Economy
GOP Gags Witnesses on Credit Card Woes
Republicans on a consumer credit subcommittee required witnesses to waive privacy rights to their financial history before testifying about run-ins with credit card companies.
'Toxic Titles' Haunt Cities in Mortgage Meltdown
Investors fueled the market for risky mortgages, and now cities and neighborhoods must handle the fallout.
A New Kind of Fair Housing Debate
As Allison noted earlier, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson finally feels it's time for "more transparency" on Wall Street, especially if unregulated mortgage firms want access to the Fed's money. As my story today noted, there's a growing anger among housing advocates over what they see as special treatment from the Fed for subprime lenders, while homeowners facing foreclosures are told the government can't help them.
Activist Approach to Ayn Rand
As former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan continues to spin his defense of his legacy, we noted this week that his early mentor, Ayn Rand, would have approved of his unapologetic stance on laissez-faire capitalism and his aversion to government regulation of the financial markets. We also explained that the late author once had a cultish following that has waned in popularity. Some people pick up her books as youthful readers, then never look back. As one Huffington Post reader put it, in response to the story: "I read "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" and I was very impressed WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL."
Adoption Rules Tighten Abroad
Cultural changes, restrictions and shutdowns are changing the landscape of families produced by the "adoption revolution."
All Politics Isn't Local, Apparently
So the Democratic presidential candidates came to Cleveland and talked about Farrakhan instead of foreclosures.
Not surprisingly, the locals are not happy. What was Tim Russert thinking, anyway?
And If You're Irish It's a Double Whammy
Some employers are beginning to specify in help wanted ads for new jobs that no mortgage brokers need apply, the O.C. Register's Mortgage Insider reports.
Another Food Crisis Cause?
Did the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund somehow contribute to the global food crisis? That's the intriguing question Salon's Andrew Leonard poses. He points out that policies by both agencies in the 1980s and 1990s required developing countries to pull back on government intervention in their economies in return for aid. Developing nations also were encouraged to open their borders up for free trade.
Bailout Bernanke: Hero of Wall Street
Why did the the Fed think it had to pay to make a deal happen, instead of letting the market take its course?
Buffet: Big Banks Getting Just Desserts
As one investment bank after the next posts billions in losses resulting from the mortgage and credit crises, billionaire investor Warren Buffet said yesterday that the banks are simply getting what they deserve, according to numerous reports today.
Bush's Nose Grows
Over at Economist's View, Mark Thoma points out that the placement of the play button on this video of President Bush (at the bottom of the post) makes him look like Pinocchio as he argues against plans to limit foreclosures.
But Spending Quality Time with McCain and Huckabee Made it All Worth It
$136,054.
That's how much Mitt Romney ended up spending per delegate during his recent failed quest for the presidential nomination, Underbelly notes.
Can't We All Just Get Along?
Immigration, that snaggletooth of an issue that has set the Bush administration against its conservative base, is now driving a wedge between Republican leaders in the House and Senate as well. It seems that the House economic stimulus bill -- which has White House support -- does too little, in the eyes of some GOP senators, to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving benefits.
Clinton Claims Better Housing Plan
Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have some notions about how to address the nation’s housing crisis. At the debate last night, Clinton contended she’s got a more significant plan, including a proposed five-year freeze on mortgage interest rates.
Whether she’s right or not – her ideas aren’t actually drawing a lot of fans in the business world – may be irrelevant.
Communities Stung by Fannie Mae Sales to Speculators
Related: 'Toxic Titles' Haunt Cities in Mortgage Meltdown
Credit Check Induces Panic Selling
Stocks took a tumble after Treasury Secretary Henry A. Paulson Jr. said yesterday that investment banks might be required to provide more information on their dealings in return for access to money from the Fed. Note that Paulson didn't go as far to recommend the "R" word - Regulation.
But apparently any possible intrusion into the investment banking world merits panic.
This is all very rich, considering the financial services industry has been claiming for years that any regulation would freeze up the markets by drying up capital. Considering the scope of the credit crunch, they seem to have done a fine job of that all by themselves.
Credit Crisis Not Near Over, Happy Monday
Wachovia Corp. said today it had a surprise $350 million first-quarter loss and will raise $7 billion by selling stock to prop up its troubled bottom line.
Credit Crisis Only Begins With Mortgages
The hard reality is that the economy is facing a one-two knockout blow from a collapse in consumer spending, plus a shock-and-awe wave of asset write-downs that is wreaking havoc in the financial sector.
Crisis of Partisanship Trumps Economic Turmoil
Will thousands of daily foreclosures trigger action on the Hill?
Debt Creeps Into Democratic Campaign
The bankruptcy experts over at creditslips.org, while careful to shy away from actually going down that road, nonetheless picked apart the comments on bankruptcy that came up during the recent Democratic presidential debate. Bankruptcy reform, passed in 2005, made it harder for consumers to wipe away certain debts. Robert Lawless, a law professor and bankruptcy expert at the University of Illinois College of Law, summed things up this way: "It is only Sen. Obama who can claim he did the right thing."
More from Lawless:
