It is critical that banks remain committed to the long-term. For banks to provide long-term loans to, and investment in, businesses, communities, and consumers’ futures, banks must not have their loans and investments marked to prices set in markets that are panicked or are over-exuberant. These are long-term investments, not day-to-day trades. Simply put, if FASB continues its effort regarding mark-to-market, the lesson learned from this financial disaster will be that long-term loans and investments will have their valuations destroyed, and therefore the bank will be destroyed...

Permalink posted by markw @ 5:10 AM

In mortgage foreclosure cases, the plaintiff has standing as the holder of the note and the mortgage. When MERS forecloses, MERS is the mortgagee and it is the holder of the note because a MERS officer will be in possession of the original note endorsed in blank, which makes MERS a holder of the bearer paper. MERS will not foreclose unless the note is endorsed in blank and held by MERS.

Permalink posted by markw @ 5:54 AM

Long-time readers know that I think the Fed has been able to get away with its rather large monetization program because of the massive deflationary forces let loose in the world by the credit crisis, which is forcing a monster deleveraging regime all over the world.

And this brings us to our conundrum. You cannot continue to run deficits significantly larger than nominal GDP for too long without risking the demise of the economic system...

Permalink posted by markw @ 4:41 AM

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Central banks flush with record reserves are increasingly snubbing dollars in favor of euros and yen, further pressuring the greenback after its biggest two-quarter rout in almost two decades...

World leaders are acting on threats to dump the dollar while the Obama administration shows a willingness to tolerate a weaker currency in an effort to boost exports and the economy as long as it doesn’t drive away the nation’s creditors...

Permalink posted by markw @ 5:31 AM

The financial crisis has blown a hole in the rosy forecasts of pension funds that cover teachers, police officers and other government employees, casting into doubt as never before whether these public systems will be able to keep their promises to future generations of retirees... Within 15 years, public systems on average will have less half the money they need to pay pension benefits, according to an analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers...

Permalink posted by markw @ 5:16 AM

“In addition, from 2004 through February 2009, Aldus acted as an adviser to the New Mexico State Investment Council (“SIC”) and the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (“ERB”) in the State of New Mexico. Meyer admitted that on numerous occasions, contrary to his fiduciary duty to SIC and ERB, he ensured that Aldus recommended proposed investments that were pushed on him by politically-connected individuals in New Mexico, knowing that these politically-connected individuals or their associates stood to benefit financially or politically from the investments and that the investments were not necessarily in the best economic interest of New Mexico.”

Permalink posted by markw @ 4:58 AM