Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktVital Statistics:
| Last | Change | Percent | |
| S&P Futures | 1396.3 | -7.7 | -0.55% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 2575.8 | -32.6 | -1.25% |
| Oil (WTI) | 107.1 | -1.0 | -0.92% |
| LIBOR | 0.4742 | 0.001 | 0.11% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 79.766 | 0.297 | 0.37% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 2.33% | -0.04% |
Markets are lower this morning on further evidence that the Chinese economy is slowing. Mining giant BHP-Billiton made comments overnight that China’s steel growth has flattened off and its big infrastructure build has come to an end. These comments, combined with increased fuel prices in China sent world equity and commodity markets lower. Bond futures are higher.
Housing starts came in at 700k, more or less in line with the levels for the past few months, and much lower than the 1.5 million or so that represents “normalcy.” Housing construction has been the achilles heel of the recovery and it looks like that will continue. The National Association of Homebuilders sentiment index continues to improve, but it has yet to be reflected in the numbers.
The FHFA released its fourth quarter Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. HARP and HAMP activity has been declining after peaking in 1H10. Short sales and DILs are playing a larger role, while mods remain the focus. Recidivism rates (the knock on loan mods to begin with) have been steadily decreasing and are now in the 10%-15% range. Foreclosure starts have been falling since 3Q10, while foreclosure sales continue to run well below the start rate. So while they haven’t been filling up the inventory of foreclosed homes as rapidly as they did in late 2010, they still are accumulating foreclosed property on a net basis. Someday, this inventory is going to hit the market. They provide a nice state-by-state analysis at the end that is worth checking out.
Chart: Housing starts
Filed under: Morning Report |
All Things in Moderation 
As an aside, the builder that built our home two years ago has now gone out of business. Florida’s housing construction market still sucks, apparently.
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Florida is going to take a while. Priced beachfront condos in West Palm lately? Amazing deals to be had for cash buyers.
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Wyden on why he’s working with Ryan on Medicare reform:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-ron-wyden/preserving-the-medicare-g_b_1365237.html
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Wyden sure sounds like he has noble intentions and on most days I would agree with his goals, but by casting his lot with Ryan he is getting played for a useful idiot and will get tossed aside if and when they don’t need him for bipartisan cover any more.
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Someone the other day spoke disparagingly of WND aka World News Daily and another ATiMer expressed ignorance of the site. It is a right-wing news aggregator with original content ala Huffington Post. Here is hopefully not a typical example of their reporting:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/postman-ayers-family-put-foreigner-obama-through-school/
A mailman remembers meeting a young man matching the description of Barack Obama hanging around the house of the parents of Bill Ayers claiming that he would be president some day.
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Yello,
I never expressed ignorance over WND. I apologized for not labeling my post as a Rabbit Hole Argument and Time Waster. And, of you were unlucky enough to have read the post prior to my changing the headline so as to warn readers, I apologize to you as well.
I am well aware of WND.
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markinaustin was the one unaware of WND, for which he should be grateful. I don’t mind rabbit holes clearly marked as such. And as far as rabbit holes go, it was a mildly amusing one.
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OT – I have always thought old Water Pincus one of the capable pros at the WaPo. He writes infrequently now, on national security issues. This was interesting to me.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/how-bad-would-iran-be-with-the-bomb/2012/03/16/gIQAz8sxNS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_fedinsider
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Mutually Assured Destruction has worked for a half century. And our recent adventurism in Iraq seems to prove that having a Bomb is much safer than not having a Bomb. Nobody’s saber-rattling that we should invade North Korea. Of course, they don’t have any oil either.
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