Credit Crisis
« Previous EntriesWhen the Going Gets Tough…The ‘Rich’ Bail?
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009Increasingly, homeowners with good credit and no late payments are making what appears to be a strategic decision to walk away when their home’s value falls below what’s owed.
Beth sent me a link to the article on MSN that is the source of the above sentence (The Rich Bail Faster on Mortgages).
More [...]
Is The Economy Worse Than We Think?
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman and editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report, claims the economy is worse than we think it is and lists 10 reasons why he thinks so. One of his points seems a tad misleading:
The number of workers taking part-time jobs due to the slack economy, a kind of stealth [...]
A Different Take on “Government Housing”
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Check out what I just saw on Reuters:
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) – U.S. government officials are weighing a plan that would let borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their homes instead, sources familiar with the administration’s thinking said on Tuesday.
Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would [...]
If You Want a Great Overview of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, READ THIS BOOK!
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009I finally finished reading David Faber’s And Then the Roof Caved In: How Wall Street’s Greed and Stupidity Brought Capitalism to Its Knees*. Although it’s a short read it took me a while to finish because I have a lot on my plate these days.
Despite what some of the negative reviewers say [...]
What’s Going to Prevent The Housing Crisis From Happening Again?
Thursday, June 25th, 2009Interesting article by David Wessel in today’s WSJ about how he believes (and Greenspan too) that the economy can only rebound if housing prices rebound. From the article:
For the two-thirds of American families who own their homes, a house is their biggest asset. The lower house prices go, the less wealthy they are and [...]
If Mortgage Fraud Occurred, Why Don’t We Prosecute the Offenders?
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009During the subprime boom, lenders were using “stated-income” loans, which meant the borrower could state their income but no income verification was used. Basically, this type of loan allowed for the borrower to inflate their income and no one would know the difference. Doing so allowed for the buyer to “qualify” for a [...]
I Was Right!
Monday, June 22nd, 2009If you want to read a short book that will give you a pretty good idea of what went on with subprime mortgages, check out David Faber’s And Then the Roof Caved In*. It’s a very good read.
As my regular readers know, I have blogged a lot about the subprime mortgage crisis. In [...]
Can We Have a Recovery When People Have So Much Debt?
Thursday, June 11th, 2009I don’t know about you but I get nervous when I hear all the talk about hopes for a consumer-led recovery. Why? Because consumers are already maxed out:
By the end of 2008, households were on the hook for $13.8 trillion in debt — nearly matching the $14.3 trillion output of the entire U.S. [...]
What Should Happen to Angelo Mozilo?
Friday, June 5th, 2009The SEC has charged Angelo Mozillo with fraud. You can read the full complaint here (PDF).
The article seems pretty clear that Mozilo was aware of just how bad things were while he was dumping his company stock. Mozilo had always played the “I-don’t-know-how-this-could-have-happened” card. I remember reading in the Wall Street Journal [...]
Question of the Day – Mozilo and Countrywide
Thursday, May 14th, 2009I saw in today’s WSJ that the SEC is about to charge Angelo Mozilo with fraud:
The charges the SEC is considering include alleged violations of insider-trading laws and alleged failure to disclose material information to shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Mozilo sold $130 million of Countrywide stock in the first half of [...]