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Fannie and Freddie suspend evictions for holidays – Marketwatch

San Francisco: The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S. – S.F. Weekly

Despite its good intentions, San Francisco is not leading the country in gay marriage. Despite its good intentions, it is not stopping wars. Despite its spending more money per capita on homelessness than any comparable city, its homeless problem is worse than any comparable city’s. Despite its spending more money per capita, period, than almost any city in the nation, San Francisco has poorly managed, budget-busting capital projects, overlapping social programs no one is certain are working, and a transportation system where the only thing running ahead of schedule is the size of its deficit.

It’s time to face facts: San Francisco is spectacularly mismanaged and arguably the worst-run big city in America. This year’s city budget is an astonishing $6.6 billion — more than twice the budget for the entire state of Idaho — for roughly 800,000 residents. Yet despite that stratospheric amount, San Francisco can’t point to progress on many of the social issues it spends liberally to tackle — and no one is made to answer when the city comes up short.

‘Shadow Inventory’ of U.S. Homes Climbs, Report Says – Bloomberg

The number of homes that may be in the pipeline for a sale because of foreclosure and delinquency climbed about 55 percent to 1.7 million at the end of September, according to estimates by First American CoreLogic.

Debtor’s Dilemma: Pay the Mortgage or Walk Away – The Wall Street Journal

A growing number of people in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, where home prices have plunged, are considering what is known as a “strategic default,” walking away from their mortgages not out of necessity but because they believe it is in their best financial interests.

Year Ahead: Can You Handle the Truth? – The Big Picture

Breakfast with Dave (Rosenberg)

…At the outset, let it be known that when I read everyone else’s year-ahead prognostications, all I can think of is, “where do I store this stuff for a year so I can look back and say ‘That was so wrong!’.”

China Faces Crash Scenario – Mish ***Today’s Must Read***

Problems in China continue to mount. Money supply is growing rampantly out of control, property prices are in a bubble, exports are weak, commodity speculation is pervasive, and GDP growth is more of a mirage than real.

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Note the insanity. China want to control prices by building more. It already has completely empty shopping centers, condos, and even a completely empty city.

A 4-Minute Tour of the China Property Bubble – The Prudent Investor

GM lets Saab die – CNN Money

General Motors is shutting down its Swedish car brand, Saab, after attempts to close deal with a buyer failed.

So I pulled Bernanke’s mortgage… – Effective Demand

Bernanke bought in May 2004 for $839,000. He had a 5/1 ARM for $671,200 at 4.125% that adjusted to 12 month Libor in June of each year after his fixed period ended. To calculate his rate you take 12 month Libor on that date and add 2.250%, it can’t adjust more than 2% in any one year due to restrictions on the note. He also had a purchase money second $83,900 but for some reason I can’t find the interest rate on that one, nor do I see an ARM rider for it so it could very well be fixed. Both notes indicate they are amortizing loans.

So what does this all mean? Well according to the terms I see for Bernanke’s first and the little information on historic LIBOR I can find (here)… his rate actually went down. So if his rate went down on his first and his second is fixed (an assumption on my part since I see no ARM rider on the second) then ask yourself why refinance now?

Foreclosures in Sacramento region expected to jump in 2010 – The Sacramento Bee

“Clearly, foreclosures will be up next year versus 2009,” a top Bank of America staffer said in a call with reporters this week.

“I think 2009 was somewhat of an artificially low number because of (foreclosure) moratoriums,” said Jack Schakett, head of credit loss prevention.

The Last Word On Strategic Defaults – Karl Denninger

I’m tired of the repeated bull-crap from the media and various carny barkers about “moral obligations” to meet your payments on underwater property.

The art of sprawl – The Chicago Sun Times

The University of Illinois’ I-Space Gallery, 230 W. Superior, is looking at the transition in an exhibition called “Architecture of Crisis.”

Ironically, the space will be empty after the exhibit closes on Saturday. The 1,250-square-foot gallery has fallen victim to state budget cuts. It ends an 18-year run in River West.

“Architecture of Crisis” calls for reconfiguring vacant space by reclaiming building materials for more productive uses.

Spend or save — what’s an American supposed to do? – The Los Angeles Times

Consumer confidence is up. Consumer spending is down.

The recovery is kicking into gear. We’re headed for another cliff.

Real estate is coming back strong. The foreclosures have only just begun.

It can all be pretty confusing for a layperson like myself. So I asked economist Christopher Thornberg, who saw the housing meltdown coming long before most of his colleagues, to meet me at the mall and help clear things up.

Harvard’s Feldstein Says U.S. Economy Still Mired in Recession – Bloomberg

Feldstein is a former president of the National Bureau of Economic Research and remains a member of the group’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, the panel charged with determining when recessions begin and end.

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Regarding the residential property market, where the recession initially emerged, Feldstein said the Obama administration’s effort to revive the housing market is a failure and home prices will continue to decline.

Ron Paul Reacts to Ben Bernanke Being Names Time’s Person of The Year

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1. Morgan Stanley Strategically Defaults on 5 San Francisco Office Towers For those of you pondering the morals of strategic default, consider this story: Bloomberg reports Morgan Stanley to Give Up...
2. Friday Links Shifting Mood Fed Rate Move Sends Dollar Higher – The New York Times The move also helped propel the dollar’s recent rise...
3. What Are the Implications of Buying an Investment Property with Unwarrented Space in Oakland? While renting out unwarranted space in Oakland is not unheard of by a long shot, I would make sure you...
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5. Some Weekend Reading We Can’t Inflate Our Way Out of the Debt Crisis … So What CAN We Do? – Naked Capitalism But...