cptnproton

Mortgage Modifications Are Statistically Insignificant

"Homeowners who are more than 30 days past due also have little interest in this program."

This is a completely inaccurate statement. There are thousands of homeowners who simply are not only being denied outright for modifications, but are not being correctly informed of the program or incorrectly being discouraged for applying to this program by servicers. Servicers are not returning phone calls and dragging their feet considering loan modifications. Seemingly putting forth obstacles and endless paperwork shuffles to actually prevent modifications. See loansafe dot com for stories aplenty.

"What have we learned about housing over the last few months? Servicers have little interest in this program."

This again is also inaccurate. The problem is that many of the mortgage securities that were bundled by the big banks were covered by credit default swaps. Which means in the case of foreclosure, the bank gets the value of the credit default swap *plus* the value of the recovered foreclosed property. So, lenders are *highly motivated* to not perform modifications. No matter what you (or anyone) may think about this, there simply is not any transparency with credit default swaps to counter otherwise.

So what we have *really* learned here is that the banks having received 327 billion in bailout funds compared to 27 billion *supposedly* sent to protect the homeowner is actually nothing more than convenient political window dressing. At 1200 homes that have been saved, doesn't that work out to 22 million dollars plus per home?

I welcome countering comments just so I could learn what is *really* going on.

The Financial Crisis Is Escalating Out of Control

On Mar 27 11:32 AM Market ace wrote:

> Until this gov't realizes the folly of their present course and backs
> off daily interference in the economy that is mis-directed and realizes

You mean like how the government had backed off the last ten years???

Five Impossible Thoughts After Breakfast

Yes. And noted economists noted last year that we would be in recovery by now. Or that the housing boom would never end. Or blah blah blah whatever makes them look smart in the minute.

I'm glad spring is here. People will spend in the spring and get away from their computers and the so called experts.

Task Force for the Middle Class and Other Obama Follies

On Feb 01 03:17 PM PrudentMan, CFA wrote:

> I look for Obama to create four times as many problems as the Bush
> Administration because in less that two weeks his staff is four times
> Bush's. With all of the bureaucracies he is trying to create he
> should be able to find enough jobs for the complete crooked Chicago
> Political Machine and then some.

Right. Because the Bush administration polices were not such a massivea train wreck to begin with? Spoken like a true demicrat hater.

When Bonuses Aren't Discretionary

On Feb 01 06:27 AM Augustus wrote:

> I'm waiting to read about the awards of any bonuses to the CNBC employees.
> They yammer along about the horror of the bonus at firms receiving
> any govt. assistance. Well, GE sure has got some assistance. So,
> should the CNBC employees get any bonus? I would expect that CNBC
> had a very profitable year. They sure expanded the programming and
> must have had lots of eyeballs glued to the programs. In my view
> they deserve some probable bonus, their operation must have really
> been profitable. Listening to the yammering there it would seem
> that there should not be one for them since they are part of the
> bailed out GE. I would sure like to see a report on how it is handled.

I really did not see a bias by the reporters to removing biases. On the contrary, I heard much discussion as to why they were needed ot retain workers. Which is kind of nonsensical to me, as I am sure there is a glut of "talent" available to work. And I bet they are willing to work for "salaries" instead of "bonuses." Also, I wonder if they would like to have a "salary" instead of nothing at all. Which will most likeley be the case if the taxpayer patience with banks needing "bailouts" dries up.

Whether the reporters received bonuses or not is also entirely irrelevant, as their employer is NBC and only indirectly GE. Also, I fail to see how their reporting has sunk the economy like Lehman brothers did.

The Scariest Chart Ever

On Jan 21 05:19 AM joshuaodonnell wrote:
>
> Capitalsim will ring free again! hopefully, next time it will be
> more responsibiliy

Because hope has worked so well the past few years to control abuses at banks, the MBS CDO CDS rating agency markets, and mortgage broker market??

Free Trade Agreements = Evaporated Jobs Worldwide

Hear! Hear! But I think the issue is not so much that of halting trade agreements, but examine what is and insist upon *fair trade*. It's not really fair for an American worker to compete against chikld slave labor in other countries that has no regulations about polluting the environment.

Our Economic Crisis: The Grand Experiment

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks that we need to pull the plug on CDS. We could even let the ones made up to this date exist, but halt all future ones until the wild effects are clearly known.

And so much as the "Great Experiment" goes, why don't we try something involving jobs, jobs, and more jobs for people and see how that works?

The Fed's Potentially Very Bad Policy

It's simple. Jobs Jobs Jobs. And I just don't mean for construction/infrastru... workers either.

Panic in CDS Market to Cause Next Collapse in Equities

There they go again! That wacky crazy unregulated world of CDS trading. When is somebody going to pull the plug on them already?

Inflation? Don't Hold Your Breath

This seems like a rust belt story to me.

Investors Need to Be Active, Not Just Defensive - Citigroup Strategist

On Nov 27 11:48 AM jegan ;-) wrote:

> Why would anyone believe any kind of guidance from Citigroup? Where
> was their due-diligence? Based on their collapse, wouldn't it have
> been better if they had been defensive and not aggressive. Easy for
> Citigroup to pass out opinions, they have future unborn generations
> lined up to bail them out.
>

Thank you for stating my mind. But I want to go further. Where is the shame? Shouldn't they have giant yellow "B" (bailout) and treated like pariahs. Why are we even listening to these turkeys? I don't care where at the point in the food chain a citigroup analyst may be. Saying "we need to be active" is like saying "even though the government is shoveling truckloads money into are banks and things look like they are going down the tubes because of us, we think others should still party on and ignore the fires." Citigroup, soon to change their name to baloney inc.

Peak Oil's Bell Is Ringing

Other than ethanol, this article fails to discuss the development of new technology in the area of biofuels such as algae harvesting. I think the single thing that would take us to a peak oil moment would be inaction, and the continual export of capital to buy foreign oil.

On Board the 'U.S.S. Titanic'

Lots of ignorant butt monkey talk here about the "bailout" which really isn't. It's about you and your family keeping your jobs and being able to make loans, regardless to what happens to the fatcats.

Hey, Congress, Guess What? WaMu's Toast

This should have never ever been called a bailout. I bet all those angry people in the Northwest will realize this fact in the morning. Maybe there was a reason that some people are saying it's "urgent."