Atrios: Stealing homes, then destroying them and their communities

he's referring to this...

Across the country, big banks and other large investors are buying up tens of thousands of foreclosed rental properties. They're not always model landlords, according to tenants and regulators. Some banks are failing to follow local and state housing codes, leaving tenants to live in squalor — without even a number to call in the most dire situations.

[...]

That's difficult even when there is a property manager. Luz Escamilla in Hyattsville, Md., says she sleeps with the lights on, "waiting for the bugs to come up." Her place is infested. There are chocolate-colored blotches all over her walls; it's the blood of bedbugs she has killed. [Note: the blood isn't "the blood of bedbugs," it's the blood of Luz Escamilla that has been ingested by the bedbugs.]

[...]

[Anne] Norton, the Maryland bank regulator, says it's often more challenging to take a bank to court than a mom-and-pop landlord.

"Due to disproportional bargaining rights between tenants and the parties that are the investors, tenants feel that they don't have a voice and also don't have rights," Norton says.

States are at a loss, too. They aren't sure how to make banks comply with their housing codes. Norton and nine other regulators are now drafting guidelines to help states crack down.

i find it downright amazing how rapidly the u.s. is making the descent to the status of 3d world country...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Whining U.S. banks make me physically ill

great gobs of steaming bullshit... the banks are one of the prime culprits in why the world economy is in the mess it is in right now and, despite the trillions of dollars that the u.s. and the eu have tossed their way, have continued to reward themselves without any regard for the general welfare of the people they were chartered to serve... now, they're saying if they don't get their way, it will only delay any recovery... they can all go directly to hell...

Banks warn rule change will hurt recovery

US banks fear that any recovery in the US housing market will be further delayed as a result of moves to remove credit ratings from American regulations, which will boost banks’ capital requirements by billions of dollars.

Bankers have until Friday to respond to a proposal by the Federal Reserve and other regulators that would increase the “risk weights” on securitised assets, driving up sharply the equity capital that banks are forced to set against them.

screw 'em... they haven't done anything for anybody but themselves...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

The "recovery" marches on

to a new record low...

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes fell for a fourth straight month to a record low in February, a government report showed on Wednesday, heightening fears of renewed weakness in the housing market.

The Commerce Department said sales fell 2.2 percent to a 308,000 unit annual rate from an upwardly revised 315,000 units in January.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected new home sales to edge up to a 320,000 unit annual pace from January's previously reported 309,000 units.

The data came on the heels of report on Tuesday showing existing home sales fell for a third straight month in February and a jump in the supply of houses on the market.

[...]

Sales have barely responded to the extension and expansion of a popular tax credit, which boosted purchases in the second half of 2009, raising concerns over the fragile housing market's recovery just as a key pillar of support is being dismantled.

The Federal Reserve will end purchases of mortgage-related securities next week, which had lowered the cost of home loans to record lows.

just wait 'til commercial real estate collapses...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

If I read one more pundit blaming incompetence as the reason for our mess, I'm gonna puke

there's absolutely nothing incompetent about the way we've been sheared like sheep by our super-rich elites... they know EXACTLY what they're doing and it's nothing but the purest form of denial to think otherwise...

emphases mine...

The Reason for 15 Million Unemployed:
Poor Thinking at the Top

The United States has more than 15 million people unemployed. This is not their fault. It is the fault of really bad policy decisions by people who get paid more than almost all of the unemployed ever did or ever will. The failure of economic policymakers to recognize and attack an $8 trillion housing bubble led to the downturn. The continuing failure of economic policymakers to think creatively is why 15 million people remain unemployed.

get a damn clue, buddy... there's been no failure to "think creatively"... to perpetuate the myth that these bastards have the common good of the people at heart and, if they weren't such bungling idiots, everything would be ok, is just bullshit, plain and simple... they DO have the common good at heart... THEIR common good, not ours, and they're damn good at making sure their interests are taken care of...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Read Nouriel Roubini's lips: "Simply put I am not forecasting economic growth before year’s end"

from roubini global economics newsletter...

“It has been widely reported today that I have stated that the recession will be over “this year” and that I have “improved” my economic outlook. Despite those reports - however – my views expressed today are no different than the views I have expressed previously. If anything my views were taken out of context.

“I have said on numerous occasions that the recession would last roughly 24 months. Therefore, we are 19 months into that recession. If as I predicted the recession is over by year end, it will have lasted 24 months with a recovery only beginning in 2010. Simply put I am not forecasting economic growth before year’s end.

“Indeed, last year I argued that this will be a long and deep and protracted U-shaped recession that would last 24 months. Meanwhile, the consensus argued that this would be a short and shallow V-shaped 8 months long recession (like those in 1990-91 and 2001). That debate is over today as we are in the 19th month of a severe recession; so the V is out of the window and we are in a deep U-shaped recession. If that recession were to be over by year end – as I have consistently predicted – it would have lasted 24 months and thus been three times longer than the previous two and five times deeper – in terms of cumulative GDP contraction – than the previous two. So, there is nothing new in my remarks today about the recession being over at the end of this year.

“I have also consistently argued – including in my remarks today - that while the consensus predicts that the US economy will go back close to potential growth by next year, I see instead a shallow, below-par and below-trend recovery where growth will average about 1% in the next couple of years when potential is probably closer to 2.75%.

“I have also consistently argued that there is a risk of a double-dip W-shaped recession toward the end of 2010, as a tough policy dilemma will emerge next year: on one side, early exit from monetary and fiscal easing would tip the economy into a new recession as the recovery is anemic and deflationary pressures are dominant. On the other side, maintaining large budget deficits and continued monetization of such deficits would eventually increase long term interest rates (because of concerns about medium term fiscal sustainability and because of an increase in expected inflation) and thus would lead to a crowding out of private demand.

“While the recession will be over by the end of the year the recovery will be weak given the debt overhang in the household sector, the financial system and the corporate sector; and now there is also a massive re-leveraging of the public sector with unsustainable fiscal deficits and public debt accumulation.

“Also, as I fleshed out in detail in recent remarks the labor market is still very weak: I predict a peak unemployment rate of close to 11% in 2010. Such large unemployment rate will have negative effects on labor income and consumption growth; will postpone the bottoming out of the housing sector; will lead to larger defaults and losses on bank loans (residential and commercial mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, leveraged loans); will increase the size of the budget deficit (even before any additional stimulus is implemented); and will increase protectionist pressures.

“So, yes there is light at the end of the tunnel for the US and the global economy; but as I have consistently argued the recession will continue through the end of the year, and the recovery will be weak and at risk of a double dip, as the challenge of getting right the timing and size of the exit strategy for monetary and fiscal policy easing will be daunting."

of course it's not over... all the pollyannas that are claiming it is are simply those desperate to get us back to the insane status quo that produced this unholy mess in the first place... meanwhile, those who make a killing no matter what happens - recession, depression or collapse - are continuing to rake it in...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Anybody who thinks the economy is improving, raise your hand

< sound of loud gong > WRONG...! mortgage delinquencies rising FIFTY PERCENT IN ONE MONTH ain't an economy on the mend...

bloomberg via mish's global economic trend analysis...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage delinquencies among the most creditworthy homeowners rose 50 percent in a month as borrowers said drops in income or too much debt caused them to fall behind, according to data from federal regulators.

The number of so-called prime borrowers at least 60 days behind on mortgages owned or guaranteed by the companies rose to 743,686 in January, from 497,131 in December, and is almost double the total for October, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a report to Congress today.

Of all borrowers who ended up in default, 34 percent told Fannie and Freddie they were earning less money, about 20 percent cited excessive debt as a reason for missing mortgage payments, and 8.1 percent blamed unemployment, FHFA said.

just in case you didn't grab it on the first read-through, that's fifty percent among the MOST CREDITWORTHY HOMEOWNERS...!

let the chart tell the story...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Here's some eye-popping home price data

courtesy of mish's global economic trend analysis...

first, the median house price decline over the past 12-41 months (depending on area) from the california association of realtors...


Click on image for larger version

now, the national picture covering 20 cities from case-shiller...


Click on image for larger version

wow...! (and that's all i've got to say...)

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Who is this guy Paulson, anyway...? Doesn't he work for Bush...?

doesn't that automatically mean his credibility is less than zero...?

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said yesterday that financial markets have stabilized since March, when the collapse of investment house Bear Stearns roiled Wall Street, and said he expects economic growth to rebound by the end of the year.

A severe housing slump remains "the biggest risk to our economy," Paulson said, adding that he was "very encouraged" to see "bipartisan progress" in Congress on a comprehensive plan to address the downturn.

"The markets are considerably calmer now than they were in March," Paulson said to business leaders gathered at a downtown hotel for a forum sponsored by The Washington Post. "In my judgment, we are closer to the end of the market turmoil than the beginning."

why does our esteemed news media insist on continuing to publish the statements of proven liars and criminals as though they were some kind of believable information that we should all pay attention to...? i'm confoozed...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Another high level, totally corrupt Bush administration official resigns

another loser calls it quits...

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is expected to announce his resignation Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing and mortgage mess.

The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson's decision couldn't be learned. The secretary has been beset recently by allegations of cronyism and favoritism.

ferchrissake, why doesn't GEORGE resign and just make it one hell of a lot easier on everybody...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Lest we forget, the economic collapse is affecting REAL PEOPLE

i've read a number of blog posts and commenters' remarks talking about how people stupid enough to drive up their debt to the point where they can no longer keep up, who signed on to mortgages that, no matter how attractive the initial terms, were beyond their means, shouldn't expect a bailout... what this perspective conveniently ignores is that the entire system has been wired for people to easily fall prey to such schemes... our entire society has been structured around a "get while the gettin's good," "i'll take mine and the devil can have the rest" mentality... when all that's ever dangled before our faces are the obscenely rich getting obscenely richer and the american dream portrayed as "whoever has the most toys, wins," what are people supposed to do...? the answer is clear - pull out those credit cards, buy that new car, sign that mortgage, and keep on buyin'... now that the bottom is falling out, it's the poor slobs who believed that bullshit propaganda who are getting hurt, not those who perpetrated it for their own benefit...

ah, america...! what a great country...!



and, naturally, it takes the foreign media (the bbc) to show us our own dark side...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Employers dumping employees at a record rate - 63K jobs cut in Feb - and FRB considers a FULL POINT rate cut

oopsies... atrios wins again...

The economy unexpectedly shed 63,000 jobs in February, the government said on Friday, fueling fears of a recession as manufacturers and construction companies cut their work forces amid the continuing housing crisis.

It was the fastest fall-off in the labor market in five years, and the report raised anticipation on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates again later this month. Some investors are now predicting a more drastic cut of a full percentage point.

[...]

The private sector lost 101,000 jobs last month, the biggest drop-off in five years. Retail, construction and factory jobs were hit hardest.

if the fed cuts interest rates by a full point, it will be a sign to everyone that we are in ever so much more serious shit than we are being told, which, of course, anybody paying the slightest bit of attention has already figured out...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

"The U.S. banking sector is headed for a credit downturn that will be 'the worst in generations'"

all it's going to take is the failure of one major bank and all hell is going to break loose...

The U.S. banking sector is headed for a credit downturn that will be "the worst in generations," featuring widespread defaults on a range of debts and a national housing price slide not seen since the Great Depression, one of the most influential analysts on Wall Street says.

The banks face massive loan losses -- "far more dramatic" than most bank executives and ratings agencies have forecast -- as the next chapter in financial-sector turmoil unfolds, said Meredith Whitney, an analyst with Oppenheimer &Co. Inc.

"We believe loss rates will exceed the highest levels since 1990 by a significant margin," she said in a note Monday.

"Bank losses will be the highest in the past 20-plus years as a result of greater numbers of individual defaulting on mortgages and/or other loans and from [loan balances that] are far higher than they were in the last housing cycle."

Whitney -- who is also a panelist for Fox News and the No. 2-ranked analyst on a Forbes list of top stock pickers for 2007 -- shot to global infamy last year after her gloomy, but accurate, predictions about the scale of subprime problems facing Citigroup Inc. led to a worldwide sell-off of banking stocks.

In Monday's note, the Oppenheimer analyst slashed her already-depressed forecasts of what large U.S. banks will earn in 2008 by 29 per cent and by 13 per cent for 2009, citing concerns about mortgages, credit-card balances and other loans.

bring it on... let's get this collapse underway and stop kidding ourselves that everything is going to turn out just peachy-keen...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

When the first one falls, stand back...!

bank failures are comin'... bet on it...

from the wsj...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is taking steps to brace for an increase in failed financial institutions as the nation's housing and credit markets continue to worsen.

The FDIC is looking to bring back 25 retirees from its division of resolutions and receiverships. Many of these agency veterans likely worked for the FDIC during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 financial institutions failed amid the savings-and-loan crisis.

[...]

"Regulators are bracing for well over 100 bank failures in the next 12 to 24 months, with concentrations in Rust Belt states like Michigan and Ohio, and the states that are suffering severe housing-market problems like California, Florida, and Georgia," said Jaret Seiberg, Washington policy analyst for financial-services firm Stanford Group.

(thanks to calculated risk via atrios...)

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Home mortgages - upside down and underwater

from today's nyt...

Not since the Depression has a larger share of Americans owed more on their homes than they are worth. With the collapse of the housing boom, nearly 8.8 million homeowners, or 10.3 percent of the total, are underwater. That is more than double the percentage just a year ago, according to a new estimate of the damage by Moody’s Economy.com.

i was enormously relieved when my son and his wife re-financed their home a couple of years ago, switching from an arm to a fixed-rate mortgage... unfortunately, as part of that transaction, in which the value of the house was re-appraised at a significantly higher value than they bought it for, they took a chunk of the increased equity and used it to do some landscaping and home improvements... now, with housing prices falling and no bottom in sight, they, along with those nearly 8.8 million other homeowners, owe more on the house than it's currently worth... they would have been content to ride it out except that they're trying to get back to my daughter-in-law's home state, and just last week she had to turn down a job offer there because they simply can't afford to sell right now...

as the article goes on to say...

For Americans caught in a mortgage trap and owing more on a home than it would sell for, consumer spending and confidence are the most immediate casualties, [Richard T. Curtin, director of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers] reports. But the damage goes deeper.

People cannot move easily to jobs in other cities if they have to sell their homes at a loss. The $168 billion federal stimulus package is likely to be less effective than intended because many homeowners may simply use their government checks to pay down their debts.

not a day goes by that i am not deeply grateful for my asset and debt-free life...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

The FT picks up on Roubini's economic collapse scenario

i posted on nouriel roubini's financial collapse scenario back on 7 february... i see that the venerable financial times has now taken note... i won't excerpt the ft article as it's just a repeat of both my post and roubini's article... however, i thought these two ft graphics would be of interest...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

George Soros - The Man Republicans Love to Hate

AFP/Getty Images

Bless his soul...............the Financial Times printed his observations Wednesday.

The worst market crisis in 60
years.

The current financial crisis was precipitated by a bubble in the US housing market. In some ways it resembles other crises that have occurred since the end of the second world war at intervals ranging from four to 10 years.

However, there is a profound difference: the current crisis marks the end of an era of credit expansion based on the dollar as the international reserve currency. The periodic crises were part of a larger boom-bust process. The current crisis is the culmination of a super-boom that has lasted for more than 60 years.

[...]

Globalisation allowed the US to suck up the savings of the rest of the world and consume more than it produced. The US current account deficit reached 6.2 per cent of gross national product in 2006. The financial markets encouraged consumers to borrow by introducing ever more sophisticated instruments and more generous terms. The authorities aided and abetted the process by intervening whenever the global financial system was at risk. Since 1980, regulations have been progressively relaxed until they have practically disappeared.

[...]

Everything that could go wrong did. What started with subprime mortgages spread to all collateralised debt obligations, endangered municipal and mortgage insurance and reinsurance companies and threatened to unravel the multi-trillion-dollar credit default swap market. Investment banks' commitments to leveraged buyouts became liabilities. Market-neutral hedge funds turned out not to be market-neutral and had to be unwound. The asset-backed commercial paper market came to a standstill and the special investment vehicles set up by banks to get mortgages off their balance sheets could no longer get outside financing. The final blow came when interbank lending, which is at the heart of the financial system, was disrupted because banks had to husband their resources and could not trust their counterparties. The central banks had to inject an unprecedented amount of money and extend credit on an unprecedented range of securities to a broader range of institutions than ever before. That made the crisis more severe than any since the second world war.

[...]

Although a recession in the developed world is now more or less inevitable, China, India and some of the oil-producing countries are in a very strong countertrend. So, the current financial crisis is less likely to cause a global recession than a radical realignment of the global economy, with a relative decline of the US and the rise of China and other countries in the developing world.

The danger is that the resulting political tensions, including US protectionism, may disrupt the global economy and plunge the world into recession or worse.

The greedy bastards!!!!!! It's no wonder Jesus had a strong dislike of the money-changers.

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Alan Greenspan's comedy gold

ya gotta love tom tomorrow...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Tom Tomorrow 'splains the market's "invisible hand"

tom tomorrow in salon ...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments