housing bubble

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Rolling Stone Profiles Chase Whistleblower

The article calls her the bank's 'worst nightmare'

(Newser) - Matt Taibbi, an American freelance journalist the New York Times describes as having an "avid following," is known for writing critically of Wall Street. Some may recall his 2010 Rolling Stone feature "The Great American Bubble Machine," in which he describes Goldman Sachs as "a...

BofA, Feds Near Biggest Settlement in US History

Justice Dept. deal would cost bank $16B-$17B for foreclosure mess

(Newser) - Bank of America is headed toward the biggest settlement to arise from the 2008 financial crash, a deal with the Justice Department reportedly worth $16 billion to $17 billion over its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities, a source directly familiar with the matter tells the AP . The tentative...

What It's Like to Be Stuck Living in a NY Castle

Phemisters struggle to flip this New York house

(Newser) - You don't even need a cool million to purchase a 36,000-square-foot castle in Upstate New York. Just $895,000 will do. The New York Times today takes a look at this most unusual piece of real estate—and the unusual consequences of a common problem: homes that buyers...

Is China Hiding Mother of All Debt Bombs?

Loose credit, economic stimuli dangerously over-leveraged China

(Newser) - With China's factory production slowing to "just" 8.9% year-over-year in August, down from 9.2% in July, economists there are calling for a stimulus to keep the behemoth economy on track, notes the AP . But that could just fuel a bigger economic disaster, as China's economy...

Paul Krugman: Economy May Be Improving
 Finally, Sun 
 Through the 
 Economic Clouds 
paul krugman
Jan 23, 2012 9:53 AM CST

Finally, Sun Through the Economic Clouds

Thanks to improving housing market, private debt: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - The economy has had its share of false starts over the past few years, but this time things could really be improving, opines Paul Krugman. "There’s evidence that the two great problems at the root of our slump—the housing bust and excessive private debt—are finally easing,...

Home Prices Up .7%, 1st Rise in 8 Months

Washington DC, San Fran, Atlanta see biggest gains

(Newser) - Home prices in major US cities have risen for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual flurry of spring buyers. Prices rose in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index, according to the April report released today. Washington, DC, saw...

Goodbye McMansions, Hello Small Homes
Goodbye McMansions,
Hello Small Homes 
analysis
May 12, 2011 7:58 PM CDT

Goodbye McMansions, Hello Small Homes

When new houses start selling again, they'll be downsized

(Newser) - It's possible that when the housing market finally wakes up from its long recessionary nap, Americans will be just dying to live in newly constructed giant homes again, writes Witold Rybczynski at Slate . "But don't count on it." It's far more likely that we won'...

Home Prices Have Fallen 57 Months in a Row

Home values fell 3% in first quarter of 2011

(Newser) - There's still no sign of a housing market bottom, as continuing home foreclosures caused housing values to fall 3% in the first quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter, their biggest dive since late 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal . "We expected December and January to be bad,...

US Sees Big Shift in Attitude on New Houses

Nobody wants them; they'll take foreclosures instead

(Newser) - If previous patterns held, sales of new homes would be seeing a healthy bounce right about now, notes the New York Times . After all, the economy is showing a little life, rates are low, and demand has been pent-up for a while. The reality? Sales of new homes were down...

Robert Shiller: Farmland Bubble Could Be Next
 Farmland: The 
 Next Bubble? 
Analysis
Mar 27, 2011 6:26 PM CDT

Farmland: The Next Bubble?

Robert Shiller shares a hunch

(Newser) - If you’re trying to spot the next big bubble that will roil markets, economist Robert Shiller has a dark horse candidate: Farmland. Sure, farm bubbles are pretty rare—there was only one in the 20th century—but prices for farmland have been booming in the US and UK, Shiller...

10 Reasons to Buy a House
 10 Reasons to Buy a House 
Sep 19, 2010 6:35 AM CDT

10 Reasons to Buy a House

Housing market gloom is over-hyped

(Newser) - Has the housing crisis scared you out of the market? Too bad, because there are still many good reasons to buy, writes Brett Arends in the Wall Street Journal . A few points to consider before hopping on the first train to rents-ville:
  • You could get a deal: Prices are down—
...

How Banks' Fake Daisy-Chains Led to Meltdown
 How Banks' Fake 
 Daisy-Chains Led 
 to Meltdown 



investigation
Aug 27, 2010 10:40 AM CDT

How Banks' Fake Daisy-Chains Led to Meltdown

Self-dealing artificially propped up market for CDOs

(Newser) - An extensive ProPublica investigation reveals what it calls “one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history.” Banks, most notably Merrill Lynch, set the stage for the economic meltdown by rewarding themselves for said “self-dealing” during the final two years of the housing bubble. They created...

Your House Isn't Going to Appreciate Like Mad

Those days are done, say economists

(Newser) - In the good old days, a house was generally synonymous with "cash cow," a rapidly appreciating investment that all but guaranteed a comfortable retirement and paid for college tuition and vacations along the way. Those days of quick appreciation are gone, say economists, and have been replaced by...

FBI Plans Massive Sweep of Mortgage Fraudsters

Hundreds of arrests expected next week

(Newser) - FBI agents will fan out across the country next week and arrest hundreds of shady lenders who duped people into taking mortgages they couldn't afford, reports the Financial Times . The crackdown on mortgage fraud will go after companies that misled people about their loans and potential rescue programs, or that...

Bubbles Reinflating, World Bank Warns

Asian asset prices soaring as recovery takes hold

(Newser) - Efforts to boost economic recovery are having the dangerous side effect of creating new bubbles in property, stock, and currency markets, the World Bank warned yesterday. Commodity prices are also surging, with gold hitting a record price yesterday. The effect is most pronounced in Asia, where recovery has come soonest,...

Lawsuits Over Chinese Drywall Mounting

More homeowners cite damage, sickness, as feds finish inquiry

(Newser) - With the controversy over Chinese drywall about to come to a head, the New York Times checks in on the issue and finds hundreds of lawsuits piling up around the country. The imported material, which became common as builders scrambled for supplies during the housing boom, is said to be...

Feds Weigh New Bailouts for Smaller Banks

Congressional Dems on board with plan to help institutions hammered by real estate

(Newser) - With the residential and commercial real-estate markets continuing to hammer smaller US banks, the Treasury and other federal agencies are trying to diagram help for institutions considered too much of a gamble under original bailout terms. Congressional Democrats are “very, very supportive” of such a move, a source tells...

Brown's Woes Offers Obama Reality Check
Brown's Woes Offers Obama Reality Check
OPINION
Jun 8, 2009 8:50 AM CDT

Brown's Woes Offers Obama Reality Check

Voters don't reward economic competence after crisis: Krugman

(Newser) - The Bush administration has taken much of the blame for the American recession, but a "huge housing bubble and a financial crisis" were always on the cards, as Paul Krugman writes for the New York Times. Writing from London, where voters gave Gordon Brown a pummeling in Thursday's elections,...

Against Economic Tide, Norway Thrives

Often standing in contrast to Europe, strict state control puts Norway in good stead

(Newser) - While the rest of the world struggles with recession, Norway’s socialist-leaning government looks pretty smart, the New York Times reports. Norway enjoys a budget surplus of 11% and is free of debt (the US owes $11 trillion), and its economy grew 3% last year. Oil revenues are pouring in—...

US Immigration Slows, Delaying Minorities' Rise

Won't form majority until 2050s; security, economy take toll

(Newser) - Immigration laws and the recession have slowed the growth of America’s immigrant populations, delaying the date when minorities will become the majority by as much as 10 years, the AP reports. Estimates had pointed to 2042, but it now could be another decade as growth slowed from 4% in...

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