| Thursday, December 06, 2007 |
| Inoperative |
Ok, so that homeowners hotline number I gave you in this previous post? The one that's supposed to represent George Bush's gambit to help stem the mortgage crisis? Yeah. It's incorrect. Oh, Dubya...
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Harried homeowners seeking mortgage relief from a new Bush administration hotline Thursday had to contend with a bit of temporary misdirection from the president himself.
As he announced his plan to ease the mortgage crisis for consumers, President Bush accidentally gave out the wrong phone number for the new “Hope Now Hotline” set up by his administration.
UPDATE: Anyone who dialed 1-800-995-HOPE did not reach the mortgage hotline but instead contacted the Freedom Christian Academy — a Texas-based group that provides Christian education home schooling material.
The White House press office quickly put out a correction moments after the President’s remarks. After dialing the correct number, 1-888-995-HOPE, CNN was connected to a “counselor” within three minutes.
– CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry Dubya ... Dubya... Dubya ...Labels: economy, mortgage crisis |
posted by JReid @ 3:43 PM   |
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| Bush's no-fix mortgage fix |
 President Bush is announcing his supposed big fix for the growing mortgage crisis. His fix is supposedly aimed at stemming the record foreclosures taking place across the country, including here in Florida. Here's the problem: Bush's "help for struggling homeowners" -- which includes freezing interest rates on ARMs that are about to adjust, is only for homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments -- but who can PROVE that they can't afford the higher payments once their ARMs adjust. The fix would allow borrowers to either refnance, move into an FHA loan or freeze their rates for five years. Bush says this could help up to 1.5 million homeowners. But ... and this is the big "but" -- how can you stem the tide of foreclosures when the borrowers you're targeting to help aren't subject to foreclosure? If you're current on your mortgage payments, YOU'RE NOT FACING FORECLOSURE. You're going to the government to essentially argue that you WILL be facing foreclosure sometime in the future if your mortgage adjusts. HUH??? If Bush wants to help "struggling" homeowners, shouldn't he target those who ARE behind on their payments, and who thus are the ones actually facing foreclosure???Bush's plan also has incentives for insurance companies (shock of all shocks), tax breaks (even more shocking!) and expands FHA funding. So far to me, it sounds like more P.R. than actual help to people who need it. And of course, with all the incentives to finance new mortgages, won't Bush's plan add to the problem by ginning up the mortgage writing engine all over again? Worst of all, Bush's speech to day was layered with "I'm calling on Congress to do this," and "I'm calling on Congress to do that..." an admission that in the end, he really isn't all that confident that he and his treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, can do much of anything. Anyway, if you're a homeowner in crisis and aren't as cynical as I am, the number to call is 1-800-995 HOPE. Labels: economy, mortgage crisis |
| posted by JReid @ 1:26 PM |
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| Wednesday, February 28, 2007 |
| Quick take headlines: hump day edition |
Is Iraq in a civil war? According to the new director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, it most certainly is.
And will the Bush administration reverse course and talk to Iraq's neighbors, Syria and Iran? Yes ... and no ... Condi Rice continues her turn as spin-mistress, attempting to explain how we're going to sit down in the same room with the two bad actors in the Middle East, but only because the Iraqis invited them. I can just hear the negotiations now:
U.S.: "Could you please tell the Syrian ambassador that I said he's a horse's ass?"
IRAQI: (sitting between U.S. and Syrian reps): "Certainly, madam." (turns to Syrian, sitting beside him.) "she says you're a horse's ass."
SYRIAN: "Kindly tell the lady to bite me."
IRAQI: "Quite."
Meanwhile, that hellified market correction yesterday (which extended in Europe and Asia today) has spooked everyone, but there's more bad news out there, starting with the mortgage market, where it's about to get a lot tougher to get a loan. Also, America's homeless population is growing and hardening, at a time when the Bushbots are claiming we have the best economy ever...
A groundbreaking survey of homelessness being released today found that 704,000 people nationwide sought shelter at least once in a three-month period. Families with children accounted for one-third of those seeking emergency shelter or transitional housing between February and April 2005, the most recent period studied, according to the report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The rest were individuals, mostly adult men. Nearly half were black.
The count covered only those seeking shelter, not people living on the street, so the total number of homeless people would be higher.
"This first-of-its-kind study is a huge leap forward in our understanding of not only how many people are homeless, but also what their needs are," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson says. The report says, for example, that at least a quarter are disabled.
HUD, which briefed USA TODAY on the report Monday, says it is the most comprehensive government estimate ever of homelessness. Previous counts looked only at the number of people homeless on a given day or week.
The three-month figure — equal to the population of South Dakota — is an estimate based on a sample of 80 communities. It will serve as a baseline for annual reports to Congress and may be expanded to include people living on the street.
And about that economy: it isn't nearly as good as the righties say it is...
On a much lighter note, could anything or anyone have saved Anna Nicole Smith? Quoth Travolta, Scientology.
The Largo, Florida city manager who wants to go from Mr. Manager to Mrs. Manager is about to get fired.
And last but certainly not least: nothing says "hit stage play" like showing off your Harry Potter...
Labels: economy, Harry Potter, Iran, Iraq, news, news and politics, poverty |
| posted by JReid @ 8:03 AM |
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| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 |
| Down she goes! |
The Dow takes a 416 point slide, followed by the Nasdaq and S&P, as China rattles the market across the New York Stock Exchange.
More on the China angle from CNBC:
Wall Street took its worst beating in four years, as a sell off in the Chinese stock market triggered a global stock selling spree and raised fears of a slowdown in the world economy.
"Asia sneezed and we all picked up a global chill," Frederic Dickson, Chief Market Strategist at D.A. Davidson & Company, told CNBC.com. "We're not going to go off of the ledge but tighten up the seatbelts a notch or two because it could be a little bumpy in the next few days. There's still a tremendous cushion of cash out there with most investors waiting for a pullback to put some money to work. We'll see if they come in."
The Dow's 416 point drop was its worst point decline since September 17, 2001, the first trading day after the September 11th disaster. On that day, the Dow dropped 684 points. Today's 3.29% dip was the worst percent decline since March 24, 2003. The S&P 500 lost 3.5%, its worst loss since the day. The Nasdaq fell 3.8%.
"This is a hiccup, well, maybe a slightly louder than normal burp," David Sowerby, Chief Market Analyst at Loomis Sayles, told CNBC.com. "I would deem it a modified correction at 5% and an outright correction at 8%. At this point, I think we're on our way to a modified correction." Jim Cramer is saying it's time to find something good to buy, and I agree with him, but this is also likely a signal of more economic pain to come -- and a stark illustration of just how big a gorilla China is in the global zoo.
Meanwhile, some analysts are blaming the former Wizard of the Fed, Alan Greenspan, for skunking up the party, for saying the following on Monday:
"When you get this far away from a recession invariably forces build up for the next recession, and indeed we are beginning to see that sign," said Greenspan. "For example in the U.S., profit margins ... have begun to stabilize, which is an early sign we are in the later stages of a cycle."
"While, yes, it is possible we can get a recession in the latter months of 2007, most forecasters are not making that judgment and indeed are projecting forward into 2008 ... with some slowdown So who's to blame? China or Greenspan? Greenspan or China? Inquiring minds want to know... and when I want to know, there's only one place I go: Addison Wiggin and the guys at The Daily Reckoning. Sign up for their newsletter. It's worth it.
Labels: Dow Jones, economy, Stock market |
| posted by JReid @ 5:47 PM |
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