Alice's bubble wrap

UK 'To Be Worst Hit' in Crunch

Its back to being the sick man of Europe:

"High personal and government debt levels were cited by the experts as reasons behind the potentially sharp downturn. Moreover, the banking sector - in which the credit crunch originated and has had its biggest effects - is particularly important to the UK economy, when compared to its European rivals."

FTSE 100 suffers worst drop in history as banking crisis intensifies

And it is down over 30 percent since its peak.

Ireland; still trying to ramp up housing

It is a sickness...

"Should the (Irish government) budget contain measures to boost the property market? Ronan O'Driscoll argues 'Yes', that by encouraging the sale of 30,000 unoccupied homes, the Government could inject €10 billion into the ailing economy,...."

New data on Spain housing market labeled ‘dubious’

Fixing the numbers is another modern illness. If the number doesn't show a crash then the crash hasn't happened....

"Pundits are already mocking a new index of housing prices in Spain, which was supposed to bring some clarity to the market. According to the data released by the National Institute of Statistics, property prices in Spain fell a mere 0.3 percent from June 2007 to June 2008, despite the widespread reports the market is in the midst of a free fall.

The index said resale prices dropped 4.9 percent in the year, but new home prices actually rose 5.3 percent—a laughable assertion, considering the hundreds of thousands of empty homes on the market."

U.S. to recover in spring, economists' group says

Hope springs eternal.

Bush: Plan to solve credit crunch will take time

But not quick enough to save us from calamity.

FHA Will Take on Subprime Loans Shunned by Lenders

Perhaps, the Paulson bailout was a diversion. The FHA could be the real vehicle for rescuing the bankings system from subprime.

"The Federal Housing Administration has grown so large that by the end of the year it will guarantee mortgages for three in 10 U.S. borrowers, many of whom have bad credit or loans that required no verification of income. Congress wants FHA to do more. The Hope for Homeowners program, unveiled Oct. 1, authorizes the agency, part of the cabinet-level Department of Housing and Urban Development, to guarantee up to $300 billion of 30-year, fixed rate home loans for struggling borrowers over the next three years."

How did it all happen?

Lots of answers explaining why financial markets have just gone mad. a) recency effect: b) bandwagon effect: c) beneffectance: d) confirmation bias: e) hyperbolic discounting: f) optimistic bias: g) overconfidence bias.

Take your pick....

Frosty Times: Why Iceland Matters

This has to be the most unlikely headline of the day.

German News Update......Hypo Real Estate Bailout

From immobilienblasen.

Term Auction Facility Increased to $900 Billion, With No Apparent Success

Oh boy.....

How close to capitulation?

Robert Peston thinks its serious.

For the latest blog posts on the housing crisis check out housingblogwatch.