tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post2414388011349933035..comments2023-12-30T10:06:37.450+00:00Comments on HousingPANIC - The Housing Bubble Blog with an Attitude Problem, 2005 - 2008: BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the category five housing hurricane underwaybloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06585266242070350399noreply@blogger.comBlogger396125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-28746412646407251512013-03-18T16:19:22.600+00:002013-03-18T16:19:22.600+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-27285521772429005682007-04-18T08:01:00.000+01:002007-04-18T08:01:00.000+01:00Homefield Financial Inc., a California-based mortg...Homefield Financial Inc., a California-based mortgage banker specializing in non-traditional loans, has closed its wholesale mortgage business, the company said.<BR/><BR/>"It is with great regret that Homefield announces that the Homefield wholesale division will no longer be accepting broker applications for consideration of a broker/lender relationship, and/or loan application packages for loan approval," Homefield said.<BR/><BR/>The news was first reported on The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, a blog that tracks the state of the mortgage-lending industry. Privately held Homefield -- a member of the Inc. 500 list of fast-growing private firms in 2004 and 2005 -- was the latest casualty of the downturn in the market for non-traditional mortgage loans.<BR/><BR/>According to the site www.mortageimplode.com, 58 mortgage lenders have stopped doing business since the sector downturn began in late 2006. <BR/><BR/>http://www.unionleader.com/<BR/>article.aspx?headline=<BR/>Homefield+quits+mortgage+<BR/>business&articleId=139a5563-<BR/>16c2-4d7f-9ba6-4eb04b041396Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-959544819724790692007-04-18T07:58:00.000+01:002007-04-18T07:58:00.000+01:00M&T earnings fall 13% The Buffalo-based company po...M&T earnings fall 13%<BR/><BR/> The Buffalo-based company posted diluted earnings per share of $1.57, down 11.2 percent from $1.77 a year ago. Several weeks ago after M&T warned of lower earnings for the quarter, analysts adjusted their estimate to $1.56, down from $1.86 one month earlier.<BR/><BR/>In late March, M&T said it decided to shift $883 million of Alt-A loans previously held for sale to its held-for-investment residential mortgage loan portfolio, and that it was obligated to buy back previously sold Alt-A mortgages.<BR/><BR/>Almost the entire problem for M&T stemmed from its participation in the alternative mortgage, or Alt-A mortgage market. Alt-A mortgages are not subprime mortgages but were indirectly affected by current difficulties in the subprime lending sector, Wilmers said.<BR/><BR/>Asked after his presentation if he thought M&T's Alt-A problems were over and not likely to lead to a lowered earnings warning for the second quarter, Wilmers said "I hope they are behind us." <BR/><BR/>http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo<BR/>/stories/2007/04/16/daily14.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-39390903589413476582007-04-18T06:56:00.000+01:002007-04-18T06:56:00.000+01:00Washington Mutual Inc. reported a 20 percent slide...Washington Mutual Inc. reported a 20 percent slide in its first-quarter earnings Tuesday, citing a nationwide implosion of the subprime home loan market. Even so, the company beat Wall Street estimates, and its stock rose in after-hours trading.<BR/><BR/>Washington Mutual's home loans group posted a first-quarter loss of $113 million compared with a $52 million profit during the year-ago period. The company suffered a quarterly loss of $164 million on sales of subprime mortgages.<BR/><BR/>http://www.forbes.com/feeds/<BR/>ap/2007/04/17/ap3623552.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-80603455814779639902007-04-18T06:51:00.000+01:002007-04-18T06:51:00.000+01:00Wells Fargo, the nation's fifth largest bank, said...Wells Fargo, the nation's fifth largest bank, said that deterioration in subprime mortgages forced it to slash revenues by some $90 million as it wrote down those loans and set aside money for defaults. Subprime mortgages are loans to borrowers with blemished credit or low credit scores.<BR/><BR/>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/<BR/>APWires/business/D8OIJPKG2.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-31133926487063489592007-04-18T06:47:00.000+01:002007-04-18T06:47:00.000+01:00Washington Federal, Inc., parent company of Washin...Washington Federal, Inc., parent company of Washington Federal Savings, today announced earnings of $33,483,000 or $.38 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, compared to $36,340,000 or $.42 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, a 7.9% decrease in earnings. <BR/><BR/>http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/<BR/>provider/providerarticle.aspx?<BR/>Feed=MW&Date=20070416&ID=6753799Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-25805348549048588402007-04-18T06:44:00.000+01:002007-04-18T06:44:00.000+01:00SunTrust Banks Inc., the seventh-largest U.S. bank...SunTrust Banks Inc., the seventh-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday first-quarter profit fell 3 percent as mortgage revenue plunged and loan losses increased.<BR/><BR/>Net income for the Atlanta-based company declined to $513.9 million, or $1.44 per share, from $531.5 million, or $1.46, a year earlier. Revenue rose 1 percent to $2.07 billion. <BR/><BR/>Mortgage profit sank 90 percent to $7.5 million from $77.6 million, hurt by lower margins on loans sold, lower servicing income and higher write-offs for "Alt-A" loans.<BR/><BR/>http://today.reuters.com/news/<BR/>articleinvesting.aspx?type=<BR/>bondsNews&storyID=2007-04-<BR/>17T143657Z_01_N17385190_<BR/>RTRIDST_0_SUNTRUST-RESULTS-<BR/>UPDATE-3.XMLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-76510187584311933592007-04-18T06:41:00.000+01:002007-04-18T06:41:00.000+01:00Aegis Lending Corp. shut its Sacramento lending of...Aegis Lending Corp. shut its Sacramento lending office on April 6 letting about 25 employees go. The move by the Houston-based company was part of an overall repositioning of the company, said a company spokesman.<BR/><BR/>The Sacramento Aegis office, which was in South Natomas, focused on subprime lending.<BR/><BR/>The move to close the Sacramento office comes as subprime mortgage lending across the country is tanking as those type of mortgages issued over the past few years have gone into default in record numbers. <BR/><BR/>http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/<BR/>eastbay/othercities/sacramento/<BR/>stories/2007/04/16/<BR/>daily25.html?b=1176696000^1448321Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-53876028226961625252007-04-18T02:11:00.000+01:002007-04-18T02:11:00.000+01:00Cost of Food and Gas do not count when measuring C...Cost of Food and Gas do not count when measuring Core Inflation. <BR/><BR/>Core US CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose just 0.1 pct compared to market forecasts for a 0.2 pct increase.<BR/><BR/>Don't tell that to the Califorians.<BR/><BR/>Californians Cut Spending to Pay for Gas<BR/><BR/>Many Californians are tweaking their budgets to compensate for the high price of gasoline, according to a field poll released today. Those who make under $40,000 a year are most affected, said poll director Mark DiCamillo. <BR/><BR/>"A large portion of Californians, 44 percent, think that the recent gas price increases are causing them to cut back in other areas of spending. This is particularly true among lower income residents, 62 percent of whom say they're cutting back in other areas. That's more than twice the proportion who say this among higher income groups," he said. <BR/><BR/>When asked who was to blame for the price hikes, two out of three people polled said the oil companies were responsible. "Oil companies bear much of the blame when things go wrong in relation to gasoline prices and it's certainly the case again. Sixty-five percent of Californians say oil companies are a lot to blame for the current problem, but another 46 percent blame the Bush administration," said DiCamillo. <BR/><BR/>Thirty-seven percent place the blame on foreign countries that produce the oil, and 29 percent said Americans' driving habits are forcing prices up. <BR/><BR/>A similar poll was put out two years ago, after gas prices first reached the $2 per gallon level. DiCamillo said the findings in today’s poll suggest drivers are used to $2 a gallon, which is why they aren’t outraged at current prices. <BR/><BR/>And No one said a WEAKER DOLLAR, SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!<BR/><BR/>http://kcbs.com/pages/<BR/>360418.php?contentType=<BR/>4&contentId=416950Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-43788186360811932062007-04-18T00:02:00.000+01:002007-04-18T00:02:00.000+01:00Fannie Mae, in a new program called "HomeStay," is...Fannie Mae, in a new program called "HomeStay," is offering new options so that lenders can help subprime borrowers refinance out of high-interest adjustable-rate mortgages or other difficult loans, said President and CEO Daniel Mudd. He said the company plans to stretch the term on subprime loans to 40 years from the current maximum 30 years — which will reduce monthly payments for borrowers by around 5 percent.<BR/>___________________<BR/><BR/>Are they kidding? Does Congress --and Fannie Mae -- really think a 5% reduction in monthly payments is gonna save the majority of the FBs who are in WAY over their heads????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-43414087425344349112007-04-17T19:51:00.000+01:002007-04-17T19:51:00.000+01:00I think your readers will find the slides I publis...I think your readers will find the slides I published from a banking conference very interesting. Enjoy.<BR/>http://thegreatloanblog.blogspot.com/The Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962625735760822645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-36054840782942524442007-04-17T08:29:00.000+01:002007-04-17T08:29:00.000+01:00He is an Asian-American student at Virginia Tech U...He is an Asian-American student at Virginia Tech University, whose personal blogs reveal a recently wounded heart and an eye-opening gun fetish.<BR/><BR/>But Wayne Chiang - the subject of fevered speculation on the internet - is not the man responsible for this morning's massacre at the southern US university.<BR/><BR/>Rumours that Chiang, 23, was the mass murderer spread across the world after links to his various blogs were posted on social networking website Facebook and similar sites. Many noted the similarities between Chiang and the person described in accounts of the Virginia Tech tragedy as the shooter.<BR/><BR/>More than 80,000 people visited Chiang's sites. The sites are decorated with photos of Chiang posing with semi-automatic weapons and Russian rifles. His last post before the killings showed him proudly standing alongside 14 Russian Mosin Nagant M44 weapons.<BR/><BR/>The sites also suggested a recent break-up, quoting maudlin love songs by Justin Timberlake and Katie Melua and quoting an "American proverb": "There are plenty of fish in the sea". One of the blogs was titled "Those who love at first sight are traitors at every glance".<BR/><BR/>At 10.29pm US Eastern time, Chiang finally sought to clear up the confusion.<BR/><BR/>"Coming out," his post said. "I am not the shooter. Through this experience, I have received numerous death threats, slanderous accusations, and my phone is out of charge from the barrage of calls. Local police have been notified of the situation."<BR/><BR/>Later, he sent his condolences to the families of those killed in Virginia, signing off with the slogan, "Go Hokies."<BR/><BR/>In an interview with American ABC, Chiang said: "Right now pretty much the internet thinks it is me . . . I am just interested in trying to clear my name.<BR/><BR/>http://www.theage.com.au/news/<BR/>world/the-internet-thinks-its-me/<BR/>2007/04/17/1176696821109.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-46238904948660752032007-04-17T08:19:00.000+01:002007-04-17T08:19:00.000+01:00Witnesses described the shooter to MSNBC as a man ...Witnesses described the shooter to MSNBC as a man in his 20s, wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket. He was armed with two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition, the Associated Press reported, citing unidentified law officials. At least two witnesses told CNN the shooter was Asian.<BR/><BR/>Chinese National<BR/><BR/>Authorities are investigating whether the gunman was a 24- year-old Chinese national who arrived in San Francisco on a United Airlines flight on Aug. 7 last year on a student visa issued in Shanghai, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported on its Web site, citing an unidentified official.<BR/><BR/>Police have a ``preliminary'' identification for the Norris Hall shooter, said Flinchum, who declined to give more details. The shooter and the ``person of interest'' are ``not the same person,'' Flinchum said.<BR/><BR/>Ballistic tests are being conducted to try and determine any connections between the two sites, Flinchum said.<BR/><BR/>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/<BR/>news?pid=20601087&sid=<BR/>ahz0htl7kS1M&refer=homeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-32082318282024012112007-04-17T07:35:00.000+01:002007-04-17T07:35:00.000+01:00Give me a great big break.......obviously this man...Give me a great big break.......obviously this man had a plan and he did what he intended to do, without regard to any human life. This could have happened anywhere and at anytime if someone has this sort of an agenda. <BR/><BR/>http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/<BR/>2007/04/17/news/<BR/>doc46238719125a1529173517.txtAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-41868219798195415412007-04-17T07:31:00.000+01:002007-04-17T07:31:00.000+01:00The gunman, Perkins said, first shot the professor...The gunman, Perkins said, first shot the professor in the head and then fired on the students. <BR/><BR/>Perkins said the gunman was about 19 years old and had a "very serious but very calm look on his face."<BR/><BR/>In all, the death toll of the two shootings was 33, including the gunman. At least 15 people were wounded, four seriously.<BR/><BR/>The methodical mass murder forever stamped tragedy on the picturesque campus nestled in the western foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.<BR/><BR/>Officers arriving on the scene found at least two doors chained to prevent the building's occupants from escaping, police said.<BR/><BR/>Young people and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. Many found themselves trapped behind the chained and padlocked doors.<BR/><BR/>SWAT team members and FBI agents with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus.<BR/><BR/>SWAT team members rushed them downstairs, but the doors were chained and padlocked from the inside. <BR/><BR/>Sheree Mixell, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the evidence was being moved to the agency's national lab in Annandale, Va. At least one firearm was turned over, she said.<BR/><BR/>Mixell would not comment on what types of weapons were used or whether the gunman was a student.<BR/><BR/>http://www.foxnews.com/<BR/>story/0,2933,266463,00.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-12218236850166913462007-04-17T07:15:00.000+01:002007-04-17T07:15:00.000+01:00Where did the shooter get his guns? Update: an ans...Where did the shooter get his guns? Update: an answer?<BR/><BR/>If the reports are accurate, we have a 24-year-old Chinese national in the US on a student visa as the VTech shooter. I don’t know a great deal about the process for student visa holders to obtain firearms, but I have a friend who does know quite a bit about it. So I’ll defer to an email he just sent me.<BR/><BR/>Section 121 of Public Law 105-277, the Omnibus Appropriations Act for 1999, amended the Gun Control Act of 1968 to prohibit, with certain exceptions, the transfer to and possession of firearms by aliens admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. This definition includes, in large part, persons traveling temporarily in the United States for business or pleasure, persons studying in the United States who maintain a residence abroad, and certain foreign workers. Therefore, you, as a Federal firearms licensee, are prohibited from transferring firearms to aliens that fall within this category.<BR/><BR/>Call BS all you like, but I just spent the last several hours with 3 ATF agents. I saw the shooter’s picture. I know his name and home address. I also know that he used a Glock 19 and a Walther P-22. The serial number was ground off the Glock. Why would he do that and still keep the receipt in his pocket from when he bought the gun?<BR/><BR/>ATF told me that they are going to keep this low-key and not report this to the tv news. However, they cautioned that it will leak out eventually, and that I should be ready to deal with CNN, FOX, etc.<BR/>My 32 camera surveillance system recorded the event 35 days ago. This is a digital system that only keeps the video for 35 days. We got lucky.<BR/><BR/>By the way, the paperwork for Mr. Cho was perfect, thank God.<BR/><BR/>http://hotair.com/archives/<BR/>2007/04/16/where-did-the-shooter<BR/>-get-his-guns/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-77576568793280345052007-04-17T07:07:00.000+01:002007-04-17T07:07:00.000+01:00Was the Uni gunman a TERRORISTREPORTS have emerged...Was the Uni gunman a TERRORIST<BR/><BR/>REPORTS have emerged that the gunman who killed 32 people in a rampage at a US university was a Chinese man who arrived in the country last year on a student visa.<BR/><BR/>Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported today that sources have said the 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on Aug. 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai.<BR/><BR/>Investigators have not linked him to any TERRORIST GROUPS, the source said.<BR/><BR/>Sneed also reported sources said police believe THREE BOMB THREATS on the Virginia Tech University campus last week may have been ATTEMPTS BY THE MAN TO TEST THE CAMPUS' SECURITY RESPONSE.<BR/><BR/>The first hint at the identity of the gunman, who took 32 lives before killing himself in a rampage through the university yesterday, emerged as pictures of the victims and survivors' stories began to emerge.<BR/><BR/>"He was, I would say, about a little bit under six feet (183 cm) tall, young looking, Asian, dressed sort of strangely, almost like a boy scout, very short-sleeved light, tan shirt and some sort of ammo vest with black over it,'' Sheehan said.<BR/><BR/>She said he was carrying what appeared to be a black handgun and peeked in twice to the class before later coming back with murderous intent.<BR/><BR/>``He just stepped within five feet (1.5 metres) of the door and started firing,'' said Sheehan, a freshman (first year) mechanical engineering major.<BR/><BR/>``He seemed very thorough about it, getting almost everyone down. I was trying to act dead,'' she said.<BR/><BR/>``He left for about 30 seconds, came back in, did almost exactly the same thing. I guess he heard us still talking.<BR/><BR/>``And then we forced ourselves against the door so he couldn't come in again, the door would not lock. And so he came and tried to force himself in another three times and started shooting through the door.'' <BR/><BR/>http://www.news.com.au/<BR/>dailytelegraph/story/<BR/>0,22049,21571821-5001021,00.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-90992804314571122742007-04-17T04:43:00.000+01:002007-04-17T04:43:00.000+01:00NEWS FLASH * * * * * California foreclosures near ...NEWS FLASH * * * * * California foreclosures near record levels<BR/>By David Streitfeld, Times Staff Writer<BR/>12:25 PM PDT, April 16, 2007 <BR/><BR/><BR/>The number of Californians losing their homes to foreclosure rose in the first three months of the year to the highest level in a decade, a real estate information service said today, providing grim evidence that the shake-out in real estate is nowhere near over.<BR/><BR/>Foreclosures totaled 11,033, up 802% from the placid levels of early 2006, according to DataQuick Information Services in La Jolla. Foreclosures peaked at 15,418 in third-quarter 1996, at the tail end of the last big slowdown in the state. They bottomed out at 637 in the second quarter of 2005, as the most recent boom was cresting.<BR/><BR/>Tens of thousands of homeowners are being warned that they too are at risk. Notices of default, sent by lenders after about five months of missed payments, reached 46,760 in the first quarter, DataQuick said.<BR/><BR/>That was a jump of 148% from the first quarter of 2006, and the highest since 47,912 in the second quarter of 1997. The peak for defaults was in the first quarter of 1996, with 61,541.<BR/><BR/>"I figured they'd go up," said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. "I didn't figure they'd go up this fast."<BR/><BR/>The default and foreclosure totals varied widely by area. Generally, the places with the cheapest housing--such as the Inland Empire and Central Valley--fared the worst.<BR/><BR/>Another problem spot is San Diego County, where the 1,183 foreclosures is the highest since DataQuick began tracking this information in 1988.<BR/><BR/>Most of the loans going into default now were made at the peak of the boom, when it seemed like the good times would continue forever and lending standards were lax.<BR/><BR/>In Los Angeles County, the default rate is almost 60% below the first-quarter 1996 peak, DataQuick said, an indication of strength in many sectors of the market.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-17674231491176640892007-04-17T00:45:00.000+01:002007-04-17T00:45:00.000+01:00California foreclosures near record levelsBy David...California foreclosures near record levels<BR/>By David Streitfeld, Times Staff Writer<BR/>12:25 PM PDT, April 16, 2007 <BR/><BR/><BR/>The number of Californians losing their homes to foreclosure rose in the first three months of the year to the highest level in a decade, a real estate information service said today, providing grim evidence that the shake-out in real estate is nowhere near over.<BR/><BR/>Foreclosures totaled 11,033, up 802% from the placid levels of early 2006, according to DataQuick Information Services in La Jolla. Foreclosures peaked at 15,418 in third-quarter 1996, at the tail end of the last big slowdown in the state. They bottomed out at 637 in the second quarter of 2005, as the most recent boom was cresting.<BR/><BR/>Tens of thousands of homeowners are being warned that they too are at risk. Notices of default, sent by lenders after about five months of missed payments, reached 46,760 in the first quarter, DataQuick said.<BR/><BR/>That was a jump of 148% from the first quarter of 2006, and the highest since 47,912 in the second quarter of 1997. The peak for defaults was in the first quarter of 1996, with 61,541.<BR/><BR/>"I figured they'd go up," said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. "I didn't figure they'd go up this fast."<BR/><BR/>The default and foreclosure totals varied widely by area. Generally, the places with the cheapest housing--such as the Inland Empire and Central Valley--fared the worst.<BR/><BR/>Another problem spot is San Diego County, where the 1,183 foreclosures is the highest since DataQuick began tracking this information in 1988.<BR/><BR/>Most of the loans going into default now were made at the peak of the boom, when it seemed like the good times would continue forever and lending standards were lax.<BR/><BR/>In Los Angeles County, the default rate is almost 60% below the first-quarter 1996 peak, DataQuick said, an indication of strength in many sectors of the market.<BR/><BR/>david.streitfeld@latimes.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-1082018000081816522007-04-17T00:42:00.000+01:002007-04-17T00:42:00.000+01:00"San Diego sees record number of foreclosures in M..."San Diego sees record number of foreclosures in March" <BR/><BR/>SAN DIEGO – A record 433 owners lost their homes in San Diego County to foreclosure last month, more than six times the March 2006 figure, DataQuick Information Systems reported Monday. <BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2tqfbpAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-77665659501288669162007-04-16T22:01:00.000+01:002007-04-16T22:01:00.000+01:00I challenge Keith and the Keith-parrot-heads on th...I challenge Keith and the Keith-parrot-heads on this blog to rethink the notions that "the NAR is evil" or "David Lereah is evil".<BR/><BR/>OK, this is asking a lot. At the end of the day, the conclusion will be the same: they are evil scum.<BR/><BR/>But if the masses insist on behaving like idiotic sheeple, there will be no shortage of those who are willing to enrich themselves on the backs of the stupid people who continue to make stupid decisions and take stupid actions.<BR/><BR/>No one holds a gun to anyone's head and makes them take out a high-risk exotic loan for the sh|tbox in the "nice neighborhood" that the wifey wants so badly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-15724971565077632822007-04-16T19:10:00.000+01:002007-04-16T19:10:00.000+01:00Great article here explains why we are not seeing ...Great article here explains why we are not seeing the big declines talked about on this blog. They are there, but it is hidden in the details. Reminds me of a small book called How to lie with statistics. Here is the article<BR/><BR/>http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article771.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-57015390893740258762007-04-16T16:21:00.000+01:002007-04-16T16:21:00.000+01:00asgfagasfgfasdgdafgasgfagasfgfasdgdafgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-84036621668039528792007-04-16T15:59:00.000+01:002007-04-16T15:59:00.000+01:00Here's an idea for a post: A lot of these overbuil...Here's an idea for a post: A lot of these overbuilt planned communities share a common assessment. What happens when the pool of homeowners shrinks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-69762522374600595512007-04-16T07:55:00.000+01:002007-04-16T07:55:00.000+01:00G7 is very scare and do not want to upset the Yen ...G7 is very scare and do not want to upset the Yen Carry Trade, so what is the IMF thinking.<BR/><BR/>First, IMF published a report on impact of bad Subprime loans in the US and now IMF went Hedge Funds to show the IMF their strategy on how the Hedge Funds created this Subprime mess.<BR/><BR/>Bundesbank's Weber calls for improved hedge fund transparency<BR/><BR/>There is a need for greater transparency in the hedge fund industry in order to better understand the risk they might pose to global financial stability, said Axel Weber, president of Germany's Bundesbank.<BR/><BR/>'There is still scope in my view for further improvement in the current setting, especially when it comes to transparency,' he said at panel on hedge fund surveillance held during the IMF and World Bank spring meeting.<BR/><BR/>While highlighting the positive impact of the hedge fund industry on financial markets, Weber said public authorities need a better understanding of their risk profiles.<BR/><BR/>'There are doubts as to whether the purely market-driven process of recent years has produced sufficient progress in this respect,' Weber said.<BR/><BR/>Because of this, he called for the financial supervisory authorities of different countries to come together to better monitor the issue.<BR/><BR/>'We should move forward to developing a strong case for a common benchmark of best practices,' said Weber.<BR/><BR/>He noted that the German presidency at the G7 this year has initiated a process which seeks greater insurance from the hedge fund industry against the potential risks to financial stability they may pose during adverse macroeconomic scenarios.<BR/><BR/>'Most of the instruments we are dealing with here haven't really seen a full credit cycle, and the risks of these instruments have to be known in good and in bad times,' Weber said.<BR/><BR/>'When push comes to shove we really need to be insured that these instruments can stand up to all the problems that can occur when the environment is less benign than in recent years,' he said.<BR/><BR/>http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/<BR/>news/15200756273.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com