Stocks moved higher in late trade on ostensibly good news. Initial claims for unemployment took a surprise drop of 43,000 to 440,000 last week, a volatile series, the more reliable 4-week moving average fell just 1,000 to 468,500.
RealtyTrac reported a nearly 10% decline in foreclosure activity during January to 315,716 events. From a year ago foreclosures are 15% higher, expectations are that activity will increase sharply this year. Breaking a string of gains and posing some real questions about the future, the NAR reported that the median home price fell 3% in the 4th quarter of 2009 and is 4.1% lower than a year ago. The western region was the only one to register a positive price gain during the quarter.
Big American banks are rapidly becoming synonymous with financial scandal, failure, fraud and monumental losses that they have so far managed to get us taxpayers to pay for. Turns out Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government with some cleverly designed derivatives to conceal not only the true level of sovereign Greek debt but also to allow the countries economic data relating to budget deficits appear much better than they in fact were. For an, “ahem” small fee of course. As this story develops it seems that other banks were involved in these types of transactions as well and that they were popular with a number of Mediterranean countries, and I’m sure other countries as well.
Given CitiGroups latest clever idea to create and sell financial crises derivatives- yes you heard that right, so that they and their kind can bet against the next financial crises they engineer. I’m left nearly speechless, the stunning display of chutzpah, complete and utter disregard for the consequences of there actions both past, present and future. Demonstrate once again that the banks care about one thing and only one thing and that is a profit, the costs don’t matter, and the consequences of their actions are immaterial. Because the attitude is, so long as we make a profit, hit the numbers and I get my beyond obscene bonus I don’t care whom or what gets “bleeped” and thrown under the bus in the process.
Regulation is the answer here, the tighter the better and lots of it, and it is way past time we demanded it because if we don’t the banks will bankrupt everybody and everything including themselves with their so called financial engineering, outrageous doesn’t even begin to describe their behavior. If our elected representatives can’t get it together to rein in these institutions and their executives than perhaps boycotting them out of existence is the next step.
Hi and welcome to The Profit Motive, I’m your host Caleb Lawrence. Once upon a time in America the media acted as the watchdog of the corporations and the state. In the modern era it’s all about ratings and profits, opinion has been substituted for news and frequently is presented as fact. 
on Feb 11th, 2010 at 12:39 PM
As usual you are right on the money. Boycotting is, I believe, the only surefire way to change things due to the ineffectiveness of our Congressional leaders and the lack of conscience in all others involved. As a stupid victim of this whole crisis which began for my family after 9/11, I find us down and out, out of time, out of money, out of work, and about to out our last of 3 kids from college. The banks refuse to make an honest payment plan with us for our credit and mortgage mess, and charge the kids $35.00 each for two overdrawn checks of less than that amount. Regulation, regulation, and more regulation!!!!!!!! Thank you for what you do and making your voice heard.