Archive - Jul 17, 2009 - Blog entry
S&P: "Mea Culpa. Here's a cookie."
Submitted by nickbarbon on 07/17/2009 19:12 -0500Summaries of the "causes of the crisis" usually devote a trenchant bullet point to the conflicted, procyclical role of the rating agencies in the whole mess. Like the SATs, everybody acknowledges the serious shortcomings of the agencies, but grudgingly accept the need for a common ruler to objectively measure disparate claims of quality.
Option ARMs: The Most Misleading Mortgage Product Ever Devised. Worst Than Subprime? You Bet. Looking at Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, and Bank of America.
Submitted by drhousingbubble on 07/17/2009 17:01 -0500If you had to create a mortgage that was more toxic and more destructive than a subprime loan, you would have a very hard time creating that product. Yet leave it to creative finance to spawn a devilish product with the unique name of option ARMs.
The Real Story Behind the June Housing Starts and Prices
Submitted by J.D. Swampfox on 07/17/2009 11:30 -0500June held good news for Housing, unless one looks at the full story.
