Warnings were missed in U.S loan meltdown

08-20-2007 • International Herald Tribune

Although a Republican who served briefly on the White House economic team of President George W. Bush, Bernanke has shown himself to be no laissez-faire ideologue...

Run on banks; Wal-Mart customers 'running out of money'

8-20-2007 • Raw Stroy

Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. says customers are "running out of money." Earlier this week, consumer juggernauts Home Depot and Wal-Mart reported softer than expected earnings.

Sentinel files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

8-20-2007 • Reuters

Sentinel Management Group Inc., a U.S. futures commission merchant whose decision to freeze client accounts on Tuesday helped roil global financial markets, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late on Friday.

US debt jolts world markets

8-17-2007 • Christian Science Monitor

Chinese central bankers, French pension-fund managers, and staid German bankers have been the piggy bank for America's housing boom. Foreign loans to help Americans get mortgages have quadrupled to nearly $1 trillion.

Futures Fireworks and Moral Hazards

8-17-2007 • MISH: Global Economic Analysis

In a surprise move the Fed cut the discount rate 50 basis points. Stock futures that were sinking took off like a rocket. The moral hazards of the Fed continue but Bernanke is doomed to fail. Here is the key: There is both a decreasing demand for cre

Fed adds $17 bln to US banking system to ease credit woes

8-16-2007 • AFP

The Federal Reserve flexed its financial muscle again, injecting $17 billion dollars into the US banking system to ease a credit crunch triggered by fears over the ailing mortgage market. Has pumped a total $88 billion dollars into the financial mark

Schumer bill would lift Fannie, Freddie caps

8-16-2007 • Reuters

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said he would introduce legislation to temporarily lift the portfolio limits on mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if their regulator fails to act. The bill would lift the cap by 5% to 10% and could be

US home construction dives to 10-year low

8-16-2007 • AFP

New home construction in the United States fell to a 10-year low in July, the government said Thursday in a report that signaled a further slowdown in the distressed housing market. The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged 6.1 percent in J

Countrywide Bets the Farm

8-16-2007 • MISH: Global Economic Analysis

Countrywide tapped 11.5 billion of its credit line. When a company draws on its bank lines, it is basically out of options. Typically those bank lines are not meant to be used. Countrywide stopped Alt-A and Subprime. Merrill Lynch is talking about a

Decline and Fall

8-15-2007 • by Justin Raimondo (AntiWar)

"The U.S. government is on a 'burning platform' of unsustainable policies and practices," Walker avers, including "fiscal deficits" and "overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon.*

Prices for key foods are rising sharply

8-15-2007 • McClatchy News

The Labor Department's most recent inflation data showed that U.S. food prices rose by 4.2% for the 12 months ending in July, but a deeper look reveals the price of milk, eggs and other essentials are actually rising by double digits.

Existing Home Sales Fall in 41 States

8-15-2007 • AP

Sales of existing homes fell in 41 states during the April-June quarter while home prices were down in one-third of the metropolitan areas surveyed, underscored the severity of the current housing slump, the worst downturn in 16 years.

S&P erases gains for year as mortgage lender sinks

8-15-2007 • Reuters

U.S. stocks fell sharply, wiping out the year's gains for the benchmark S&P 500, after Countrywide Financial shares plunged on a brokerage downgrade and rumors it was having trouble raising money. The clouds enveloping the No. 1 U.S. mortgage len

Countrywide cut by Merrill; bankruptcy raised

8-15-2007 • Reuters

Countrywide Financial Corp. could face bankruptcy if liquidity worsens, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst who downgraded the largest U.S. mortgage lender to "sell" from "buy." The downgrade suggests deepening problems at

Goldman: Deal or No Deal?

8-15-2007 • MISH: Global Economic Analysis

Goldman Sachs injects $3bn into its troubled quant hedge fund that has lost 30% this year. In addition fees were lowered to 0% from 2% and performance fees lowered to 10% from 20%.Will this stop the redemptions? Is it Deal or No Deal?

SoCal home sales now 54% below peak

8-14-2007 • LA Times

Southern California home sales continued to slump in July, falling 27% from year-ago levels, and are now running 54% below peak levels reached in July 2003, DataQuick reported today. Some industry experts have warned that August sales may be even we

"Blood in the water" in Florida property market

8-14-2007 • Reuters

Until two years ago, middle-class retirees vied with property speculators for houses and apartments on Florida's sun-drenched Gulf Coast. Now almost every other house on some of its streets has a for-sale sign outside. With a bloated inventory

Remember the fall of Rome

08-14-2007 • Government Accounting Office

David Walker, comptroller general of the US is warning of the same collapse that Rome suffered. His reccomendations aren't correct, but his assessment is frank, and rather sober. (And it's only 14 pages)

US Comptroller General urges we learn from fall of Rome

8-13-2007 • Financial Times

The US government is 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 is not taken soon, the country’s

Bernanke Panics & Gold Responds

8-12-2007 • MISH

The USA is hooked on credit and the Fed is an enabler. The problem with addiction is that stronger and stronger doses eventually kills the patient. This is where we are today. Some junkies (consumers) have finally realized this on their own accord, m

Fed Adds $59 Billion in Funds by Buying Mortgage Debt

8-10-2007 • Bloomberg

The Federal Reserve added [inflated] $59 billion in temporary funds to the banking system through the purchase of mortgage-backed securities to help meet demand for cash amid a rout in bonds backed by home loans to riskier borrowers. 19+16+24+++

Dow, S&P lose nearly 3 pct as subprime ills spread

8-9-2007 • Reuters

Stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P down nearly 3 percent, after a French bank froze three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages, prompting central banks to take steps to calm investors. Evidence the U.S. mortgage market cris

Sudden Demand For Cash

8-9-2007 • Global Economic Analysis

A sudden demand for cash sent the markets reeling. So where is all that sideline cash? The answer is that sideline cash is really sideline credit. And credit is drying up. Today the markets received the world's biggest

Stocks nailed as credit woes take driver's seat again

8-8-2007 • Marketwatch

U.S. stocks turned negative, capping a three-day surge that had the Dow gaining the most in nearly four years, as credit worries turned global, with the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve advancing cash to capital markets.

Treasury says monitoring edgy markets

8-8-2007 • Reuters

The U.S. Treasury department said it was keeping a close eye on financial market activity as U.S. stock prices slumped in early trading on worries about subprime mortgage sector problems. "The Treasury Department continues to monitor markets and

Mortgage delinquencies spreading: AIG

8-8-2007 • Reuters

Residential mortgage delinquencies and defaults are becoming more common among borrowers in the category just above subprime, American International Group said. In a presentation on its subprime exposure, AIG, the world's largest insurer and one

BNP freezes $2.2 bln of funds over subprime

8-8-2007 • Reuters

France's biggest listed bank, BNP Paribas, froze 1.6 billion euros ($2.2 billion) worth of funds, citing the U.S. subprime mortgage sector woes that have rattled financial markets worldwide.

Stocks tumble after BNP; ECB helps money markets

8-8-2007 • Reuters

World stocks tumbled after BNP Paribas became the latest bank to be hit by mortgage credit problems and shortage of cash in money markets prompted the European Central Bank to add emergency liquidity. The French bank froze more than $2 billion worth

Mortgage applications rise as desperate home owners switch adjustable for fixed rate loan

8-8-2007 • Bloomberg

Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose last week by the most since January, as cheaper borrowing costs encouraged more Americans to seek loans for home purchases and refinancing.