This guy has a future as a spokesman for Hiram Monserrate.
Year: 2009
It’s Bank Failure Friday!!!!
And here they are, ordered, and numbered for the year so far.
- Partners Bank, Naples, FL
- American United Bank, Lawrenceville, GA
- Hillcrest Bank Florida, Naples, Fl
- Flagship National Bank, Bradenton, FL
- Bank of Elmwood, Racine, WI
- Riverview Community Bank, Otsego, MN
- First DuPage Bank, Westmont, IL
7 banks this week….great googly moogly!
Ding Ding Ding!!!!!! We have broken the 100 mark for bank failures for this year!
Economics Update
Click for full size
Scary Picture of the Day:
Commercial Mortgage Back Security Amounts by Maturity Date
Or Maybe this is the Scary Picture, H/T Calculated Risk
Philadelphia Fed Index, State by State
Philadelphia Fed Index, Historical
As a Friday bonus, here is Barry Ritholtz, of The Big Picture schooling a blissfully ignorant ‘Phant Congressman on the Consumer Protection Agency:
Good news, everyone Existing home sales hit a two year high…Or maybe not…As Barry Ritholtz notes, there is an increase only when factoring seasonal adjustments, it fell otherwise, and those adjustments are problematic when under such circumstances.
Reinforcing Mr. Ritholtz’, and my, opinion of the state or real estate is the fact that Freddie Mac’s September delinquencies hit an all time high. (top graph)
More generally, we have the Philly Fed State Coincident Index continuing to show widespread weakness. (3rd and 4th graph down)
Also, we have the little employment tidbit that the
average unemployment period has hit 6 months, an all time high.
On the other side of the pond, UK GDP fell at twice the forecast rate, 0.4%, in the 3rd quarter.
Finally, both the dollar and the Pound Sterling rose against the Euro, and oil fell again, though it is still above $80/bbl.
Well, That Was Quick
I’m just sayin’.
Just Read Froomkin
FCC Votes to Approve Network Neutrality
The vote was unanimous, despite the fact that the phone and cable companies, <Sarcasm> who are so beloved by Americans,</Sarcasm> were lobbying against it:
US communications regulators voted unanimously to support an open Internet rule that would prevent telecom network operators from barring or blocking content based on the revenue it generated.
The proposed rule now goes to the public for comment until Jan.14, after which the Federal Communications Commissions will review the feedback and possibly seek more comment.
A final rule is not expected until the spring of next year.
Needless to say, one of the best barometers in the business, John Sidney McCain III, is trying to stop them.
Barack Obama, Objectively Pro Genital Mutilation Since 2009
Britain’s high court has ruled that all evidence of Binyam Mohamed by the CIA and its proxies will be reviewed in open court, despite the protestations of Foreign Secretary David Miliband to keep this matter hush hush.
As I noted earlier, one of the tortures was to have his genitals sliced with a scalpel and irritating liquids loured in the wounds.
This is what the British government, at the urging of the US government were trying to make “go away”.
Rather predictably, the Obama administration has condemned the decision by the court to reveal crimes against humanity:
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said: “We are not pleased”, adding that Washington kept such information confidential “to protect our own citizens”.
Anyone who did this, or allowed it to be done, is a criminal, and should be tried and imprisoned, not protected.
It should also be noted that the Obama administration has threatened to withhold intelligence from the British if the details of their torture get out.
I Love Alan Grayson*
In discussing Cheney’s comments on Afghanistan, Grayson says, “Well, my response is — and by the way, I have trouble listening to what he says sometimes, because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking, but my response is this: He’s just angry because the president doesn’t shoot old men in the face. But by the way, when he was done speaking, did he just then turn into a bat and fly away?”
I love this for two reasons:
- It’s wicked funny.
- This, like his “Republicans want you to die”, comment, completely marginalizes his opponents by showing who they truly are.
*In a 110% purely heterosexual kind of way, of course, as the General would say.
Heh.
So, it appears that the same day that Sarah Palin’s autobiography, Going Rogue, is coming out, a collection of essays criticizing her, Going Rouge, edited by two editors from The Nation magazine.
They have something in common. Sarah Palin has not penned a single word in either.
That Explains It, Conservatives Cannot Get It Up
Look at the graph. It appears that Obama’s election victory actually depressed testosterone levels in Republican men.
They tested hormone levels in spit throughout the evenint.
I always thought that there was an element of the fear of emasculation in the Republican response, but I am shocked that we actually have clinical data to support this.
House Moves Against Insurance Company
We have the House Judiciary Committee voting to strip insurance companies of their antitrust exemption, and the the House leadership is aggressively pushing an expansive model for the public option for health insurance.
This may very well be a winner. I would note that 3 ‘Phants crossed aisle in the HJC vote to strip the antitrust exemption, which is an indication of how unpopular the insurance companies have become.
When ¼ of the Republican members committee of the “party of no” vote for this, it is an indication of just how unpopular they are.
I am still not optimistic about the prospect for meaningful healthcare reform, but I am more optimistic, and is largely because the Democrats have largely found their feet, largely on the (largely true) message that insurance companies are evil.
The Warning
The story Brooksley Born, and how her efforts to regulate derivatives, on Frontline.
It’s worth watching, even though it’s 55 minutes long.
I think that the description of Alan Greenspan is a very good argument for shorter terms and/or more restrictive term limits on members of the Federal Reserve.
Least Shocking Factoid of the Day
It turns out that the Federal Housing Administration is ill-equipped to handle the explosion in mortgage loans that it is handling as a result of the private banks pulling back:
The Federal Housing Administration may be under-equipped to manage its exploding market share, according to an internal audit released last week. The report gave the FHA poor marks for its steps to screen lenders that are allowed to sell loans backed by the federal agency.
The FHA’s market share has grown sharply as the private mortgage market collapsed over the past two years, and the FHA now insures around one-quarter of all U.S. mortgages, up from around 2% in 2006. The FHA doesn’t actually make loans, and instead insures lenders against losses. To make FHA-backed loans, lenders and brokers must apply to the FHA to become certified by the agency.
The audit, by the inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, found that the agency was under-equipped to manage a big inflow in applications by lenders to make FHA-backed loans. The number of FHA-approved lenders more than tripled in 2008 to around 3,300 from 1,000 in 2007.
Gee, you think?
The people what cheated honest folks during the housing boom are going where the money is.
It’s another example of why the entire 60+ year focus on supporting home ownership of our government should be abandoned.
It gives us suburban sprawl, global warming, housing bubbles, mortgage fraud, and various other mishugas, all of it bad….He said from his home, which he bought with a mortgage, in a suburb of Baltimore, MD.
Wrong!
So, someone at CNBC with too much time on their hands is reporting that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is asking people to limit their showers to 3 minutes so as to conserve water.
This is wrong on 2 levels:
- Why this is a story on the CNBC front page is beyond me.
- Hugo Chavez should suggest that you shower with a loved one to conserve water….It just brightens up your whole day.
Insider Trading Wiretap May Be Result of Terror Investigation
On top of his arrest for insider trading, Raja Rajaratnam now faces a civil suit over his alleged funding of the Tamil Tigers terror group.
Mr. Rajaratnam is a Tamil born in Sri Lanka, and he has given to organizations that have later been shut down and accused of funneling money to the LTTE, so it is hardly surprising that he was the subject of a wiretap.
My older post does not mention Tamil tiger link, but suggests that the introduction of wiretaps against Wall Street crooks is a good thing.
Unfortunately, it now appears that the wiretaps may not be a case of regulators choosing a tool to pursue fraud, but just an a terror investigation revealing a different crime.
There are Some Sick F%$#s Out There
Funny, but really, really, sick.
Congress Passes Hate Crimes Legislation
Obama is expected to sign it.
One surprise:
The 68-29 vote was a victory for civil rights groups that have long sought to expand the federal statute beyond attacks motivated by religion, race, color or national origin.
The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign, includes penalties for assaults based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity.
(emphasis mine)
For some reason, I thought that disability was already a protected class.
In fact, Sharon,* who does special ed consulting and advocacy, thought that the disabled were already a protected class too.
*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.
Buy Nabisco
The DoJ has just issue a memo that basically suggests that prosecutors back off on busting medical marijuana providers.
I see an upsurge in the demand for Fig Newtons and ice cream sammiches.
FWIW, I support anything that moves ganja toward legalization.
This is pretty weak tea, but it is a start.
Because Nothing is More Important Than College Football
Orrin Hatch is asking Barack Obama to investigate college football’s Bowl Championship Series to see if it violates antitrust law.
It appears that BYU and the University of Utah are at a disadvantage, and Hatch thinks something should be done.
Dude, how about a protest song on your next record.
Moron.
I will note that I think that the college sports system needs to be investigated. I think that the players are treated like plantation slaves, but I’m not a US Senator.
AIDS Vaccine Trial Success Downgraded
On further review of the numbers it appears that the effects are barely statistically significant, as opposed to a (rather astonishing) 32% effectiveness.
My earlier post on this.