for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman in a man's world. Well she agreed to this NAFTA BS when her husband was in office it's in her book and now we are seeing the end result. I always thought Bill Clinton was an asshole and the only reason he had a black budget is because he refused to send troops in anywhere to defend this country. Remember the ship getting blown up, remember the consulates getting blown up, remember Rwanda remember the starving people in Africa. Remember farmers saying they were throwing food away because they grew too much. I believe the world trade center was blown up was because of Clinton policy to accept terrorist mistreatment and the terrorist thought Bush was of the same caliber. Wrong. He was f-ing nuts. Went over to Afganistan and started blowing the country up with Daisy Cutters, and then the weather went bad and that's when the talk of global warming started.
The stuff the Clintons did need some futhur review as to remind people yes Hillary is no Cindy McCain, does that lady have a wind up knob in her back.
Everyone needs to rise up about the NAFTA superhighway because there really won't be any jobs that pay decent if that goes to CANADA as proposed. Now I am even scared of what could happen to this country. There will be no more USA it will finally be owned lock, stock, and barrel by the world.; February 24, 2008 7:16 PM
Anonymous said...: hey keith ,heres a good read, please check it out ok?

http://www.rense.com/general80/tsu5.htm; February 24, 2008 9:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Food takes bigger bite from wallet
Rising commodity prices passed on to consumers

Sara Lee Corp., stung by record-high wheat prices, plans to raise prices on its namesake bread this spring, the fourth such increase in just 11/2 years.

Take Sara Lee's actions and multiply it by hundreds of manufacturers and thousands of food products, and it's clear why food prices are rising at a pace not seen in almost 20 years.

The trend was underscored Wednesday, when a government report showed food prices played a key role in driving up overall inflation.

Unprecedented increases in the cost of basic commodities such as grain and milk, and dramatic rise in energy prices mean that Food companies have been passing along their cost increases to consumers and for the most part are succeeding.; February 24, 2008 11:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Like the housing market, there are different stages and phases to Inflation.

Have you noticed that more and more people who are frustrated by increased prices are joining place like Sam's Club and Costco to buy products in bulk to save money.

Walk around discount food store, like "Dollar Tree" and you will find that more and more people are competing with the poor and buying their can foods product there.

But how long can these consumers last when bulk food stores start marking up their prices as food companies implement more price hikes to keep up with soaring food costs.

Bread prices were up 10 percent year over year in January and December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Cheese and milk prices have posted several months of double-digit price hikes, their biggest spikes since at least the late 1990s.

Food prices have risen at nearly a 5 percent year-over-year rate recently.; February 24, 2008 11:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Food inflation is one of the most politically sensitive areas of the Indian economy

India is at risk of sustained food price inflation as domestic production of key staples such as wheat and edible oil fails to keep pace with rising demand, according to the country's top official on commodities trading.

B.C. Khatua, the chairman of the Forward Markets Commission, which regulates futures trading for food commodities ranging from wheat and rice to dried beans, said India urgently needed to improve agricultural productivity to stem food price rises, which hit the nation's poor majority the hardest. "India has a deficit of oilseed, a deficit of many pulses and now a deficit of wheat - all the major staples are now getting hit by the demand-supply gap," said Mr Khatua.; February 25, 2008 12:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Now rising living of standards for workers in China and India are pulling up prices for energy and food. These three billion new consumers in China and India want to eat like you thus keeping inflation at an uncomfortable level.

But should you expect something different, after all what is the meaning of fiat currencies. If money is a measure of unit labor work, then shouldn't the product of Chinese and Indian labor be measurable.

Corn futures surged to a 12-year high Monday on expectations that world supplies will shrink rapidly amid growing demand for the grain to feed livestock and make alternative fuel.

Investors snapped up corn contracts for a second straight session after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a bullish report Friday projecting a steep drop in U.S. corn ending stocks.

Despite a record U.S. harvest last year, corn prices rose more than 15 percent in 2007, driven by the burgeoning ethanol industry and growing demand for livestock feed in places like China.

Dry, hot weather in South America’s corn belt has also pushed up prices.; February 25, 2008 12:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Vane55a10

Okay I will call my client and tell them to order an appraisal and spend the $350 and then provide her with the bad news that there is no value in the property...I think she'll be more then happy to send me referrals ASAP.

To say that its un-ethical that I ask for comps is a little ridicilous...seriously! The business the appraisers had was because the brokers called to order the appraisal and if the value is there...I will stay faithful to that appraiser who pulled comps for me and order that full appraisal.

Hovious

So what you are saying is that you are only willing send appraisal work to appraisers who "play your game".

What would your lender think about that?

Do you treat your credit reporting agencies the same way?

When you need to pull a credit report do you tell the credit reporting company "tell me their credit score first, if it is too low then I do not want to pay for the credit report"?

Or what about your accountant? "Please Mr. Accountant, what will my refund be? If it is not what I expect then do not bother completing my tax return because I will not pay for your service".

http://forum.brokeroutpost.com/
loans/forum/2/202451.htm; February 25, 2008 2:55 AM
Anonymous said...: The federal government calculated that consumer prices in the Bay Area rose just under 4 percent in 2007. Ask a person on the street what they think of that figure and you're apt to get a rude reply.

No official statistics are greeted with more skepticism than the Consumer Price Index, the Labor Department's monthly inflation report.

"Most people do not believe the numbers," said Oakland economist John Williams, author of Shadowstats.com, a Web site critical of government economics data.

The disconnect between government inflation reports and the perceptions of ordinary people stems from a variety of factors, including the technical methods used to reckon rising costs.

The data is also troubling to some because no one is "average." Many people spend their money on goods and services whose prices are climbing faster than the overall rate of inflation. What's more, yesterday's luxuries become today's necessities, with the household budget expanding to include items such as broadband access and cell phone fees.

More than anything else, though, the sense that inflation is running higher than the government says is due to the mounting anxiety so many people experience as they watch their cost of living outpace their income.; February 25, 2008 3:07 AM
Anonymous said...: "IT workers are some of the laziest people alive. Always complaining about something. "

Go f*ck yourself!

"And if you are any IT employee working for a corporation you are the biggest idiot out there. "

Again, go f*ck yourself! It's not like we have a choice, you idiot! Most people who become consultants are right back to being on the corporate payroll within 1 to 2 years. There is no money to be made in consulting unless you are very well conected. Like many, you don not know what you are talking about, So SHUT THE F*CK UP!; February 25, 2008 3:19 AM
Anonymous said...: The rise in foreclosures and neglected swimming pools have workers from the Fresno mosquito and vector control district gearing up for a busy season.

This pool sits in the backyard of a foreclosed home in northwest Fresno and there are probably thousands more throughout Fresno County.

The Fresno mosquito and vector control district says in the last year, the number of known green pools has doubled in its area of the county as shown in these aerial photos.

That has them starting the fight against West Nile about two weeks early this year.

Tim Phillips, Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District, says "We went from around 440 swimming pools that were unattended green to about 1,000 so we would like to get in sooner and get a handle on them and get them controlled before the season kicks in."; February 25, 2008 3:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Despite the growing number of foreclosures across the U.S., bargains at auctions are still hard to find.

REOs are homes that fail to sell at auctions and are then put on the market by banks.

Foreclosures are homes which have been repossessed by banks, from owners who have failed to make their mortgage payments.

Banks then put the homes up for auction.

Buyers are likely to do better with bank-owned properties. Prices of REO properties are often 40 percent below market price.; February 25, 2008 3:33 AM
Anonymous said...: For what one expert thought was the first time, the number of monthly foreclosures exceeded the number of monthly home sales in California in January, according to data compiled by two research companies.

The data is a grim reflection of the worsening housing market, as the number of homeowners who can't or won't make their payments rises and the number of home buyers dwindles.

ForeclosureRadar, a Discovery Bay real estate research firm, said 19,821 California homes went into foreclosure in January, representing about $8 billion in home loans.

Meanwhile, DataQuick reported 19,145 home and condo sales in January.; February 25, 2008 3:39 AM
Anonymous said...: You might think that it's an especially good time to get a deal on a foreclosed home at an auction.

It isn't. Despite the growing number of foreclosures across the country, there are few bargains to be found at auctions. For one thing, you'll be competing against savvy local investors who know how to gauge a property's real value. What's more, many properties are mortgaged so steeply that banks often ask for bids that are higher than the properties are worth.

There are other ways, though, for a determined buyer to tap into the foreclosure market. One is buying a home in "preforeclosure" directly from the homeowner. Another, more-promising route: buying a home that failed to sell at auction and has been put back on the market by the bank that holds the mortgage.

The number of foreclosed homes is expected to quadruple this year, adding one million properties to the market in 2008 and again in 2009, according to Lehman Brothers.; February 25, 2008 3:45 AM
Anonymous said...: go see the doctor and use your insurance cards and double your health insurance compounding cost and bills, while begging to be bled into poverty to see about the "mole" on your body?????; February 25, 2008 3:55 AM
Anonymous said...: your wasting andrew cuomo where he is. he hAS A linkage to the beleif of "right to live"...which could come in handy when your sitting in internment camps for voicing your opinions.............; February 25, 2008 4:02 AM
Anonymous said...: the bogus assements aka prices just more methods of con job to bleed the public for money for more cronyistic govt spendings.....; February 25, 2008 4:34 AM
Anonymous said...: each and every one of us own a peice of the frozen lands of the chickens er penquins ....... sad..............; February 25, 2008 4:49 AM
Anonymous said...: The new buyers of a rundown graystone on the South Side showed up Jan. 9 to look at the house they won at a foreclosure auction. They took the plywood off the front door and went inside to make sure the utilities had been shut off. Then they called the police.

Sitting upright in the corner of a bedroom off the kitchen was a human skeleton in a red tracksuit. Next to him lay a dead dog. Neighbors told police the corpse was almost certainly Randy Johnson, a middle-age man who lived alone in the North Kenwood house.

The cause of Johnson's death has not yet been determined, but it is just one of the mysteries about 4578 S. Oakenwald Ave. Somehow, Johnson's house was transferred three times to new owners without anyone noticing he was inside. It's a story involving forged deeds, a corrupt title company and a South Side family that has been under investigation for mortgage fraud.

Left holding the bag is Countrywide Home Loans, the nation's largest mortgage lender and a company whose practices are being scrutinized by the Illinois attorney general's office. Countrywide made mortgages of $450,000 on the property. Now it is likely to lose it all because it financed the sale of a home whose rightful owner was in no condition to sell.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/; February 25, 2008 5:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Realtors in Tahoe-Truckee say the word foreclosure has not been spoken in the area since the early 1990s - until now.

"It is the majority of my listings," said Kelly Smith, a North Shore real estate broker.

Smith represents a small stable of 21 properties, and his Tahoe Vista company, Century 21, is contracted to sell homes owned by Countrywide Financial, one of the more familiar names associated with the subprime mortgage situation.

With 62 percent of his properties in foreclosure, Smith says it shows that the Tahoe-Truckee market is not immune to the more drastic fallout caused by the housing meltdown. Smith said the foreclosures are "concentrated in the more affordable areas and the lower price ranges" and are "typically" the primary residence of the owners.

The areas hardest hit so far are Truckee and South Lake Tahoe, he said.; February 25, 2008 5:43 AM
Anonymous said...: The cost of many basic foods, like at this market in Amman, has doubled. Some in the middle class are tilting toward poverty.

Even as it enriches Arab rulers, the recent oil-price boom is helping to fuel an extraordinary rise in the cost of food and other basic goods that is squeezing this region’s middle class and setting off strikes, demonstrations and occasional riots from Morocco to the Persian Gulf.

Here in Jordan, the cost of maintaining fuel subsidies amid the surge in prices forced the government to remove almost all the subsidies this month, sending the price of some fuels up 76 percent overnight.

In a devastating domino effect, the cost of basic foods like eggs, potatoes and cucumbers doubled or more.; February 25, 2008 5:53 AM
Anonymous said...: The inflation has many causes, from rising global demand for commodities to the monetary constraints of currencies pegged to the weakening American dollar.

In Saudi Arabia, where inflation had been virtually zero for a decade, it recently reached an official level of 6.5 percent, though unofficial estimates put it much higher.

Public protests and boycotts have followed, and 19 prominent clerics posted an unusual statement on the Internet in December warning of a crisis that would cause “theft, cheating, armed robbery and resentment between rich and poor.”; February 25, 2008 5:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Escalating inflation, a recurrent problem throughout Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies, is "an increasingly pressing concern," according to a prominent banker.

Dr Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank AG commented, "Our view is that price pressures are mainly related to a weaker US dollar and a credit boom, coupled with supply bottlenecks, particularly in the real estate and housing sectors."

Inflation levels in a number of GCC economies have effectively overtaken official lending rates spurring a soaring demand for credit.

UAE mortgage lending at historic highs, has almost doubled in the year to June to Dh45.7 according to Reuters.

In maintaining the dollar peg GCC governments have few tools at their disposal to rein in inflation and have adopted ad-hoc measures such as rent caps and significant public sector wage rises.; February 25, 2008 5:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Inflation could hit levels not seen since the oil crisis of the late 1970s, with consumer prices possibly jumping by as much as 7% last month from a year ago.

A lethal combination of surging food and oil prices worldwide, coupled with higher housing and transport costs in Singapore, will produce an eye-popping figure when the actual number is published today (Feb 25), say economists.; February 25, 2008 6:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Inflation in Zimbabwe increased to a record 12-month rate of more than 110,000 percent in January, it was reported Friday.

Ghana's headline inflation for January 2008 is 12.81 percent, data released by the Ghana Statistical Service

Higher food prices pushed Egypt's consumer price index for urban areas up 10.5 percent in the year to January 2008, from 6.9 percent in the year to December 2007.

Tanzania's annual inflation rose to 8.6 percent in January from 6.4 percent in December due to higher food and power prices, the National Bureau of Statistics

Nigerian inflation surged in January to 8.6 percent from 6.6 percent in December, driven by food price rises, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

Botswana's inflation rate rose to 8.4 percent year-on-year in January from 8.1 percent in December due largely to higher food

Namibia's annual inflation increased to 7.8% in January from 7.1% in December, citing the Central Bureau of Statistics; February 25, 2008 6:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Money is what a psychologist calls a conditioned reinforcer, which means that, if you give people these worthless pieces of paper, other humans are inclined to give you useful things in exchange.

Money use depends upon the belief that others will act in like manner at a future date.

Once belief in a form of money ceases, that object (eg dollar bills) ceases to function as money, that is, it ceases to be money!

Inflation is caused by increasing the quantity of money relative to the traded goods within a society.

That effect can also be achieved by lowering the quantity of tradable goods.

http://www.abelard.org/
inflation.htm; February 25, 2008 6:49 AM
Anonymous said...: For a second day World oil prices rose to near 100 dollars per barrel in Asian trade on Monday, as Turkey continued its military assault against rebel bases in northern Iraq, OPEC's sixth-largest oil producer

Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari meanwhile said on Saturday that Tehran would back a plan to cut oil production at next month's OPEC meeting, the oil ministry news agency Shana said.

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) energy ministers meet in Vienna on March 5.

"In reality, it is going to be difficult for OPEC to really cut production levels if prices stay between the 90-100 dollar range," said Shum.

OPEC earlier this month left its official daily output ceiling at 29.67 million barrels.

That was despite US calls for an output increase to reduce high oil prices. Western countries fear pricey black gold will stunt economic growth, which is already faltering in the US, and further fuel inflation.; February 25, 2008 7:02 AM