Headlines...

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Nude - Reminds me of one of my Mom's sayings: "It is not suprising that we have a price. It is surprising how low our price is."
 
<p>Hey, if banks are zeroed out, I wanna stand in front of the bank in a big crowd just like my grandmother did.</p>

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<p>Nice graphic there on the featured article of the MSN homepage</p>

<p>http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/HomePriceReport.aspx</p>

<p><img alt="" src="http://stb.msn.com/i/BC/717F8478D8E7C5DEE30416BDCE21C.jpg" /></p>
 
White House to veto foreclosure bill

$4 billion housing bill is too expensive for the administration and would 'slow the recovery of the housing sector.

<em>


"But the White House said the $4 billion for purchases of foreclosed homes is too expensive and "would constitute a bailout for lenders and speculators, while doing little to help struggling homeowners".





</em><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/26/news/economy/veto_foreclosure.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes">Democratic housing bill will be vetoed by the White House - Feb. 26, 2008</a>
 
<p>USD @ .7413</p>

<p>If Bush vetos that bill, I will take back one or two of the bad things I have said about him. Specifically, the times I said he never met a spending bill he didn't like. The rest can stand.</p>
 
<embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf" width="400" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" scale="ShowAll" loop="loop" menu="menu" wmode="transparent" quality="1"></embed>


<a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/diebold_accidentally_leaks?utm_source=embedded_video">Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early</a>
 
<p>They say, never way never, but I will never short GS.</p>

<p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/27/news/companies/goldman_sachs_ambac.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008022714">http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/27/news/companies/goldman_sachs_ambac.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008022714</a></p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>Very long but interesting archived video at this link. Best when they get to the part where the economists talk - not much agreement, which in someways makes it more interesting to watch (ex. what might all the scenarios be).</p>

<p><a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht022608.shtml">http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht022608.shtml</a></p>

<p>









<p>On February 20, 2008, the Federal Reserve joined other forecasters in predicting slower economic growth, higher unemployment, and an elevated rate of inflation for the U.S. economy. In light of these forecasts, the hearings will focus on the appropriateness of monetary policy over the past six months and consider what further actions might be taken.


</p>











<p class="bodytext"><strong>Witness List & Prepared Testimony:</strong></p>





<a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/rivlin022608.pdf">Alice Rivlin</a>, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution





<a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/zandi022608.pdf">Mark Zandi</a>, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economy.com





<a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/roubini022608.pdf">Nouriel Roubini</a>, Professor, NYU, and Chairman, RGE Monitor





<a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/reinhart022608.pdf">Carmen Reinhart</a>, Professor, University of Maryland





<a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/taylor022608.pdf">John Taylor</a>, Professor, Stanford University



>









</p>
 
Chartporn of the day...





<img src="http://img801.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2008/02/28/nhsmonthslongjan08-49nz3jotu.jpeg" alt="" />


<a href="http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-home-months-of-supply.html">


Hat tip Calculated Risk</a>.
 
<a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kohn20080226a.htm">Fed reserve member Donald Kohn's speech</a>.


<a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20080227a.htm">


Fred Mishkin's speech</a>.





<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_baum&sid=akdozjxhejOE">Gotta love Caroline Baum over at Bloomberg</a>.


<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2185221">


You have to give respect to Daniel Gross, he has sent IHB a ton of traffic</a>.





<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4207"> A plastic nation</a>?





<img alt="" src="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/images/plastic_rev1.jpg" />
 
<a href="http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/02/housing-round-u.html">Oh man... if you don't read the Big Picture, then you missed this</a>.





<img src="http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2008/02/28/ritholtzhousing-49nzjgzsu.jpeg" alt="" />
 
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080228/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy">Economy skids to near halt</a> </p>

<p>WASHINGTON - The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly. </p>

<p>The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product increased at a scant 0.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. The reading — unchanged from an initial estimate a month ago — underscored just how much momentum the economy has lost. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a brisk 4.9 percent pace.</p>

<p><a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://plus.maths.org/issue37/features/budd/skid_marks.jpg&imgrefurl=http://plus.maths.org/issue37/features/budd/&h=333&w=250&sz=11&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=zAWhDTGKpkX7xM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dskid%2Bmarks%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px solid" height="119" width="89" alt="" src="http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:zAWhDTGKpkX7xM:http://plus.maths.org/issue37/features/budd/skid_marks.jpg" /></a></p>
 
And GDP of 0.6% "growth" was figured using a PCE deflator of 2.7%. What a joke! Is there anyone who thinks price inflation for the consumer is only 2.7%? What is GDP is they used an accurate PCE defaltor? Maybe -4% or worse?
 
Door Could Open To Class Actions

WHEN BORROWERS FIGHT BACK: Banks watch closely to see if a couple's legal struggle with their lender will launch a new front in the battle over troubled mortgages.



<p>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/26/AR2008022603351.html?referrer=patrick.net</p>
 
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2rjkbo">OMG! Marketwatch has an article comparing US with Japan</a>...


<em>


</em>

<p><em> As American banks dig out from under their mountain of bad debt, analysts say policymakers would do well to remember Japan's string of mistakes as it grappled with its own bad-loan crisis, after the late 1980s bubble economy burst and left financial institutions burdened with massive levels of bad loans. </em></p>

<p><em>


The bungled cleanup plunged Japan into its so-called "Lost Decade" of stop-and-go recession. </em></p>

<p><em>


There are no quick fixes, say bankers. And counting on one could well make matters worse. </em></p>

<p><em>


"Lessons of what not to do from it are far more plentiful than the what-to-do sort," said James Malcolm, now a London-based strategist at Deutsche Bank. He was a Tokyo-based economist with a different investment bank at the height of Japan's crisis in the late 1990s. </em></p>

<p><em>


"Basically, it's inevitable that people want a quick and painless fix, but the reality is, it's going to be slow and painful so you've got to provide a supportive policy environment, and push forward with restructuring the markets." </em></p>
 
<p>The Carmen Reinhart presented at this link talked about Japan too. (Have to sit though the long video - she is the 4th presenter, the one with microphone troubles). She bascially said it's good the Fed has been agressively and creatively taklling the problems, because "we don't want to be like Japan" - too little, too late is a bad idea.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht022608.shtml">http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht022608.shtml</a></p>
 
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