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To: MythMan who wrote (351307)	12/18/2007 6:32:08 AM
From: Real Man	Respond to of 436258

Futures pumping at night always happens, regardless. The volume is extremely low at this time. This is not new in any way, it has been happening throughout the rally from 2002 lows, but getting the market up to the "fair value" once it opens is a problem, at least lately. -g- Maybe the index arbitrage boys ran out of cheap stocks to buy, or something. -g- The Fed seems pretty panicky to me, the PPT is getting overrun a lot by the derivatives market lately, I would not count on expiration rally. It may happen, but we may also crash. -g- The only way to crash is for this market to issue a margin call to certain futures pumping bastards, quite possible at this time.

To: MythMan who wrote (351307)	12/18/2007 9:58:08 AM
From: Real Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Message 24144258 -g-

To: MythMan who wrote (351307)	12/18/2007 11:31:26 AM
From: Real Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Looks all this stuff is no longer helping. Shrub looked pretty pathetic on TV Yesterday, saying something like the economy is strong cause it's strong -g- All this options stuff is exactly portfolio insurance of 1987, multiplied by 1000. Buying a put to hedge a long is equivalent to being long a call. If these folks sell stocks instead of selling their puts, well... -g-

To: MythMan who wrote (351307)	12/18/2007 1:03:46 PM
From: Real Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

"This economy is pretty good. There's definitely some storm clouds and concerns, but the underpinning is good, and we'll work our way through this period," Mr Bush said. news.com.au

To: MythMan who wrote (351307)	12/18/2007 3:17:36 PM
From: manny_velasco	Respond to of 436258

Just cousin ben and his tricks..... Fed Proposes New Mortgage Rules Aimed at Stemming Shady Practices By DAMIAN PALETTA December 18, 2007 2:29 p.m. WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Tuesday proposed rules that mark the central bank's biggest regulatory response to the country's mortgage turmoil to date. The Fed's five governors voted unanimously to propose curbing certain prepayment penalties and other practices at more than 60,000 companies, including banks, mortgage finance companies, and brokers. NEW RULES • Prohibit a lender from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering borrowers' ability to repay the loans from sources other than the home's value. • Prohibit a lender from making a loan by relying on income or assets that it does not verify. • Restrict prepayment penalties only to loans that meet certain conditions, including the condition that the penalty expire at least sixty days before any possible payment increase. • Require that the lender establish an escrow account for the payment of property taxes and homeowners' insurance. The lender may only offer the borrower the opportunity to opt out of the escrow account after one year. More highlights1"Unfair and deceptive acts and practices hurt not just borrowers and their families, but entire communities, and, indeed, the economy as a whole," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said before voting to issue the proposal. "They have no place in our mortgage system." The central bank's proposal is broad and would cover everything from the types of loans that can be made to the types of disclosures that must be provided. It also would require lenders to seek more verification of income on high-cost loans and would put limits on the compensation that mortgage brokers can receive. In addition, the proposal would ban brokers or creditors from improperly influencing home appraisals. High-cost loans became very common several years ago, as borrowers with poor credit sought access to money to purchase increasingly expensive homes. The Fed's proposal would have likely banned tens of thousands of the loans that were originated in 2005 and 2006. "There were some circumstances in which people got into products that weren't sustainable for them," Fed governor Randall Kroszner told reporters. "And so I think this will help to address those issues." Once the Fed's proposal is finalized, it is unclear what its eventual impact will be. The market for subprime mortgages has drastically dried up in recent months and it is possible that the Fed's proposal might eventually prohibit practices that are no longer common. "It is unfortunate that so many consumers have had to go over the cliffs of foreclosure to get attention," said Jim Carr, chief operating officer at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. REAL TIME ECONOMICS 2 • Read the latest news and analysis on the economy at WSJ.com's Real Time Economics blog.3 The central bank's action comes after months of jawboning from Democrats in Congress, who alleged that inaction by the central bank helped certain loose lending practices proliferate during the recent rise and fall of the mortgage market. One of the Fed's top critics in this area -- Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) -- immediately slammed the Fed's proposal, saying the central bank "took a significant step backwards." "It raises serious questions as to whether the Federal Reserve is the appropriate institution to house consumer protection functions," Mr. Dodd said. "This is a clear signal that legislation is necessary to help protect homeowners from abusive and predatory lending practices." Mr. Dodd complained that the Fed only prohibited certain prepayment penalties on subprime loans, among other things. But not all Democrats panned the proposal. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D., Pa.) said the proposal would "increase consumer protections and enhance market stability." The proposal would apply to all lenders - state and federally licensed - touching every corner of the mortgage market. The Fed has never used its authority like this before. "They're acknowledging that there are parts of the industry that are unfair and deceptive," said Brian Gardner, a Washington analyst with Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods Inc. Mr. Bernanke said that "market discipline has in some cases broken down" as the mortgage market became more segmented and as risks were spread more broadly among investors and originators. The plan targets many high-cost loans secured by a consumer's principal dwelling, and the Fed's definition of "high cost" will likely capture almost all subprime loans and many Alt-A loan, or loans that aren't quite subprime. The proposal said these loans shouldn't be made without regard to a borrower's ability to repay, without verifying the income and assets of the borrowers, with a prepayment penalty in certain circumstances, and without establishing that borrowers pay insurance and taxes on the property for at least 12 months. The proposal would also "generally" ban lenders from "directly or indirectly paying mortgage brokers in connection with consumer credit transactions secured by a consumer's principal dwelling, unless the mortgage broker enters into a written agreement with the consumer" and provides certain disclosures. Creditors wouldn't be banned from paying brokers if the compensation isn't determined by the borrower's interest rate. The proposal would require that most prepayment penalties on high-cost loans expire at least 60 days before an adjustable-rate loan resets from its starter rate into a higher rate. Many prepayment penalties on subprime adjustable-rate mortgages made in 2005 and 2006 ran right up to or beyond the reset date. Though the Fed's proposal would apply to all subprime lenders, the central bank wouldn't be charged with enforcing its proposal for every company. But a final rule would make it much easier for state attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission, and private lawsuits to go after those who violate the new policies. "These proposals alone will not end all of the problems in the mortgage market," Mr. Kroszner said. "We do believe, however, that the carefully considered rules that we are proposing today will go far toward ensuring reasonable credit options for consumers while stemming the problems we have seen." The plan would ban seven marketing practices, including marketing loans as having "fixed rates" when the fixed rate is for only a limited period of time. Lenders would also be banned from "advertising claims of debt elimination if the product would merely replace one debt obligation with another," according to the proposal.