Markets

As the downturn takes hold in the U.S., the obvious dilemma for investors is knowing which sectors to avoid. Financial stocks are a sector obviously fraught with risk as they have already sustained enormous losses with many more to come as…

First the banks won't refinance, then they won't restructure mortgages, now they're pulling out all stops in this mortgage mess. They are pulling existing home equity lines of credit. That's right, in a feeble attempt to save their sorry…

Oil hit $126 a barrel today on production fears. Refiners and firms that need oil to make money seem to be hoarding it as the price rises inexorably higher. According to Bloomberg, "U.S. crude supplies rose 5.65 million barrels to 325.6…

A Bloomberg article today highlight's the Commercial real estate sector (CRE) as the next leg down in the U.S. property bubble. The article states:With 312,000 private-sector jobs lost in the last four months, foreclosure rates more than…

That's the title of a UK Telegraph article on a report showing that UK repossession orders have increased to levels not seen since the housing bust of the early 1990s. According to this morning's BBC 5 Live program, "Wake Up To Money," the…

Despite stock markets being lower the last few days, there are some bright spots in he macro picture. On Feb 24th, I mentioned that risk in the markets was high as suggested by the Ted spread. (The TED spread measures the gap between the…

While we all expected house prices to slow and even fall in bubble markets like Ireland, the UK and Spain, it comes as news to me that prices are slowing in Germany as well. I was just in Germany this past month, and while there were…

This blog entry will serve as a timeline to track housing prices over time as they are reported. US: S&P/Case-Shiller Index 2007 03 27 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Declined 0.2% 2007 04 24 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price…

While I am not particularly optimistic about house prices in the U.S. nationally over the medium term, a recent Washington Post article suggests that prices in the Maryland suburbs of DC are not suffering like other jurisdictions around the…

Note: This post is from April 2008 but is updated from time to time to reflect charts of the current market conditions The TED spread is a common measure of fear and risk in the capital markets. Judging from where the TED spread is now…