Housing

The following is the weekly commentary from Comstock Partners, which makes the point that housing has not turned the corner decisively and this is at odds with even the recent S&P bottom of 1040. While the market has been focused on…

Canada has had quite a run in its property market. But, the most recent data are a bit soft. David Rosenberg writes: After a string of above-expected economic data releases, Canadian housing starts missed the mark. Starts sunk 6.3% MoM,…

By Richard Davis of Consumer Metrics Institute, Inc. Below is an addendum to the update sent out on Tuesday, addressing new data reflecting changes in consumer behavior concerning their debt: The Consumer Metrics Institute's Personal…

David Rosenberg, Chief Economist at Gluskin Scheff, has the following graph showing the dramatic drop in mortgage applications for home purchases in the most recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.   It is interesting to…

I expected this (hat tip Scott). Goldman Sachs is hoping to avoid the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charge of fraud by reaching a settlement on a lesser offence and agreeing to a fine of hundreds of millions of dollars, according…

I still see this phenomenon as a major risk to US growth due to the credit writedowns associated with it. However, the vast majority of house price losses are behind us. If house prices double-dip as they appear to be doing now, the losses…

Look back at the prepared testimony that Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's CEO offered to the US Senate two days ago.  In it he clearly defines what Goldman Sachs public purpose is – what its societal function is.  Are they fulfilling…

Below are the prepared remarks of Goldman's CEO Lloyd Blankfein for his testimony tomorrow before the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations. Fabrice Tourre will also testify. Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Coburn and Members of the…

he money that the government spends on a failed modification goes to banks, not homeowners. Typically, the government will have substituted an FHA insured mortgage for the original mortgage issued by a bank. This means that when a…

This is a post by Bill Black and Eliot Spitzer which originally appeared at New Deal 2.0. Bill Black is an associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). He was the executive director of the…