Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today’s list.
The top of today’s reading list reports on easing of guidelines for getting a new mortgage after foreclosure…….. and the last article says the Federal Reserve has devastated three generations of retirees.
- New Lifeline for Home Buyers (Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal) FHA cuts waiting period to 1 year for buyers who earlier faced foreclosure provided they have “repaired credit”.
- Wall Street Knows a Bad Trade When it Sees One (Joshua M. Brown, The Reformed Broker) Quoting The New York Post:
Terrified of “Steamroller” Eliot Spitzer, heavy hitters on Wall Street have abandoned their ambitious plan to inject millions of dollars into the race for city comptroller to help elect Scott Stringer, The Post has learned.
- Shadow of False Iraq Intelligence Hangs Over Syria Strike (Terry Atlas, Bloomberg) Do we know who really set off the chemical weapons?
- No, This Stock Market Is Not the ‘Next Great Bubble’ (Matthew O’Brien, The Atlantic)
- Autumn’s Known Unknowns (Nouriel Roubini, Project Syndicate)
So far, investors have been complacent about the risks posed by the looming budget fight. They believe that – as in the past – the fiscal showdown will end with a midnight compromise that avoids both default and a government shutdown. But investors seem to underestimate how dysfunctional US national politics has become. With a majority of the Republican Party on a jihad against government spending, fiscal explosions this autumn cannot be ruled out.
- The all you can eat collateral buffet (Izabella Kaminska, FT Alphaville) Quite long and wonkish discussion leading to the conclusion that the Fed could become the national savings bank.
- Rising Rates Causing Buyers to Back Out (Daily Real Estate News, Realtor Mag)
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen from a record low average of 3.31 percent in November to 4.51 percent today, according to Freddie Mac.”
- Study reveals ‘true’ material cost of development say researchers (Matt McGrath, BBC News) Hat tip to Dan Flemming. Current methods of measuring the full material cost of imported goods are highly inaccurate say researchers. Three times as many raw materials are used to process and export traded goods than are used in their manufacture.
- How Fed Policy Has Devastated Three Generations of Retirees (Dennis Miller, John Mauldin, Outside the Box) (Free subscription necessary to read entire article.)