Top Stories:
Cincinnati Police Order: Park Cars For 30 Minutes Of Each Hour To Save Gas - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis said today there is a “very strong possibility” he will eliminate security at the courthouse and other secure buildings and shut down entire floors at the Queensgate jail in order to comply with budget cuts. “It’s a sad day,” said Leis. “In my 37 years in county government, I’ve never seen the county in such financial straits as this.” He also said layoffs are likely and patrol deputies will be told to park their cars for 30 minutes of each hour to save gas. His department is being asked to trim $903,668 - the second largest dollar amount. It already cut its budget 10 percent coming into 2008, partly by closing 40 beds in its detention center. The department that would lose the most money is the sheriff's office at $2.2 million.
McCain's Economic Adviser Says "Recession Is Mental" - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - Phil Gramm, McCain's economic advisor talks about a "Mental Recession". "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," Gramm said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet." "We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said. "We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today," he said. "We have benefited greatly" from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.
US Govt Considers Fannie/Freddie Takeover With No Debt Guaranty! - (mrmortgage.ml-implode.com) - Most assume that if the agencies fail, the Gov’t would backstop their $5 trillion in guarantees, which is why the agency market has held together fairly well through all of this. However, this may not be the case. As you know in recent days, Agency spreads have widened considerably on speculation that Fannie and Freddie are in serious trouble and would not be able back up said guarantees. Now it is questionable whether the Gov’t would back the paper in the event of a take-over. This could spell big trouble for the agency debt world. Most think that the Gov’t currently backs agency paper but that is not the case. The Treasury backs $2.25 billion a piece for Fannie and Freddie. That is less than 1/10th of 1% of the total outstanding guarantees. Agency security investors should be savvy enough to know that the mortgage backed debt issued by the agencies are backed by the full faith and credit of the agencies and very little is backed by the Gov’t. Why should there be a bailout of investors in the agency arena on taxpayers dollars? You mean to tell me they didn’t know the risks in investing in real estate backed assets?
Fannie, Freddie `Insolvent' After Losses, Poole Says - (www.bloomberg.com) - Chances are increasing that the U.S. may need to bail out Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac, former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in an interview. Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter, making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules, he said. The fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion, data provided by the Washington-based company show, and may be negative next quarter, Poole said. Congress ought to recognize that these firms are insolvent, that it is allowing these firms to continue to exist as bastions of privilege, financed by the taxpayer,'' Poole, 71, who left the Fed in March, said in the interview yesterday.
Fannie, Freddie shares plunge again - (www.marketwatch.com)
Fannie and Freddie Waterfalls Are Too Big to Bail - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - It's been a wild ride for Fannie and Freddie recently. Yesterday, James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise, said the GSEs are "well capitalized".William Poole, former Fed governor disagrees. Poole Says "Fannie, Freddie Insolvent". The market agrees with Poole as share prices have continued to plunge and Fannie Mae Pays Record Yield Spreads on Sale of Two-Year Notes vs. two-year treasuries. Today Paulson Says Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail. I would like clarification from Paulson as to what "fail" means. What it should mean is Fannie and Freddie go bankrupt, the government gets out of the GSE sponsorship business, and home prices fall to their natural level. What I suspect Paulson means is We're All Homeowners Now, Nationalization of Fannie, Freddie Unavoidable. In this scenario, the share price of Fannie and Freddie will drop to zero yet taxpayers will foot the bill to keep Fannie and Freddie in business.
Indymac Gets An FDIC Haircut - (www.ml-implode.com) - According to a source that has proved credible in the past, we were told a meeting will be held at IndyMac HQ tomorrow announcing the FDIC will put them into conservatorship.
According to this source, $190 million was pulled in yesterday's run, and $100 million today.
Rangel Rents Apartments at Bargain Rates - (www.nytimes.com) – Yes, the showy politician from Harlem is milking those from his district and the rest of the country. While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers. Mr. Rangel, who has a net worth of $566,000 to $1.2 million, according to Congressional disclosure records, paid a total rent of $3,894 monthly in 2007 for the four apartments at Lenox Terrace, a 1,700-unit luxury development of six towers, with doormen, that is described in real estate publications as Harlem’s most prestigious address. The current market-rate rent for similar apartments in Mr. Rangel’s building would total $7,465 to $8,125 a month, according to the Web site of the owner, the Olnick Organization.
3,200 Martial Arts Studios Went Out Of Business In May - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - 3,200++ Martial Arts Studios went out of business in the month of May alone. In the history of Martial Arts in the United States - nothing like this has ever happened. In one month about 20% of all studios closed their door. Most will never reopen! Most should never been in business to start with. Starbucks is closing 600 locations this year because people cannot afford to pay $3 for a cup of coffee. How do studio owners - especially those with 90% kids expect parents to pay $100 per month plus testing fee's? Now they have the added expense of $4 a gallon gas. This is a no brainier for parents: Cut out the kids Karate and Dance lessons.
Monica Lewinsky: I Am Voting Republican, The Democrats Left A Bad Taste In My Mouth - (dotnetsamplechapters.blogspot.com) Sorry, just a joke of the day J
Other Stories:
Steve Forbes On The Economy - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Paulson: Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) – Funny, but Paulson wasn’t saying his for Bear Stearns or Countrywide. Maybe the Fed can no longer afford to bail these banks out or they are expecting a failure too large (Fannie, Freddie)?
U.S. stock mostly lower on Fannie, Freddie woes - (www.marketwatch.com)
The price of the Fed’s lifeline is yet to be determined - (www.economist.com)
Prices Drive Gas Use to Five-Year Low - (online.wsj.com)
U.S. Foreclosures Rose 53% in June, Bank Seizures Almost Triple - (www.bloomberg.com)
Initial jobless claims fall 58,000 to lowest since April - (www.marketwatch.com)
Commuters spend less on food, movies and clothes because of gasoline costs, survey finds - (www.latimes.com)
Developer offers free gas to home buyers - (www.ajc.com)
Fannie, Freddie Bailout Concern Triggers Increase in Bond Risk - (www.bloomberg.com)
How Fair Value Rewards Deadbeats - (www.cfo.com)
Devaney's Funds Wiped Out After United Capital Gets Margin Call - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fannie, Freddie stock, bond investors face off - (www.reuters.com)
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO says bankers caused their own downfal - (www.financialweek.com)
The Future of Securitization - (online.wsj.com)
S&P 500 May Lose Another 12% Before Bear Market Ends - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge Fund Manager Describes Rock Bottom - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Mulls Future of Fannie, Freddie - (online.wsj.com)
Fannie, Freddie plunge on rescue report - (money.cnn.com)
Wachovia Names Treasury's Steel Chief, Posts Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fannie, Freddie `Insolvent' After Losses, Poole Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Stingy credit markets test US casino projects - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Trichet steps up inflation warnings - (www.ft.com)
Japan's Wholesale Inflation Rises to a 27-Year High - (www.bloomberg.com)
Berlin set to curb excessive executive payments - (www.ft.com)
U.K. House Prices Fall Annual 6.1%, Most Since 1993 - (www.bloomberg.com)
China's Aluminum Producers Agree to Cut Output by 10% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Granddad, Tell How Capitalism Committed Suicide: Mark Gilbert - (www.bloomberg.com)
Saying They Were Tricked, Borrowers Fight Back With Lawsuits - (biz.yahoo.com/law)
Foreign Investors Pile Up More Pieces of Americana - (www.nytimes.com)
NASA satellites show offshore wind potential - (news.cnet.com)
Confessions of a Former Inflationist - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)IndyMac: One More Lie For the Road - (mrmortgage.ml-implode.com)Housing pain to linger longer - (seattletimes.nwsource.com)Pending House Resales Decline More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)Fannie, Freddie Downgraded by Derivatives Traders - (www.bloomberg.com)Fannie, Freddie Default Risk Rises Sharply - (www.clusterstock.com)Fannie, Freddie Nationalization Inevitable - (www.clusterstock.com)Paulson: Many foreclosures can't be prevented - (www.sfgate.com)Paulson's Cherrypicked Housing Stats Give False Hope - (www.clusterstock.com)Bernanke, Financial Regulation and Financial Stability - (www.federalreserve.gov)Fed Sees Turmoil Persisting Deep Into Next Year - (www.nytimes.com)Federal regulators prepare to tighten mortgage rules - (www.latimes.com)Bridging The Gap Between Pay, Inflation - (www.npr.org)
Are Investors Overreacting on Fannie, Freddie? - (www.ml-implode.com) - "While MBS markets firmed following Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight director James Lockhart’s insistence earlier ...
Home Prices Off More than 20 Percent Nationally - (www.ml-implode.com) - "A new housing price index suggested earlier this week that housing prices have fallen by 20.1 percent nationally between May 20...
Congress Tries To Put Out Housing Fire - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Congress is working on a mortgage rescue plan that includes $300 billion in new loans intended to provide homeowners with more ...
Mortgage Rates Sit Tight - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Mortgage rates moved little this week, according to Freddie Mac (FRE: 8.01, -21.93%) on Thursday morning, with the 30-year fixe...
Think positive! - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Even the most casual observer can plainly see where the roots of many of today's economic problems lie simply by examining two ...
ML IMPLODE-O-METER Goes Hollywood - (www.ml-implode.com)
Foreclosures Surge 53 Percent in June - (www.ml-implode.com)
New CA Foreclosure Law Endorses Mortgage Modifications - (www.ml-implode.com)
Who Should You Believe? - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ethics Complaints Filed Over Obama Mortgage Rate - (www.ml-implode.com)
Delinquencies For Tacoma's Columbia Bank Jump Nearly 30% - (www.ml-implode.com)
Why This Housing Bust Is Worst Ever: The American Dream Ends - (www.ml-implode.com)
Centex/Prospect Deal For CTX Mortgage Falls Thru - (www.ml-implode.com)
Cincinnati Police Order: Park Cars For 30 Minutes Of Each Hour To Save Gas - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis said today there is a “very strong possibility” he will eliminate security at the courthouse and other secure buildings and shut down entire floors at the Queensgate jail in order to comply with budget cuts. “It’s a sad day,” said Leis. “In my 37 years in county government, I’ve never seen the county in such financial straits as this.” He also said layoffs are likely and patrol deputies will be told to park their cars for 30 minutes of each hour to save gas. His department is being asked to trim $903,668 - the second largest dollar amount. It already cut its budget 10 percent coming into 2008, partly by closing 40 beds in its detention center. The department that would lose the most money is the sheriff's office at $2.2 million.
McCain's Economic Adviser Says "Recession Is Mental" - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - Phil Gramm, McCain's economic advisor talks about a "Mental Recession". "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," Gramm said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet." "We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said. "We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today," he said. "We have benefited greatly" from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.
US Govt Considers Fannie/Freddie Takeover With No Debt Guaranty! - (mrmortgage.ml-implode.com) - Most assume that if the agencies fail, the Gov’t would backstop their $5 trillion in guarantees, which is why the agency market has held together fairly well through all of this. However, this may not be the case. As you know in recent days, Agency spreads have widened considerably on speculation that Fannie and Freddie are in serious trouble and would not be able back up said guarantees. Now it is questionable whether the Gov’t would back the paper in the event of a take-over. This could spell big trouble for the agency debt world. Most think that the Gov’t currently backs agency paper but that is not the case. The Treasury backs $2.25 billion a piece for Fannie and Freddie. That is less than 1/10th of 1% of the total outstanding guarantees. Agency security investors should be savvy enough to know that the mortgage backed debt issued by the agencies are backed by the full faith and credit of the agencies and very little is backed by the Gov’t. Why should there be a bailout of investors in the agency arena on taxpayers dollars? You mean to tell me they didn’t know the risks in investing in real estate backed assets?
Fannie, Freddie `Insolvent' After Losses, Poole Says - (www.bloomberg.com) - Chances are increasing that the U.S. may need to bail out Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac, former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in an interview. Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter, making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules, he said. The fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion, data provided by the Washington-based company show, and may be negative next quarter, Poole said. Congress ought to recognize that these firms are insolvent, that it is allowing these firms to continue to exist as bastions of privilege, financed by the taxpayer,'' Poole, 71, who left the Fed in March, said in the interview yesterday.
Fannie, Freddie shares plunge again - (www.marketwatch.com)
Fannie and Freddie Waterfalls Are Too Big to Bail - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - It's been a wild ride for Fannie and Freddie recently. Yesterday, James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise, said the GSEs are "well capitalized".William Poole, former Fed governor disagrees. Poole Says "Fannie, Freddie Insolvent". The market agrees with Poole as share prices have continued to plunge and Fannie Mae Pays Record Yield Spreads on Sale of Two-Year Notes vs. two-year treasuries. Today Paulson Says Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail. I would like clarification from Paulson as to what "fail" means. What it should mean is Fannie and Freddie go bankrupt, the government gets out of the GSE sponsorship business, and home prices fall to their natural level. What I suspect Paulson means is We're All Homeowners Now, Nationalization of Fannie, Freddie Unavoidable. In this scenario, the share price of Fannie and Freddie will drop to zero yet taxpayers will foot the bill to keep Fannie and Freddie in business.
Indymac Gets An FDIC Haircut - (www.ml-implode.com) - According to a source that has proved credible in the past, we were told a meeting will be held at IndyMac HQ tomorrow announcing the FDIC will put them into conservatorship.
According to this source, $190 million was pulled in yesterday's run, and $100 million today.
Rangel Rents Apartments at Bargain Rates - (www.nytimes.com) – Yes, the showy politician from Harlem is milking those from his district and the rest of the country. While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers. Mr. Rangel, who has a net worth of $566,000 to $1.2 million, according to Congressional disclosure records, paid a total rent of $3,894 monthly in 2007 for the four apartments at Lenox Terrace, a 1,700-unit luxury development of six towers, with doormen, that is described in real estate publications as Harlem’s most prestigious address. The current market-rate rent for similar apartments in Mr. Rangel’s building would total $7,465 to $8,125 a month, according to the Web site of the owner, the Olnick Organization.
3,200 Martial Arts Studios Went Out Of Business In May - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - 3,200++ Martial Arts Studios went out of business in the month of May alone. In the history of Martial Arts in the United States - nothing like this has ever happened. In one month about 20% of all studios closed their door. Most will never reopen! Most should never been in business to start with. Starbucks is closing 600 locations this year because people cannot afford to pay $3 for a cup of coffee. How do studio owners - especially those with 90% kids expect parents to pay $100 per month plus testing fee's? Now they have the added expense of $4 a gallon gas. This is a no brainier for parents: Cut out the kids Karate and Dance lessons.
Monica Lewinsky: I Am Voting Republican, The Democrats Left A Bad Taste In My Mouth - (dotnetsamplechapters.blogspot.com) Sorry, just a joke of the day J
Other Stories:
Steve Forbes On The Economy - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Paulson: Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To Fail - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) – Funny, but Paulson wasn’t saying his for Bear Stearns or Countrywide. Maybe the Fed can no longer afford to bail these banks out or they are expecting a failure too large (Fannie, Freddie)?
U.S. stock mostly lower on Fannie, Freddie woes - (www.marketwatch.com)
The price of the Fed’s lifeline is yet to be determined - (www.economist.com)
Prices Drive Gas Use to Five-Year Low - (online.wsj.com)
U.S. Foreclosures Rose 53% in June, Bank Seizures Almost Triple - (www.bloomberg.com)
Initial jobless claims fall 58,000 to lowest since April - (www.marketwatch.com)
Commuters spend less on food, movies and clothes because of gasoline costs, survey finds - (www.latimes.com)
Developer offers free gas to home buyers - (www.ajc.com)
Fannie, Freddie Bailout Concern Triggers Increase in Bond Risk - (www.bloomberg.com)
How Fair Value Rewards Deadbeats - (www.cfo.com)
Devaney's Funds Wiped Out After United Capital Gets Margin Call - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fannie, Freddie stock, bond investors face off - (www.reuters.com)
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO says bankers caused their own downfal - (www.financialweek.com)
The Future of Securitization - (online.wsj.com)
S&P 500 May Lose Another 12% Before Bear Market Ends - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge Fund Manager Describes Rock Bottom - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Mulls Future of Fannie, Freddie - (online.wsj.com)
Fannie, Freddie plunge on rescue report - (money.cnn.com)
Wachovia Names Treasury's Steel Chief, Posts Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fannie, Freddie `Insolvent' After Losses, Poole Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Stingy credit markets test US casino projects - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Trichet steps up inflation warnings - (www.ft.com)
Japan's Wholesale Inflation Rises to a 27-Year High - (www.bloomberg.com)
Berlin set to curb excessive executive payments - (www.ft.com)
U.K. House Prices Fall Annual 6.1%, Most Since 1993 - (www.bloomberg.com)
China's Aluminum Producers Agree to Cut Output by 10% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Granddad, Tell How Capitalism Committed Suicide: Mark Gilbert - (www.bloomberg.com)
Saying They Were Tricked, Borrowers Fight Back With Lawsuits - (biz.yahoo.com/law)
Foreign Investors Pile Up More Pieces of Americana - (www.nytimes.com)
NASA satellites show offshore wind potential - (news.cnet.com)
Confessions of a Former Inflationist - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)IndyMac: One More Lie For the Road - (mrmortgage.ml-implode.com)Housing pain to linger longer - (seattletimes.nwsource.com)Pending House Resales Decline More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)Fannie, Freddie Downgraded by Derivatives Traders - (www.bloomberg.com)Fannie, Freddie Default Risk Rises Sharply - (www.clusterstock.com)Fannie, Freddie Nationalization Inevitable - (www.clusterstock.com)Paulson: Many foreclosures can't be prevented - (www.sfgate.com)Paulson's Cherrypicked Housing Stats Give False Hope - (www.clusterstock.com)Bernanke, Financial Regulation and Financial Stability - (www.federalreserve.gov)Fed Sees Turmoil Persisting Deep Into Next Year - (www.nytimes.com)Federal regulators prepare to tighten mortgage rules - (www.latimes.com)Bridging The Gap Between Pay, Inflation - (www.npr.org)
Are Investors Overreacting on Fannie, Freddie? - (www.ml-implode.com) - "While MBS markets firmed following Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight director James Lockhart’s insistence earlier ...
Home Prices Off More than 20 Percent Nationally - (www.ml-implode.com) - "A new housing price index suggested earlier this week that housing prices have fallen by 20.1 percent nationally between May 20...
Congress Tries To Put Out Housing Fire - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Congress is working on a mortgage rescue plan that includes $300 billion in new loans intended to provide homeowners with more ...
Mortgage Rates Sit Tight - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Mortgage rates moved little this week, according to Freddie Mac (FRE: 8.01, -21.93%) on Thursday morning, with the 30-year fixe...
Think positive! - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Even the most casual observer can plainly see where the roots of many of today's economic problems lie simply by examining two ...
ML IMPLODE-O-METER Goes Hollywood - (www.ml-implode.com)
Foreclosures Surge 53 Percent in June - (www.ml-implode.com)
New CA Foreclosure Law Endorses Mortgage Modifications - (www.ml-implode.com)
Who Should You Believe? - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ethics Complaints Filed Over Obama Mortgage Rate - (www.ml-implode.com)
Delinquencies For Tacoma's Columbia Bank Jump Nearly 30% - (www.ml-implode.com)
Why This Housing Bust Is Worst Ever: The American Dream Ends - (www.ml-implode.com)
Centex/Prospect Deal For CTX Mortgage Falls Thru - (www.ml-implode.com)
