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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (26112)	3/21/2005 7:21:55 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 116555

<g/ng>, especially when you consider the proceeds from selling the house is tax free, while the salary from hard working has to be taxed<g>, the latter really sux big time<g> I have not seen much research on the relationship bet. the tax reform in 1998 (to give tax exemption on house selling proceed for <$250k/$500K) and the growth of the housing bubble. I would say the correlation should be pretty high.

To: mishedlo who wrote (26112)	3/21/2005 7:45:53 PM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Very funny and very true. Remember all those people that left the workforce in the last '90s to become day traders? I guess they are flipping houses now. Maybe they are the smart ones. P.S. A friend of mine started a business in the late '90s funded by a kid (in his mid-20s) that had made millions day trading. In late 2000, the kid asked if he could get some of his money back ... he was broke. Luckily my friend's business was doing well. That was the best (and only) investment the kid had made. He is probably flipping houses now ...

To: mishedlo who wrote (26112)	3/21/2005 8:37:25 PM
From: Crimson Ghost	Respond to of 116555

Griffiths Commission urges new laws to protect borrowers * £1 trillion debt 'time bomb' threatens millions .... New laws to penalise banks that encourage their customers to take on too much debt are called for today in a report produced by a former head of the Downing Street policy unit during the Thatcher era. Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, a Tory peer, says the voluntary banking code should be replaced by a statutory bank customers' charter which would outlaw the aggressive marketing of credit and force banks to be much more transparent about charges for credit. The Griffiths report, commissioned by the shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin, also recommends that banks be made to share data with one another to prevent borrowers from running up huge debts on multiple credit cards. The report comes as Britain's high street banks face increasing criticism over their bumper profits and the ease with which borrowers can take on personal debt, which now stands at more than £1 trillion or £17,000 per head of population. Although the vast bulk of this debt is secured against housing, unsecured debt such as personal loans and money borrowed on credit cards is rising at a faster rate than secured debt. The Griffiths Commission on Personal Debt describes this as a "time bomb" which could affect as many as 15 million households in the event of a sudden economic downturn. "The sheer scale of consumer debt has made millions of households extremely vulnerable to shocks in the economy, both from fiscal mismanagement and external factors such as oil price rises, acts of terrorism and wars," says the report. "Credit is far too easily available in the UK. Banks market credit too aggressively and protect their own risks but not those of their customers." .... news.independent.co.uk story=622156