From the monthly archives:
Some more news on the economic front this morning …
* Mortgage applications plunged in the week ended September 26, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The purchaseindex dropped 10.9% from the previous week, while the refinance index tanked 34.7%. At 304.8, the purchase index is thelowest since February 2002. Interest rates were relatively stable (6.07% [...]
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These seem to be the latest angles of attack for the government, which is wrestling with how to amend or replace thebailout bill. From a New York Timesitem:
“As they worked to make the government bailout plan more palatable, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on Tuesdayboth proposed raising the federal insurance limit to $250,000 in [...]
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It seems like some form of bailout bill is all but a done deal at this point, though we’re still waiting on thedetails. In the meantime, the “real” economy (as opposed to the financial one) is showing signs of slumping fast.
Durable goods ordersplunged 4.5% in August – more than double the 1.9% decline that economists [...]
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So what are my thoughts on this gazillion dollar attempted bailout of the financial system?
Well, if unfettered American capitalism wasn’t already on its deathbed due to the earlier bailout efforts, it’s lyingon a cold slab somewhere now. For better or for worse, the government is now intimately involved in everything from thepricing of mortgage backed [...]
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The Fed left the funds rate unchanged at today’s policy meeting. Here is the post-meeting statement …
“The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 2 percent.
“Strains in financial markets have increased significantly and labor markets have weakened further. Economic growthappears to have slowed recently, partly reflecting [...]
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What more can I say? The chaos continues. AIG is the area of biggest focus in the credit market, given the gigantic size of its portfolio and the risks it is facing. FromBloomberg:
“American International Group Inc.’s ratings cut drove the cost of default protection on Wall Street banks to a recordon speculation the insurer needs [...]
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Today was one of the ugliest days in the market in a long, long time. The Dow closed down 504 points. The S&P500 plunged 4.6%, the worst day since right after the 9/11 attacks. The CBOE SPX Volatility Index, or VIX, soared six full points to 31.70. Long bond futures skyrocketedby 3 23/32 in price, [...]
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I’ve been pretty busy, so I didn’t get a chance to blog on this story in the Wall StreetJournal from earlier today. But it appears Warren Buffett isn’t exactly bullish on the outlook for bank safety. Isay that because he is reportedly getting out of the business of covering deposits that exceed the FDIC’s insurancelimit. [...]
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