New Valley foreclosure filings lowest since July 2008 + May foreclosure rate steadies as banks hold back

[mEDITate-OR:

not see that as builder are slowing down new construction.

and existing home owners are taking their listing back off the market.

banks & lenders are slowing down foreclosures.

Some may believe that this is progress, but it is not, necessarily.

--------

• JGBHimself
• Jun-09 @ 10:32 PM

In Separate news reports we are told that new home starts and permits declined substantially this month. We are also told that existing home sellers are taking their home listings back off the market with the loss of the Buyer Tax Credit.

They also told U.S. last week and this that mortgage applications for both purchases and refi's are down - purchase apps at 13 year lows.

Why, precisely, would you expect banks/lenders to continue to flood the RE markets with new foreclosures?

--------------

• JGBHimself
• Jun-09 @ 11:27 PM

Bloomberg, which is very often reprinted by AZRep, tells U.S. today:

U.S. home foreclosures reached a record for the second consecutive month in May, with increases in every state - Bank repossessions climbed 44 percent from May 2009

Arizona had the second highest rate, at one in 169 households, or more than twice the U.S. average.

Ten states accounted for more than 70 percent of all U.S. filings - Arizona (ranked fourth) at 16,097

Maybe if we too were a spin "doctor" from ASU we could like these numbers.

-----------

US Home Seizures Jump 44& to Record as All States Show Rise

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-10/u-s-home-seizures-jump-44-to-record-as-all-states-show-rise.html

-----------------

ASU: Home foreclosure sales declining

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/06/07/daily39.html?surround=lfn

--------------

New Valley foreclosure filings lowest since July 2008

http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2010/06/09/20100609biz-catherine0609.html#ixzz0qQNDF1zy

----------------

May foreclosure rate steadies as banks hold back

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2010/06/10/20100610biz-foreclosurerates0610.html#ixzz0qQP2Bpke

===========

Map: Where Americans Are Moving = This is What a Mobile Nation Looks Like

[mEDITate-OR:

be very surprised at where people move from and to....

Thanks to Forbes Mag, you, too, can see this.

The first article is from The Atlantic, and shows U.S. only some of the views.

The second article is the source = Forbes Mag.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html

Note: If you click on a county you will see their inflow - black - and outflow - red.

AND If you click on the lines for their inflow and outflow you can see how many there are.

This is a wonderful toy..., enjoy!

----------

This is What a Mobile Nation Looks Like

HTTP://WWW.THEATLANTIC.COM/BUSINESS/ARCHIVE/2010/06/THIS-IS-WHAT-A-MOBILE-NATION-LOOKS-LIKE/58269/

----------------

Interactive Feature

Map: Where Americans Are Moving

Jon Bruner

More than 10 million Americans moved from one county to another during 2008. The map below visualizes those moves. Click on any county to see comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement, red lines net outward movement.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html

=============

Home builders won’t lift the economy this time + Applications to refinance home loans were up 21 percent

[mEDITate-OR:

see that what we are seeing is not clear, now.

Except for the REFI apps increase.

With the problems with the EURO there has been a collapse of the 10yr TBill yields, which drove RE mortgage rates down last week to this years lows.

While we do think almost everyone who COULD do a refi has already done one, that may not be the case.

However, what we did see, as expected, was a large decline in housing starts and new permits.

---------------

Home builders won’t lift the economy this time

Industry that usually leads country out of recession still stuck in downturn

Homebuilders are sending a message: They won't be able to contribute much to the economic recovery now that government home-buying incentives have vanished.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37725749/ns/business-real_estate/from/ET

-----

Mortgage applications rise nearly 18 percent

Applications to refinance home loans were up 21 percent

The number of customers applying for mortgages jumped last week, a sign that the market could be stabilizing after dropping off sharply last month.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37736704/ns/business-real_estate/from/ET

==============

Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies Continued to Soar in Q1

[mEDITate-OR:

not see that the different coloured lines are different types of CRE mortgages

Why Daniel did that we do not know, but the trend lines ARE significant.

Commercial RE mortgages are in deep trouble, and falling.

------------

Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies Continued to Soar in Q1

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/06/commercial-mortgage-delinquencies-continued-to-soar-in-q1/58271/

==============

What fiscal austerity looks like & what it does not, yet.

[mEDITate-OR:

what Europe is doing to themselves...

and we are not..., yet.

OR

find out it gets even more painful when you put it off.

What one needs to understand is that while some of U.S. are paying The Piper

most are not.

But, they, and U.S., will..., very, very soon.

When Lyndon Johnson decided he COULD have both Guns AND Butter...

but not raise the taxes necessary to pay for all that...

Could have the Great Society AND fight and win the war in Vietnam.

he triggered, no pun intended, massive inflation.

When W Bush decided that he could radically cut taxes...

borrow the money from the Gulf Oil States to fight the Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan.

and borrow the funds from China & Japan to build all of {Y}our big, new houses...

he triggered massive trade deficits, massive budget deficits AND massive unemployment.

As Karl Malden oft asked U.S. about our lost American Express Traveler Checks:

      "What are you going to DO...???

      What ARE you going to do...???"

For U.S...., right now..., nothing.

But, as the other TV pitch man pointed out to U.S...:

      "It's gonna cost ya..."

--------------

-----------

-------------

What fiscal austerity looks like

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/news/economy/europe_fiscal_austerity/index.htm

==========

Why U.S. debt matters to you

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/03/news/economy/U.S._debt_impact/index.htm

===============

China - and Japan, UK, gulf oil states - still have appetite for U.S. debt

[mEDITate-OR:

not see that what had changed..., has changed..., again...

It was not just a few months ago that China sent U.S. a message

they stopped buying, and began selling !!!, some of our TBills.

The message was VERY clear = shut up about {Y}our exchange rates...

or we will sell you into bankruptcy.

Last month, they reversed course, and started to BUY more of {y}our TBills.

That was ALSO a message.

IF you are going to run up huge deficits, you will have to borrow from somebody.

We are, and we are.

China added to its big position in U.S. debt during the month of April

So did Japan. And the U.K.

And the big bloc of oil exporting nations that includes Venezuela, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

All told, foreigners increased their net holdings in Treasury bonds and notes by more than $76 billion.

------------

China still has appetite for U.S. debt

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/markets/thebuzz/index.htm

===========

Dollar extends slide against euro

[mEDITate-OR:

not bother asking why the stock market goes up, a lot

when the dollar falls against the EURO.

What ARE they thinking..., or are they not?

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

-----------

---------------

----------

Dollar extends slide against euro

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/markets/dollar/index.htm

=======

Euro-damage: How the union made Europe's weaklings even weaker

[mEDITate-OR:

not act as if you're not Holy-err than thou...

The rage, everywhere, was to get deep and then deeper in debt.

So, we all did - the PIGS, U.S., and even China, to U.S.

Then, Sunni enough, the Shiites hit the fandango.

A decade ago, Russia was broke and getting broker...

then, thanks to U.S. and our thirst for oil, they hit a gusher...

of EURO's and petrol dollars..., and lost all cents...

The problem with PIGS is that they were, and are not, all equal.

Spain and Ireland were the highest of high flyers...

Massive expansion of jobs and wealth.

True, Greece and Portugal were much slower growth.

But, to blame all of the PIGS problems on the type of government they have...

or to say that they were not for a few decades "competitive" with U.S.

is revisionist history.

That does NOT, however, change their, and our, situation.

{Y}our debts, under W Bush, grew as fast as theirs did...

and {Y}our debts are now greater than all of the PIGS combined.

So..., look down your snouts at them...

and see yourselves in your rear view mirror.

-----------------

Euro-damage: How the union made Europe's weaklings even weaker

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/03/news/international/PIIGS_euro_economy.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2010060406

=================

When will the Fed raise rates?

[mEDITate-OR:

not ask what everyone else is asking about...

 

However, you DO need to consider the fact that there are times that "monetary" policy simply does not work.

As there are times that fiscal policy and/or Keynesian Economics does not work.

"Trickle down" economics is thought to never, EVER work...

"Who thinks that?", you should not have to ask..., me.

-----------

This article, and these two charts, are about what the Fed OUGHT to be doing.

not necessarily what they have been or will be doing.

Very interesting point of economic view, worth reading, twice.

--------- 

 

---------- 

============

Monday, June 14, 2010

When will the Fed raise rates?

by CalculatedRisk on 6/14/2010 03:54:00 PM

Bank profits rise, but so do bad loans

[mEDITate-OR:
see the Red Sea parting..., not just, for you.

While we usually, as opposed to "normally", use Calculated Risk's "unofficial" troubled bank list, this article is evidence that even the main stream media is "troubled"

One especially troubling fact:

the FDIC reported that mortgage delinquencies

hit an astounding 10.8 percent in the first quarter

up from 6.4 a year ago and just 1.2 percent three years ago.

Those numbers may portend more defaults and foreclosures over the next several months.

---------

Bank profits rise, but so do bad loans

Check the health of your institution with BankTracker 

The number of banks with risky levels of bad loans rose slightly in the latest quarter, even as bank profits rose sharply. Check your bank or credit union in the BankTracker.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37593254/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads/from/ET

============

BIS reports Bank Exposure to Euro area countries facing market pressure

[mEDITate-OR:

spare yourselves some change....

If this chart, and it's conclusions, are correct.

most of U.S. will be spared.

However, French and German wines may, suddenly, become REAL bargains.

-------------

It is the German and French banks that are most at risk.

Larger image at CR story site

=============

Monday, June 14, 2010

BIS reports Bank Exposure to Euro area countries facing market pressure

by CalculatedRisk on 6/14/2010 09:02:00 AM
============
Europe's $1.6 trillion hangover
Possible sovereign debt defaults make for a big headache for European lenders.
Banks in France and Germany alone have nearly $1 trillion in exposure to the staggering economies of southern Europe, according to a report issued Monday by banking watchdogs
http://wallstreet.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/14/europes-1-6-trillion-bank-hangover/
==========

Q1 2010: Mortgage Equity Withdrawal strongly Negative

[mEDITate-OR:

not see that we are not loosing the way we should be....

 

Normally, we should be paying down the principal of our RE home mortgages.

For years we have been extracting, with 2nd mortgages, our appreciating equities.

 

Now, through foreclosures, short sales and strategic defaults we're being "trashed"...

literally and figuratively.

-------    Large image at CR site:

============

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Q1 2010: Mortgage Equity Withdrawal strongly Negative

Pickup sales perk up along with the economy

[mEDITate-OR:

not drive a Chevy, or Ford 150 or a Ram tough truck...!!!

you sissy, you...

or are you haul'n your big fat..., pattootie

==========

Pickup sales perk up along with the economy

Purchases give rough insight into the health of the recovery

If you want a hint about the economic recovery, follow that truck.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37672926/ns/business-autos/from/ET

========

The man who made economics freaky

[mEDITate-OR:

not realize that you CAN legislate "morality"...

if you "incentivize"...., what the Pretty Woman called..., "it".

AND

you incentivizORs understand how "incentives" actually work on the incentivizEEs!!

And/or,

there IS a reason prostitutes charge different prices for different services.

And/or,

why politicians raise so much campaign money.

One of the greatest surprises to me in studying economics, politics & law

was the gross misunderstanding of the role of "incentives"...

in economics, law, ethics, medicine, banking &/V finance...

oh, and politics, of course.

We love to say that we are a "Capitalistic" country, which is, obviously "Good".

And, those who live in a "socialistic" country are obviously "Bad".

Forgive/permit me to ask you This Nice Question:

What if most, if not all, of the "incentives" in a Capitalistic country benefit "Bad" behave.

while most, if not all, of the "incentives in a socialistic country benefit "Good" behavior?

Now, which society/economy is "Good" and which one is "Bad"?

Is the "goal" in life only to make money...

or is it what you DO with the money you make.

or does it matter how you MAKE money.

Put another way...:

If you make your money by selling sex, drugs and inkohol...

is what your are doing "good"...????

If all you DO with the money you make is buy sex, drugs and inkohol...

is what you are doing bad, or good, or, not just, The American Way...???

pppsss:

You MUST read the article...

to understand WHY you must read the article.

==============

The man who made economics freaky

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2010/07/01/105948786/index.htm

------------

--------------

Freakonomics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

----------------

SuperFreakonomics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

----------

=========

Retail sales tumble sharply in May - largest decline in 8 months

[mEDITate-OR:

This is a very interesting development, troubling in some ways, but not in others.

Other reports tell U.S. that credit has expanded for durable, large items...

but continuing to drop for credit card purchases.

There seems to be a continuing shift to cut back on retail credit...

but to buy big ticket items that we want or need.

What we do NOT see is a large increase in "savings".

That suggests that due to unemployment and/or insecurity

we are paying down our debts, and buying less.

or, more that we are buying more thoughtfully - DO we need it.

-----------

Retail sales tumble sharply in May

Retail sales suffer largest decline in 8 months

Spending takes a big plunge; consumer sentiment strengthens

A big drop in May retail sales has raised new concerns about the durability of the economic recovery. But consumer sentiment improves to strongest level in nearly 2 1/2 years.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37635666/ns/business-retail/from/ET

===========