Yesterday John McCain, the man who almost half the country supports as the leader to guide us through the worst housing crisis in U.S. history, said the following when asked by a reporter how many homes he owned: “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” he said in an interview with Politico.
August 2008
Where we left off with Thornburg on August 8, the message from Thornburg insiders was “stay tuned for the end of August.” We’re nearing that time, and according to a press release yesterday, it seems the company might be coming out of the woods. A writer for independent investor site SeekingAlpha summarized the very complex
I don’t make enough money, so how am I supposed to get a loan these days? Fortunately “entrepreneurs” never cease to amaze me. Jerry Seinfeld makes enough money: he just signed on with Microsoft for $10 million for an advertising campaign. Mortgage stocks in the news Yesterday mortgage company stocks were all over the map.
Thank you to Jonathan K. for reporting that Nancy Pelosi demanded a new round of stimulus checks for Americans. “The last check didn’t work out so well. The people who spent it are broke again and the people who put it in the bank are waiting for the bank to open so they can get
Fixed and ARM rates are down about .25% in the two weeks since I suggested rates could be in a +/–.25% trading range until Fall. July’s inflation reports released in the past few trading days showed the highest consumer price spike since 1991, when California’s current governor hit his prime with Terminator 2; and the
The US Producer Price Index was up 1.2% in July and up 9.8% year-over-year through July. This was the largest YOY spike since 19891, and is due mostly to the oil price spike we had during the second quarter. Normally rate markets would spike on this inflationary news, but rates have been stable today because
Yesterday investors were throwing around guideline changes like candy from a 4th of July float. But first a quiz: what cookie company, founded 31 years ago, just filed for bankruptcy? Mrs. Fields, of course. Mrs. Fields will continue its cookie business, but spin off parts of the company, including its TCBY frozen yogurt business. Due
Mitsubishi Financial, Japan’s largest bank, increased its bid today to take over the third of Union Bank of California that it doesn’t already own. It will buy the remaining shares for an estimated $73.50 per share, valuing the bank at $10.1 billion. It’s the biggest bank deal announced this year. This is relevant for California
Markets were buzzing today about this weekend’s Barron’s story on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Not just buzzing, but trading down as this story kicked off a new wave of negative credit market sentiment. The Dow was down 180 points, and at the time of this writing, Asian and European markets followed suit as we
Halfway done with August already? I know that autumn is near since the clothing in the center aisle of Costco indicates that shorts and t-shirts have given way to slacks and sweaters. It also means the end of summer vacations for many people – who have children – in the mortgage and mortgage securities business,
Since Barack Obama’s tax plan was released last week, feedback is naturally mixed according to political bias, but it’s telling when prominent republicans or conservative media supports the plan. The link above is a story outlining how the notoriously conservative WSJ op-ed page supported the plan. Not necessarily because it was Obama’s but because it
In an interview with CNBC today, PIMCO chief Bill Gross covered a broad array of economic topics, most notably saying that “no one really knows—the banks, Fannie or Freddie, the Treasury, the Fed, PIMCO—no one really knows where the bottom is for housing.” He said that as prices keep going down it perpetuates a cycle
This gives new definition to the I Just Close My Eyes And Pump post from a couple months ago: Nozzle Rage: Attack of The Pump
It was one year ago today that First Magnus threw in the towel. Hopefully all those folks have landed on their feet, either through StoneWater Mortgage or other lenders… INVESTMENT BANKS DOWNGRADE EACH OTHER “I’m a vegetarian not because I love animals, but because I hate plants.” Can’t investment banks just get along? Goldman Sachs
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama announced his tax plan, and the Wall Street Journal op-ed on Obama’s tax plan today pretty much sums up the reaction: Even as Barack Obama proposes fiscally responsible tax reform to strengthen our economy and restore the balance that has been lost in recent years, we hear the familiar protests
One common story during the past year of home price declines is how homeowners can go to their local tax assessors office and ask for their property to be re-assessed. In many counties across the country, it’s not as big of a deal because the assessors offices reassess properties quarterly or annually anyway based on
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