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Phase 2 of the Real Bailoutâ„¢ is here


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2008 Feb 27, 2:33am   26,931 views  273 comments

by HARM   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Portfolio Caps Will Be Lifted (Update2)

Phase 1 : Congress raised the GSE (Fannie and Freddie) conforming loan limit from $417,000 to $729,000.

Phase 2 : Congress instructs the OFHEO to lift portfolio caps on the GSEs (which were placed there because of GSE "accounting irregularities" and concerns about the GSE's size/share of market).

Next up...

Phase 3 : Eliminating all qualifying “standards” on the type of mortagages the GSEs can buy: allowing no-docs/NINJAs, neg-ams, I/Os, option ARMs and assorted hybrids.

Phase 4 : Congress making implicit GSE guarantees explicit, and taxpayers assuming/liquidating the portfolios of the soon-to-be bankrupt GSEs (RTC, part II)

Can’t happen, you say? Never say “never” where a bought-off "Socialize all losses" Con-gress and whining, clueless, bleating "why me?" sheeple are concerned.

HARM

« First        Comments 239 - 273 of 273        Search these comments

239   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 12:39am  

DennisN Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 8:34 am
"Wouldn’t a simple anti-personel mine field be a much cheaper and more effective barrier? You can’t get over those with either a ladder or a coyote."

Border security is a political problem meaning the goal isn't to actually make the border secure, it is to continuously talk about it and look like you are going to make it secure. You go and put a minefield there, you'll actually make the border secure and then what, nothing left to talk about.

240   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 12:39am  

What happens when a disgruntled guest does an upper-decker into your gold bullion stash?

It is still golden.

241   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 12:41am  

Peter P Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 8:36 am
"Then we will need a double-layered fence to keep people from the mine field. "

The American corporate solution would be a warning label.

242   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 12:41am  

On the mines that is.

243   DinOR   2008 Feb 28, 12:42am  

"the less gold you have left over" LOL!

(Why do I always miss the Great Gold Debates?) Must be past my bedtime?

Great article in the "O" yesterday about "the real gold"! There's a lot of biblical references but Norway has opened a "doomsday vault" deep within an Arctic mountain where millions of crop seeds will be stored to safeguard against wars or natural disasters wiping out global food crops!

Really interesting stuff. I gues the P.I had one but (as you likely guessed)... it flooded during a typhoon.

www.croptrust.org

www.seedvault.no

God help us.

244   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 12:43am  

I saw a show about that. It was very interesting.

245   DinOR   2008 Feb 28, 12:48am  

Crop Diversity NOW Man!

All crops were created equal!

No seriously, I'm glad there's someone, somewhere in a think tank conjuring this stuff up. (I sure never would have thought of it?) I guess in that environment they say the seeds can be stored for up to 1,000 years.

Helps a guy sleep a little better at night. I'll trade you all of my crop seeds for all of your GOLD! Oh, uh... wait a minute...?

246   northernvirginiarenter   2008 Feb 28, 12:56am  

Bernanke says time for long-term mortgage answers

Thursday, February 28, 2008; 11:15 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that it was time to move beyond temporary fixes to the subprime mortgage mess and look for long-term solutions.

"It's important for us and for the servicers to move beyond temporary palliatives ... and try to find more permanent, sustainable solutions," Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee.

"I would urge you to continue to work on FHA modernization and GSE reform, two areas that can help us meet these challenges," Bernanke said. "Additional steps may be necessary in the future ... but I don't have any additional recommendations right now."

247   HeadSet   2008 Feb 28, 12:58am  

Concerning a New York Times article pity piece on "heavily mortgaged Americans ("Solutions the Public Hates", in the Patrick reading)

But readers aren't biting. More than 400 vehement reader comments on the Times' site ran 20-to-1 against any taxpayer rescue - with fairness and basic economics the main objections

Hope! Maybe the politicols will notice public outcry to a bailout and Harm's 3rd and 4th phases may be aborted.

248   DennisN   2008 Feb 28, 1:03am  

The worst thing about a 10 oz gold bar is how tiny it really seems. How big was it - the size of a large dog biscuit?

249   DennisN   2008 Feb 28, 1:11am  

The American corporate solution would be a warning label.

In English, American sign language, and braille-Spanish. :)

250   OO   2008 Feb 28, 1:14am  

Small dog biscuit.

251   DennisN   2008 Feb 28, 1:17am  

A little off topic...

Boy those Aussies have fortitude. www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/02/28/international/i053105S05.DTL&tsp=1

"My boat sank. I'll just swim 12 hours to the beach."

252   OO   2008 Feb 28, 1:17am  

Hoarding silver is much more gratifying, at least you get something in return that is substantial.

253   DinOR   2008 Feb 28, 1:17am  

Headset,

I'm glad we're getting the exposure, really I am. I think though writers like Michelle Malkin are getting much more traction. Her... solution to the subprime "crisis"?

Suck. It. Up.

What I have noticed though is a quiet convergence of "bubble coverage". Even Nik Ritchie at Dirty is lampooning the likes of Daniel Sadek and other "D-Bag" mortgage brokers. If we've in any small way inspired them... we're only too happy!

254   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 1:17am  

I'd guess was roughly about 3-4 inches tall. It was thick though. What's cool is how heavy it was for its small size, it felt like you were holding wealth. That's the only way to describe it.

255   DinOR   2008 Feb 28, 1:19am  

NVR,

Thanks for that observation. A short while back I noted that there was hope when HP & BB spoke last that they were moving past band-aids and on to more permanent solutions.

256   OO   2008 Feb 28, 1:19am  

weight wise, you really have to experience it to hold a gold bar in your hand, an entirely different sensation from holding money.

size wise, very depressing, it's like, I paid all that much for this little guy?

257   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 1:21am  

More like 3 inches, I'm envisioning it in my hand, if you squeeze your three middle fingers together that's about as tall as it was. I think it was a Credit Suisse bar. I like the Fortuna bars, they have a very pretty image on the front.

258   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 1:23am  

OO, you have to admit though that in a sense the small size is neat. I used to thing, wow, that is a lot of money/wealth/whatever to cram in such a small space.

259   HeadSet   2008 Feb 28, 1:25am  

DinOr,

Now hopefully some of that will spill into the "change" we keep hearing about.

260   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 1:29am  

Knowing that it is recognized like money anywhere in the world is part of the charm. If I give you some printed money from some country you never heard about you have no idea what you're holding, but with that gold bar you could go and get dollars for it, or you could go to some third world country and buy a slave or have someone killed. The concept of gold is a very interesting relic from ancient times.

261   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 1:30am  

think, not thing, God my typing :(

262   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 1:53am  

Look at this 12 oz gold coin. I bet it is not very big physically.

http://www.pandaamerica.com/details.asp?item=5297&grp=1&categ=32

263   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 2:00am  

Which coin dealer do you guys use?

I am looking for a nice 20 Franc Helvetia. It just looks pretty to me. Perhaps I can use it for meditation.

264   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 2:11am  

I would guess that coin is the size of one of those large gold chocolate coins. Pretty, but man that is a hell of a premium over spot.

You'll need to medidate if you own that thing. Like we were saying, owning physical gold in any substantial quantity brings on new stresses.

Namaste-/\

265   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 2:13am  

I would guess that coin is the size of one of those large gold chocolate coins. Pretty, but man that is a hell of a premium over spot.

Yeah, I joked with my wife that if I order that online, the chocolate version will come instead. :)

You’ll need to medidate if you own that thing. Like we were saying, owning physical gold in any substantial quantity brings on new stresses.

Wealth is no wealth if it brings stress.

266   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 2:15am  

That's why I like to simplify. Very true, I have friends with the big house and all that good stuff, they are suing this contractor, being sued by that contractor, uh I don't get people.

267   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 2:16am  

From pictures online, it seems that the Krugerrands have a beautiful red-tint (due to copper contents?).

On the other hand, is the softness in the Maples a issue? I heard that many dealers will buy them only at melt price.

268   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 2:18am  

Many people are not ready to receive wealth. It is essential to understand the concept of abundance.

269   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 2:21am  

That is true of most common coins, which is why I'd caution on paying any premium over spot. My buffalos got $5 over spot when I sold them.

Don't worry about the softness, that is somewhat BS, just like a jewelry store will say 18K is too soft which is why they only carry 14K. BS. Pure gold is soft in comparison to other metals but you can't pinch it or anything like that. You can't bend it, if you drpped a pure gold coin onto a hard surface it might leave an impression.

So don't drop a pure collectible gold coin onto a hard surface - yes, that's financial advice.

270   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 2:22am  

Peter P Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 10:18 am
"Many people are not ready to receive wealth. It is essential to understand the concept of abundance."

Let's leave the boomers out of this.

271   Peter P   2008 Feb 28, 2:26am  

The maple platinum coins look nice though. Unlike gold, platinum is HARD.

272   Malcolm   2008 Feb 28, 2:27am  

And guys, please, if you do take your gold in to a coin shop DO NOT wear a fanny pack on the way out. Not only might you get robbed, but you are likely to get your ass kicked for making that kind of fashion statement.

Not financial advice.

273   yodaking   2008 Mar 4, 5:36pm  

(sorry; I posted this question in other threads)

Hi, I was hoping somebody here could point me to a good free foreclosure listings site? (if it even exists) All the ones I see, you have to pay to access full listings.

Much appreciated in advance.

Cheers

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