This development takes the bond insurers out of the headlights for now, although Moody’s still rates MBIA as having a negative outlook. Credit default swaps on the monoline have fallen 240 basis points to 615, according to Bloomberg. Note also that the rating agency is cool on the idea of a split. From Reuters: Moody’s […]
Read more...To paraphrase the late Senator Everett Dirksen, a handout here, a handout there, and pretty soon it adds up to real money. The latest supplicants looking for alms from the Federal purse are state governors on behalf of local governments hit by the auction rate securities debacle. So far, they have not developed a proposal. […]
Read more...A bit late to this item, which appeared on Bloomberg. Remarkaby, their headline does not mention the most newsworthy item, which is the possible recanting of the preliminary earnings announcement. At a minimum, this would seem to raise questiona about the quality of controls. The decision to stop writing asset-backed securities guarantees for six months […]
Read more...Some of the cloud over MBIA was removed today as Standard and Poor’s affirmed its AAA. However, the number one bond insurer still has a negative outlook. The AAA for Ambac was also affirmed based on its capital raising plan and likelihood of being able to implement that plan. However, it remains on review for […]
Read more...The market is wiling to treat thin gruel as nourishment. We saw an impressive 250 point rally in the Dow on Friday and an over 400 point gain in the Nikkei based on the improving odds of a rescue of troubled number two bond guarantor Ambac. But what is this salvage operation, exactly? The Wall […]
Read more...First, let’s start with a general premise: if a borrower has a reasonable ability to service his mortgage (and “reasonable” is in the eye of the beholder, but one has to assume it better be north of 50% of a “fair” rate) it’s better to renegotiate and keep him in place. Now that we have […]
Read more...The markets seem to think so…..From Doug Noland at Prudent Bear: Now Fannie is in theory a good credit, but its implicit Federal guarantee has never been tested. Market observers may be worried that many of the “rescue the homeowner” proposals, starting with what Tanta calls “Loans Formerly Known as Jumbos” now eligible for the […]
Read more...Steve Waldman at Interfluidity reminds us that bailouts can be useful or misguided, depending on the circumstances. Trying to shore up overvalued assets is simply a bad idea and often compounds the damage. Unfortunately, as we will discuss in this post, the use of Waldman’s criteria demonstrates that many of the proposed housing market rescue […]
Read more...This post comes in significant degree from jck at Alea, who has access to the report, “Counterparty risk in credit markets,” from Barclays Capital and was kind enough to post the summary of key points. Despite the link, I seem unable to download it, but the summary is sufficiently detailed that I don’t think I […]
Read more...We aren’t in a position to answer the question posed in the headline, but following a leak that lead to a 250 point rally in the Dow, the noises coming from the team trying to rescue the troubled number two bond insurer have suddenly taken an optimistic tone. While the initial reports were vague, the […]
Read more...Floyd Norris in the New York Times has an interesting article that laments the fact that, unlike past financial crises, no one has stepped forward to encourage the sort of risk-taking needed to restore order to the markets. Even though I enjoyed the piece, ultimately, the effort to look for a single agent to rally […]
Read more...Man, not only does the Administration tell whoppers, but it is completely shameless about them. The latest sighting comes from Reuters: Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel told the Reuters Housing Summit it is proper for homeownership to hold a special status…. “If I default on my credit card debt, no one here knows and it has […]
Read more...Individuals and institutions are capable of considerable self-deception when faced with difficult choices. The Fed’s latest signals about what it intends to do about inflation are a classic example. Both Bloomberg and the Financial Times tell us that the central bank stands ready to raise rates quickly to ward off inflation. From Bloomberg: Federal Reserve […]
Read more...Any doubts that we are going down the Japan path of trying to shore up inflated asset value rather than letting the market find the right level, should now be over. Bloomberg tells us that the Office of Thrift Supervision is looking into a plan that will enable homeowners to refinance houses that have negative […]
Read more...Full disclosure: I am no fan of the Wall Street Journal’s editorials: in fact, I’ve commented on the liberties they often take with facts. But when they are on a pet peeve, they can become so overwrought that the level of agitation alone is amusing. And just because they are often wrong doesn’t mean they […]
Read more...