WSJ on Permanent Modifications

"Permanent modification"? That's where we reward people who made dumb financial decisions in an effort to become wealthy for doing nothing, right?

there could be a flood of foreclosures on the market next year.

Finally! I'm starting to look ridiculous in my waders.

I was such an idiot in 2000 when I was moving back the US from Japan (with no savings, alas) . . . I had no idea I could get a stated income loan -- i was making $100K at Apple and could easily afford a nice condo, but assumed I had to have two years of W-2s, plus I wanted to see what was going to happen in the post dotcom shakeout, plus like an idiot I thought buying when rates were high was a bad thing, not a good thing.

What a crock this decade has been. Can we just turn the clock back to 1999 and try again?

rosethorn, reply in previous thread


energyecon, re: income

Nemo wrote:

That's when we reward people who made dumb financial decisions in an effort to become wealthy for doing nothing, right?

Bingo!

"If few of these modifications are successful, there could be a flood of foreclosures on the market next year."

And if all of the modifications are successful, we can expect a flood of foreclosures six to nine months later.

Actually, that's when we reward people who mad dumb financial decisions in order to protect all the players on the upper end of the market who made catastrophically bad financial decisions. The whole thing is about protecting the upper end. Notice how eager they were to hand out modifications to sub-prime.....

You can party like it's 1999, but you can't turn the clock back, sorry.

So if we are handing over wealth to real estate speculators, where is that wealth coming from?

In other words, who is the sucker at the table? That's what I want to know.

Pigged

Only because of World War 2, am I here in America. Different time, similar diaspora.

My father could have gone to Australia for free, but it cost $200 to come to the USA, and it looked more promising here, and most importantly in his decision: Australia didn't have any mountains, to speak of...

Nemo wrote:

In other words, who is the sucker at the table? That's what I want to know.

Those taxpayers who continue to propagate the two party system.

Nemo wrote:

So if we are handing over wealth to real estate speculators, where is that wealth coming from?
In other words, who is the sucker at the table? That's what I want to know.

Hu's asking?

"Permanent." Damn, I forgot to put that in the poll.

Re diaspora: you could make a case that diaspora is a necessary result of a rising population and limited resources. That's a "crowding" hypothesis. You could also make a case that diaspora is a kind of "spillage" from the edge of one culture into another, due to trade and intermarriage. That would be true in nomadic cultures that "marry in" and "marry out" at the edges of their trade routes. That's how you get the spread of language groups, too.

And if it were not for nomadism and diaspora, finding new places to settle like the Nile Valley, the Fertile Crescent, etc., there would have been no rise of civilizations in the first place. The human race would have gone steady-state like other animal species. So, no, I'd have to say that, for the most part, diaspora is mostly positive in its effect, and not necessarily negative in it's causes.

Got it, thanks.

There are no docs now because there weren't any documents before, in most cases.

Cinco-X wrote:

For Comrade Troyski

fair enough. The "five crash" claim is swiftboating given that one of the losses was a zuni up the tailpipe while parked on deck and the other was over Hanoi, at the time not exactly evidence of poor pilot judgment. Still, McCain wasn't much of a pilot apparently and displaced somebody more deserving for the job who didn't have his last name.

scone
I left a comment in the last thread. It might be good for me, I might not be able to prevent it, but I don't have to enjoy -40° weather where your boogers freeze and windchill can lead to frostbite in minutes

albrt wrote:

And if all of the modifications are successful, we can expect a flood of foreclosures six to nine months later.

I know I shouldn't but this made me giggle in a JD sick and twisted way. The truth often makes me giggle.

just 26% of them had submitted all the required documents for a permanent fix

Simulacra Mortgage Electronic Recording System Hierarchy- SMERSH

As a Vice President of this organization, I will testify that the documents are some where, even if I have no idea where they could be or who filled them out. Does that help?

The veracity of the Administration takes another hit. Will the WH unload on the Globe as it did on the AP?

"While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started.

The Globe’s finding is based on the federal government’s just-released accounts of stimulus spending at the end of October. It lists the nearly $4 billion in stimulus awards made to an array of Massachusetts government agencies, universities, hospitals, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, and notes how many jobs each created or saved.

But in interviews with recipients, the Globe found that several openly acknowledged creating far fewer jobs than they have been credited for."

...

Stimulus fund job benefits exaggerated, review finds - The Boston Globe 

Sorry if this is a repeat, but Wells Fargo is offering 2% down loans to credit scores in the low 600 range, at around 6%.

Home OpportunitiesSM Program Minimal down payment requirements
Flexible income, credit and debt guidelines, including non-traditional credit histories
Benefits for public employees
Homebuyers with high debt ratios and limited funds for down payment
Homebuyers with non-traditional credit histories
Homebuyers who have experienced financial difficulties in the past
Eligible public employees

https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/buy/loans/descriptions/nocash

Homebuyers with non-traditional credit histories

Admirable phrase.

The English language is gaining so much these days.

sdtfs wrote:

Simulacra Mortgage Electronic Recording System Hierarchy- SMERSH

As a Vice President of this organization, I will testify that the documents are some where, even if I have no idea where they could be or who filled them out. Does that help?

ROFL! Yes, yes indeedy. That helps tremendously! Sounds like a bonus-worthy innovation to me.

You deserve a
I drink your MILKSHAKE!

Flood of foreclosures next year? We'd better get started building an arc. Or perhaps MP will let us board his?

Comrade Troyski wrote:

fair enough. The "five crash" claim is swiftboating given that one of the losses was a zuni up the tailpipe while parked on deck and the other was over Hanoi, at the time not exactly evidence of poor pilot judgment. Still, McCain wasn't much of a pilot apparently and displaced somebody more deserving for the job who didn't have his last name.

If you'll research it, you'll find that the ONLY place you find those claims about McCain are either on the DailyKOS, or posts that reference the DailyKOS. Do a little more research, and you find that if a Navy pilot misses a tailhook flyby twice in 6mos. he's grounded until he's taken a rehabilitation course, and if he does it again, he's grounded for good, at least for carrier landings. With rules that strict, do you really think the Navy would somehow allow a pilot to keep flying planes that in those days cost nearly a $million? In the event you don't get it, the answer is no.
That said, in the case of the Swift Boat Vets, there were actual witnesses to t some of those events, and since I actually live in MA, and was here when Kerry first ran for Senate, I can assure you that some of the stuff they were talking about came up in the Democratic primaries here, and was published by the Boston Globe.
The DailyKOS article you referred to is a load of trash. There's no truth in it. BTW, the numbers are confusing because there was also a chain e-mail going around at the time which has different numbers of crashes, and I can never which falsehood was which.

One day the non-traditional materials are going to hit the fan and we're going to be sub-optimally positioned.

EHP -- It's not boogers, it's DNA. Your body is the result of more than 1,000,000 years of diaspora. If not for that, you would quite likely be smaller, weaker, stupider, and more prone to disease and early death than you are. Your vocabulary would be tiny, your knowledge base ditto, and your belief system would be extremely unsophisticated. You would also almost certainly be living in a dying world, insular and primitive. Humans have been moving around this planet since they walked on two legs.

In any case, It's not accurate to assume that most of the great migrations of the past were nothing but violent conflict. Don't judge all of human history by the last few centuries. It's chalk and cheese.

The veracity of the Administration takes another hit. Will the WH unload on the Globe as it did on the AP? "While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started.

The Chicago Tribune had a story about this same thing happening around here a week or so ago. Did that get reported here?

The Tribune found a bunch of school systems where there were more jobs saved than total employees and the largest local recipient (Chicago Public Schools) was not even listed in the report.

Ok, if they are actually paying the mod, why not extend the mod by 3 month increments.
I mean money is coming in, right? This is a good kind of extend and pretend.

Green Shoots My secy's mom got her job back.

Yellow Shoots a: The UPS guy delivered some folders and said
it was the slowest month (November?) on record,

and I have a foreclosure client who works for an exterminator.

Business is bad. If you can't afford to pay an exterminator to get rid of
bugs in Florida, that is really, really bad.

Gold $1117.50
Euro $1.4984
Yen $0.0111

mp wrote:

Gold $1117.50
Euro $1.4984
Yen $0.0111

Don't bother plotting them on the same axis-

The fighting lines are being drawn between the savers vs. the non-savers rather than the Banks vs. all consumers...savers and non-savers alike...

I thought all the "savers" are the suckers. Is this not a form of transfer of wealth?

mp wrote:

Gold $1117.50
Euro $1.4984
Yen $0.0111

Just plot the reciprocal... USD -> shitter.

Oh the UPS guy saying that is bad news because holiday shopping on the internet must already be slow. For people who have to mail a lot of stuff to folks flung wide, if you don't have your shopping done by Novembers end, then you face fast approaching a wall. (If you gift wrap yourself and mail again which I always did because I just couldn't bring myself to do anything different as I couldn't be sure a dang invoice wouldn't be inadvertently put in the box AND it just seemed so impersonal otherwise)...

We were discussing exterminators vans and the NSA earlier this morning, in I wish Liz was here moment. lol. Sure he's really an exterminator and not a spy checking you out because of your CR associations? Ghost

A client of mine got a 25 cents on the dollar principal reduction on a 2nd
mtg. He turned it down 'cause he would have had to pay taxes on 75k
'cause he spent it on bling, errr, not on fixing up the property. He
verified it with a tax accountant.

Now B of A is getting something like 9 cents on the dollar in the short sale.
The first will be completely repaid.

scone
Do I look like I'm advocating for inbreeding? We could reproduce the positive effects of diasporas without having to do an actual genocide or famine, but those negative forces are unavoidable for their own reasons. A diaspora is more than just migration, and your argument seems to be that the exchange of people and the dna/knowledge/culture they bring are positive. Which I haven't disputed, and is besides the point.
If I may, I would say that we don't disagree but for whatever reason confusion persists somewhere in between us
edit: that post came off as some kind of angry, it's not what I intended. maybe reading it aloud in a surfer dude voice might take the edge off, or throw in a friendly laugh every couple sentences

I thought all the "savers" are the suckers. Is this not a form of transfer of wealth?

The truly sad part is that if Bernanke didn't bailout the financial system, a LOT of innocent savers would have seen their savings vanish.

Bernanke allowed Wall St. to poison our money supply - a high crime in my opinion.

I'm heeeere, Nanoo.

Everyone I talk to is scoffing at a recovery. Also, they are remembering
my late '07 Dooooooooooooooom!!! and now I am getting some respect, not eye rolling.

An ounce of the barbarous would have bought 113 gallons of go-juice @ the one-armed outdoor bandit, when I had my coming out party in 1961.

Today, the same ounce will buy 375 gallons of gas...

Our money isn't so much poisoned, as dead.

Interesting article on Zimbabwe. From a glod site by a glod bug by fairly muted on that aspect

Nov 11, 2009 Zimbabwe: A Fresh Start Alf Field 321gold ...inc ...s

respect that is rightfully due the QotW...Wink

I want morrrrrre In glod we trust In glod we trust In glod we trust In glod we trust My Head Just Exploded

Why, thank you, energy. Love Crown Love

Today, the same ounce will buy 375 gallons of gas...

Sounds like a potential paired trade. Good thing I don't do things like that anymore.

lawyerliz wrote:

now I am getting some respect, not eye rolling.

Same here even with the ever OMG NOT THIS AGAIN husband.

This is a MUST read for anyone who hasn't been watching energy, oil and all that CRAPOLA. To many here it won't be news but to others, well perhaps it will. This is one thing that had me breaking furniture some time ago looking like a crazed gorilla instead of the sweet innocent nice woman I actually am. Wink

http://seekingalpha.com/article/172797-the-global-oil-scam-50-times-bigger-than-madoff

If 'mericans knew about this there would be Goldman-Sachs blood in the streets.

holiday shipping takes off in the 2nd or 3rd week of November, judging by search data

Yes, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus.

JD, I'm telling ya, Gold is your dad's store of wealth. Maple Syrup, Liquid Gold, is the future

If I may, I would say that we don't disagree but for whatever reason confusion persists somewhere in between us - EHP

I don't think we have a confusion. You seem to believe that "we" are somehow in control of history, and could substitute a process that would be better than the ones that do exist. And for myriad reasons, I say that that is not observed reality. I'm also implying that a "substitute" process that was invented ad hoc, is not only not possible, it would not be a good idea if it were possible. The wish to control large populations and "guide" them "for their own good" is exactly the impulse that led to the rise of the Nazis in the first place. Theirs was a 'rationalized' system of total control that led to total evil. Don't look down on organic human evolution just because it's violent. The alternatives that have been tried are far worse.

scone
No. I don't believe we can avoid bad things in the world. I can choose to be displeased when they occur. Hence the boogers comment.
I think you think we aren't in control of history, and just spent several posts arguing your shadow

,rad EHP,

Daddy-o was no dummy. We have 7,429 bottles full of the stuff, all less than 50 years old.

Juvenal Delinquent,
are you putting me on?
p.s.
is there an explanation behind ,rad [name], or is it pure style

scone wrote:

EHP -- It's not boogers, it's DNA. Your body is the result of more than 1,000,000 years of diaspora.

EHP -listen to her. I didn't do the diaspora and look at me: "smaller,weaker, stupider, and more prone to disease "

edit: ,rad==Comma rad

The stimulus job increase numbers are a joke. I was at a meeting with people reporting the numbers and they said they just reported an increase if they talked to a person.

Remember, those aren't foreclosures. They're "unscheduled maturities."

Just because you know who was bad, doesn't mean we
can't choose our own history. We can pick out certain genetic
defects as unrelievedly bad, and do what we can to eliminate
them amongst people who agree.

I for one, would like not to be so nearsighted. Seems like
if there were a germ-line modification that could do this
it would be a good idea (and yeah, I know that some things
are near to other things on the DNA etc, etc., doesn't mean
that eliminating nearsightedness would be a bad thing when
done with care.)

sdtfs wrote:

EHP -listen to her. I didn't do the diaspora and look at me: "smaller,"weaker, stupider, and more prone to disease "

Whenever I see your handle, my brain translates it as "STD for sure". Just sayin'
Wink

tropical fish.

sdtfs wrote:

edit: ,rad==Comma rad

hee hee hee hoo

The stimulus job increase numbers are a joke.

Too lazy to dig up youtube Jack Nicholson "Truth? You can't handle the truth!"

,rad EHP,

You have to spell things out to have it make sense, comrade.

Ixnay on the maple syrup quantities, I was just traipsing through the mindfield, seeing what I could set off.

A lot of small merchants stock almost exclusively using UPS or FEDX. If shipping has been slow this fall it does not bode well for xmas inventory.

Well lawyerliz - the ABA wants the taxpayers to bail out law students with private loans:

The American Bar Association is lobbying the Obama administration and Congress to extend relief to recent law school graduates who went into debt to finance their legal educations but haven't been able to find a job because of the recession.

The ABA wants the government to let unemployed graduates convert private loans into federal ones. The change could allow them to defer repaying those loans for as long as three years.

My clients would love it if they were offered 112k less by B of A.

And gosh, when will CR ever learn? You ignore the 2nd mtg!!!

@ lawyer liz

He turned it down 'cause he would have had to pay taxes on 75k...
Now B of A is getting something like 9 cents on the dollar in the short sale.

Won't he now get a tax bill for $91K of forgiven debt?

Terry wrote:

The American Bar Association is lobbying the Obama administration and Congress to extend relief to recent law school graduates who went into debt to finance their legal educations but haven't been able to find a job

I am one hundred percent in favor of a relief program for these folks. Put them to work prosecuting bankers.

GSC Faces Challenges as ‘Going Concern’ After Losses (Update1)
By Pierre Paulden

Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- GSC Group, an $18 billion investment firm specializing in high-yield, high-risk debt, may fail after the value of its holdings plummeted.

“They need to figure out a way to remain in business,” Matthew Noll, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service in New York, said today in a telephone interview. “We believe the most detrimental outcome would be if they had to file for bankruptcy or liquidate the company.”

GSC, founded in 1999 by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Alfred Eckert, isn’t generating enough in fees to repay $210 million of loans after the value of its funds tumbled during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Leveraged loan prices have gained 45 percent this year after tumbling an average of 28 percent in 2008, a record according to the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index.

Yesterday, Moody’s downgraded GSC’s borrowing unit, GSCP (NJ) LP, by one level to C, the lowest-rated class of debt. The ratings company defines C graded debt as “typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.” Creditors face losses of more than 50 percent on the loans, Moody’s said in a report by Noll and analyst Kathryn Kerle.

Carl Crosetto, a GSC managing director, didn’t return a call seeking comment.
GSC Faces Challenges as ‘Going Concern’ After Losses (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

lawyerliz wrote:

Just because you know who was bad, doesn't mean we can't choose our own history. We can pick out certain genetic defects as unrelievedly bad, and do what we can to eliminate them amongst people who agree.
I for one, would like not to be so nearsighted. Seems like if there were a germ-line modification that could do this it would be a good idea (and yeah, I know that some things are near to other things on the DNA etc, etc., doesn't mean that eliminating nearsightedness would be a bad thing when done with care.)

Are you aware that the gene that causes sickle cell anemia when you have two of them results in an increase resistance to malaria if you have one? Best to be "really" careful when eliminating genes, and by that, I mean don't do it at all. Nearsightedness is presumably one of the things that led to us creating societies, because the nearsighted that couldn't go out and be effective hunters, they were obligated to find ways around the village to "add value" and hence earn their keep. Become basket weavers, potters, farmers, etc.

I don't think so, but I am a tax imbecile.

He knows about the issue.

And err, ummmm, he really is out of the country. There is no way that the amount
he would owe could be paid.

Terry, re: ABA and synergy with the South Carolina school earlier today
Why not just let the investors help pay off the loans by donating money to the schools to get higher grades for the borrowers so they can pay back the loan plus some kind of bonus?
That's all I've got to say. My snark-tank is running low, if this keeps up I'll be a mute by New Year's

CR sez...

In my list of possible upside surprises / downside risks for the economy, the percent of permanent modifications is related to the #1 downside risk. If few of these modifications are successful, there could be a flood of foreclosures on the market next year.

There will likely be a flood anyway given the number of liar loans unable to be modified AND mounting job losses.

albrt wrote:

I am one hundred percent in favor of a relief program for these folks. Put them to work prosecuting bankers.

seriously, what could be more American than the SEC and AGs placing standing bounties (I mean American in the positive mythical entrepreneurial bootstraps we can do it sense)

the ABA needs to address why so many students are taking out private loans in the first place, since it's possible for non-medical grad students to take out ~$150K in federal loans.

I know about sickle cell anemia.

I think we should be aiming to do better than blind nature.

Even time we choose to reproduce with somebody, we are choosing
future evolution, sometimes to a great extent sometimes less.

There are mitrochondial Eves who are mothers to literally billions.

lawyerliz wrote:

My clients would love it if they were offered 112k less by B of A.

And gosh, when will CR ever learn? You ignore the 2nd mtg!!!

So Liz - does the second eventually go away or does it sort of just hang around unpaid? I ask because if the homedebtor tries to resell in the future & the second doesn't go away - does it close? Now I realize in the gubbmint mod plan the seconds are supposed to be 'worked out' too but in the BoA case it isn't clear that happened... then what?

Isn't it true you can't bk gov't loans, but can private loans?

Get the suckers on the hooks. . ..

Talk about cognitive dissonance

In an effort to reduce fraud and save money, California is in the process of:

  • eliminating In-Home Support Service to 127,000 clients;
  • reducing the pay of about remaining providers to $9/hr (currently typically $12-$14/hr);
  • requiring that clients and providers be fingerprinted (in 2011 every time-card will have to have the fingerprint of both);
  • and criminal background checks made for all providers.

This will save the state an estimated $235 million.

http://www.cdcan.us/budget/2009-2010/20091028AssemblySenateHearing-IHSSBackgroundPaper.pdf

THEN…

*So far this year Goldman has set aside $16.7bn for compensation and benefits, nearly as much as the $16.9bn it put away by the third quarter of 2007, when rewards reached record levels and Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive, earned $70m.

Because the bank’s headcount this year is about the same as two years ago, compensation is on track to match that of 2007, when Goldman employees received $661,000 each on average.*

FT.com / Companies / Banks - Goldman set to match record bonus pool

It's not boogers, it's DNA.

When I was in the fourth grade, the boy in front of me picked his nose. He would roll the product of his nose picking into little balls with his fingers and either flick it away or, yes, you guessed it. I found this very irritating as I sat directly behind him. In fact, his seat back was the front of my desk.

Knowing that it irritated me, one day he deposited one of his little balls in my ink well. I said nothing, did nothing.

I waited until he started to pick his nose again, then wacked him on the side of his head with my wood ruler. Very hard. Hard enough that it drew blood.

Anyway, I was sent home and my father, who was preparing to discipline me, thought it might be a good idea to find out why I was sent home. I told him the entire story. He tightened his belt again and told me that he knew the boy's father and that the boy probably learned the behavior from his father.

When I returned to school, he would turn around and look at me every time he thought about picking his nose and I would reach for my ruler. Eventually, he gave it up altogether.

So, maybe it's boogers and DNA?

Aren't we entering Dukes of Moral Hazard territory, here?

Liz, you're right we should but in this world of Viva Viagra and big time brand name drug patents...well, you're going to spend more time and money on those things which are more popular to a large segment of the population, mass advertise it and what a wonderful life you'll have and produce a larger profit for your company.

in the tax code, there's an insolvency exception to the income treatment of debt forgiveness, on the grounds that the debtor should be paying private creditors before paying uncle sam. this is kind of strange, given that the IRS is given the status of super-creditor in many cases.

picosec wrote:

In an effort to reduce fraud and save money, California is in the process of:

Dawg-win.

Well, as to the 2nds, I don't think this has ever been litigated thru appeal, but
there is in Florida a Statute of Limitations which gives you 5 years after default to
enforce your rights, one case saying default is the first nasty letter.

So it should be the 2nd hangs around for 5 years and then goes away.

**BUT ** I wouldn't issue title insurance without a quiet title suit to
formally eliminate it. There is also a 20 year statute and a 5 years
after the date of maturity if it can be determined by the filings in
the public records.

Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:

Oh the UPS guy saying that is bad news because holiday shopping on the internet must already be slow.

Casting yet more doubt on the consumption numbers in GDP. They're starting to make no sense at all.

Mea culpa, but compare the numbers and think of the phrase "greater good."

Don't see Goldman employees emptying bedpans and changing bandages.

seriously, what could be more American than the SEC and AGs placing standing bounties

Now I know what I want for christmas, Santa! A deck of cards!

Who gets the honor of the 'ace of spades'?

black dog wrote:

seriously, what could be more American than the SEC and AGs placing standing bounties
Now I know what I want for christmas, Santa! A deck of cards!
Who gets the honor of the 'ace of spades'?

Of the ignominy of the Joker-

Legal Fun, Suing Satan in Federal Court – Neatorama
Legal comment?, IEEE Spectrum: Business Patents Up For Grabs
Gold, CBC News - British Columbia - Canadian border guards nab Syrian with $800K in gold
No sign of El-Nino, CBC News - British Columbia - Some B.C. ski resorts open early
Benmosche is not moving his wide ass from its corinthian leather wide executive chair according to a new company memo where he implicitly calls himself a liar, FT Alphaville » Blog Archive » Is AIG’s Benmosche staying or leaving? Both, maybe

Well lawyerliz - the ABA wants the taxpayers to bail out law students with private loans:

The American Bar Association is lobbying the Obama administration and Congress to extend relief to recent law school graduates who went into debt to finance their legal educations but haven't been able to find a job because of the recession.

The ABA wants the government to let unemployed graduates convert private loans into federal ones. The change could allow them to defer repaying those loans for as long as three years.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At first, I was a bit peeved as to why the law school grads should get preference over all of the barristas at Starbucks. But then it hit me that if this were to happen, then the debt would follow these lambs for the rest of their litigating lives.

Yeah, works for me.

black dog wrote:

The veracity of the Administration takes another hit. Will the WH unload on the Globe as it did on the AP?

Not defending the administration but critics can't have it both ways- disparage third quarter growth on the basis of its "only stimulus" and then simultaneously claim the stimulus didn't save any jobs. Unless you are part of the new school economics it appears to me that if GDP growth had been negative in the 3rd quarter job losses would have been worse.

energyecon wrote:

Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- GSC Group, an $18 billion investment firm specializing in high-yield, high-risk debt, may fail after the value of its holdings plummeted.

This is bizarre. Most of the high yield stuff I watch has surged in the Global Dash 4 Trash®. What were they holding that was peculiarly godawful?

Maybe they're caught in a cash flow trap rather than a valuation trap. Cash flows have only deteriorated even as valuations have soared.

I think you think we aren't in control of history, and just spent several posts arguing your shadow - EHP

I have no idea what that means. But, as a matter of fact, we are not in control of history, and should not be. It's disturbing that you could even imagine that would be a good idea. I'm chalking it up to your extreme youth, lack of life experience, and lack of background in history, anthropology, etc. Very disturbing indeed. Anyway, must go pack more boxes.

lawyerliz wrote:

Well, as to the 2nds, I don't think this has ever been titigated thru appeal

Titigated? I'd like to know the legal definition of that... Wink

Next up for the HAMP modifications will be the elimination of the documentation requirement. You know that is coming.

black dog wrote:

not bode well for xmas inventory.

Xmas inventory is huge this year! Unfortunately, due to a clerical error, you have to fly to Hong Kong to see it.

The Madoff in a smaller way Fla atty who Ponzi'ed himself into infamy, has caused
millions in losses to some (formerly?) rich people. They were investing in phony
judgments. I don't understand it. One car dealer owner lost 50million bucks.

And he accumulated so much stuff, he couldn't possibly have used it all. . .

Such people really should be studied.

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:

Benmosche is not moving his wide ass from its corinthian leather wide executive chair according to a new company memo where he implicitly calls himself a liar, FT Alphaville » Blog Archive » Is AIG’s Benmosche staying or leaving? Both, maybe

This slimeball is giving slimeballs everywhere a bad name. I can't believe how arrogant and foolish he's been in trying to construct his own little empire out of the ashen ruins of AIG. FIRE HIM, TREASURY.

This is about Applied Materials. I expect this will be a net gain of jobs in Asia, meaning that everyone else will get laid off at around 22% or more. Nope I'm not cynical, not one little bit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091111/bs_nm/us_appliedmaterials

...

The company also expects net sales to increase 30 percent in fiscal 2010, even as it plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs, or up to 12 percent of its global workforce, over 18 months to reduce costs.

...

homedad43 wrote:

At first, I was a bit peeved as to why the law school grads should get preference over all of the barristas at Starbucks. But then it hit me that if this were to happen, then the debt would follow these lambs for the rest of their litigating lives.

Maybe if they promise to never practice law we let them off the hook... followed with a 'and now go and sin no more'.

lawyerliz wrote:

Such people really should be studied.

Is that what they're callin' it these days Wink

I edited that, but was tempted not to

A combination of titilation and litigation, methinks. Sexy

Can't spell today.

Could be they are just taking last year's inventory out of storage and dusting it off instead.

re: cognitive dissonance - Goldman vs. Home Health aides

I don't think this is a good example of cognitive dissonance, which usually comes from believing two contradictory ideas at once. These ideas aren't contradictory at all. Just imagine bankers going out and robbing $12.00/hour home health aides at gunpoint. Then erase the guns and you basically have the American economy. There is nothing contradictory about it.

scone

scone: I have no idea what that means. But, as a matter of fact, we are not in control of history, and should not be.

You still haven't read one of my posts through.

No. I don't believe we can avoid bad things in the world

first line of the reply
I kept it brief because it is all besides the point. I'm just the vessel for your imaginary conversation. Please can we just drop it? There is nothing to argue about, other than your Parthian shots which I would rather concede than try and convince you otherwise

No, I actually mean studied.

If I were planning a big heist, I would have another life planned out for elsewhere,
after I had stashed enough ill gotten gains. Somebody like this must be able to
lie to themselves on an unbelievable scale.

I don't want briaaannnnnnnzzzzzzzssssss, I want brain scans.

This has actually been out there for a while. To prevent this kind of manipulation in the food markets the CFTC has position limits. Because jacking up the prices of food would result in pitchforks and torches.

Round-trip trades were a big part of Enron's methods.

Just imagine bankers going out and robbing $12.00/hour home health aides

When is someone going to DO something about it? If unemployment reaches a certain tipping point, we'll see pitchforks vs police force.

kcoop:

reiterating my previous query this AM.

I just flushed again and the autorefresh isn't terribly refreshing. Is it the generic toilet paper? Or should I switch to single ply?

How about some people with picket signs saying Shame, shame,
with a Vampire Squid from Hell

lawyerliz wrote:

How about some people with picket signs saying Shame, shame, with a Vampire Squid from Hell

Usually ineffective against folks NPD-

Over the course of an average month at the NYMEX, 5 BILLION barrels of oil will be traded, with a fee being collected on every single transaction which is ultimately passed down to US consumers, yet less than 40M barrels will actually be delivered. That is just 8 tenths of 1 percent of actual demand for the product that is being traded - 99.2% of the oil transaction fees being paid by the American people do nothing more than create fees for the traders and record profits and bonuses for the trading firms!

It's a perfect system, because we always blame the weather in the Gulf of Mexico, or THOSE PEOPLE in the Middle East, for price increases. can't get in the way of the great circle jerk that is the financial system.

How about a :shame: icon. What could it be? Shy just doesn't do it
justice. Suggestions???

and yet we can't increase oil taxes, because that would cause prices
to go up and hurt the little people.

I'm thinking Squid employees are worth closer to $666k per, but the devil is in the details...

Please can we just drop it?

Well, since you've conceded the main points and agree to disavow your former positions and support our loyal readers,...okay for now. But be aware this is merely a reprieve, not a full pardon.

re: Bilski vs USPTO
Groklaw - Microsoft Patents Sudo?!! - Updated 3Xs
The patent system is broken. I am not optimistic that the legal system can adequately restore it from within, and I am even more afraid what the current crop of politicians might legislate

Speed wrote:

When is someone going to DO something about it?

I don't know. My only hypothesis is that Americans may be too brain damaged from watching television. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a non-TV-watching control group that acts much better in order to make comparisons.

The wheat spot last year was positively INSANE and amazingly outstripped oil/gasoline for a brief period of time in an inverted "V" that did lead to big problems in 3rd world nations as well as very high prices here. Rice was in short supply on fear. I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying that commodities are cooked including food sources and likely through back door mechanisms.

Enron, WorldCom, the S&L crisis, etc., etc. were all models of enrichment, applied globally, rather than examples of criminal behavior.

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

Next up for the HAMP modifications will be the elimination of the documentation requirement. You know that is coming.

reduction - probably. elimination? - not a chance It is already a "stated hardship" program to begin with.

Green Shoots !

Chase Bank will hire 1,200 U.S. mortgage loan officers - San Antonio Business Journal:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 4:40pm CST | Modified: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 4:41pm
Chase Bank will hire 1,200 U.S. mortgage loan officers
San Antonio Business Journal - by Tamarind Phinisee

Chase Bank plans to hire 1,200 mortgage loan officers nationwide by the end of 2010 in preparation of a rebounding economy.

The additional workforce will increase the financial institution’s sales force by 60 percent and will help more Chase customers finance home purchases or reduce their monthly payments through refinances.
[...]

It's not just TV. It's the whole public school thing. We teach kids that conformity is the most important value.

I won't get on my soapbox. Just wanted to bring up the point.

EHP. did you read the claims in Bilski? they're trying to patent a freaking business method for hedging...

Welcome gingerone. but

!!!!!!!!!?????????

Are any of them gonna supervise the foreclosure mess???

But we do raise the taxes on gasoline! Well because, the states need the money REAL BAD.

sdtfs
Why have you not signed an affidavit stating that you did not withhold child support payments, to that stripper you had an affair with when she was just aged 18, to prevent her from becoming homeless in the middle of winter?

lawyerliz wrote:

Are any of them gonna supervise the foreclosure mess???

Not a mention of foreclosure proceedings. This was a business report so everything is stodgily upbeat.

Somebody tell me some anecdotal stories of a financial matter-wherever it is you call home, whadya got?

Basel Too,
I haven't read through it yet, but I have seen some remarkable commentaries about it show up on my radar. I want to read more when I have the chance, even though I just have the overwhelming sense of defeat about the situation

According to city officials in Detroit, there are 80,000 abandoned industrial buildings within the city limits. This total does not include abandoned residential and commercial properties.

Here, for example, is a body frozen in a block of ice at the base of a freight elevator:

Urban exploration in Detroit: now featuring corpses in ice blocks! - CHUD Forums

Here are some representative examples of what Detroit has become:

Metro-Detroit Urban Exploration

Does this make you proud to be an American?

Dunno, but if they have to liquidate what does that do to the marks on junk debt?
.
Paging Bennie...

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Somebody tell me some anecdotal stories, whadya got?

just caught this on local CBS affiliate:

Bastrop Louisiana homeless families living in closed business locations. More than one. I'll give a link to vid when it comes up

18? Whew, I thought the court papers said 16. Must have been a typo.

The explanation? To borrow a line from an old Steve Martin routine: "I forgot."

SNL Transcripts: Steve Martin: 01/21/78: Steve Martin's Monologue

YouTube -

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:

I kept it brief because it is all besides the point. I'm just the vessel for your imaginary conversation. Please can we just drop it? There is nothing to argue about, other than your Parthian shots which I would rather concede than try and convince you otherwise

Why don'ch'all just measure pee-pees and get it over with-
Wink

mp wrote:

Does this make you proud to be an American?

Survival of the fittest! Merica, F*** Yeah!!!!

After Crete fell to the volcano/earthquake/whatever, there is evidence of people living in the
ruins. They were alive, and they had to live somewhere.

Why does this rich guy own this property? What does he hope to do with it?

Anecdotal hotel news:

A national hotel chain has said "no, thanks" to Sacramento advocates who hoped to house as many as 100 homeless people in its rooms this winter.

The sudden breakdown in negotiations with Extended Stay America is yet another blow to efforts to quickly find beds for people who, because of Sacramento County budget cuts, no longer will be able to spend their winter nights at Cal Expo.

Actually, not a bad idea for empty hotels.

lawyerliz wrote:

How about a :shame: icon

How about a blue dress with a small stain on it?

"Actually, not a bad idea for empty hotels. "

It's a horrible idea if you are a manager or owner of a hotel. Extended stay hotels already attract characters and have issues if not actively managed. Why fuel the fire?

Buying up foreclosed apartments makes far more sense IMHO, but certainly not as cheap and involves management costs as well.

I'm anecdoted out Juvie.

lawyerliz wrote:

I'm anecdoted out Juvie.

then go to Wallie World and get some more

Also that frozen guy is old news.

Rajesh wrote:

How about a blue dress with a small stain on it?

small?

More flu fun:
CDC now says 4,000 swine flu deaths in US
(AP) – 32 minutes ago

ATLANTA — Federal health officials now say that 4,000 or more Americans likely have died from swine flu — about four times the estimate they've been using.

The new, higher figure was first reported by The New York Times. It includes deaths caused by complications related to swine flu, including pneumonia and bacterial infections. Until now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had conservatively put the U.S. swine flu death count at more than 1,000. Officials said this week they're working on an even more accurate calculation.
The Associated Press: CDC now says 4,000 swine flu deaths in US

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:

re: Bilski vs USPTO
Groklaw - Microsoft Patents Sudo?!!
The patent system is broken. I am not optimistic that the legal system can adequately restore it from within, and I am even more afraid what the current crop of politicians might legislate

But we do need something. A healthy IPR regime is really important for encouraging the development of new ideas and technologies. You know, like economic growth, and not the financial Wizard of Oz kind.

It's totally broken, but I can't join ranks with those who want to abolish copyright entirely. It's done a lot of good for the world.

ndk,
hear hear

Also, Schwarzenegger's budget director is resigning. Meanwhile, the budget deficit is expected to hit $20 billion in January. New taxes are off the table, and service cuts are off too, leaving only paper shuffling to disguise the problem.

A termite infestation can easily be remedied with a little spackle and paint.

Speed wrote:

leaving only paper shuffling to disguise the problem.

More IOUs on the way.

volker the viking wrote:

small?

Ok, I admit, I wasn't paying attention at the time. I don't know how large a stain there was on the blue dress; I only remember that the wanted to check for DNA evidence. I assume that the stain was small but maybe that explains why Bill was such a ladies' man.

Check, blue dress.

Other shame symbol suggestions?

shame via internet searching

mp wrote:

Does this make you proud to be an American?

Its Detroit what do you expect?

From the link...

DETROIT -- This city has not always been a gentle place, but a series of events over the past few, frigid days causes one to wonder how cold the collective heart has grown.

It starts with a phone call made by a man who said his friend found a dead body in the elevator shaft of an abandoned building on the city's west side.

"He's encased in ice, except his legs, which are sticking out like Popsicle sticks," the caller phoned to tell this reporter.

"Why didn't your friend call the police?"

"He was trespassing and didn't want to get in trouble," the caller replied. As it happens, the caller's friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.

Its been like that there a long time - since before the 30s at least. A friend of mine had a summer job at a GM plant in Pontiac... he said one night workers got mad at the foreman and stuffed him in the trunk of a vehicle and sent it through the paint line... including the bake oven. The guy was roasted alive after being basted in paint.

My friend wasn't in that part of the plant so didn't see it nor could he identify the perps... but he heard about it... & was questioned by the police about it too... it was both racially & union/mgmt conflict motivated. Foreman was hard ass mgmt white guy - shift was hardcore union & almost 100% bottom seniority blacks... circa early 70s just a few years after the city had burned.

Hoocoodanode such a thing was possible. [/snark]

How about a dung beetle?

dryfly
I don't know what to say but I had to reply

How about a U.S. flag?

Regarding taxation of debt forgiveness, here is a good reference.pp 47-48 discuss cancellation of home mortgage debt.

It appears that so long as Liz's client is solvent, he spent the HEL on bling, the home has been sold and the holder of the 2nd gives up on it, then whatever is forgiven is taxable.

Ha. 5X you are the king of argument by assertion and links to dubious sites. Well technically you're a notch below shill, but shill is buried with morocco bama in my ignore bin.

So we have one vote that it's taxed and one not.

Now what if the 2nd mtgee doesn't do anything at all. . .for years?

Speed wrote:

Schwarzenegger's budget director is resigning.

Did someone find out they couldn't add ?
~splat

Solvency and recourse are important. As I understand it, if the bank has no prospect of recovery then the writedown probably can't be treated as income to the borrower.

How about a spanking paddle (could be fun for other uses too) -no guys, not that kind of spanking. The ones we had in school had holes in them to let the air out so that we felt the full force without said air cushioning! Nice people they were.

I nominate Dawg to replace him/her.

Nope, changed my mind, like Dawg.

Unless he would like to volunteer?

EHP - we don't get this sh*t straightened out its gonna be like that a lot of places. People have no idea the stakes involved.

If few of these modifications are successful, there could be a flood of foreclosures

I think that should be "WHEN" not if. Unless the banks/US Govt. starts just writing off the debt, people who just can't pay simply won't pay. Instant foreclosure unless we bail out the non-payers too.
~splat

Replace whom? the ice guy?

Nooo, not quite.

No hope for recovery, albrt.

edit: I mean for my 2nd mtg person and B of A.

it's all good, DOW 11K is on the horizon...

The Cali budget guy.

lawyerliz wrote:

The Cali budget guy.

I nominate Elmo. He may not be able to add up the number correctly; but he'll make us happy about them anyway.

As I understand it, if the bank has no prospect of recovery then the writedown probably can't be treated as income to the borrower.

That doesn't make sense. If I loan money to someone who then "has not prospect" of paying it back I can treat it as bad debt and ultimately a tax deduction. The tax code generally maintains "parity" by complementary rules such as alimony paid/alimony received having offsetting tax treatments.

(Not disputing that it might not be the case, just that it doesn't make sense.)

albrt wrote:

Replace whom? the ice guy?

Gosh, I've been struggling to hold back references to the Red Wings and the penalty box for a while.

Well, it doesn't make sense to tax somebody who is losing their house either.

We all belong in debtor's prison now.

Basel Too wrote:

it's all good, DOW 11K is on the horizon...

uh huh, let's have a poll:

Dow, S&P 500, Russell 2000 close as of 12/31/09

it doesn't make sense to tax somebody who is losing their house either

hence, the insolvency exception...

Found this about forclosed homes & cap gains.

If you end up showing a capital gain, you may still use the home exclusion rules to exclude up to $250,000 of that capital gain ($500,000 for married filing joint). ie. if you lived in the home for 2 of the last 5 years, etc.

WikiAnswers - What are the tax implications after your property has been foreclosed on and how does that affect an income tax return

And

Short Sale and Foreclosure Tax Implications

the government has enacted new federal legislation which is a temporary (3-year) moratorium on taxation of debt forgiveness that does not exceed the owner’s basis in the home.

Liz your latest response regarding the taxability of a defaulted 2nd was "linked" to the spanking paddle post by Nanoo-Nanoo.

Maybe you're on to something Wink

homedad43 wrote:

At first, I was a bit peeved as to why the law school grads should get preference over all of the barristas at Starbucks. But then it hit me that if this were to happen, then the debt would follow these lambs for the rest of their litigating lives.
.
Yeah, works for me.

Law students who think converting private loans into federal loans for the sake of the up to 3 years deferment period are already self-selecting themselves out of the profession. You have to be supra-sub-optimal to think that is a good idea if you spent any time in Bankruptcy courses especially when you realized how much debt you may be accruing for the opportunity to learn about BK Law.
.
Beyond the shackling of the Lawyers of Tomorrow, I would argue that the ABA law schools can see the writing on the wall, and they are protecting their own Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble with any option possible. All it would take is showing 2-4 years of graduates hung out to dry with no credit, no job, and no BK option to kill enrollment, and once that tuition wave starts to crest, I bet we'd see how many law schools have been swimming nekkid under the credit tide.
.
While being a paralegal or office manager isn't the greatest long-term profession choice compared to being an attorney--YMMV. Do your own DD--it would be heavenly compared to the debt anchor around your "superiors'" necks.

lawyerliz wrote:

We all belong in debtor's prison now.

An opportunity to meet some of the nicest people on Earth.

I believe a "train wreck" was mentioned

Well I tried to tell you baby
But it make no sense
Know you got me baby
Up against this fence
An' ain't that a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame the way you do
Well, it's a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, on you
Well now you walk out the mortgage
Don't even say you goin'
Six o'clock in the mo'nin
You go a walkin' home-less
An' ain't it a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, the HELOC way
Well, it's a shame, shame, shame
Oh it's a shame on you
Well, I be sittin' there a callin
For Fannie to rescue
When I wake up baby
I'm sittin' there all alone
An' ain't it a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, the way you do
Oh, it's a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame on all you banking fools

Nytol

mp wrote:

Does this make you proud to be an American?

And I'm proud to be an American...
...at least I know where I'll freeze...

discharging private student loans in BK is not that easy. most lenders covered their asses quite well to fall under the "qualified education loan" exception to discharge.

Ben Bernanke’s Pickle
The Pinko Bankster Sickle
Oligarchs reap the country’s wealth
Under the Federal Reserve cloak of stealth
Alas, my dollar will soon be worth a nickel

"discharging private student loans in BK is not that easy. most lenders covered their asses quite well to fall under the "qualified education loan" exception to discharge."

I bet it's real easy if those loans get re-packaged and re-sold to the Treasury via the FED.

Basel Too wrote:

most lenders covered their asses quite well to fall under the "qualified education loan" exception to discharge.

Talking that angle, at least the Feds give the students a 3 year deferral?
.
FD: I requested a deferral to the law school that admitted me last year, and I gave up my seat for this Fall. IMHO, it is a horrific time to head into any non-medical professional degree program. People have told me that things will have turned around in 3-4 years time and to not worry. Unless they are willing to make my loan payments while I cannot find a job, I don't consider their opinions too highly.

yagij wrote:

FD: I requested a deferral to the law school that admitted me last year, and I gave up my seat this Fall. IMHO, it is a horrific time to head into any non-medical professional degree program.

Medicine might not be that attractive either, depending on the outcome of the health care bill and the cost cutting that will have to accompany it.

Josap:

As I understand it, "acquisition" loans or loans that increased the home's value benefit from the temporary abeyance of taxation if the home is sold at a loss and there is a forgiveness of the loan.

BUT, if there was a 2nd or HEL that was used to buy bling, (and a few other conditions are met, including solvency), then loan forgiveness is taxable.

Can't pay the student loan? Repo their degree! Master list of failed loans and the school involved to be noted when applying for a loan. Charge the school back part of the loan.

sm_landlord wrote:

Medicine might not be that attractive either, depending on the outcome of the health care bill and the cost cutting that will have to accompany it.

I totally agree, but at least there are existing programs that allow you to get your debts forgiven after a stint serving the public and the needy. Public Interest area of the law can be a heavily "supported" area for law students and new graduates. Unsurprisingly when it comes to someone paying/forgiving the debt of those public servants, you usually get a small grant or stipend if not outright silence.

lawyerliz wrote:

We all belong in debtor's prison now.

I'm sorry. I belong in saver's prison. If it's any comfort, the conditions there are much worse.

the Income-contingent repayment plan is basically a modification of student loans, with a loan forgiveness provision for work performed in the public sector. of course, the ICR only applies to federal student loans.

FinAid | Loans | Repayment Plans | Income Contingent Repayment

from the wsj article

""It's hard to get the documents in," said Saxon Chief Executive Anthony Meola, adding that 82% of borrowers are current on their trial payments. Mortgage servicers collect loan payments and work with troubled borrowers."

"It's not clear yet what will happen to borrowers who make payments, but don't submit required paperwork."

"The administration continues to look for ways to address challenges in turning trial modifications into permanent fixes, a Treasury spokeswoman said.

Loosening documentation requirements should make it easier to complete some modifications, said Sanjiv Das, president of Citigroup's mortgage unit, which has finalized more than 1,600 of the modifications. Roughly 70% of the 68,000 borrowers in the program are current on their payments, Citigroup said."

You know where this is going...no documentation requirements for permanent mods.

Foreman was hard ass mgmt white guy - shift was hardcore union & almost 100% bottom seniority blacks

I don't want to minimise such a shocking crime, but in the last 100 years what would be the overall ratio of whites killed like this by a black mob vs blacks killed like this by a white mob (KKK lynchings etc.) . . .

You made the right decision, excepting extraordinary personal circumstances. The pay in most entry level law positions is absolutely abysmal and the subsidies for public interest work are pitifully small. Anyone attending a private law school especially needs to have their head examined.

And the market right now is just awful.

No doomstead. At least the one we were looking at. They could not "afford" our price. Maybe we can get it as a foreclosure. They wanted to negotiate but they also revealed that at least one house was running a "Primitive Septic."

yagij wrote:

I requested a deferral to the law school that admitted me last year

I would advise going to a state school or somewhere else that you can afford the tuition without taking any private loans. I was lucky - graduated with about $60K in federal guaranteed debt and my payments are only about $300 a month. Terms on the private debt are much worse. The higher ranked schools are great if you want to play the connections game, but if you aren't that type of person looking for that type of job, they aren't worth the money.

I would not advise working during law school to defray expenses. If you are going to go to law school, you should focus and do as well as you can. Grades matter a lot in determining who gets a job right out of school and who doesn't.

,rad nova,

Is "Primitive Septic" code for Gorilla Outhouse?

ozajh wrote:

I don't want to minimise such a shocking crime, but in the last 100 years what would be the overall ratio of whites killed like this by a black mob vs blacks killed like this by a white mob (KKK lynchings etc.) . . .

Easy - huge variance in 'favor' of white violence against blacks even in a northern city like Detroit. My point was NOT to blame the black/union workers nor to excuse them but rather to show: [1] there are multiple fault lines in that city [race, class, union/mgmt - etc] and [2] they have been at the braking point for generations.

Personally I'm surprised Detroit doesn't blow up more regularly. The link mp posted just shows how indifferent the population there is to it all. Nothing really new - unfortunately.

...they also revealed that at least one house was running a "Primitive Septic."

Dumping on their neighbors, so to say?

Worry not. There'll be others.

nova wrote:

No doomstead. At least the one we were looking at. They could not "afford" our price. Maybe we can get it as a foreclosure. They wanted to negotiate but they also revealed that at least one house was running a "Primitive Septic."

May be a blessing in disguise. You could have ended up with a money pit, especially if the local government forced you to bring it up to code.

homedad43 wrote:

I just flushed again and the autorefresh isn't terribly refreshing

Which theme are you using? Hoocooblue, or Legacy/Mobile? And what browser/OS version?

From Tim waiting for 2012 link :

the countersuit states that because it was related to "an unforeseeable and unprecedented economic downturn and recession," Shelbourne should not be considered in default on the loan.

Shelbourne added that the bank itself has acknowledged the unprecedented, weak economy, "as evidenced by [the bank's] own reliance on $45 billion in federal funds to maintain its business."

Well if this prevails, it will make for some interesting cases.

BTW-Tim, if you send the links to CR's email, you'll make the ht process easier.

Had the day off. Was wandering around my limousine liberal college town who's students (apparently) had the day off too. Restaurants were full. No shortage of student money.

"Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage company, recently hired Titanium Solutions Inc. to go door-to-door gathering needed documents. "Most of our borrowers got into the loan with assistance" and need similar help with the modification process, said Freddie Mac Senior Vice President Ingrid Beckles.

Susan Cook, a real-estate broker who works as a home-retention consultant for Titanium, said borrowers often report that they have sent in their paperwork "two or three times." But "there is always some little piece that is probably missing," she said."

No paperwork, nowhere, no how. The borrowers don't have it, the lender doesn't have it, does the county have it?

It's just paperwork after all. Tongue

Does anyone really doubt that, at some point, documentation will not required to finish the process?

,rads y apparatchicas,

Happy dooming, gotta go.

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

Next up for the HAMP modifications will be the elimination of the documentation requirement. You know that is coming.

Of course, but it won't be announced that way. It will be an improvement in the process of documentation, to help poor deserving liars, er, responsible homeowners, avoid the unnecessary expense, trouble, and bureaucracy of providing documentation that cannot be fabricated.

And that credit bubble, which has yet to pop, will have devastating effects for years to come as well.

The debt levels kids have been encouraged to take on over the past decade and a half us nothing short of obscene. And neither federal nor private is dischargeable.

Sacramento Bee has been running some interesting stories on the financial "crisis" lately. They ran an few articles - last week - about our much criticized squid was scamin the government (today, GS said the Bee was liberal rag and shouldn't be trusted).

The Bee has a story today about how smart amoral scumbags have influenced CalPers.

404 - Not Found - sacbee.com

volker the viking wrote:

Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China | ChinaHush

No liberal environmental wachos to worry about in China. It's the Republican wet-dream government and society.

ndk wrote:

I can't believe how arrogant and foolish he's been in trying to construct his own little empire out of the ashen ruins of AIG. FIRE HIM, TREASURY.

I agree that his actions may be repugnant, especially given what's happened to the economy. But he can always just go back to his vineyard in Italy if he doesn't get to do what he really wants to do. He doesn't need this job. I know his MO, and I am sure he is trying to recruit a few key people who can help him turn parts of AIG around. He won't get them without making attractive offers.

volker the viking wrote:

read em and weep

Wow thanks I have no right to bitch

An ounce of the barbarous would have bought 113 gallons of go-juice @ the one-armed outdoor bandit, when I had my coming out party in 1961.

Today, the same ounce will buy 375 gallons of gas...

But in some cars, the juice will now propel you 3x more miles. Not saying anyone should invest in dollars, but consuming less oil per mile is win-win-lose (oil sellers), for a net gain not just in air quality.

Jevons Paradox, my man - bring it on!

Jeffrey Sachs on employment:

FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Obama has lost his way on jobs

Interesting what an expert on Third World economic issues thinks of present day Merica.

Blue Guy Red State wrote:

FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Obama has lost his way on jobs

INteresting link, but everybody is on the new page....

Fire him and claw back every cent of salary, bonus, or option he's received. He's is a ward of the state, an Oliver Twist, so to speak, who fancies himself a Bumble. More? What an A-hole. AIG should be carved up for hamburger.

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:

Benmosche is not moving his wide ass from its corinthian leather wide executive chair according to a new company memo where he implicitly calls himself a liar, FT Alphaville » Blog Archive » Is AIG’s Benmosche staying or leaving? Both, maybe

How about WMD's as a shame symbol? Reagan taught us deficits don't matter? I could ramble on about the last 8 years, but to no point.
Seems to be a lot more shameful than a white dot on a blue dress. But I guess all the evangelicizing never took with me during childhood, for some reason, not that I don't see the blue dress thing as shameful. But there is the principle of proportionality to consider.

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