Do We Need A Dow 2.0? – By Peter G. Miller – It’s likely true that home values have stayed level for 20 years at a time. However, the context is that real estate is not alone. Securities values have also stayed level for 20 years at a time. As to what will happen in the future, no one knows — not even Suze Orman…. – hattip Peter Miller - Our Broker
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on securitization – In the Packaging of Loans, a Bust With Precedent – By FLOYD NORRIS – NY Times
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Seeking a Safer Way to Securitization – By FLOYD NORRIS – … There are several essential elements to any fix. The underlying loans have to be of better quality. The investors have to believe that is the case and that they are being compensated for risks that were much higher than they previously believed. Another 30 percent collapse in home prices is unlikely, but it will be a while before anyone’s models deem such a thing impossible. There are two ways being suggested to deal with the quality issue. Mr. Dugan favors using government edicts to set lending standards. Other officials want to find ways to use the market system to promote better lending. … – NY Times
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Wells Fargo Shuns Carry-Trade, Braces for Risk of Higher Rates – By Dakin Campbell - Wells Fargo & Co., unlike its three biggest competitors, is so convinced interest rates will rise that it sacrificed as much as $1 billion last year cutting back on fixed-income investments. – BusinessWeek
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Default Risk For Financials Shoots Up – Bespoke Investment Group
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The Goldman Sachs Guide To Surviving 2010 – Vincent Fernando – Here’s a cut of key slides we pulled from Goldman’s massive February ‘Global Themes and Risks’ presentation pack – Money Game at Business Insider
Bill Gross: The Sovereign Debt Crisis Is "Subprime" All Over Again – Joe Weisenthal – … As for the question of magnitude, in a way it’s not about the size of the defaults. Subprime loans were never that big. Lehman wasn’t that big. Greece and Portugal aren’t huge countries. But it’s about nervousness and contagion. Who owns what, and what will they sell to raise cash? … text and video – – Money Game at Business Insider
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Nonperforming Loans in China Rise to "Trillions of Renminbi" – MISH’S Global Economic Trend Analysis
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Taleb Says ‘Every Human’ Should Short U.S. Treasuries – By Michael Patterson and Cordell Eddings – … “Deficits are like putting dynamite in the hands of children,” Taleb said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “They can get out of control very quickly.” … –
Bloomberg