Japan's Bubble, 20 Years Later

20 years ago, Japan's Nikkei hit its peak of 38,957.  At the time, the Nikkei had nowhere to go but up. It now trades for about a quarter of that peak figure. Twenty years of hindsight can make for a lot of clarity. 

Is The Housing Crisis Finally Over? The REAL State of Real Estate

In Related News: Banks Are "Walking" Away From Foreclosures?
Banks follow the lead of homeowners

The mortgage catastrophe will be two years old this summer. Today's news sorely disappointed anyone who thinks the trend in housing deflation is slowing down...

“Conquer The Crash” Is More Relevant Today Than Ever Before

Housing Market: NUDE Awakening
For mature audiences only

The U.S. housing slump continues to go from worse to worser: In December, new home sales plunged to an all-time record low. And now, many homeowners are taking desperate measures to meet their monthly mortgage payments...

Once in a Century: Real Estate Financing and the Deal That Wasn't

What’s happened is that the issuance of asset-backed securities has fallen nearly to zero, not far from where it started. This method of financing is abnormal and something that comes along maybe once a century.

Presidential Hopefuls: A Dark Horse Ticket

While watching the October 2 Vice Presidential debate, I couldn’t help notice the huge amount of time the candidates spent playing the game, “MY Guy Predicted The Financial Turmoil First.” If anticipating the current U.S. economic crisis BEFORE it unfolded is qualification enough to run for Leader of the Free World, then I have a dark horse ticket to fill: Bob Prechter for President.

When Will the Media Get It? Someone Did Foresee the Credit Crisis
Elliott investors were prepared for the housing crisis and ensuing mayhem, despite the "all is well" media.

Conquer the Crash Delivered Today's News in 2002
The forecasts in Bob Prechter’s best-selling book, Conquer the Crash, are coming true like falling dominoes.

The truly remarkable part of the story is how early he saw them. Bob described the ways that many dominoes would fall before some of them were even set up. His earlier book, At the Crest of the Tidal Wave was published in 1995, while Conquer the Crash was in 2002. This was years before the gathering storm became obvious to “Dr. Doom,” (the New York Times’ name for economist Nouriel Roubini) who described parts of the bursting bubble in 2006.

10 Things You Should and Should Not Do in This Bear Market

With chapter titles like “Should You Invest in … Bonds, Real Estate, Precious Metals, Collectibles, Cash,” Robert Prechter’s New York Times best seller, Conquer the Crash, is the ultimate “How To Do,” “What To Do” and “Should You Do” guide for investors.

Real Estate and "Phone Book Guys"
Banks are exercising options to call in the good loans -- now that most the bad ones have been written off.

In the U.S, they have become as ubiquitous as hotdog street vendors, or a McDonald's at every highway exit – lawyer ads on the back of the phone book. In the age of Blackberries, phone books aren’t what they used to be, and those back-cover ads are unbelievably expensive. Yet, with the lawsuit now pending by the state of New York against Swiss bank UBS AG, those phone book lawyer guys are likely to get a whole lot busier...

The Mortgage and Credit Crisis in the United States
Can the Fed Control It?

Do Home Prices Look INFLATIONARY To You?
Core C.P.I. is at 2.3%, overall C.P.I. at 5.0%, and the Fed funds rate at 2% -- is THAT inflation?

Mortgage Fraud: The Mighty Have Fallen

Housing Market: Fallen Horse

In many ways, the May 3 Kentucky Derby tragedy is not unlike the fateful events unfolding in the U.S. real estate market, otherwise known as the mournal Housing Race... The downfall of the housing bull, however, was not a "freak accident," unforeseeable until the damage was already done...

Credit Crisis: Before & After

A Non-Guarantee Put to the Test (part 1)
The Ballad of Fannie & Freddie

Once upon a time, the U.S. government created the secondary mortgage market. (During FDR's New Deal, if you're dying to know). With help from the agency known as Fannie Mae, this government creation grew tall and strong. What's more, the government held a virtual monopoly over its creation for several decades -- and after all, the market was its creation....

Foreclosure Bailout Plan Falls Short ... by a Few Billion Dollars

A recently presented government plan to fight blight around the country recommends providing $10 billion to state and local governments. Considering the fact that there were 87,000 foreclosures in California and Florida alone in January 2008, let's do the math.

The REAL "First Big Book on the Credit Crunch"
After the Fact Acclaim: Irony Speaks for Itself

Yesterday I said that the Economist magazine had just published a favorable review of a book about the housing market crisis. The author is a respected financial journalist, and a thumbs up from a publication like the Economist suggests a book that deserves to be taken seriously. But consider these other quotes, specifically the "who" & "when" behind them...

"Stocks Rise" on the Worst Housing Market "Since the Great Depression"?
All the Rubbish That's Fit to Print

Now, all this data sums up a clear-enough picture of the housing trend. It's uniformly bad. If your home's value stands anywhere near today's median price, you are approximately $30,000 poorer than you were 20 months ago. So why spell all this out? Heck, everyone knows the housing situation is ugly, with our without reading the particulars. My reason for putting the facts before you begins with this quote, which was typical of what stock market stories were saying around 11:00am this morning...