Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Harper's Magazine - "The next bubble" (4-1-08)

"A financial bubble is a market aberration manufactured by government, finance, and industry, a shared speculative hallucination and then a crash, followed by depression. Bubbles were once very rare—one every hundred years or so was enough to motivate politicians, bearing the post-bubble ire of their newly destitute citizenry, to enact legislation that would prevent subsequent occurrences. After the dust settled from the 1720 crash of the South Sea Bubble, for instance, British Parliament passed the Bubble Act to forbid 'raising or pretending to raise a transferable stock.' For a century this law did much to prevent the formation of new speculative swellings."

NAHB - "Slim Down Utility Bills With Green Remodeling" (5-7-08)

"It doesn’t cost much to put your house on an energy diet. In fact, remodeling to improve energy efficiency may pay for itself with immediate savings on energy and water bills. May is Home Remodeling Month, and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers is shining a spotlight on the financial incentives of remodeling and offering suggestions for home renovation projects that provide the best return on investment."

NAR - "Soft Existing-Home Sales Expected Near-Term But to Rise Midsummer" (5-7-08)

"A flat pattern in home sales activity should continue for the next couple months before improving over the summer, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®."

Orange County Register - "Fed maps show how Orange County’s home loans stack up vs. California, U.S." (5-7-08)

"Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech Tuesday on foreclosures and loan delinquencies. What interested me are the maps on the Federal Reserve’s Web site that accompany the speech."

Orange County Register - "Lyon Homes prices fall 19% in Q1" (5-7-08)

"Average selling price for Newport Beach homebuilder William Lyon Homes was $372,000 during the first three months of the year, down 19% from the average price reported in the first quarter of ‘07. The company, which builds homes in California, Arizona and Nevada, cited declining home values accounted for part that drop. A change in the mix of homes sold also lowered the average price, according to the company’s news release out today."

Bloomberg - "U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Rose 15.6% Last Week " (5-7-08)

"The number of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. rebounded last week as a drop in mortgage rates boosted buying and refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan rose 15.6 percent to 655.4, from 567 the prior week that marked the lowest level this year. Refinancing increased 19.3 percent and the purchase index rose 12.1 percent. "

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Wants Fed to Pay Interest on Bank Reserves" (5-7-08)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking ways to stabilize money markets, will ask Congress for authority to pay interest on commercial-bank reserves this year, a person familiar with the discussions said. The central bank isn't authorized by Congress to begin making such payments until 2011. Allowing interest on bank reserves may enable the Fed to pump more funds into the banking system without pushing its main policy rate lower, in effect separating action to boost liquidity from monetary policy. "

The Wall Street Journal - "Fannie to Boost Capital After Posting Big Loss" (5-7-08)

"Fannie Mae announced plans to shore up its capital after recording a loss of $2.19 billion for the first quarter and warning that losses stemming from mortgage defaults are likely to be even worse next year."

The Wall Street Journal - "Expect a Jolt When Opening The Electric Bill" (5-7-08)

"Surging fuel costs are about to inflict more pain on consumers, this time in the form of rapidly rising electricity bills.Power prices are being pushed up across the U.S., with increases sometimes soaring into double digits, due to costlier coal and natural gas, the fuels used to make 70% of the nation's electricity."

The Wall Street Journal - "Paulson Sees Credit Crisis Waning" (5-7-08)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said U.S. financial markets are emerging from the credit crunch and that 'the worst is likely to be behind us,' marking possibly the most optimistic comments yet from the Bush administration on the financial crisis."

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