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Strategies & Market Trends : John Pitera's Market Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robert b furman who wrote (8955)	3/14/2008 11:59:30 PM
From: Augustus Gloop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 33421

Bernanke spoke either last week or earlier this week (don't recall). As I listened it sounded like he was all but begging the banks to follow the feds lead in reducing rates in an effort to ease some of the credit pressure. Banks were guilty of bad lending practices! This isn't just a case of mortgage brokers pushing deals through countrywide. The problem we have is there's a point of no return with this situation and it will negatively impact everyone. If the banks don't lower rates and aren't going to be part of the solution then the Fed needs to quit cutting rates

To: robert b furman who wrote (8955)	3/15/2008 12:24:28 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 33421

To a large degree it was the mortgage originators as in not the banks that got us where we are today. Y'know.. been thinking about this for some time now.. And mortgage originators are nothing more than salesmen.. They sold homes.. packaged them up as securities and resold them to investors... I think, when the history books are finally written on these events, we're going to have to cast a fair amount of blame upon the rating agencies that told us all that these CDO/CMOs were more valuable than they actually were.. And then there will be another chapter discussing how they suddenly reversed themselves and then starting telling us that those AAA mortgage securities were questionable too.. I mean.. hello??... they permit a percentage of sub-prime and Alt-A bonds to be incorporated in a traunch and they rate it AAA. Doesn't seem to be much blame being cast in the direction of S&P or Moody's.. I wonder if this intentional, or merely an oversight. And I wonder what form of government regulations will be necessary to restore their credibility as rating agencies? Hawk