“If the U.S. Armed forces can’t find Osama bin Laden in 10 years, let Goldman Sachs try to find me.”
Tag: economic crisis
Weekly Economic Information | LAEDC
In this issue:
January State/Local Area Employment Reports
California’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 12.4%
Auto Sales Race Ahead in February
Global Economic Monitor
Events of Interest
* April 3-5: UCLA Climate Academy Business Leaders Course
The Testimony of Simon Johnson | Congressional Oversight Committee
“…Powerful people at the heart of our financial system still have the incentive and ability to take on large amounts of reckless risk – through borrowing large amounts relative to their equity.
There is an insularity and arrogance to policymakers around capital requirements that is distinctly reminiscent of the Treasury-Fed-Wall Street consensus regarding derivatives in the late 1990s – i.e., officials are so convinced by the arguments of big banks that they dismiss out of hand any attempt to even open a serious debate.
Next time, when our largest banks get into trouble, they may be beyond “too big to fail”. As seen recently in Ireland, banks that are very big relative to an economy can become “too big to save” …
…what the Bank of England refers to as a doom loop“.
Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC
In this edition:
- January Economic Snapshots
- Residential Construction – New Year, Same Story
- Nonresidential Construction in January
- California’s Resale Housing Marketing In January
- Events of Interest
Weekly Economic Information | LAEDC
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:
* Southland Home Sales and Prices Dip in January
* January Port Figures – Fourteen Consecutive Months of Growth
* Higher Energy Costs Push Wholesale Prices Higher in January
* Consumer Prices in January
* Events of Interest
o Wednesday, March 2: USC Gould School of Law: 2011 Real Estate Law and Business Forum
Required Reading: How To Fake An Economic Recovery | Niethercorp Press
‘You can take the blue pill and wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want. Or you can take the red pill and see how far down the rabbit hole goes…’ That line from ‘The Matrix’ applies to this piece by Giordano Bruno. If you’re having a tough time wondering how the stock market can go up while people are losing jobs and homes, this will give you something to hang your hat on.
WARNING: You can’t unlearn this information.
This may be a highly distasteful proposition, but just for a moment, I want you to sit back, and imagine that you are a member of the corporate banking elite. You are a walking talking disease ridden power mad pustule who naively believes himself intellectually superior to the vast majority of humanity and above the inherent laws of conscience, honor, and general good taste. You are a villain in the purest sense, in that you not only do great harm to the world, you actually SEEK to do great harm to the world, if only to benefit yourself and your exclusive circle of “friends”; a clan of degenerate blood thirsty sociopaths with delusions of omnipotence that stalk the night like Armani wearing Chupacabra exsanguinating the joy from poor unsuspecting cultures. You are capable of anything, and sadly, you take “pride” in this fact…
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Homeowner Forecloses on Wells Fargo | Philly.com
A folk hero in the making!
The result: At least for the moment, the contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 1341 N. Delaware Ave., are scheduled for sheriff’s sale on March 4 to satisfy the judgment and pay about $200 for court and sheriff’s costs.
John Paulson’s Interview With The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission | zero hedge
John Paulson, head of the hedge fund that made the ‘Greatest Trade Ever Made’ netting billions in just one day by shorting the subprime real estate finance market, testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. This summary of his testimony makes interesting reading and is instructive of the forces at work in the collapse
“If ACA and IKB or Moody’s didn’t like the ~100 subprime reference securities we helped pick for the deal, they could have…not bought the deal or – get this – replaced them with ones they liked better…I couldn’t have gone short if they hadn’t gone long, they agreed on the reference portfolio, it got rated, boom, done” It sounded like he just wanted to say something like “Hello morons?! This is how Finance works, HELLOOO!!!”
The article also contains a link to audio of the testimony.
RealtyTrac’s Sharga: Banks still holding 70% of REO from market « HousingWire
The major kink in the housing market’s recovery, and for the macro economy overall, is the work left to be done on homes currently in the foreclosure process, those about to enter it and the amount of repossessed homes the banks must shed. Striking a proper balance on how to mange this shadow inventory of foreclosures is vital for the banks to show a healthy balance sheet while not dumping too many distressed properties onto the market, further dragging down home prices and values.
Thanks to Victoria Kuo for bringing this article to our attention- Ed.
Dispatches From The Front 