DISQUS

Having a wedding in a volatile market is probably the best thing you can do. Saves you the agony of having to explain why you bought Yahoo just before Microsoft bid for it and doubled the value. Hope you a nice wedding, and a good time. :)

Personal it is, and it hurts even more when billionare CEO's create the mess and then ordinary people are left holding the bag. Let's hope we don't see a really bad fallout like Enron.

Sorry for the late response, but I just bumped into this post, and it's still as relevant today, if not more relevant. Word on the street is that the FED is willing to take the rates all the way down to 1%, if necessary. Wonder if anybody really knows the inflation blowback from such a deep committment to rate cuts...

At this point, I'd say the biggest worry is deflation. When oil prices start dropping on fears of a US recession and reduced consumption, that is one real wakeup call. Tough days ahead.

Admirable intentions, Diane, and excellent comments. My 2 cents says that there's no crime when there's a cop on the beat. Bad people won't do bad things if they know they're being wtached. That calls for transparency and monitoring. Trace is absolutely correct that raising the bar would significantly reduce bad things being done by bad people.

A bit scary, actually. There must be some disclosure terms being breached here, which the couple can file suit over, I hope. You can't expect someone to forget 40k+ just like that.

Well, the FED cut rates by 75 basis points, and true that stocks will climb a bit after all the panic and bonds will drop. Qualifier: Personally, I don't see a need for all the panic, except for the talking heads predicting a big recession, but who knows...

Forgive my ignorance, but if a big percentage of foreclosures was for investment properties, instead of actual home owners who couldn't ante up the mortgage payments, I'd say that was a good thing, comparatively speaking, in the sense that it means less people in dire trouble. Or is that wrong?

And secondly, freezing rates and forcing lenders to comply with additional regulation or scrutiny is in no way going to help the credit crisis. If anything, it'll make the situation even worse, as lenders tighten up some more and investors see even less incentive.

Previously, if the FED were to announce rate cuts, the markets would rebound and bonds would go down...Now, if Bernanke says he favors rate cuts, we take it as a sign that he's worried about recession, and bonds will go up? This is a wierd market.

Meeting mortgage payments with credit cards hits right home. That is what is happening since equity is no longer an option...

And you are added to my blogroll. That was quick...Can't do much for you about the markets, but keep hacking away at your school. Hear nuclear engineers are in great demand.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/j...

Well, be nice if you can add http://www.money-rx.com/blog/ (title: Money-Rx Blog) to your blogroll. I try to keep it relevant and a good source of information, although sometimes I just let it rip. I'll do the same for you...I mean, add your blog to my blogroll.

You are likely going to win your bet, Diane, because the upbeat trend started just before Christmas, and insiders seems to be confident about the future, regardless of more writeoffs or recession panic. All signs point to a flood of investment coming in.

The effects of the rate cuts do have deminishing returns. I think the markets have realised by now that rate cuts aren't going to solve anything. My 2 cents says that Bernanke's rate cuts are virtually useless by now, in terms of market sentiment, so he might be well advised to keep his powder dry.

Isn't going to be a recession in 2008, is what I think. Foreclosures alone can in no way trigger it. Only way it can happen is if financial stocks and big banks crash as a result of subprime tainted writeoffs. I think that's all over and done with, to a major degree. Besides, the treasury and the Bush Administration are working on an economic stimulus package, just in case things start going south. Even if it does happen, it'll happen only when the tax cuts expire in 2010 and 2011.

Nice list. Hope you get there. And good luck with No.5. I gave up trying to get my wife in on the action because whenever I brought it up, the coversation would end up as a discussion on whether I should get a job...

I know I work on weekends, if only to respond to messages and keep things flowing. It inspires confidence in customers when they can find you willing to talk to them on a weekend.

You might want to hold off on publishing that card, just in case it should say 2008 instead of 2007....

True that. Niche focused blogs which stick on topic are more successful. That said, I miss the old forum format, where you had multiple sub-forums for different topics. I mean, we're all humans, and we have differeing opinions on different subjects, which we want to discuss. Afraid the blog has killed that aspect of online interaction which i used to enjoy.

Maybe you should read this - http://www.blogmaverick.com/2004/04/13/the-stoc...

Wall Street is desperate for people who know everything about a specific industry. You don't have to quit your field. You can leverage your knowledge and use it as a tool to exchange information and learn.

Good question. I do believe that experience trumps education, any time, any day. That said, maybe, just maybe, it might be a wiser idea to experiment with someone else's money, rather than your own? Which is why you should get a job on Wall Street before you bet your life savings. Just my 2 cents, and to each his own, so what's good for me may not be the best thing for you...

Sure 2008 is going to start with a bang. You know what triggers of an extended downturn? New bad news piling up before the effect of the previous news wears of. The Bhutto killing did create jitters, but it would have been a lot worse, if it had been combined with something really bad from the domestic market.

It's sweet that you love your mother so, and mention it. All the more credit to you. As for the burger king part..Maybe it's a good thing too...A bit of real world experience wouldn't hurt those who write about foreclosures and subprime mortgages, but don't know squat about it...

Definitely going in the right direction now. This bill, along with corrective measures by the FED, Treasury and big banks like Citi and HSBC will surely help to avoid a major recession in 2008. I have a strong feeling that the subprime crisis is going to start fading soon. At least, I hope so...