cfish

The Oil Roller Coaster is Over

I don't believe GS can single handedly control oil price - a task even OPEC can't accomplish. Especially GS is trading futures with counterparties that aren't any dumber. GS certainly can't control the price of the dollar.

I go with the micro view. Talk to your local business owners and see what they say. I can tell you that the sentiment has improved greatly since Feb.

For many reasons, I think the consumer optimism is temporary. I do think inflation is coming, but not right now.

Apple's Chief Cook Takes Over for Ailing Jobs

Veronica, if you want him to get fatter, in-n-out doesn't sound so good.

Don't Be Scammed by Madoff Investor Sob Stories

1. Madoff's return might be modest for a hedge fund, but the steadiness was absolutely unreal, indicating foul play. Apparently, according to the SEC complaint in April 2008, it was open secret among exotic trading desks that Madoff's fund is a fraud.
2. Some of these investors are doing some sort of off-shore account to avoid taxes, so they are taking a hit but they have no way of complaining without having to explain to the IRS.
3. I feel sorry for the charities; as they are the only ones having legit reason to make public their losses. I wish the donors didn't decide to use some shady hedge fund to manage thier funding.

Las Vegas Real Estate: Cash Is King

i think he lied.

Oil, Housing and the Dollar

25 billion dollars can control oil futures? You have no idea how trading works.

The Housing Bill: Uncle Sam Is Moving Into the Spare Bedroom

@233593:

And what do you think determines the current market value when there isn't a market? All those models failed to do so. Banks can easily find someone to appraise them at full value of $500k and scam the tax payers money to bail them out.

If banks let houses go into foreclosure, it will lose about half of the loan balance when all said and done. Any loss smaller than that is better. Especially if they can bribe people to appraise houses at higher value.

U.S. Housing Market Forecast: 2008-2010

Sounds reasonable to me. It's hard to time any market bottom, so it looks reasonable as a speculation. We know that bad policy will prolong the pain but we don't know what kind of policy will be executed in the future.

The drop not a scary reality to me; I own no home because I saw this coming. The moral hazzard of the modern system, however, is pretty scary.

Foreclosures Prove Loan Modification Isn't Working

I totally agree that banks are impaired from doing thier best to clear out the inventory, but I didn't realize that they needed more cash infusion to do it. This depression could to be long. I don't think it will be as long as Japan's bubble crash because Americans are much more willing to clean up the mess, but if they have little power to do that, we have a lot more trouble ahead.

Saving the Economy with IRA Funds

So you wanna make people throw thier IRA money into the fire? Hahahaha

Seeking Foreclosure Riches: What Does it All Mean?

GMM: do you really think you'll get a another home loan in 3 years after the foreclosure that made the lender lose 200k?

So, the dumb money is chasing real estate, foreclosure or not. I think I'll keep renting until these dumb money runs dry, thank you very much.

The house i'm renting lost over 30k in one month on zillow and it needs to lose another 100k for the rent to break even.

CAR Forecasts 24% Price Drop for California Houses

CAR probably did this because the data they already have showing more than the 9% decline that they predicted. I bet this new estimate is already optimistic. Thier new sales pitch would be something like, "the house is already marked down 25% so it can't go down that much more. It's a great time to buy!"

Fed Rate Decision To Shield Dollar From Horrid Housing Market

Guys, show some respect. This is not 1956. Also, this is the internet, are you really, really sure you are flirting with who you believe you are? You're making a fool out of yourself.

How Housing Finance Actually Works

This article demonstrates the mentality that got us in this mess.

The Market Domino Effect: Staying Ahead of the Curve

.... too many spelling errors in this article.

AIG, Fannie and Freddie Put the Crunch on Condo Mortgages

Wow. As far as I can tell, that's pretty much all of Chicago's zipcodes. I guess everybody needs 20% down and income ratios under 3 now. No way the market can support it. Haha