Makers of Crap Sandwich Now Pitching It With 10-Percent More Corn

The big three automakers are back in Washington, trying to convince Congress to give them your hard-earned money so they can keep afloat businesses ... under the weight of an economic meltdown, the worst auto sales in decades and a tight credit market ... refinance their companies' debt, cut executive pay, seek concessions from workers and find other [more...]

Date: 2008-12-02 12:57:12

Blog posts (447) | Videos (169)
 

Weekly Economic Potpourri November 29, 2008

Every week there are a numerous headlines that are worthy of mentioning but I simply run out of time. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past week.Japan’s Factory Output Falls as Turmoil Hurts ExportsJapanese manufacturers reduced production in October and plan further cutbacks as a worsening global financial crisis weakens [more...]

Date: 2008-11-29 18:46:00

Are fiscal multipliers now big or small?

Small, says Richard Clarida : Because of the financial crisis and the severe damage caused to the system of credit intermediation through banks ... are from periods when households could – and did – use tax cuts as a down payment on a car or to cover ... , but households took advantage of zero rate financing promotions – as well as ready access to home [more...]

Date: 2009-03-06 01:49:00

We're All In This Together

(cross-posted from my campaign blog) Last week, President Obama laid out his administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan to deal ... interest rates and to borrowers for keeping current on their loans; 2. It helps restructure loans ... will help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure [more...]

Date: 2009-02-23 04:41:15

Fact Check: Obama’s Words on Home Aid Ring Hollow

Obama glossed over a number of complex realities in delivering his speech to Congress and a nation hungry for economic salvation ... over what country invented the car. A look at some of his assertions: OBAMA: “We have launched ... their monthly payments and refinance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t help speculators or that neighbor [more...]

Date: 2009-02-25 16:15:42

Bankrupt Ideas for Changing Bankruptcy

Two excerpts from a local article:  Bankruptcy reform could help hard-up homeowners Overwhelmed by debt from credit cards , ... on using a mortgage to purchase or refinance a home in the foreseeable future. This is not the venue ... that, as with all investments, investors in mortgage backs (upon which all mortgage rates are based [more...]

Date: 2009-02-20 22:50:59

Countrywide Scandal Causing Big Problems For Senator Dodd, But Why Not Senator Conrad?

According to Time , Senator Chris Dodd is suffering mightily in his home state of Connecticut thanks to his having taken sweetheart, ... last year that he received a sweetheart deal on his mortgage, saving upwards of $75,000 courtesy ... , who has allowed reporters limited access to his mortgage documents, denies he got any preferential treatment [more...]

Date: 2009-03-09 18:43:43

Explaining the financial crisis to a nation of third graders

They're sure talking about "root cause" a lot these days in Washington, though, with only a few exceptions such as Ron Paul (R-Texas) ... took out loans larger than they could afford, assuming that they could sell or refinance ... -rate mortgages, who had been planning to sell or refinance their homes at a higher price, were stuck [more...]

Date: 2008-09-25 04:20:00

Latest Pajamas Media Column (’Obama’s Race Against the Economy’) Is Up (UPDATES: Other Favorable Signs; Thoughts on NBER’s Recession Call)

It went up here yesterday. The sub-headline is: If a recovery begins too soon, a massive “stimulus” package might not be needed. Democrats consider that a bad thing. It will go up tomorrow morning at BizzyBlog (link won’ ... 19, 2008.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1245.4 [more...]

Date: 2008-12-26 13:02:59

Bailouts for commodity speculators

If automakers are lining up at the trough, why not Big Agra? Scott Irwin alerts me to this story from DomesticFuel ... there are USDA programs that could, for example, help the companies refinance and reduce their interest rates ... million to refinance or loan guarantees. "We have several ways we can help with dollars in rural [more...]

Date: 2008-10-20 17:56:53

'One more sad cry in a horrible storm'

From the Sacramento Bee : Sacramento's economy stands to lose around $1 billion over the next 18 months because of layoffs and unpaid furloughs ... be to avoid Detroit, Cleveland or any cities with domestic automobile plants or troubled ... homeowners with a mortgage will find it impossible to refinance, according to Irvine-based First [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 21:25:00

Global Recession: Ready or Not, Here We Come

The usual grounds for optimism these days is the fact that the Obama Administration is clearly going to propose a big fiscal package with two components: a large conventional stimulus (spending plus tax cuts); and a big housing refinance scheme, in which the Treasury will potentially become the largest-ever intermediary for mortgages [more...]

Date: 2008-12-22 14:08:28

Got a tip for a post?: Email us | Anonymous form Get PEEK in your mailbox! ... will refinance (not rewrite, refi, then it doesn't matter who owns them) mortgages to reduce ... efficient beyond a certain level. Example: do a car buy back of the worst 10% polluting/fuel [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 12:20:03

Rolling Stones Economics

My last post was pretty dramatic, to say the least. I want to briefly discuss an aspect that is not considered by economists nearly at all and really highlights the difficulty in avoiding massive pain. This video says it all and it’s only a bit over a minute so it is easily digestible: Yes it’s time that’s not considered and isn’t on our side [more...]

Date: 2008-12-07 19:40:59

Death Match: Cicero v Obama

vs Old things aren't always applicable to current things...but you may find that, most of the time and in some way, they are. For example, yesterday in church, the homily by the sub-deacon was not his own: rather, it was one written 1500 years ago by Gregory the Great. Although my first instinct was to think, "Oh no.. [more...]

Date: 2009-02-16 16:38:43

How To Save Hundreds A Month On Your Mortgage

When it comes to American spending habits, the sad truth is that most people don’t put their financial assets to the best use ... such cutting unnecessary services, refinancing a car loan, paying off credit cards (to end the high cost ... with you if you have bad credit? Are you getting a new loan to refinance your rate? Or are you getting a loan [more...]

Date: 2009-03-10 10:55:59

Find Out If You Qualify For Mortgage Assistance [Foreclosure Prevention]

The Obama Administration announced new details about its massive foreclosure relief program — and the Washington Post says that it includes a ... be able to refinance. The Post has a quick interactive tool that will help you to determine whether ... Plan is aimed at the growing number of homeowners who have been unable to refinance because [more...]

Date: 2009-03-04 20:14:58

Refinancing Tips - Five Steps to a Speedy Loan for you

Many homeowners complain that, in these days of refinancing fever, customer service is sluggish, at best. Lenders don’t return phone calls or reply to emails, leaving consumers in limbo. Here are five things you can do to help grease the wheels before interest rates have another chance to rise. 1 [more...]

Date: 2009-03-09 08:39:35

Want To Refinance? Good Luck

Interest rates are at historical lows so many homeowners are calling banks and trying to get in on the action. Only problem? ... interest rates so, among other things, people can refinance their homes with the new money ... are now allowed to refinance because the “market” for homes has decided that our homes aren’t worth as much [more...]

Date: 2008-12-26 19:33:05

Happy Days Are Here Again – The Resurgence of FDR

By Irwin Nowick This week we saw why in times of economic uncertainty the American people in their infinite wisdom always – as they must - turn to the Party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman for their protection. Growing up on the North Shore of Long Island my late mother – heir to what on paper was the upper [more...]

Date: 2008-09-19 11:36:08

Valuing Toxic Waste

graphic by Brooks Elliott Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asked the public for suggestions about valuation of the toxic waste taxpayers are ... come when people sell or refinance, or lose the home in foreclosure. Then things get complicated ... class. If there is not enough for one class, then too bad, and the lower priority people get nothing [more...]

Date: 2009-02-12 01:22:25

Tools of Repossession

Yulia Latynina at the Moscow Times points out that the Kremlin's preferred apparatus for stealing private property is changing: ... stabilization fund and foreign currency reserves. It would be impossible to refinance such a debt in the midst of a Russian financial meltdown. Only the state can partially refinance it using [more...]

Date: 2008-10-29 15:31:11

Consumer Protection Week - resources for your employees

To commemorate National Consumer Protection Week, we've compiled some useful tools and resources that you can share with your employees. In these tough economic times, it's more important than ever to be a savvy consumer. Making Home Affordable - learn about refinance and modification options available through the new government [more...]

Date: 2009-03-06 15:07:25

The Parasite Class Caused The Current Economic Dislocations And They Have Every Intention Of Pointing The Way Down The Road

Today the NY Times has provided a redundant service to its readers by voicing, in an Op-Ed, suggestions for handling the economic downturn by one of its greed-obsessed authors. I say "redundant" because that is pretty much all one hears about the economic downturn-- the masters of the universe telling us how badly we've screwed up-- by following [more...]

Date: 2008-11-29 01:00:00

Blockbuster Releases Some Q4 Results Early To Quell Bankruptcy Rumors

In an apparent effort to reassure investors, Blockbuster ( NYSE: BBI ) released some of its Q4 results today —two weeks ahead of schedule ... million, and that it was working to refinance or pay off debt that matures in August 2009. Earlier ... capital to refinance its debt not to discuss filing for bankruptcy. Yesterday, the S&P; stoked [more...]

Date: 2009-03-05 23:30:54

Another Bailout Plan: Directly Bailout Homeowners

—Ace Actually, if you accept "bailout logic" at all, this makes the most sense and should have been done from the beginning ( ... credit and a mortgage can refinance at a new lower rate. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ... from there, trying to stabilize banks and inject capital to make up for bad mortgages? Why not just firm [more...]

Date: 2008-12-06 06:32:52

When Audacity meets Absurdity… Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Oh fer heavens sake, are these people brain dead in Washington? And whoever Obama has “outsourced” his so-called-foreclosure-rescue bill to has really proven to ignore realities about our foreclosure problems. It was back in September that I put together the post on the perfect storm of events that, combined, [more...]

Date: 2009-02-20 04:42:59

Obama's Homeowner Stability Plan: How Helpful Will It Be?

Bullish Bankers submits: Last Wednesday, February 18th, President Obama presented his Homeowner Affordability and Stability Act ... to the historic low mortgage rates that are giving many folks the opportunity to refinance their mortgages to lower monthly payments. However, some owners are not able to refinance due to current rules [more...]

Date: 2009-03-08 13:15:18

mortgage interest rates predictions: Be Careful!

My home mortgage rates predictions are just as good as any economist’s these days, with global uncertainty of epic proportions clouding everyone’s crystal balls. Once upon a time, mortgage rates predictions were relatively simple to make. Mortgage rates predictions involved nothing more than estimating movements in the supply [more...]

Date: 2009-03-09 13:01:52

CBS Praises Big Government, Offers No Opposing View

On Tuesday’s CBS Evening News, correspondent Chip Reid described Barack Obama’s signing of the massive "stimulus" spending bill into law: "After a mere four weeks in office, the President today signed what he called ‘the most sweeping economic recovery plan in American history’ ...A new law that he described as a new beginning.. [more...]

Date: 2009-02-18 22:49:37

Sites, tools and tips for saving money

T he economy is hitting everyone hard. And while we all fight for money, often chasing the same dollars, there’s one thing we can all collaborate on, ... cost less than $20. Know when to refinance your mortgage : Finance rates are dropping ... to refinance. Just follow Bankrate.com to see up to the minute mortgage rates. Gadgets that save [more...]

Date: 2009-02-27 18:41:33

Pethokoukis: Savior-based economics

Count US News’ James Pethokoukis as one of the unimpressed on Barack Obama’s mortgage-bailout plan ... we end up with the “great cast, bad movie” phenomenon. See “Ocean’s Twelve” or “Ocean’s Thirteen.” ... some homeowners refinance, assist others in lowering their monthly payments, and reduce mortgage [more...]

Date: 2009-02-19 14:29:32

Obama on McCain on buying up bad mortgages

Here’s Obama’s response to McCain’s mortgage buy-back proposal: Senator McCain and I had a chance to talk about this the other night in Nashville ... at the time that this should not be a vehicle to reward banks and lending institutions that recklessly ... lenders, reached an agreement to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. Under Senator McCain’ [more...]

Date: 2008-10-10 12:44:04

Comments on Housing Plan

There are three parts to the plan. For each part, I'll provide the Obama administration overview ( from the WSJ ) and then add some comments .. ... Homeowners to Refinance: Mortgage rates are currently at historically low levels, providing ... owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance through those two institutions [more...]

Date: 2009-02-18 17:07:00

General Growth shares drop to 40 cents

Bankruptcy possible if firm can't raise funds to cover debt Shares of General Growth Properties tumbled more than 70 percent Tuesday, after the cash-strapped shopping mall operator disclosed late Monday that it may be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if it can't refinance debt that will come due later this year [more...]

Date: 2008-11-11 19:02:00

Good Speech, Help for Homeowners

.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; ... ineligible homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance ... are unable to sell their homes, and unable to refinance them. So in the event of a job loss [more...]

Date: 2009-02-18 19:35:08

Economic Potpourri December 14, 2008

The barrage of noteworthy economic news continues unabated. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past couple days ... , the amount of interest paid in the last two months fell by $10 billion, according to the Treasury ... market in the world and still has a low risk.”The U.S. will eventually have to commit to balanced [more...]

Date: 2008-12-15 02:30:00

Housing bailout pays for second mortgages,liens and investments

Nation: Remember Obama's talk that people who flipped or made bad decisions wouldn't be bailed out? He lied ... . It has to do with second liens, that is piggy back loans or home equity lines of credit. Deep deep in the pages of the plan, is paragraph vi. Second Liens: While eligibly loan modifications will not require [more...]

Date: 2009-03-07 14:59:00

SMX East: Give It Up

SMX East: Give It Up Give It Up: White Hat Edition - This session has SEOs sharing favorite, little-known and powerful techniques that wont get you banned in search engines from trying. Moderator: Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Land Speakers: Michael Gray, President, Atlas Web Service Kimberly Krause Berg, [more...]

Date: 2008-11-07 17:00:00

Ask the Readers: When Does It Make Sense to Refinance a Mortgage?

So much for vacation. I just can’t keep myself away from you guys! While surfing around this evening, I found a story at USA Today about how mortgages are at a 37-year low. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averages about 5.28% right now. I don’t usually pay much attention to these stories. We refinanced our first house ( [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 13:00:18

There is, Perhaps, a Grimmer Truth

Lawrence rightly notes that the first round of oversight reporting to Congress on the bailout makes for grim reading. Unfortunately, I suspect that some problems are grimmer than even Elizabeth Warren and her associates make out. The TARP Oversight Report is quite insistant on the need for the Treasury to take action to decrease home [more...]

Date: 2008-12-12 18:35:13

Stanley Johnson: Credit Bubble Mascot

Every market bubble deserves its own mascot. The symbol of all that was wrong with that era ... . It opens with a well-to-do suburbanite living in a big house, in a great community, with a new car ... . The recommendation for how get out of this mess. Just use Lending Tree to get a home equity loan [more...]

Date: 2008-12-16 15:15:54

Financial Forecast for 2009, Considering Resource Limitations

In this post, I consider some major issues contributing to our current financial problems, before making a financial forecast for 2009. These are 1 ... from the bottom: Layer 1. Household Debt (Mortgages, auto loans, credit card debt, student loans ... from ordinary citizens support the businesses and governments that have loans higher up on the "tower [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 15:10:32

Democrats Pushing Bill Through Congress To Reward Americans For Filing Bankruptcy

And that reward would come at the expense of people who acted responsibly, lived within their means and paid their bills on time no less. Want to discharge a bunch of debt you’ve run up and refinance your mortgage on cushy new terms? No need to work harder, be responsible and pay your bills on time. Just declare bankruptcy [more...]

Date: 2009-02-18 23:47:03

"It was inevitable that prices would start to drop"

From the Sacramento Bee:Federal intervention in the financial system could wipe billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt off the books of Wall Street. But will it help end the housing crisis in Sacramento?Not directly, analysts say. But eventually it could help curb the defaults and foreclosures at the root of economic problems locally and the [more...]

Date: 2008-09-22 14:32:00

Nightmares, Norms and Negative Equity

Thanks, Sarah, Dan, and everyone at Concurring Opinions for inviting me to guest blog. For a Property professor, these are riveting times. The mortgage nightmare continues. As in much of the country, here in Minnesota, thousands of houses stand vacant and decaying. Parts of Minneapolis have been devastated [more...]

Date: 2008-11-03 06:00:32

Why We All Need To Keep A Watchful Eye On What Is Happening In Greece

In view of Greece’s EMU membership, the availability of external financing is not a concern, but the correction of cumulating indebtedness could weigh appreciably on growth going forward. While the risk of transmitting vulnerabilities to the euro area is very small reflecting Greece’s small relative size, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-14 15:01:19

People make mistakes...

... but for really fucking colossal mistakes, well, you can nearly always look to the state for those. Let us take the Credit Crunch... Now, this was partially caused by greedy bankers, it is true; but it wasn't entirely their fault. Y'see, what is at the heart of the Credit Crunch is a loss of faith in the value of mortgage loans [more...]

Date: 2008-09-21 01:45:31

Loosers

With the huge disaster that homeowners and lenders have suffered, it would seem reasonable to conclude that anyone wanting to buy a home would be very careful. Of course, those ads on glossy paper keep coming in advising you that great deals are available. Just trust your local financial whiz [more...]

Date: 2009-03-08 10:58:00

Our President Speaks About The Wall Street Bailout!

The economy is "in danger" and our government must save it. Our illustrious leader reads from his teleprompter to tell us how our economy reached this point. It has nothing to do with policy over the last 7 years. It is because of "investors from abroad." He's so sweet. Just read or listen and make your own assumptions about these "justifications [more...]

Date: 2008-09-25 03:18:20

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