Bail Away

Song of The Bailing Man
Harry had a notion to bail out the ocean,
so under the clouds he did stand with his bucket in his hand.
And above the wash of the waves,
he floated a confident voice that did boast, cajole & rejoice,
I can get this done!
I can get this done!
In the light of the big blue sun,
I'm the one who will get this done.

He set up the motion needed to bail out the ocean.
Harry had a notion to bail out the ocean.
But with his toes he could feel the relinquishing sand,
with his hand he could feel the diminishing land,
and in the course of time the realization settled in his mind,
I cannot bail out the ocean.
I cannot empty the sea.
This work only lends itself the airs of nobility.

And he let go of the bucket.
And he regretted the voice that had floated, cajoled & rejoiced.
Harry burst the bubble.

David Thomas

The Mortgage Zombies Are At Your Door

As I write this, Capital One Financial is laying off almost 2,000 employees, and is shuttering it's wholesale mortgage banking business. Mortgage and loan outfits are dropping like flies, and homeowners who have tried to turn their houses into money machines are now sweating like southerners in a spelling bee. This game of financial musical chairs is about to end, and the scarcity of seats is horrifying. The music has stopped, and the scrambling has begun. The wet bottom of the cardboard box has finally caved in.

Does this crisis in the mortgage sector spill over into other sectors? Of course, it does. The housing bubble bursting will surely cause the interest bubble to burst as well. This elevator from hell goes all the way to the top, and thus, the Fed and European central banks have forked over at least $200 billion to stave off the worst before those at the top of this pyramid scheme can consolidate their interests and protect themselves from the crunch. This injection of liquidity will not save the common homeowner, nor will it keep mortgage outfits from going under. The weight of spiraling debt is too much to bear, and the center cannot hold.

Is this all by design, the suspicious conspiracy theorist asks? Common sense dictates that it is obviously staged, as an economy cannot survive bubble-by-bubble. If the financial movers and shakers don't know this, then no one does. And, of course, they've known it all along. The economic motivation is in the massive consolidation of power and wholesale accumulation of assets for pennies on the dollar. However, there is a political motivation as well. A crashing of the economy will create enough desperation among the masses that a radical change in geopolitical governance will be tolerated in exchange for the promise of an economic solution. Thus, the North American Union and the Amero will arrive as our savior. Don't think so? This continental consolidation is as big a step towards new world order globalisation as the European Union, and the commitment towards it is becoming apparent. Just keep watching as it unfolds, and get ready to start calling yourself a North American.

Under The Bus, Rove

It's with great relief that we finally see this king weasel hit the bricks. Now, Bush can slip into something more comfortable...like a deeper coma. The caveat here, though, is that another will just pop up in his place. We've all been so sick of the Rove Channel for so long that anything else under the sun would be welcome. Jeffrey Dahmer could be Bush's new adviser, and enjoy a brief honeymoon with the public before reality set in. It's been eons since someone as odious as Karl Rove has slithered through the White House, and our precious institutions will remain besmirched for a long time to come.

It's also important to remember that Rove may come back to bite us in another form. Is a certain candidate looking to hire him? Let's hope it doesn't go that way. Rove should have to stick to back alleys and stay indoors in the daylight hours, and out of the sight of those whose spirits have been tormented by his leering malevolence. His run should be done.

Meanwhile, the elites won't need Karl Rove to pull the rug out from under presidential candidate Ron Paul, as the mainstream media is doing a fine job of it themselves. I found it interesting that Ron Paul's wife was hospitalized in critical condition on the eve of the Iowa straw poll, but then, that's just me. It makes me wonder what would happen if Paul actually won the nomination. He would most likely have to run his campaign from Venezuela. It's going to be interesting to see what it takes to keep him out, but Diebold hasn't let us down yet. Oh, what tangled webs we weave...

Party's Over

A Quick Recap: The Day The Credit Died

Published at August 3, 2007 in Wall Street and Mortgage News/Insight. 22 Comments

Dear readers - what a day. I wish I could recap everything that happened, and I might get to it this weekend; if I try now I will have been working or on the phone or responding to email or writing for the last 13 hours straight and my wife will kill me - literally. So here is a quick recap:

A commenter correctly said that NovaStar was not the only one that ceased funding today; many other lenders did as well. Here is a quick summary of those that I know who temporarily (unless otherwise noted) pulled the lending plug today:

• NovaStar temporarily suspends funding due to “severe secondary market disruptions”
• 1st National Lending Services suspends all of the following products: Jumbo, Alt A, Pay Option Arm’s, and Seconds indefinitely (email to brokers) and throws in a round of layoffs for good measure
• First Magnus suspends all jumbo ARMs and expanded and niche products (email to brokers)
• Credit Suisse Wholesale suspends Subprime, Second Lien, Choice Payment ARMs and all 2 and 3 year ARMs
• Wachovia pulls out of Alt-A temporarily
• Wells Fargo pulls out of Alt-A
• Aegis Wholesale suspends option ARMs, expanded Alt-A and second lien products (email)
• Homecomings eliminates rebate on all Option ARMs (email)
• Countrywide increases pricing and fees on the LTV/FICO/ Documentation type grids for all documentation types, adjustments for Subordinate Financing, Cash out transactions and larger loan balances (email)
• National City makes changes
• IndyMac increases pricing and spreads on Alt-A products
• American Home Mortgage workers pack it up
• Fieldstone stops funding
• Bear Stearns says its the worst they’ve seen it in 22 years