Falling dollar.. Good or bad?

[wez]

Pretty freakin tired of the TJ/eddo blame game in Washington.. They all need to go, now.

[wez]

I predict that soon there will be a 'bank holiday' to keep people from running thier accounts dry..

 

I heard on the radio on the way home that Russia closed it's markets after a freefall.. and that all the billionaires are leaving cause they see their future.. get swallowed by the guv, go to jail, or be killed..

 

All the doings of hypocrites there, here, and everywhere..

[wez]

I guess I should say all the doings of those of us who let the hypocrites of the world do what they do.. and climb aboard the train.. Nothing but ruin in every way, shape, and form at the end of those tracks.. right, eddo?

[ImWithStupid]

[attach=full]1255[/attach]

[emkay64]

Canada: Alaska's backyard.

 

I don't like you anymore....

[wez]

So the market goes up 400.. goes down 400... Bailouts to the tune of 1,000,000,000,000 +... we are kicking ass.. yay us

 

Bailouts so crooks can stay in business to rob again? Doesn't sound like the best idea to me, but what do I know?

 

Who was it getting free money today again as a reward for poor business practices? Goldman and some other steaming pile of dung..

[wez]

Bush warns 'entire economy is in danger' - MSNBC Wire Services - MSNBC.com

 

 

Really? How odd.. wasn't he claiming sound fundamentals and a strong economy not long ago?

[ImWithStupid]

I still can't believe that Bush's failed policies have gotten us into this damn housing mess with Freddy and Fannie...

 

Minorities’ Home Ownership Booms Under Clinton but Still Lags Whites’

 

By Ronald Brownstein

May 31, 1999 in print edition A-5

 

It’s one of the hidden success stories of the Clinton era. In the great housing boom of the 1990s, black and Latino homeownership has surged to the highest level ever recorded. The number of African Americans owning their own home is now increasing nearly three times as fast as the number of whites; the number of Latino homeowners is growing nearly five times as fast as that of whites.

 

These numbers are dramatic enough to deserve more detail. When President Clinton took office in 1993, 42% of African Americans and 39% of Latinos owned their own home. By this spring, those figures had jumped to 46.9% of blacks and 46.2% of Latinos.

 

That’s a lot of new picket fences. Since 1994, when the numbers really took off, the number of black and Latino homeowners has increased by 2 million. In all, the minority homeownership rate is on track to increase more in the 1990s than in any decade this century except the 1940s, when minorities joined in the wartime surge out of the Depression.

 

This trend is good news on many fronts. Homeownership stabilizes neighborhoods and even families. Housing scholar William C. Apgar, now an assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development,

 

All of this suggests that Clinton’s efforts to increase minority access to loans and capital also have spurred this decade’s gains. Under Clinton, bank regulators have breathed the first real life into enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act, a 20-year-old statute meant to combat “redlining” by requiring banks to serve their low-income communities. The administration also has sent a clear message by stiffening enforcement of the fair housing and fair lending laws. The bottom line: Between 1993 and 1997, home loans grew by 72% to blacks and by 45% to Latinos, far faster than the total growth rate.

 

Lenders also have opened the door wider to minorities because of new initiatives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–the giant federally chartered corporations that play critical, if obscure, roles in the home finance system. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgages from lenders and bundle them into securities; that provides lenders the funds to lend more.

 

In 1992, Congress mandated that Fannie and Freddie increase their purchases of mortgages for low-income and medium-income borrowers. Operating under that requirement, Fannie Mae, in particular, has been aggressive and creative in stimulating minority gains. It has aimed extensive advertising campaigns at minorities that explain how to buy a home and opened three dozen local offices to encourage lenders to serve these markets. Most importantly, Fannie Mae has agreed to buy more loans with very low down payments–or with mortgage payments that represent an unusually high percentage of a buyer’s income. That’s made banks willing to lend to lower-income families they once might have rejected.

 

But with discrimination in the banking system not yet eradicated, maintaining the momentum of the 1990s will also require a continuing nudge from Washington. One key is to defend the Community Reinvestment Act, which the Senate shortsightedly voted to retrench recently. Clinton has threatened a veto if the House concurs.

 

The top priority may be to ask more of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two companies are now required to devote 42% of their portfolios to loans for low- and moderate-income borrowers; HUD, which has the authority to set the targets, is poised to propose an increase this summer. Although Fannie Mae actually has exceeded its target since 1994, it is resisting any hike. It argues that a higher target would only produce more loan defaults by pressuring banks to accept unsafe borrowers. HUD says Fannie Mae is resisting more low-income loans because they are less profitable.

 

Barry Zigas, who heads Fannie Mae’s low-income efforts, is undoubtedly correct when he argues, “There is obviously a limit beyond which [we] can’t push [the banks] to produce.”

Minorities' Home Ownership Booms Under Clinton but Still Lags Whites' - Los Angeles Times

[wez]

What sucks.. is they're gonna bail em out to continue?

 

Real smart.. I can see now the chances of me ever buying a house are slim to none.. not in a commie economy.. Prices will never reflect reality.. I hear more and more people trumpeting 50 year mortgages and the like lately.. unreal.. people 30 - 40 years ago woulda laughed in the face of the notion of even borrowing for 30 years.. and prices reflected it.. People now seem to think they have no choice..

 

All this crap aint Bushes, Clintons, or anyones fault but our own.. That's what we get for expecting someone else to "take care of us"..

[Old Salt]

What sucks.. is they're gonna bail em out to continue?

 

Real smart.. I can see now the chances of me ever buying a house are slim to none.. not in a commie economy.. Prices will never reflect reality.. I hear more and more people trumpeting 50 year mortgages and the like lately.. unreal.. people 30 - 40 years ago woulda laughed in the face of the notion of even borrowing for 30 years.. and prices reflected it.. People now seem to think they have no choice..

 

All this crap aint Bushes, Clintons, or anyones fault but our own.. That's what we get for expecting someone else to "take care of us"..

50 year mortgage . (Relatively) easy credit keeps prices up. A young couple taking one of those out would never get their house paid off.

 

Of course, people don't grow old in the same house anymore like they used to.

[ImWithStupid]

What sucks.. is they're gonna bail em out to continue?

 

Real smart.. I can see now the chances of me ever buying a house are slim to none.. not in a commie economy.. Prices will never reflect reality.. I hear more and more people trumpeting 50 year mortgages and the like lately.. unreal.. people 30 - 40 years ago woulda laughed in the face of the notion of even borrowing for 30 years.. and prices reflected it.. People now seem to think they have no choice..

 

All this crap aint Bushes, Clintons, or anyones fault but our own.. That's what we get for expecting someone else to "take care of us"..

 

That's my point. I'm sick of this whole finger pointing saying that it's the last adminstration. It's all these assholes in Washington who don't care past the next election that put us here. I have no faith that anything they are doing now or will do in the future will do any thing to really help.

 

It's all a fricking bandaid to pass the blame on the next guy.

[wez]

 

It's all a fricking bandaid to pass the blame on the next guy.

 

Seems to be a common theme throughout our whole society these days.. Fukk, I'll take the blame for everything our country has ever done.. lets just fix it and do what's right.. at least start.. Gonna destroy ourselves. Hopefully it aint to late..

[ImWithStupid]

Washington must heed fiscal alarm bell

 

Published: September 22 2008 18:57 | Last updated: September 22 2008 18:57

 

What do AIG, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch have in common? Some thought that these companies were too big to fail. They were wrong: all of these companies have either filed for bankruptcy, been "bailed out" by the government, or, owing to the sub-prime crisis, have been acquired. Over the weekend, the US government went one step further, with its proposals for an estimated $700bn (€493bn, ?391bn) bail-out to ease the credit crisis.

 

The US government truly is too big to fail. However, there are disturbing parallels between the factors that led to the sub-prime crisis and the deteriorating financial condition and fiscal foundation of our federal government. These similarities ought to ring an alarm bell for Congress and the presidential candidates. The question is, will they hear it and wake up?

 

The first parallel relates to the dangerous disconnect between the parties who benefit from various imprudent practices and those who bear the related risk and ultimately pay the price. In the housing crisis, some originators of unwise mortgages have not paid a price for their actions. In the case of our federal government, politicians have increased spending, expanded government entitlement programmes, and agreed tax cuts without considering their long-term costs.

 

Second, a lack of transparency facilitated the crisis. Banks and other financial institutions created off-the-books entities so that regulators would find it hard to track the risks to their health. The US federal budget does not reflect the government's huge off-balance sheet and unfunded promises, commitments and contingencies that stood at over $40,000bn at September 30, 2007.

 

Another similarity has been the role of credit rating agencies, which blithely rated securitised mortgage packages without looking at the weaknesses of underlying mortgages. In similar fashion, purchasers of American debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assumed that it was guaranteed by the US government. The resulting expectation gap among foreign investors resulted in their demand that the government make explicit what until then had been only an implicit guarantee. The result is that the US taxpayer now stands behind more than $5,000bn in mortgages. It is too soon to say what the ultimate cost will be to taxpayers.

 

Finally, while there were private sector and executive branch failures, Congress also bears responsibility. It writes the laws and is charged with oversight of these formerly quasi-governmental entities and regulatory agencies. The sad but simple truth is that our country has strayed a long way from the principles and values that made this nation great. Washington has grown increasingly out of touch and out of control. Personal responsibility and stewardship for our collective future are largely absent in too many government areas. This must change.

 

Are there lessons from the sub-prime crisis? The answer is yes. The recent actions had to be taken because the government failed to establish an effective regulatory structure in connection with mortgages, derivatives and other securities. Greed was rampant. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac strayed from their original mission, becoming too focused on profit and personal gain rather than their public purpose. Lax oversight was facilitated by powerful Wall Street lobbies and the lobbying of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

Beyond the turmoil for banks and homeowners, however, there is a super-sub-prime crisis brewing in Washington. Our fiscal policies have created a disconnect between today's citizens and future taxpayers. Today's taxpayers benefit from high government spending and low taxes, while future generations are expected to pay the bill. Our real challenge is where we are headed on our do-nothing fiscal path.

 

Washington has charged everything to the nation's credit card - engaging in tax cuts and spending increases without paying for them. Washington's imprudent, unethical and even immoral behaviour is facilitated by a lack of transparency. For example, as of September 30, 2007 the federal government was in a $53,000bn dollar fiscal hole, equal to $455,000 per household and $175,000 per person. This burden is rising every year by $6,600-$9,900 per American. Medicare represents $34,000bn of this deficit and the related Medicare trust fund is set to run dry within 10 years. The Social Security programme is projected to have negative cash flow within about 10 years.

 

What needs to be done? First, we need leadership from the presidential candidates and members of Congress. We need to re-impose tough budget controls, constrain federal spending, decide which Bush tax cuts will stay, and engage in comprehensive reform of our entitlement, healthcare and tax systems. A bipartisan commission that would make recommendations for an up-or-down vote by Congress would be a positive step to making this a reality.

 

While the US government is too big to fail, continuing on our current path will have adverse implications for our economy and international standing. The sooner Washington acts, the better. Our country, children and grandchildren deserve no less. In the interim, the government needs to decide how to account for its radical actions in the financial statements for the year to September 30. The Treasury has a responsibility to disclose and account for these costs adequately and the Government Accountability Office has a duty to insist the Treasury does so.

 

The writer is president and chief executive of the Peter G Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States

 

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

 

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Washington must heed fiscal alarm bell

[wez]

Well.. bailout failed.. Perhaps there are still some true Americans in Washington after all..

 

I see poor little Wally Street is crying to the tune of 500 - 600 points.. waaaaaaaaa

 

Nancy Pelosi is a dumbass.

 

 

A shut down of the credit market sounds great to me.. I can charge loan shark rates on my savings.. yay me.

[Old Salt]

They should have been able to pass it with only their Democrat majority. House Speaker Pelosi says they got 60% of their party.

 

The country will go on. The banking institutions in trouble will be taken over by the stronger ones left.

 

What they need to do is change the banking regulations so that those securities are no longer valued at the value of the worst element. From what I understand, if a package consists of 98% solid mortgages, it's valued at the 2% worst performing mortgages - hence the loss of value on paper.

 

The American people need to be weaned off of credit. There are times, for major purchases, where it's necessary. But everyday purchases? For instance, you know that the kids need new clothes for school - set aside a certain portion of your paycheck every week/month to pay for them. That portion could be the amount you'd have to pay on your credit card bill if you used credit. You'd even be getting paid interest instead of paying interest.

[wez]

They should have been able to pass it with only their Democrat majority. House Speaker Pelosi says they got 60% of their party.

 

The country will go on. The banking institutions in trouble will be taken over by the stronger ones left.

 

What they need to do is change the banking regulations so that those securities are no longer valued at the value of the worst element. From what I understand, if a package consists of 98% solid mortgages, it's valued at the 2% worst performing mortgages - hence the loss of value on paper.

 

If nothing else.. I know I sure as hell didn't want to buy bad debt from banks.. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs a brain transplant..

 

 

Watch houses tumble now... Unless you got cash.. good luck getting a mortgage.. The way it should be. Maybe prices will once again reflect reality.

 

Plus, no matter the consequences.. any policy of socialism defeated is a good thing in my mind.

 

Barny Frank is an idiot.

[wez]

 

The American people need to be weaned off of credit. There are times, for major purchases, where it's necessary. But everyday purchases? For instance, you know that the kids need new clothes for school - set aside a certain portion of your paycheck every week/month to pay for them. That portion could be the amount you'd have to pay on your credit card bill if you used credit. You'd even be getting paid interest instead of paying interest.

 

 

 

No doubt.. if it's gotta be cold turkey.. so be it. Shoulda saved for a rainy day.. and it's pouring.

[wez]

Oooops.. make that a 700 + point freefall.. so far.. good.. maybe that'll learn em that working people aren't a bottemless well of cash.

 

 

Poor bastard commies.. they weren't suppose to have any risk!

[Old Salt]

And they only needed 13 more votes. If they can get a re-vote, I'm sure they can bully or bribe 13 of their members.

[wez]

And they only needed 13 more votes. If they can get a re-vote, I'm sure they can bully or bribe 13 of their members.

 

 

Well, ya know it aint the last we heard of this crap.. Bush devoted a whole 4 1/2 minutes to this mother of all economic crisis's this morn to praise the plan.. Then he prolly went golfing.

 

Course there was no details.. Crooks and liars hate details.. Glad his party snuffed it, for the most part.

 

Just saw Naaaaaaancy laying all the blame on the Repubs..... Saying they hurt the American people for political reason? She is a moron.

 

 

They all need to go.. Repubs and Dems alike.. Can only blame each other for so long..

[Old Salt]

And oil is down today. Could it be that people sold their oil interests to get money to buy stocks at rock bottom prices? Lower oil prices hurt the Russians and Hugo Chavez.

[wez]

And oil is down today. Could it be that people sold their oil interests to get money to buy stocks at rock bottom prices? Lower oil prices hurt the Russians and Hugo Chavez.

 

 

Or sold to pay the mortgage.. and buy food.

 

Damn, I was tired.. layed down and zonked.. I see the final tally was close to down 800.. wowsa.. bloodbath.

[ImWithStupid]

And oil is down today. Could it be that people sold their oil interests to get money to buy stocks at rock bottom prices? Lower oil prices hurt the Russians and Hugo Chavez.

 

Time for one or the other to get into some kind of incident that will send prices higher.

[wez]

Time for one or the other to get into some kind of incident that will send prices higher.

 

 

Most likely.. Invade Alaska?

 

 

Sh t... I don't think 9% interest is sounding too hot anymore.. might hafta demand 20% pretty quick if this "credit freeze" continues much longer..

 

 

I'm a ruthless bastard..

[Old Salt]

Or sold to pay the mortgage.. and buy food.

 

Damn, I was tired.. layed down and zonked.. I see the final tally was close to down 800.. wowsa.. bloodbath.

The number was the largest, but percentage wise (7%), it didn't make the top ten.