Wandering Wayfarer

Housing Affordability Reaches All-Time High

Mark, Part of the reason this has had little affect on the housing market is contain within your post. "of the income necessary to qualify for a conventional loan covering 80% of a median-priced single-family home". It that pesky little 20% that they have to come up with. For a nation of spendaholics who haven't saved anything this will prevent any upturn in the housing market until they get back to the zero down, no doc, liar loans.

Short Oil as a Long Investment

If you want a purer play on shorting oil take a look at DTO. This should give you "a correct or true corollation to oil".