Nothing like kicking off the new year on a positive note. And, I can assure you, what you are about to read is anything but “positive.”

In fact, when it comes to the ever expanding subprime mortgage fiasco,the fun, say some experts, is only about to begin.

Before 2008 slips into 2009, some 1.8 million homeowners are projected to go into foreclosure because their low interest rates, used to lure them into making a purchase they clearly are unable to afford, will morph overnight into much higher rate mortgages.

A counselor to President Bush is even saying, “There’s more to be done we think on the housing front to address the concerns people have about the housing markets,” Reuters quotes Ed Gillespie as saying aboard Air Force One.

Gillespie’s advocacy of more steps to be taken by Congress and the President comes at a time when just about all economic signs look bad.

The subprime mortgage crisis, remember, stopped being a subprime mortgage crisis a long time ago . . . We are now right in the middle of a credit crisis of global proportions causing more and more people to utter that word that dare not be spoken: recession.

Like all new years, 2008 gives us all an opportunity for self evaluation and motivation to take the bull by the horns and try and change things for the better.

This is an attitude that will come in handy, I predict, in the days,weeks and months ahead, as the nation and the world try to emerge from this credit debacle reasonable in one piece.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

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Tags: Bush, congress mortgage crisis, credit crisis, homes, president, recession

The President and others in office continue to tell us how well our economy is doing. Lets take a look at some of the latest news to see how things are really doing . . .

Today, according to Breitbart.com, the Federal Reserve added 31.25 billion dollars in temporary reserves to the US money markets Thursday in three different operations, the latest move to keep credit markets from drying up.

The New York Fed added 7.0 billion dollars in 14-day repurchase agreements, 16 billion in seven-day repurchase agreements and 8.25 billion in one-day repos. The Fed has injected some 200 billion dollars into the financial system since August 9 in a bid to boost credit flows which have seized up due to problems linked to the distressed US mortgage market.

Does it sound like things here in the states are healthy??

I look at phrases like “credit flows which have seized up due to problems linked to the distressed US mortgage market” and “the latest move to keep credit markets from drying up” as bad signs, don’t you?

So, thanks to the Mortgage Disaster, the fed has now pumped $200 BILLION dollars into the economy to keep it afloat . . . I’m not quite convinced by the argument that we’re in for a smooth sailing economy.

To further my sinking feeling about things, the Mortgage Bankers Association released a report today, stating that mortgage-holders starting the foreclosure process in the April-June quarter reached 0.65 percent, marking the third consecutive quarter that this figure has set an all-time high. Further, with home sales falling, the inventory of unsold homes rising and prices stagnant, some speculators are choosing to default on their mortgages.

DAMN SPECULATORS!!!

As I’ve said in the past, while the economy is certainly weak, and the housing market continues to look bad, despite what the NAR and the Government say, this is the perfect time to learn about investing. There are opportunities presenting themselves everywhere in the country, and if you can learn how to capitalize on the foreclosure market, you can do quite well, even in this crazed economy and market.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Announces Plan to Abandon Lenders and Investors

With that in mind, I thought it would be important to mention the words of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who commented in a speech last Friday, the central bank is ready to cut rates if turmoil in financial markets starts spilling over to the general economy. But, Bernanke added, “it is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions.“

Interesting . . .
So the chairman doesn’t think the Fed should protect lenders or investors, even though the Government did nothing but encourage all of the activity that led to the current Housing-Mortgage-SubPrime-Economic Crisis.

Looks like we’re on our own folks . . .

Tags: Ben-Bernanke, bernanke, Bush, credit-flows, fed, federal reserve, foreclosure, Housing, Mortgage-Bankers-Association