<p>Broad market indices gapped lower on the open and sold off sharply during the first hour of trading.  The steep decline out of the gate put pressure on those who bought the recent breakout to new swing highs, as their positions were quickly taking on water.  Though the ugly int ... Read more

David Streitfeld at the NY Times adds some color: Easy Loans in Expensive Areas In January, Mike Rowland was so broke that he had to raid his retirement savings to move [to San Francisco] from Boston. A week ago, he and a couple of buddies bought a two-unit apartment building for nearly a millio ... Read more

There was some buzz earlier today about short term T bill rates turning slightly negative. This happened last year too, but for different reasons ... From the Financial Times: Short-term US interest rates turn negative Short-term US interest rates turned negative on Thursday as banks frantically ... Read more

Here is a scatter graph comparing the seriously delinquency rate for mortgage loans vs. unemployment rate for all states. The seriously delinquent rate include 90+ days delinquent loans, and loans in the foreclosure process for Q3 2009 (Source: MBA). Click on graph for larger image in new w ... Read more

Click on graph for larger image in new window. First, on the market ... This graph is from Doug Short of dshort.com (financial planner): "Four Bad Bears". Note that the Great Depression crash is based on the DOW; the three others are for the S&P 500. Reader Yuri asked me if ... Rea ... Read more

Two more banks redeemed stock given to the government in exchange for bailout assistance, while an insurance company declared it would soon follow suit. California-based Westamerica Bancorporation said it had completed the repayment of $83.7 million it received under the Troubled Asset Relief ... Read more

From HotelNewsNow.com: New Orleans leads ADR, RevPAR declines in STR weekly numbers Overall, in year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 6.4 percent to end the week at 52.6 percent, ADR dropped 9.9 percent to US$95.86, and RevPAR decreased 15.7 percent to finish at US$50.47. ... Read more

Silver is not bearish. In fact since the breakout it is bullish as long as top line holds. There is a gap down inside the triangle, which would muddy things up if filled. Gold-Silver ratio remains the key to the various market plays, however. But silver is in no way technically bearish as it st ... Read more

On the MBA conference call concerning the "Q3 2009 National Delinquency Survey", MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said this morning: The problem is moving to prime loans, including fixed rate prime loans, and also FHA loans. "We are seeing the first hit on the weaker prime fixed borrowers." R ... Read more

New Gold to appeal suspension of mining operations . On Monday, when I sold it , everything appeared okay except for this nagging issue that never seems to go away, as the company anticipated continued operations. Now, the all-too familiar work stoppage based on a ruling by the Federal Court of ... Read more