Category: Credit Crisis 2008
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Thursday, July 24, 2008
Oil and Food Prices Falling, Real Estate Stabilizing, Stocks Soaring, Crisis Over? / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Imagine the following: The price of oil falls back to $107 ... gas prices drop to say, $3.50 a gallon or lower ... and food prices decline 10% or even 20%.
Simultaneously, the real estate market stabilizes. Foreclosures peak ... new and existing home sales pick up ... and consumers start spending again, opening up their wallets and purses.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Panic Building on Wall Street / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Before getting into this missive, I would like to state that other silver commentators make a very strong case for silver being a metal that does well in good, prosperous times. I absolutely agree. If the world at large were gaining in real wealth and the economy were humming along, we all might be purchasing flat screen TV's and using even more silver than we do today. Bottom line, silver does not need bad times to do well.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Evidence of the US Banking System Teetering on the Brink of Collapse / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2008
1. Paulson appears on Face The Nation and says "Our banking system is a safe and a sound one." If the banking system was safe and sound, everyone would know it (or at least think it). There would be no need to say it.2. Paulson says the list of troubled banks "is a very manageable situation". The reality is there are 90 banks on the list of problem banks. Indymac was not one of them until a month before it collapsed. How many other banks will magically appear on the list a month before they collapse?
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Banking Crisis Alert -How Safe is Your Bank / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Sunday's headline coming out of Washington was :"Paulson braces public for months of tough times"
Paulson had these comments:"I think it's going to be months that we're working our way through this period -- clearly months,"
"The number of troubled banks will increase as they struggle to cope with big losses on bad mortgages."
In one breath, he was telling Americans to "brace themselves for tough times ahead". In the next breath, he was essentially saying, don't worry, the US Banking system is sound.
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Bailouts Mean US Tax Payers Pay for the Mistakes of Rich Bankers / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
With all that's happened with the real estate and banking crisis, the word “bailout” has been plastered throughout the media with little discussion of exactly what a bailout entails. Supplying money to a distressed company does not by itself represent a bailout. It all depends on where the money is coming from, and whether or not a moral hazard has been created.
Bear Stearns vs. LTCM
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Death Spiral Financing at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, WaMu... / Companies / Credit Crisis 2008
Reuters is reporting WaMu has $3.33 bln loss, may be cut to "junk" .Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, posted a $3.33 billion second-quarter loss on Tuesday as souring mortgages forced it to set aside more money for loan losses.
"We are planning for continued softness in housing for the next several quarters," Chief Executive Kerry Killinger said in an interview. "The capital that we have in place is sufficient to manage through this period. We have no plans at this point to raise additional capital."
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Crude Oil Prices, Monetary Stability and Credit Expansion / Economics / Credit Crisis 2008
I would like to say that economic commentary on the present energy situation is an improvement on what has gone on before. As I said, I would like to. The media message is an old one. Whether it be America, Australia or Europe the cry from greens is that rising oil prices are good for us because they conserve oil and speed up alternative energy and transport technologies. So successful has this line of attack been that some so-called free-market commentators have mindlessly parroted it, oblivious to the fact that it flies in the face of economics.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Paulson Thumbs His Nose At Congress, Pushes Creation of Covered Bonds / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2008
Bloomberg is reporting Paulson Pushes Covered Bonds, Sidestepping Congress . Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, aiming to create a new source of U.S. mortgage financing, wants banks to start issuing covered bonds without waiting for legislation from Congress.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 21, 2008
US Mortgage Lenders Implode / Housing-Market / Credit Crisis 2008
There are two important financial headlines this evening and the futures are solidly red. Let's take a look at news regarding Wachovia and Bank of America starting with the former.Wachovia Halts Wholesale Mortgages
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
California Insolvent as Schwarzenegger's Financial Wizardry is Terminated / Economics / Credit Crisis 2008
Yesterday, in Taxpayers Can Bear No More , we discussed the record public debt problem in the UK. Chancellor Alistair Darling made it "clear that he thought that the only politically viable option was to increase borrowing, rather than to raise taxation."In the US, states are facing similar budget dilemmas.
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
Fannie and Freddie Rescue Could Result in a Run on the US Dollar / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
“The end is neigh” was what many despondent investors were starting to believe as the past week kicked off with volatile trading amid concerns that US regional bank IndyMac's demise was a harbinger of many more bank failures.
Furthermore, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to rescue the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), left investors unconvinced.
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
Global Financial Crisis Worst Since 1930's Depression / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Q: Are we looking at a financial system "avalanche" rather than a technical bear market, in equities and bonds?
A: In no way can this be seen as a normal bear market. This is undoubtedly the worst financial crisis in the developed world since the 1930s. The only period remotely similar was the bear market of 1973-75, which was itself a part of the extended 1966-82 bear market in US shares. That bear market was driven in part by a 13 fold increase in oil prices from 1972 to 1980. This time we have had a 14 fold increase in oil prices from the $10 low of 1999. Last time we had massive inflation of 20 percent per annum. That has not yet arrived but may well be in the pipeline.
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Friday, July 18, 2008
Solution to the Current Crisis- Dissolve Fannie And Freddie / Housing-Market / Credit Crisis 2008
The Chinese symbol for crisis also can be expressed as an opportunity. The current collapse of confidence in the domestic system of finance and financial leadership provides such a potential moment. The three part proposal to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has bestowed upon our political and economic leaders the responsibility of ensuring that no one company again becomes too big too fail. The crisis requires more than the avoidance of moral hazards. Rather, the solution to the current financial crises and its legislative response requires that no firm or enterprise ever again be permitted to obtain an implicit guarantee of Federal largesse. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to be taken under federal protection, its assets used to cover the risk of the taxpayer bailout and its charter legislatively dissolved.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Banking Crisis Not Over, More Writedowns and Bank Failures Despite Short-covering Rallies / Companies / Credit Crisis 2008
Are the financial woes of the banks over? To beat the market by investing in the stock market, you should have a good understanding of the factors that are driving the trends in the financial sector. For example, are we close to the end of the loan write-offs? If you are learning to invest, it is important to have well ground perspective on state of the financial sector before making any long-term commitments. Expect the financial woes of the banks to continue and be careful when the market make volatile moves in either direction.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Fear on Wall Street– The Real Deal / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
You may recall our previous article in August 2007, “ Fear in the Streets – A Dress Rehearsal ”.
Well it looks like now the fat lady has not only warmed up but is singing and hitting that high C. This time the fear is real with IndyMac Bank in California disappearing, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae under a great deal of stress. Yes, more government bailouts which will cost billions and even more reason for a U.S. Dollar collapse. So, the credit and liquidity crisis continues, the economy slows, oil remains high and inflation is rising in the world setting the stage for much higher prices for gold and silver in the coming months and years.
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Parasitic Bankers Achieve the End of Capitalism and the Sacking of America / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Communism was a public relations gift to the bankers. By diverting the dialogue to “controlled versus free markets” it obscured the bankers' real intent—to insert debt into every aspect of free markets. The bankers' overwhelming success however would destroy both the bankers and the free markets on which they preyed.
Parasitoidism is the relationship between a host and parasite where the host is ultimately killed by the parasite. This is what is happening to the US . Once the most powerful and productive economy in the world, the US , indebted by bankers and government spending beyond its ability to repay, is headed towards sovereign bankruptcy.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
US Tax Payers to Fund Banking Losses to Prevent US Bond Market Collapse / Interest-Rates / Credit Crisis 2008
Just in case you have been on Mars for the last week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the U.S. seem to be having some financial trouble. For those outside the U.S., these two private companies are involved in funneling money to the U.S. housing market. Well, funneling might not be the right word. Shoveling, with big ones, might be more appropriate. Now that they are having financial problems a major question must be answered.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Next Financial Tsunami is Breaking Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and US Mortgage Debt / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
The announcement by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson together with Federal Reserve chief Bernanke, that the US Government will bailout the two largest guarantors of housing mortgage debt—the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—far from calming financial markets, has confirmed what we have said repeatedly in this space: The Financial Tsunami which began in August 2007 in the relatively small “sub-prime” high risk US mortgage securitization market, far from being over, is only gathering momentum.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Crisis Means Faster Decline of Foreign Currency Inflows / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Almost 4 months to the day after the Fed backed the JP Morgan rescue of Bear Stearns, the Fed and the US Treasury intervene to provide a 3-part rescue plan for US Government Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The US Treasury will increase its existing $2.25 bln lines of credit to the two entities, and will assume temporary authority to purchase shares in their equity if the need arose. The Federal Reserve will extend emergency borrowing via the "discount window" to the two entities in return for collateral.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 14, 2008
US Banking Crisis Goes from Bad to Worse / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
The last four days have seen the already distressed US banking sector lurch towards the precipice of a full blown financial system meltdown. Banks that have already seen stock price falls of as much as 90% were again hit today with many falling a further 5% to 10% on fears that a series of cascading bank failures were about to be triggered following the collapse of Indymac bank on Friday, as a run on the bank had panicking depositors withdrew funds at the rate of a billion a day.Read full article... Read full article...