Tuesday, April 25, 2006


Mortgage Rates Up, Foreclosures Up, Seatbelts On


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Some very wise words about the economy, and the housing bubble, by Mike Whitney over at CounterPunch. There's a lot in the piece, which is headlined "Preparing for the Economic Typhoon," but here's an excerpt of some of what is said about the bubble:
The eroding value of the dollar is just one of the economic crises facing the American people. A 6 month downturn in housing starts signals that the housing bubble, the largest equity bubble in history, is quickly losing steam. With long term interest rates steadily rising (along with energy prices) the shaky loans that were blessed by former Fed-chief, Greenspan, are beginning to unravel. "No down payment", ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) and easy financing have the over-extended American public teetering towards insolvency. Foreclosures are up, mortgages balances are at unprecedented levels, and inventories are larger than they've been since the early 90s. Last month produced the biggest slowdown in sales in a decade and the real pain hasn't even begun. At least $3 trillion of the $9 trillion equity bubble is built entirely on the cheap money pumped into the system by the Federal Reserve to keep the economy percolating while Bush and Co. stole every last farthing in the US Treasury. Greenspan's low interest rates were nothing more than a carnival-hucksters' scam to shift the vast wealth of America's middle class into the pockets of well-heeled constituents.

Thanks, Alan.
Read the rest at CounterPunch.

-- The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble/Los Angeles and Beyond