Parallels

Op-Ed: The Second Great Depression? Minyanville Staff Oct 06, 2008 2:45 pm This country has been living in false prosperity since the early 1980s: ... recent flow of funds data shows that total credit market debt is $51 trillion; our GDP is $14.3 ... by the Federal Reserve in the 1920s, leading to an unsustainable credit driven boom. Both Friedrich [more...]

Date: 2008-10-10 19:17:30

Blog posts (447) | Videos (95)
 

What does it all mean

There’s been a bit of discussion about what Alan Greenspan really conceded in his recent testimony ... have changed. Baker says Financial deregulation gave consumers a vast range of financial instruments (credit cards, home equity loans) that enabled them to match their spending with changes in their incomes [more...]

Date: 2008-10-26 11:46:51

You Just Don’t Know When The Rolling’s Going To Stop

The Aurora Sentinel reports from Colorado. “When local Realtor Sunny Banka shows any home to a potential buyer, she immediately heads downstairs. As the number of foreclosed and abandoned properties boom with the current housing crisis, copper wire, piping and other building materials are valuable commodities, [more...]

Date: 2008-08-29 15:25:37

Whining

by hilzoy Phil Gramm, McCain's "Econ Brain" said this in an interview published yesterday: ""You've heard of mental depression; ... all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems ... the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."" Really? The stock market [more...]

Date: 2008-07-10 20:26:29

Obama’s Race Against the Economy

Note: This column was posted here at Pajamas Media on Thursday. Also: Other somewhat related thoughts are at this BizzyBlog post yesterday. _________________________________________________ If the economy begins visibly recovering, a massive “stimulus” package might not be needed. Democrats consider that a bad thing [more...]

Date: 2008-12-27 14:20:20

Slipped through the cracks

No money, more problems: The recession has everyone fretting these days, but apparently more women than men are anxious about their economic state ... the government address the issue of pay equity. More men adopt?: It's the first time the CDC has gathered ... than their wives to adopt stepchildren. Others credit the lack of options for gay men who want [more...]

Date: 2008-08-09 11:40:43

Suze Orman’s Free Book - Fixing Your Finances in 2009

Barack Obama’s speech warning of devastating unemployment levels and a lengthy recession was no surprise to most Americans ... . Debt consolidators are often a very bad deal. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling ... into the history behind the economic downturn, the book has 7 main sections: Credit Retirement Investing Saving [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 13:29:00

Treasury Opens Vault; Gangs of Robbers Rush In

Treasury Opens Vault; Gangs of Robbers Rush In   By Robert Higgs at The Independent Institute As the fierce lobbying and politicking proceed on ... banks, ostensibly to relieve the so-called credit crunch. Other plutocrats resented being left ... . As the New York Times reports today, “nobody wants to be left out of Treasury’s proposal to buy up bad [more...]

Date: 2008-09-23 01:55:27

The Home That Was To Be Their Nest Egg

ABC 7 News reports from California. “Monday was just another day at Marsh Creek Elementary in Brentwood. School keeps kids focused on things other than the housing slump which has devastated this community. Just a few miles away is the City of Oakley where 620 homes so far this year have been lost to foreclosure [more...]

Date: 2008-12-03 18:28:57

Sellers Aren’t Getting What They Want

Leesburg Today reports from Virginia. “Long lines. Price wars. The decision became easy. She and her fiance finally bought the one townhouse they won on price. Fueled by a lot of emotion, the couple wanted what many others continue to seek today, a place to call home after their wedding. It didn’t turn out to be the fairytale they imagined [more...]

Date: 2008-09-19 13:59:47

Housing Bubble Death Trap

(This blast from the past originally appeared June 7th 2006, and it wasn't my first such article. It's still relevant, though. Keep in mind that San Diego has been on the bleeding edge of all of this, so we're likely to start our turn around sooner as well) The title was the wording of a search engine hit I got [more...]

Date: 2008-11-15 16:43:52

No Fee Balance Transfer Offers Rise Again

Research has showed that credit card providers are waiving balance transfer fees but charging higher interest rates . According to financial website MoneyExpert.com , the number of credit card providers that are offering credit card holders the chance to transfer outstanding debt from another card without having to pay a fee to do so has risen by nearly 20pc to 69 during the past year. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 15:20:06

America the frozen

THE temporary cessation of hostilities in financial markets gives us all the opportunity to focus on the many other bad things going on in the ... rout thanks to problems in credit markets. This has big implications for the real economy. Among them are reduced credit options for households and negative wealth effects on consumption [more...]

Date: 2008-10-14 18:52:34

Home Equity Loans For People With Bad Credit

Home equity loans for people with bad credit are often the only way they have to improve their credit history, and can also help people consolidate their debt to make it more manageable. They are available, and these loans have helped thousands of homeowners improve their finances. Lenders may offer lower interest rates and more points Related posts: Home Equity Fixed Loans Home equity fixed loans are credit extended to homebuyers who... [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 18:58:52

Unforeseen Repercussions All Around In Florida

The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. “Here in the eye of the nation’s financial storm, the Fed sits motionless, ... plenty of money’ in an equity loan.” “Silver said she wishes the Fed would cut rates and lenders would relax loan standards to boost home sales. But she is not optimistic for the short term. No matter [more...]

Date: 2008-08-07 14:10:02

Mortgage Has Become A Dirty Word

The Times Union reports from New York. “Condos are a relatively novel housing type in both Catskill and Greene County, meaning the Tower project was an experiment of sorts. The units were rentals at first, but Tower bought the Marina Drive property in 2003, added 14 townhomes to the site, and last year put them up for sale [more...]

Date: 2008-10-01 15:15:55

Transcript: Nancy Pelosi Before Bailout Vote

Much has been said about U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s speech in the House chamber before Monday’s failed bailout vote. Republican leaders have used the idiotic argument that some of those in their party who were being counted on to deliver ‘yeas’, instead voted ‘nay’, because they were turned off by the partisan nature of her speech [more...]

Date: 2008-10-01 02:04:35

Nouriel piles on

Has Nouriel Roubini ever been on CNBC? That question just came to mind as he rattled off the many reasons why financial markets are likely to get ... , it was prime, it was home equity loans, it was CDOs, it was MBSs, commercial real estate, credit cards, auto loans, student loans, leveraged loans, corporate bonds, muni bonds. You're liable to end [more...]

Date: 2008-09-15 04:00:00

Banks are starting to capitulate; Hedge funds are buying up delinquent mortgages, positive steps toward accelerating price drops.

Over the past year the major investment banks that basically poisoned themselves by drinking there own koolaid are starting to finally write the bad loans it written down and mark to market.Last Friday the national Australian national bank did ... the assets. Now I do not believe all CDO’s and MBS’s are this bad. But it is a precedence [more...]

Date: 2008-07-31 13:52:00

David Sirota: Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Paulson's $700 Billion Bailout

There's news this Sunday afternoon of a congressional deal to bailout Wall Street fat cats with $700 billion of taxpayer cash ( ... INHERENT FISCAL INSANITY COULD MAKE PROBLEM WORSE When an individual consumer uses a new credit card to pay off astounding debt from an old credit card, it's called kiting, and in many cases [more...]

Date: 2008-09-28 23:35:52

Built On A Fallacy

The Pittsburg Post Gazette reports from Pennsylvania. “Howard Hanna III has never seen a real estate market like this — and he has been keeping an eye on real estate for the past 40 years. Falling interest rates and generally low unemployment typically prompt home owners to expand their homes or trade up. But Mr [more...]

Date: 2008-09-29 13:06:00

Your Own Financial Rescue Plan, Part 1: Adequate Cash Reserves

Well, the big boys are getting their rescue/bailout plan, but I guess ours got lost in the mail… So what should we do? ... the dot-com bust days when former tech workers ended up living in their cars. A Reason ... up your emergency fund is not a bad one. Any money you may need within 5 years should be in cash [more...]

Date: 2008-10-15 13:11:36

Why This Is A Great Time To Be A Real Estate Investor!

Take a look at some industry blogs and you would think that when the bubble burst it spelled doom and gloom for everyone. Not true at all. Not by a long shot. There are a bunch of people making an absolute killing in the biz. While some agents may be making money, the majority are not. Why? Does it really matter? [more...]

Date: 2008-11-26 17:24:50

Now is Not The Time to Panic

“I know people are scared watching the markets unravel. Don’t panic. That is the worst thing that you could do in a market like this. Think about it ... and remember this too shall pass. We will not fix decades of overspending, a housing bubble and credit ... was one approach to fixing the financial institutions that we need to remain healthy [more...]

Date: 2008-10-07 16:39:05

Bad Credit Loans - Much Needed Money in the Most Testing Times

For people who do not know much about bad credit, it will often be incomprehensible as to why a financial product has been devoted solely to cater ... , justifies the creation of a separate loan category. It is however, contestable if bad credit loans ... is the excessively high rate of interest that they have to shell out for bad credit loans. When [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 22:20:13

The End of Large-Bank Wholesale Lending - Time For the Mortgage Banker

The End of Large Bank Wholesale Lending - A Resurgence of Middle Market Mortgage Banking – Chase…a Leading Indicator This week Chase shut down ... t effectively manage its pipeline of locked and in-process loans. Of note, Credit Suisse recently shut down ... because NMN is subscription - sorry: “As the refinancing boom gathers steam selected residential [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 18:23:12

As Word Markets Rally, A Fog Of War Envelops Trading

When the stock markets around the world raced down earlier this month, there was some sense to it ... has righted itself and the average citizen is flush again with money from his home equity loan and six credit ... . The credit and liquidity troubles were real. Corporate earnings became progressively troubled [more...]

Date: 2008-10-30 10:25:47

Debtor Friendly Legislation and Unintended Consequences

The rate of home foreclosures in the current mortgage crisis has not been evenly distributed ... of a loan which was in fact used to pay all or part of the purchase price of that dwelling occupied ... by the foreclosure sale. The result is that if buyers are left underwater on a loan, owing more than [more...]

Date: 2008-09-04 15:07:00

Mortgage Market Week in Review

I want to apologize for the delay in getting this out until Saturday.   Due to some technical difficulties and some new things I’m going to be implementing, Friday was spent working on computer issues.   Yeah, I know, a fun way to spend a Friday….. So, here we are at the end of the week and what’s happened? [more...]

Date: 2008-11-01 17:23:56

Treasury Opens Vault; Gangs of Robbers Rush In

As the fierce lobbying and politicking proceed on the government’s proposed bailout of banks and other lenders holding iffy paper ( ... and investment banks, ostensibly to relieve the so-called credit crunch. Other plutocrats resented ... to buy up bad assets of financial institutions.” So, the Times reports, the Financial Services [more...]

Date: 2008-09-22 19:49:44

Another Day, Another Bailout (Or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Giving AIG $85 Billion)

After holding strong for ONE weekend and not bailing out Lehman Brothers, despite the hissy fits of bankers from Barclays and Bank of America, ... into conservatorship, has instead offered a line of credit to AIG allowing them to borrow up to $85 billion ... that most of these amounts are loans, and the government stands to profit from the upside [more...]

Date: 2008-09-17 05:49:14

Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/8/2008

As of tonight the news feed has been up and running every day for three months (except for when I’ve been away).I’ve received a few complaints about it. Some readers don’t like to have to scroll through the headlines to get to the good stuff, and others don’t want me to waste space on American news stories which are being covered thoroughly [more...]

Date: 2008-10-09 03:43:00

Treasury bid to halt rent-back evictions

Owen and Moira Martin are among the many British victims of companies offering controversial sale-and-rent-back deals ... agreement to pay off about £26,000 of mainly credit card debt. 'My wife had a heart attack on my 50th ... offer to buy the property of someone facing repossession at a discount price, allowing the former [more...]

Date: 2008-11-09 00:04:48

Housing Stimulus Bill Explained

This week, the Senate passed a housing bill a little over a week ago (the House joined last Wednesday) ... from their current state to an FHA insured loan. It’s help but it’s not a get out of jail free card, you’ll see ... who erroneously got themselves into bad loans, it doesn’t help the people who intelligently [more...]

Date: 2008-07-29 01:42:09

Adjusting To New Economic Realities

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “After George Zito’s mother passed away, he put her East Haven home on the market. That was 6-months ago. And, still, there are no prospective buyers. The four bedroom was originally listed at $187,000. ‘We just lowered the price by over $40,000,’ Zito said [more...]

Date: 2008-08-29 20:37:49

Not Ready Yet to End Our Addiction to Growth

The value of public companies listed on stock markets has dropped by about a third in the past year. This means that shareholders believe that this group of companies, which are an important but not dominant factor in the global economy (the public sector, notably health and education, and privately-owned enterprises, [more...]

Date: 2008-10-14 02:37:26

Nouriel Roubini Really, Really Hates the Bailout Plan

Did we say really? Even by the normal standards of Roubini's tendency to hyperventilate state his case forcefully, ... to recapitalize the banking/financial system to avoid an excessive and destructive credit contraction ... ) that are a model of how a banking crisis should be resolved there was not government purchase of bad [more...]

Date: 2008-09-29 10:00:01

Champaign Bottle corks are popping today

Joseph Stilgitz asks tough questions at The Nation: The champagne bottle corks were popping as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced his trillion-dollar bailout for the banks, buying up their toxic mortgages. To a skeptic, Paulson's ... one of these rearrangements: somehow, by stripping out the bad assets from the banks and paying fair market [more...]

Date: 2008-09-29 10:41:45

Friday wrap

Dem Congress to pump raw sewage into nation's workplaces ... The AFL-CIO advanced an argument detailing why a "majority sign-up" is the best option for preserving "the freedom of working people." Below is a syllogism that encapsulates an argument found on the AFL-CIO website.1. The workplace environment has been poisoned by browbeating employers.2 [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 11:30:00

Refinancing When You Owe More Than The Home Is Worth

I've been looking around for an answer to this but my searches haven't returned anything useful ... ? Was all the refinance hype only because the markets kept going up? Is this the reason why people who got an bad loan ... to the utter limit for 100% financing could refinance into more favorable loans as their equity picture [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 09:54:12

Economic Potpourri December 13, 2008

Once again news is flying out of every corner at record speeds. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past couple days ... in March than they are now. This is a bad decision by Citadel.Natural Gas Falls on Demand Concern After Auto Bailout RejectedNatural gas futures in New [more...]

Date: 2008-12-13 22:34:00

What Is My Credit Score and How Is My FICO Calculated?

If you’re like most people out there, there’s inevitably going to come some point in your life when you’ll need to apply for credit and seek out ... prospects like mortgage loans either - even routine applications for things like credit cards, checking accounts, auto loans, and even new jobs are undergoing greater credit worthiness scrutiny. Both [more...]

Date: 2008-07-08 03:19:44

Sellers Have Taken A Bite Out Of The Reality Sandwich

The Jackson Hole Daily reports from Wyoming. “The market for real estate less than $1 million is favoring buyers for the first time in months, one broker said this week. David Viehman reports that the overall market ‘has been sluggish at best,’ with sales down 43 percent, dollar volume down 46 percent and average overall sale prices down 3 [more...]

Date: 2008-07-24 21:47:03

Credit Card Debt: Next Big Hit to Banks?

Given how overextended consumers are, and how banks have been cutting back on the cheapest piggybank, home equity loans, by slashing those credit lines, and the reports of rising delinquencies from even conservative ... in credit card losses. But under the new bankruptcy code, if you do no qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy [more...]

Date: 2008-10-01 09:17:30

Those Order Takers Are Now Gone In California

The Ventura County Star reports from California. “According to Bill Watkins, executive director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project…a foreclosed home in California sells for $200,000 less than a traditional home. Until foreclosures are worked through the market, ‘we don’t think the real estate market can clean itself up, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-27 18:47:48

FDIC Underestimated The Risks Of Falling Home Prices

With so many lenders looking shaky these days, it brings up the question of how well prepared the FDIC is to deal with lender failures ... possible. Apparently the wave of refinancing that occurred after interest rates lowered ... concerns (Home Equity Line of Credit), but adressed concerns with the mortgage industry in general [more...]

Date: 2008-07-23 07:02:00

Bailout Fatigue Sets In

attorneygeneral.utah.gov Just as troubled borrowers are poised to become the next likely recipients of government help, ... mortgage-loan modifications — the anger over bailing out borrowers has been growing. Taxpayers ... saying, ‘I didn’t buy a house I couldn’t afford. I didn’t take out a home equity loan [more...]

Date: 2008-12-09 18:38:11

The Bottom Card In The House Of Cards

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, “Contracts to buy previously owned U.S ... . The lender set aside $900 million to cover bad loans in the quarter as mortgages made in once-booming warm ... of its employees and will no longer offer fixed-rate home mortgages, Michael W. Perry, the bank’ [more...]

Date: 2008-07-08 18:40:25

The Endgame

The Endgame Employment Numbers Are Worse Than Posted Aye, Captain, I'm Giving Her All I've Got! Problem #1: Deflation Problem #2: Pushing on a String The Muddle Through Middle Conversations With John Deflation? Stimulus? Deleveraging? Recession? A soft depression? A return to a bull market? With all that is going on, how does it all end up? [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 21:29:29

Notes on the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Bailout

The following text is drawn from the Associated Press report by Jeannine Aversa, “Fed to Rescue Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac ... to “promote the availability of home mortgage credit during a period of stress in financial markets.” ... all necessary steps to prevent the credit market troubles that erupted last year with losses from subprime [more...]

Date: 2008-07-15 16:45:04

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