Tuesday Links Unavoidable

The Vast Foreclosure Backlog Shrinks a Bit – WSJ

Though the number of homes in the foreclosure process has fallen a bit, the number of foreclosed homes owned by lenders and mortgage investors continues to grow, Barclays says. In April, it estimates, the total number of these REO (or “real estate owned”) homes was 526,000, up from 522,000 in March. Barclays believes the REO supply will peak in August 2011 at 545,000 before starting to gradually diminish. That means foreclosed homes will continue to weigh on house prices for at least the next couple of years in areas with heavy concentrations of distressed loans.

A Colossal Fracking Mess – Vanity Fair

Stretching some 400 miles, the Delaware is one of the cleanest free-flowing rivers in the United States, home to some of the best fly-fishing in the country. More than 15 million people, including residents of New York City and Philadelphia, get their water from its pristine watershed. To regard its unspoiled beauty on a spring morning, you might be led to believe that the river is safely off limits from the destructive effects of industrialization. Unfortunately, you’d be mistaken. The Delaware is now the most endangered river in the country, according to the conservation group American Rivers.

U.K. Government Delivers ‘Unavoidable’ Budget – WSJ

“This is a harsh budget, harsher than had been expected and so should placate the markets,” said Jamie Dannhauser, senior economist at Lombard Street Research in London.

U.S. once again cast as world’s consumer of last resort – LA Times

As Europe cuts spending and China again floods the globe with low-cost goods, Americans are once more being cast as the world’s consumers of last resort.

Getting a Grip on Reality – Reflation Dead in the Water - Mish

Awesome Rube Goldberg

The Way We Live Now: Dysregulation – NYT (must-read)

If you put a person in an environment that worships wealth and favors conspicuous consumption, add gross income inequalities that breed envy and competition, mix in stagnant wages, a high cost of living and too-easy credit, you get overspending, high personal debt and a “treadmill-like existence,” as Whybrow calls it: compulsive getting and spending.