Yikes!
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I've been quite busy the last week or so, too busy to take the time and post here, but not quite busy enough to not notice the recent Wall Street crash. But at the time, i didn't bother to read on what exactly took place, and the most substantiated news i had regarding the subject, was from a friend that lives two blocks away, who lost close to 5,000 USD the first day Dow dropped. So, having a bit of a slow day today, i decided to catch up on the news and the SharkTank. And ouch, what a nightmare. I usually keep track of the market even though i don't actually invest, but that hasn't been enough of a priority this week, so the crisis took me by surprise. So, now not only is everyone running like mad trying to sell their house to salvage their investment, but as the housing market implodes, it's taken with it quite a few lenders via bad loans (i.e. over-lending to high-risk persons, such as those with low credit scores), and consequently anyone that invested in them, such as insurance co's. I've always though that these loans, at the pace they were being handed out, and the "audience" that received them, were too risky to be taken seriously as a long term investment, but apparently even some big firms felt otherwise and took the bait. So what was it? Greed? Carelessness? Seems to be the same thing that lead to the meltdown at Chernobyl. While the timing took me by surprise, i've been expecting these loans to reach a breaking point for quite a while, but i never expected it to be so big. And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either:sigh:...what a mess. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CA -
Chris Maunder wrote:
It's all part of the cycle.
Yes, the cycle of stupidity. Marc
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Chris Maunder wrote:
It's all part of the cycle.
Yes, the cycle of stupidity. Marc
To true. If you were to look at it like typical stock market investment it tracks closely to what is called a "fear and greed" cycle. It seems like anytime something like this happens is a battle between those who educated themselves on the market and those who didn't.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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I've been quite busy the last week or so, too busy to take the time and post here, but not quite busy enough to not notice the recent Wall Street crash. But at the time, i didn't bother to read on what exactly took place, and the most substantiated news i had regarding the subject, was from a friend that lives two blocks away, who lost close to 5,000 USD the first day Dow dropped. So, having a bit of a slow day today, i decided to catch up on the news and the SharkTank. And ouch, what a nightmare. I usually keep track of the market even though i don't actually invest, but that hasn't been enough of a priority this week, so the crisis took me by surprise. So, now not only is everyone running like mad trying to sell their house to salvage their investment, but as the housing market implodes, it's taken with it quite a few lenders via bad loans (i.e. over-lending to high-risk persons, such as those with low credit scores), and consequently anyone that invested in them, such as insurance co's. I've always though that these loans, at the pace they were being handed out, and the "audience" that received them, were too risky to be taken seriously as a long term investment, but apparently even some big firms felt otherwise and took the bait. So what was it? Greed? Carelessness? Seems to be the same thing that lead to the meltdown at Chernobyl. While the timing took me by surprise, i've been expecting these loans to reach a breaking point for quite a while, but i never expected it to be so big. And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either:sigh:...what a mess. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CARoswellNX wrote:
And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either...what a mess.
From the home owner's perspective it's really not that bad unless you plan on selling anytime soon and/or you foolishly over-encumbered your property using ARMs. Over-encumbered is the key phrase. I personally use ARMs as an investment tool. But, I never buy at anything more than 70% of the market value or use a product that has shorter than 5 years at a fixed rate. -- modified at 10:40 Sunday 12th August, 2007
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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I've been quite busy the last week or so, too busy to take the time and post here, but not quite busy enough to not notice the recent Wall Street crash. But at the time, i didn't bother to read on what exactly took place, and the most substantiated news i had regarding the subject, was from a friend that lives two blocks away, who lost close to 5,000 USD the first day Dow dropped. So, having a bit of a slow day today, i decided to catch up on the news and the SharkTank. And ouch, what a nightmare. I usually keep track of the market even though i don't actually invest, but that hasn't been enough of a priority this week, so the crisis took me by surprise. So, now not only is everyone running like mad trying to sell their house to salvage their investment, but as the housing market implodes, it's taken with it quite a few lenders via bad loans (i.e. over-lending to high-risk persons, such as those with low credit scores), and consequently anyone that invested in them, such as insurance co's. I've always though that these loans, at the pace they were being handed out, and the "audience" that received them, were too risky to be taken seriously as a long term investment, but apparently even some big firms felt otherwise and took the bait. So what was it? Greed? Carelessness? Seems to be the same thing that lead to the meltdown at Chernobyl. While the timing took me by surprise, i've been expecting these loans to reach a breaking point for quite a while, but i never expected it to be so big. And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either:sigh:...what a mess. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CAI think it may have been Warren Buffet who said: "...When you hear the taxi driver talking to you about the stock market, it is time to get out of the market..." What I take from that is that whenever any market gets itself into a speculative frenzy, some type of correction will happen...It was obvious to a many of us that with all the "flip happy" "investors" driving the market into all kinds of unfounded worth that this was coming.... The biggest downside to this particular one is how far up the financial food chain this nonsense spread...If there is any integrity left in wall street (sic) we should expect that there should be some heads rolling in some of the insuranace and other investment firms that purchased this junk and pulled the market into the chaos it is having now...Imagine the billions lost in larger firms if the "little guy" is taking this kind of hit.... Myself, I'm waiting for housing market to bottom out so I can do some bottom feeding myself and rake in some good deals :) Greed, just like rust, never sleeps.
Just trying to keep the forces of entropy at bay
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To true. If you were to look at it like typical stock market investment it tracks closely to what is called a "fear and greed" cycle. It seems like anytime something like this happens is a battle between those who educated themselves on the market and those who didn't.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
Always amazing to see these kinds of insights about the markets, and still things keep on happening the same...
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I think it may have been Warren Buffet who said: "...When you hear the taxi driver talking to you about the stock market, it is time to get out of the market..." What I take from that is that whenever any market gets itself into a speculative frenzy, some type of correction will happen...It was obvious to a many of us that with all the "flip happy" "investors" driving the market into all kinds of unfounded worth that this was coming.... The biggest downside to this particular one is how far up the financial food chain this nonsense spread...If there is any integrity left in wall street (sic) we should expect that there should be some heads rolling in some of the insuranace and other investment firms that purchased this junk and pulled the market into the chaos it is having now...Imagine the billions lost in larger firms if the "little guy" is taking this kind of hit.... Myself, I'm waiting for housing market to bottom out so I can do some bottom feeding myself and rake in some good deals :) Greed, just like rust, never sleeps.
Just trying to keep the forces of entropy at bay
RedZenBird wrote:
When you hear the taxi driver talking to you about the stock market
Oh I knew I shouldn't have bought myself a limo! :)
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I think it may have been Warren Buffet who said: "...When you hear the taxi driver talking to you about the stock market, it is time to get out of the market..." What I take from that is that whenever any market gets itself into a speculative frenzy, some type of correction will happen...It was obvious to a many of us that with all the "flip happy" "investors" driving the market into all kinds of unfounded worth that this was coming.... The biggest downside to this particular one is how far up the financial food chain this nonsense spread...If there is any integrity left in wall street (sic) we should expect that there should be some heads rolling in some of the insuranace and other investment firms that purchased this junk and pulled the market into the chaos it is having now...Imagine the billions lost in larger firms if the "little guy" is taking this kind of hit.... Myself, I'm waiting for housing market to bottom out so I can do some bottom feeding myself and rake in some good deals :) Greed, just like rust, never sleeps.
Just trying to keep the forces of entropy at bay
RedZenBird wrote:
Myself, I'm waiting for housing market to bottom out so I can do some bottom feeding myself and rake in some good deals
Be ready. The biggest bunch of ARMs reset in October. Check out this lovely chart[^]; we are currently in Month 7. If you plan on purchasing to hold for income this is the best market I've seen in eight years. This doesn't necessarily mean that the owners who are unable to refinance wont be in a state of denial. And, the foreclosure process will most likely take 6 to eight months. There is a ton of money to be made in Short Sales. I don't plan on investing in CA, but there may be some real great deals to be found in LA County and the sunshine state in the next 3 to eight months.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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I've been quite busy the last week or so, too busy to take the time and post here, but not quite busy enough to not notice the recent Wall Street crash. But at the time, i didn't bother to read on what exactly took place, and the most substantiated news i had regarding the subject, was from a friend that lives two blocks away, who lost close to 5,000 USD the first day Dow dropped. So, having a bit of a slow day today, i decided to catch up on the news and the SharkTank. And ouch, what a nightmare. I usually keep track of the market even though i don't actually invest, but that hasn't been enough of a priority this week, so the crisis took me by surprise. So, now not only is everyone running like mad trying to sell their house to salvage their investment, but as the housing market implodes, it's taken with it quite a few lenders via bad loans (i.e. over-lending to high-risk persons, such as those with low credit scores), and consequently anyone that invested in them, such as insurance co's. I've always though that these loans, at the pace they were being handed out, and the "audience" that received them, were too risky to be taken seriously as a long term investment, but apparently even some big firms felt otherwise and took the bait. So what was it? Greed? Carelessness? Seems to be the same thing that lead to the meltdown at Chernobyl. While the timing took me by surprise, i've been expecting these loans to reach a breaking point for quite a while, but i never expected it to be so big. And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either:sigh:...what a mess. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CA -
I'm sorry, but your screen name looks like you are trying to initiate something wirh a leather clad lady with a whip.;P
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I'm sorry, but your screen name looks like you are trying to initiate something wirh a leather clad lady with a whip.;P
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I've been quite busy the last week or so, too busy to take the time and post here, but not quite busy enough to not notice the recent Wall Street crash. But at the time, i didn't bother to read on what exactly took place, and the most substantiated news i had regarding the subject, was from a friend that lives two blocks away, who lost close to 5,000 USD the first day Dow dropped. So, having a bit of a slow day today, i decided to catch up on the news and the SharkTank. And ouch, what a nightmare. I usually keep track of the market even though i don't actually invest, but that hasn't been enough of a priority this week, so the crisis took me by surprise. So, now not only is everyone running like mad trying to sell their house to salvage their investment, but as the housing market implodes, it's taken with it quite a few lenders via bad loans (i.e. over-lending to high-risk persons, such as those with low credit scores), and consequently anyone that invested in them, such as insurance co's. I've always though that these loans, at the pace they were being handed out, and the "audience" that received them, were too risky to be taken seriously as a long term investment, but apparently even some big firms felt otherwise and took the bait. So what was it? Greed? Carelessness? Seems to be the same thing that lead to the meltdown at Chernobyl. While the timing took me by surprise, i've been expecting these loans to reach a breaking point for quite a while, but i never expected it to be so big. And it's looking like the existing housing market is further dragged down by the foreclosures, so those that managed to hold onto their house don't have much to look forward to either:sigh:...what a mess. Roswell
"Angelinos -- excuse me. There will be civility today."
Antonio VillaRaigosa
City Mayor, Los Angeles, CAYou know...not much has really changed since the '80s, remember "greed is good" and all that stuff? It's bigger than ever, the brokers and dealmakers just learned a little more taste and style (with the glaring exception of Donald Trump who seems to exhibit neither trait). Bottom line though is still the fact that people who absolutely *know* they are getting a loan for which there is little to no chance they will ever be able to pay it back are going ahead with it anyway. Sure it's a certain kind of evil to push these loans on to people who are unlikely to pay it back, but it's just as stupid from a personal responsibility point of view to take that loan as well. Perhaps if I invested in funds or stocks or bonds I might be a little less sanguine about it but I learned what a suckers game that really is a decade ago and got out of it entirely.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
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To true. If you were to look at it like typical stock market investment it tracks closely to what is called a "fear and greed" cycle. It seems like anytime something like this happens is a battle between those who educated themselves on the market and those who didn't.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
I'll probably get blasted for saying this but I've observed that the entire US economy lately seems to be fundamentally based on the "fear and greed" model right down to the consumer level. Perhaps a 80 / 20 split between fear and greed these days.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
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I'll probably get blasted for saying this but I've observed that the entire US economy lately seems to be fundamentally based on the "fear and greed" model right down to the consumer level. Perhaps a 80 / 20 split between fear and greed these days.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
You are probably right. I think that people are working hard to acquire "things" that they don't really want and then are in fear of loosing their jobs and loosing their "stuff". It is a sickness that I've seen everywhere I've traveled especially in Japan and S. Korea. My personal take is that if we focus on what we want to do rather than on what we think we want we will be much happier.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
