Today Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spoke at the US Chamber of commerce on ‘Current Financial and Housing Markets’. The full text of the speech is below. There are a few highlights. First, he said that the Fed’s announcement in the wake of the Bear Stearns bailout to allow investment banks to access Fed resources like
Henry Paulson
Bear Stearns announced that they have secured Federal Reserve 28-day financing through JP Morgan Chase. There continue to be concerns about Bear, and other mortgage-focused investment banks, so this move is seen as yet another example of the Fed assuring the market. The economic news today was major: it is the best inflation number that
As owners continue to walk away from their homes because of loans they can’t afford, foreclosures rose to .83% of all outstanding mortgages for the end of 2007. This is versus .54% for 2006. This has contributed to a rapid fall in home prices. The central bank estimates that home values decreased by $533 billion
In conjunction with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, six major lenders announced a plan to stop foreclosures on defaulting borrowers to give them a chance to keep their homes. This is a good sign that banks are willing to help ease the housing market pain, and also a tacit admission of the perils of loose underwriting
Fixed rates are even versus last week and ARM rates open the week down .125% from last Monday, but the volatility continues with rate swings of up to .375% on any given day. This is proof that credit markets are still not functioning properly, and that’s the topic on Capitol Hill Thursday when Fed Chairman
The Senate finally signed off on the economic stimulus package which includes tax rebates to individuals, tax benefits for business and conforming loan limits up to $729,750 depending on median home prices in a given area. The higher limits were expected to run through 2008, and go into effect as soon as late-February. Now it
“Subprime” was the word of 2007 as voted by the American Dialect Society. As we kick off the 2008, “Ride The Storm” is our proposed phrase of 2008. The phrase isn’t to trivialize or oversimplify market issues. It’s to be realistic about the current economic cycle in America. Market Inevitabilities We’ve been discussing a real
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, along with the House, Senate and White House, has crafted a broad election year economic stimulus package which includes $150 billion in household and business tax breaks, and proposals to up conforming mortgage limits from $417,000 to as much as $729,250. The tax cuts could take a few months, but the