mallarde

California Foreclosures Are About to Soar

I'm here in L.A., and people just now are learning that they cannot keep spending more than they earn. Others have lost their jobs or are having trouble getting work.

I just moved to a luxury condo on the beach I am renting that would have cost 50% more per month only 6 months ago. But no one has the cash to pay that much in rent anymore, so they are renting it to me for much less.

For someone who has no debt and is earning a decent living, this return to reality is invigorating. I felt like a pauper and now I'm royalty.

Back Room Deal? - Cramer's Mad Money (10/10/08)

Give the guy a break. He "changed his mind in a day" after the biggest point swing in the history of the market. Of course, he is going to give different advice after such a big drop.

Personally, I like his analysis compared to the panels of talking heads that are afraid to take a position on anything and are all trying to sell their picks that they their clients already bought.

Bill Ackman Piled Into Wachovia and AIG Shares

All it took me was a Google search. I was not bold enough to recover much of my loss on the way down with WB, but I made a quick profit.

Banking on Trust: What Builds Loyalty?

I agree that banks have completely neglected certain aspects of the customer experience. I've had very bad experiences with both Bank of America and Wachovia in terms of penalties for very small account deficits.

Bank of America in particular has really atrocious customer service in some of its branches and phone services.

Hitting the Reset Button On Home Mortgages

Sounds sort of like giving citizenship to those that gamed the system by running across the border, just like these borrowers gamed the system by taking loans they knew they could not afford unless the housing market went their way.

We already subsidized their real estate speculation by giving them tax deductions on their mortgage interest. Now we have to take their losses, too? Outrageous.