House Prices Drop US/UK Housing Crash? Subprime Bubble

Trying to follow the economic, housing, and financial news these last few months is like trying to drink water from a broken fire hydrant.  Where to begin?  Good news for you readers in the adult film industry, it looks like another group pitching a tent for a bailout is those in the porn industry.  Larry Flynt stated that Congress must “rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America” and amazingly, this argument has as much validity as all the other ignorant and preposterous bailouts.
I know many people have certain moral feelings to certain industries but if the thesis of the bailout argument is to keep Americans working, then why not?  That is the problem we now face.  Why bailout auto workers and banks but not retailers and casinos?  Or what about bailing out credit card companies?  Either way, these are common problems faced when we go down the slippery slope of bailouts.  […]

Original post by drhousingbubble

The Twists are old Asia hands, and they remind me that, for whatever reason, Western calendar year-end is a big deal for the host cultures of the foreign central banks that have been buying America’s debt over the last few years. Their increasing appetite for single-malt has become legendary around here — maybe they’ve started celebrating Hogmanay? Anyway, I had a look at our data-set, and indeed the first couple of weeks in a year don’t usually see big moves (it’s not universal, though, early 2006 was pretty lively). This year’s early days aren’t just quiet, though, they’re just about dead.
Big hat-tip to twist and Freedom’s Phoenix for this dig [1] that details reasons for a waning appetite for US Treasury Debt by China’s central bank. Doom will be watching very closely to see which way the numbers break in a week when the cenbankers get […]

Original post by John M.

Calculated Risk: Housing: Declining Rents (US) After rising for several years, rents in the Los Angeles area are declining because of the economic recession and depressed home prices, researchers, real estate agents and property managers say.
The lower local rents match a national trend, according to a report released Wednesday showing apartment rents fell in 54 out of 79 U.S. metropolitan areas in the fourth quarter of 2008. Softening rents add another obstacle to a housing market recovery, economists say, because tenants with low rent payments feel less urgency to buy a home.

Original post by drewster

Independent: Foxtons caught in housing market slump The future of another one of Britain’s most recognisable high street brands was hanging in the balance last night after it emerged that the estate agent Foxtons had breached lending agreements with its banks.
The buyout firm BC Partners, which bought Foxtons in May 2007, is reluctant to pump any more cash into the company after worse-than-expected market conditions pushed it into crunch talks with its lenders.
BC Partners paid £360m for the company just before the credit crunch hit, borrowing £360m to fund the purchase. They have now acknowledged that the acquisition was ‘ ‘mistake’ after a 60-70% slump in sales led the company to breach its banking covenants,

Original post by little professor

Boston.com Homes: Catching a falling knife? “…First is limited land. The supply of land here on Earth is fixed, thanks in part to water covering about 70 percent of our globe. And because people are prone to reproduce, demand for land and housing continues to grow…”
Indeed, we heard it all before, from the experts and the likes, from Krusty and Phil back with a new series. Oh dear, people will never learn……
Another one “…Real estate has produced comparable long-term returns to the stock market…”. Damned, need to buy quick, quick, I can feel that pent up demand knocking at my door.

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Original post by fjcruiser

Bloomberg.com: Stocks to Struggle as Earnings Fall, Citigroup Says “To be able to call a meaningful turn in global equities we need to be closer to the bottom in the corporate earnings cycle,” the strategists wrote. “On our forecasts that is more likely to happen in 2010.

Original post by v stor

Reuters.com: Buyers rejoice: Manhattan home prices finally fall “It probably started at the beginning of November, but things over the last three or four weeks have changed even more dramatically,” said Germano, 30, a Smith Barney financial adviser.

Original post by v stor

mortgagestrategy: L&G forecasts big hit to remortgage market Legal & General mortgage club is predicting that the remortgage market is set to suffer as SVRs fall in line with base rate cuts. L&G’s Mortgage Purchase Index for Q4 2008 shows that 17% fewer borrowers took up a variable rate than in Q3, despite the recent cuts to base rate.The data, which is based on 18,683 mortgage applications through L&G’s mortgage club, also shows 65% of borrowers chose a fixed rate deal during Q4. This is marginally up from the 63% recorded for the previous three months.The research also shows that the average two-year fixed rate for Q4 was 5.90%, down from 6.38% in Q3.

Original post by jack c

BBC: Commerzbank is part nationalised Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank, has said it is to be partly nationalised, with the government taking a 25% stake, plus one share. The bank is to receive 10bn euros (£9bn; $13.7bn) in a second injection pf capital from the German banking sector stabilisation fund, Soffin. Commerzbank had been seeking help after its 5.1bn euro takeover of rival Dresdner Bank from insurer Allianz.

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Original post by jack c

BBC: Nissan plant to shed 1,200 jobs Car manufacturer Nissan has announced it is to axe about a quarter of the workforce at its Sunderland plant. The company, which sent workers at the site home early before Christmas to cope with the economic downturn, said it will cut 1,200 jobs. The plant, which opened in 1986, employs about 4,900 workers. The firm halted manufacturing of two of its models at the Sunderland site in December and sent production staff home on full pay.

Original post by jack c