Letters to the Editor
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Citigroup has more non performing assets than market value
Citi has about 131 billion in assets with no discernible price or marketable value compared to 126 billion in market value. In technical terms that's a nuclear shitstorm. Most of that non value comes from mortgage derivatives. On the upside the Saudis will have to sell a few of their solid gold family owned 767's or something.
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Realtor's pumped up the market?
Of course not. That was strictly supply and demand, invisible hand of the market stuff, Andrew.
The notion that the real estate industry would try to inflate the equilibrium market price just to enhance their short-term profits is laughable. It is perfectly reasonable for a 2 bedroom condo in Chicago to cost 500 grand. That's the market value!! LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!
Note: This post is to be read dripping with sarcasm.
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Pump Up The Booga-Booga
Someone's getting everyone's panties in a twist because hands are going to come out, asking for a bailout from the government. The more ooga-booga, the more the money (which we don't have) flows into those banks. The Chinese are going to dump us! Oooga Booga! Developers can't unload ticky tacky houses! Ooga Booga! Jobs! The economy! Oooga Booga! Now, Gimme Gimme!
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The Market Melt Up .. and a Privatre Central Bank ...
Yep things are looking up . The market , house prices and all those new jobs !
The faster they bail out the economy , the faster the middle class falls behind. More profits land in the laps of the mega rich and the more inflation hits food and energy. Of course food and energy can't be counted towards inflation. The yatch fill up , the lear jet tires and the $1000 lunches are all costs of doing business in the Bahamas.
The fact is there was failure at the top . At the Federal Reserve. Alan Greenspan never saw a new fangled financial instrument he needed to regulate. Expansion of the money supply means more profits for the Federal Reserve. Back in 1994 when Alan was supposed to implement those tighter lending requirements things were tough , no wars , new taxes to bring down deficits and the remnants of a bond bust. Just how to boost the Fed's lagging take from the economy?
Fast forward to the late 90s and the money was sloshing all over Asia. Panick ! Sell those Asian stocks and get the IMF on the phone . Countries were spending too much on social programs!
2000 - Market meltdown in America ! There goes our credit scam ! The Afghanistan War isn't enough , invade Iraq ! We need more credit expansion! There could be deflation ! Alan push those variable loans and have the MIT grads create instruments , and derivatives and collateralize and bundle and parse.
Great job Alan , you've enriched the unknown owners of the Private Fed many times over.
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More Proof, if Any Were Needed
That the DOW is no longer a meaningful measure of the health of the economy, and that Wall Street has its finger on the pulse of global finance the way Mitt Romney is down with gansta culture.
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You Know It's Over...
...when shows like Flip This House and all its clones are encouraging the common man to quit (or phone in) his day job because there's gold in them-there quick profit flipping hills. It's day traders and dotcom boom/bust all over again.
What would our economy do without greed?
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all according to plan!
The NAR beating the 'blame it all on the government' drum in what surely qualifies as a financial 'disaster' is right in line with Naomi Klien's 'Disaster Capitalism' thesis. Lobby hard and use every other means possible to undermine or eliminate any government oversight or regulation, make some fast cash, wait for the collapse, then blame the weak government (public) agencies and complete their total undoing (drown them in the bathtub as it were). It is playing out in every aspect of public life.
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Republicans
I agree with the idea that the regulators were asleep at the switch. This undoubtedly contributed to or caused the problems.
The point is that lack of regulation is Republican dogma.