Categories: Subprime

From the Cleveland Fed: Ten myths about subprime mortgages

Posted by: Peter Coy on July 22

Yuliya Demyanyk, a senior research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, has just written an article called "Ten myths about subprime mortgages." I don't buy everything she...

JPMorgan's "Cheats & Tricks" memo

Posted by: Peter Coy on October 03

The deepening of the financial crisis has led to a new round of finger-pointing. The blame game can go too far, of course, but on the whole I think it's...

Community Reinvestment Act had nothing to do with subprime crisis

Posted by: Peter Coy on October 02

Excellent piece by BusinessWeek's Aaron Pressman over at Investing Insights, another one of our blogs. I'm republishing it here in full, but I recommend checking it out in the original....

WMC underwrote some of the crappiest subprime loans

Posted by: Peter Coy on February 21

You can learn a lot by looking under the hood of the conked-out subprime mortgage-backed security business. Some of the mortgages underlying those securities were pretty good and others...

The subprime suckers who paid on time

Posted by: Peter Coy on December 06

I predict a rising backlash by on-time subprime borrowers against the Bush administration's Teaser Freezer bailout plan. As far as I can tell, on-time borrowers wouldn't be helped, even...

A Monty Python-esque explanation of the subprime problem

Posted by: Dean Foust on November 05

If you don't understand the subprime mess -- no, I mean you really don't understand the subprime mess, in layman's terms, at least -- then watch this video. It's a...

Keeping things in perspective

Posted by: Dean Foust on August 10

Amid all the hand-wringing over the sub-prime meltdown, and the stock market volatility, seems like this is a good time for a reality check. And it comes courtesy of Jerry...

Is This Financial Armageddon?

Posted by: Dean Foust on August 07

Is the subprime meltdown creating a Financial Armageddon? If you're Jim Cramer--the blustery former hedge fund manager who now is an entertainer commentator on CNBC--you think so. This video...

When your ship sets sail...

Posted by: Dean Foust on July 30

Regular readers of this blog will recall that a few weeks back I posted an item on how John Devaney, a Florida hedge fund manager who was one of the...

Fannie: The downside of the affordable housing push?

Posted by: Dean Foust on July 23

There was a big push during the Clinton era to get more Americans into their own homes, under the belief that homeowners made for more stable communities, which is admittedly...

Real Estate Guru Admits He's "In a Pickle"

Posted by: Peter Coy on July 10

Paul Wenske of The Kansas City Star dug up the story of a real estate guru named Michael Ledman who ran afoul of the housing slump and a felony charge....

Masters of the Universe aren't so masterful after all

Posted by: Dean Foust on July 03

Every generation has its "Masters of the Universe." In the late 1980s, it was junk bond impresario Michael Milken and the gang at Salomon Brothers that writer Michael Lewis captured...

Mutually Assured Mayhem

Posted by: Dean Foust on June 29

I've been remiss in not discussing the trouble in the subprime market this week--led by revelations last week that two Bear Stearns hedged funds that were invested in subprime mortgage...

How much do you know about subprime?

Posted by: Dean Foust on May 16

What share of all U.S. mortgages written last year were subprime? Quick, quick, is it: (a) 0.5 percent (b) 5 percent (c) 20 percent (d) 50 percent The correct answer...

Give the Fed Your 2c Worth on Abusive Lending

Posted by: Peter Coy on May 03

The Federal Reserve is holding a hearing in Washington on June 14 about abusive lending practices. The Fed is looking for a way to curb abuse without discouraging responsible lenders...

The next bailout?

Posted by: Dean Foust on April 23

Given all the political posturing in Washington over whether we should have a federal bailout or lifelife for subprime borrowers (some advocacy groups are lobbying for at least a six-month...

Did Subprime Loans Increase Homeownership?

Posted by: Peter Coy on March 28

Here's an email that Alan White of Community Legal Services in Philadelphia sent to a bunch of reporters this morning. Agree or disagree? There is a useful fiction that is...

Apocalypse Now?

Posted by: Dean Foust on March 16

No secret that subprime is the story of the day. A Wall Street Journal story from today (registration required) said that economists polled predicted subprime would depress housing activity this...

Why Not Grade Borrowers Like Meat?

Posted by: Peter Coy on March 06

I have a modest proposal for our friends in the subprime mortgage industry, who got immensely rich over the past five years making bad loans to people who were in...

A play on the sub-prime bust

Posted by: Dean Foust on February 16

I mention this not to offer investment advice, nor to shill for this firm (I, for one, wouldn’t invest in 99% of hedge funds out there, given their lack of...