Alice's bubble wrap

London market on course for worst week in two decades

“It is notable,” said Citigroup analyst John H Hill, “that the hard-core goldbugs have been proven correct in the decade-long contention that a vast and complex pool of nested financial derivatives would ultimately result in cascading defaults and ruin for major portions of the banking system. Frankly, we’re surprised that gold is not already at $2,000 per ounce.”

Investment banking crisis: what happened?

The housing bubble, that is what happened.

Banking crisis: Central banks pump billions in to ease the strain

The media are now calling it what it is; a banking crisis.

Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan, Others Offer $247 Billion; Money Market Rates Ease

From Naked Capitalism....

4 Ways to Turn a Recession Into a Depression

1) Close the banks.
2) Raise taxes.
3) Unnerve business.
4) Start a trade war.

Credit Crunch Claims Two More (Part II)

A nice piece from seeking alpha.

No bidders come for Washington Mutual

"Hopes of finding a buyer for Washington Mutual dimmed on Thursday as an auction for the beleaguered US bank had yet to attract any bids."

Washington Mutual: WaMu up to Bat. 11 Bank Failures for 2008. 8,430 Still out There. Southern California Housing to Ben Bernanke: Do we Qualify for a Bailout?

Here is Dr. Housingbubble's take on the WaMu crisis.

Moody's Increases Loss Forecasts on Some Mortgages

"Moody's Raises Loss Forecast on Subprime, Jumbo Loans. Moody's increased their loss forecasts for certain securitized subprime and Jumbo-prime mortgages, and cautioned about related downgrades of securities and financial firms. "

Death In The Dovecot

Renter girl reports on a suicide in the tower of misery build to serve buy-to-let.

What do an ice glacier and short-term credit have in common?

"Interbank lending is flowing slower than an icy Mississippi River."

Twenty years a viewing: the ups and downs of the property pages

Two decades watching the Irish housing bubble.

Japan v2.0: GLOBAL Liquidity Trap

"We are heading for a Liquidity Trap. Believe it. I see Japan v2.0… on a GLOBAL scale."

And then, right on schedule, the (US) government socialized the entire mess

"CNBC said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is considering creation of an entity like the Resolution Trust Corp. that was formed after the failure of savings and loan banks in the 1980s."

The 3 AM call: financial crisis has that phone ringing

"This crisis is an audition for the presidency in real time -- and an opportunity for a candidate to step up to the plate. If handled the right way, it could decide the election. If it is treated like another political issue, it could fade with the next news cycle."

Cartoon Of The Day

From immobilienblasen.....