Banks Get Bailed Out

JP Morgan Chase and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York bailed out the Bear Sterns investment after the bank suffered a run today. The 85 year old firm has 28 days to fix it's finances or sell out. As Bear Sterns stocks fell 47 percent, there was fear that more banks may suffer the same fate as Bear Sterns credit crisis.

The Federal Reserve found it necessary to bail out Bear Sterns investment bank since it is a major player on Wall Street of borrowing and lending billions, fueling the everyday business of capitalism. A sudden collapse would shake the entire system and bring the markets to a screeching halt.

Lehman Brothers, another Wall Street firm secured loans from other banks to insure that it will not suffer a great lost after it's stocks fell 15 percent.

Bankers Telling Appraisers The Value Of Homes

Bush and the Republicans and the Financial institutions are blaming the current economic crisis on the people who got loans they could not afford. Well I just read an article by an appraiser who gives a first hand account on just what was really going on. After reading the news article I felt the only way to tell the story was to print the story in it's entirety just as it was written on the CBS news web site by their own correspondent Sharyl Attkission:

*(CBS) Home appraisers Pam Crowley and Joyce Potts knew the roof was caving in on the housing industry four years ago, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. That's when they noticed their profession being turned on its head. Instead of letting them do their job and figure what a home was worth ... bankers and realtors started telling them what dollar number to hit. "The appraiser is not to accept any orders where it's pre-determined what the value should be," said Crowley, a Florida certified real estate appraiser. Most everyone wants a high appraisal: buyers pay less cash down; banks make more money on bigger sales. It's the appraiser who's supposed to be fiercely independent to keep things honest. But more and more, appraisers have been told that, to get hired, they have to guarantee a high appraisal - sight unseen. One lender emails appraisers, "I need at least $210,000." Another writes: "I want to know if we can hit a value of 280K." Some lenders even send out blatant mass e-mails putting appraisers in a bidding war. To 77 appraisers for a home in Arizona: "whoever can provide the highest [appraisal] will receive the deal." "We were blackmailed," Crowley said. Those who don't play ball lose work. Whoever can provide the highest will receive the deal. Those that are honest will get run out of business. We didn't have to look far to see the fallout. Joyce Potts had just been called by a mortgage broker who wanted a high appraisal to refinance this tiny house in disrepair. The owners don't want to be identified. Attkisson asked Potts: "What was the number they wanted you to appraise this house at?" "Well, it started at $210, then he says, 'what about $175.' Then, 'how about $150. can you get $150?'" she said. Potts turned down the job. But while we were there, another appraiser came by. He decided not to look at the house with CBS News cameras there. Records are confidential, so CBS News doesn't know if he ended up appraising the property. So many appraisers have felt pressured to give inflated home values, 10,000 of them signed a petition hoping to get federal regulators to act. Now under scrutiny, bankers and lenders are starting to adopt new rules to ensure independent, reliable appraisals. "It's not in the lenders' best interest to have an inflated appraisal, to the extent to that was taking place, lenders want to see that corrected," said Steve O'Connor of the Mortgage Bankers Association. The changes are too late for many, including Crowley who's lost her business, and the couple struggling to make inflated payments on a house that's not worth what they owe.*

Bush And The Economy

Bush spoke to the Economic Club today. The Economic club is not filled with people like you and me. No. It is filled with the extremely well off people who never suffer any ill effects when the Economy in our country is failing.

Bush told them that the Economy will fix itself. Yeah, Right! Does anyone want to by a bridge in the middle of the Pacific? It seems that Bush and the Republican party still believe that there is no recession. Bush probably still believes that the $4.00 a gallon of Diesel fuel is just every truck driver's imagination. I wish I knew what Bush was smoking. It must really be wonderful for Bush to breeze through the day with his head in the clouds of ignorance while ignoring the world around him as it comes crashing down.

Bush warned of over compensating for the failing Economy, or someone will find themselves in a ditch. But isn't that what Bush, Bernhardt, and the Republicans have been doing. And before Bernhardt, isn't that what Bush, Greenspan, and the Republicans have been doing during Bush's 2 terms in the White House.

Seems like Bush and his friends already drove this country into that ditch a long time ago.

Keeping Track Of Economic News

William Maclean wrote "Oil prices will stay at current high levels for the rest of this year due to speculation and geopolitical tensions, Algerian state media on Monday reported OPEC President Chakib Khelil as saying."

To say that the money financial news reporters are the historians of our time would be a fair assumption. For the past seven years of GW Bush, I have read many articles from news websites: abcnews.go.com, CNN.com, MSNBC.com, cbsnews.com on different stories on the economy yet there always seemed to be a glimmer of hope. I have even read news reports of associated press and Reuters news service from websites like yahoo, msn, google. Each time there were signs in the articles that the economy was not doing well, but there was always a statement added that it could turn around for the better.

However with the current stories of our economy continuing on the decline with our shrinking green money I can't help but notice that in this new found world economy created by the most wealthiest in the world just how much the value of a single worker or human being has also declined as well. Big business and employers don't even bat an eye when they lay off and fire workers to balance the companies budget. It seems the more experienced and skilled knowledge the workers have, they end up being the first to go. I even heard on CNN a money news reporter suggest that the manager of manufacturing may find it necessary to retrain for the High Tech jobs.

Only retraining to go into the High Tech jobs would end up being a mistake. That CNN news reporter must have been asleep when a lot of the High Tech jobs were being Out Sourced to India, leaving a lot of highly skilled, educated with degrees, experienced and knowledgeable in the field unemployed and constantly scrambling to get temporary contract jobs in that field like my husband. Only those jobs are becoming more far in-between and shorter term. I guess that CNN money expert who was giving advice on TV was no expert on the fact that many of the jobs which did remain are only temporary short term jobs with NO job security at all, and are lower in hourly pay since those jobs do NOT have any of the benefits which used to come from having a permanent position with a company. And after paying your own taxes and paying your own medical insurance, dental insurance, and coverage for seeing an eye doctor and glasses you end up with a lot less money than what used to be paid with secured jobs plus benefits. But then my husband at 52 in 2002 was laid off when his job was Out Sourced.

Holding on is just not easy any more.