Yeah, but Dick Bove called Citi the deal of the century and he's a genius. Just ask him....

This is bullish news for the economy and Bush.

Didn't S&P say that markdowns have come to an end? And didn't the market rally like 200 points on that statement? D'oh!!!!

Afternoon Reading: The Grassy Knoll of Bear Stearns

Afternoon Reading: The Grassy Knoll of Bear Stearns - Deal Journal - WSJ

People still wonder whether the Federal Reserve and the Treasury forced J.P. Morgan to offer $2 a share. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism scoffs at the idea that regulators twisted Jamie Dimon’s arm, such a suggestion “is pretty outrageous spin when the government is putting up taxpayer money.” And he makes a pretty good argument as to why he think that wasn’t the case. Smith also endorses an Institutional Risk Analytics article that says that J.P. Morgan isn’t so financially strong after all. (So there).

Point, counter point.

As some may recall, there is an inversion in short-term T-bills, i.e, between the 2 and 3 year; however, the 3 year was discontinued last fall, but remains in circulation nonetheless. Thus, when looking at TED with a geometric substitution of The LIBOR versus the historic "normalcy" of the 3 year inflation trend, IMHO, there is a distortion of rate reality:

The 2 year bond rate is @ 1.72

The 3 year bond rate is @ 1.60

Three-month sterling LIBOR, the interest rate off which our mortgages and most other loans are priced, has risen to 6%, its highest level since December 28.

Re: Initially, the TED spread was the difference between the interest rate for the three month U.S. Treasuries contract and three month Eurodollars contract as represented by the London Inter Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). However, since the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped the T-bill futures, the TED spread is now calculated as the difference between the T-bill interest rate and LIBOR. The TED spread is a measure of liquidity and shows the flow of dollars into and out of the United States.

They are not serious until they start talking trillions!

How do you spell Wiemar?
giacutter | 03.26.08 - 12:24 pm

b-u-s-h

sdtfs

i remember when Corus had 5 stars on bankrate and I was going to take out a cd. It was approx. 1 year ago. Checked them out and saw how heavy they were into the condo craze and sent my money elsewhere. Who knows if the bank I sent my money to is solvent now. Its darn crazy out there.

PMI Forms Foreclosure Prevention Team
PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.,

a subsidiary of The PMI Group, Inc., said Wednesday that it had formed a new homeownership preservation team led by John Jelavich, PMI’s newly appointed vice president of Homeownership Preservation Initiatives.
The initiative is different than a lender ramping up staff in loss mitigation, and signals a stark change in strategy for one of the nation’s largest mortgage insurers. Rather than sitting in the background and managing incoming claims, PMI is committing resources to supplement efforts already in place at lenders and servicers, whose loans it insures against loss.
“The insurers stand to lose quite a bit from increasing foreclosures, and many servicers are just simply strapped,” said one source, who works in the mortgage servicing industry. “Insurers aren’t saying ‘enough’ to servicers, I don’t think, but they are stepping in much more directly.”
PMI said it will expand its National Accounts Servicing team whose primary responsibility will be to partner with lenders in the development of creative solutions to help Americans avoid foreclosure.
“PMI has a history of working with our customers to develop innovative solutions that preserve homeownership,” said Gene Campion, senior vice president of servicing operations, loss mitigation and claims. “We’re confident that providing additional manpower and resources to aid our customers will ultimately help people who have the ability to make a reasonable mortgage payment preserve their home.”
“It is important for borrowers who are in trouble to contact their lender and see if they have options other than foreclosure,” said Jelavich. “The team will reach out to lenders and borrowers to try and bring both groups together and find creative solutions to save the borrower’s home.”

I wonder if they too will become a gvt agency. why not?

OK, old thread, but I just had to stop by a moment to mock this drivel:

"You cannot, will not, let your financial markets fail when you are waging a war overseas. End of story"

Right. And all the countries who have financial markets fail are just asking for it, right? They like it?

The market failure was years ago, when mortgages and their derivatives went nuts. It's only now we're noticing.

It's like getting shot out of a catapult - the fall may be what kills you, but the lift up is the cause. And once you're airborne, there's not much you can do about it.