FORTUNE NEEDS TO BRUSH UP ON ITS SCARE-MONGERING
The debt-ceiling debate is over for now, so the point may be moot, but this piece by Fortune writer Cyrus Sanati, “Default would be catastrophic for…
ONE MORE BIG WIN FOR THE NATION’S HOUSING POLICY
More than a third of TARP-subsidized loan modifications have defaulted, reports the program’s inspector general. So: the borrower has bled more cash than he otherwise would…
WOW. THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG
Given what was going on with the financial system back then, if you’d told me in 2008 that in five years New York-area housing markets would…
ON THE OTHER HAND, NOBODY EVER SAID HE WASN’T SMART
Ah, thatGoldman magic: “Fabulous Fab” Tourre, lately locking horns with the federal government, is enrolled in a doctoral economics program at the Universityof Chicago. . .…
CALIF. BORROWER ANGLES FOR FORECLOSURE HAT TRICK
It seems like old times ($): “I think now is the perfect time to actually buy a home,” said Donald Crabb, a 50-year-old longshoreman from Fontana…
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The bill is so anti-American as to have one think it was being written by the Chinese rather than any American legislator.” –Dick Bove, on the…
LIZ WARREN’S $22 MINIMUM WAGE ISN’T JUST A BAD IDEA, IT’S A TERRIBLE IDEA
I see that Elizabeth Warren seems to think the minimum wage should be tied to productivity growth and that, if it had been back in 1960…
NYT: JPM BOARD NOT HAPPY WITH HOW JAMIE HANDLED LONDON WHALE. DUH.
DealBook thinks it sees the beginnings of a boardroom revolt at JPMorgan: [A] small fraction of the 11-member board is unhappy with Mr. Dimon, according to…
WASHINGTON HAS-BEENS RECOMMEND WINDING DOWN GSES AND REPLACING THEM WITH GUARANTEE PROGRAM. GOOD IDEA.
Something called the Bipartisan Policy Center-basically a bunch of ex-Senators-has issued a report on what the government should do about the GSEs and, believe it or…
YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: SUBPRIME-LENDING DIVISION
Reminder: subprime mortgage lending is alive and well, thanks to the federal government: According to Pinto, the FHA charges the same premium for all borrowers regardless…