Links and Minifeatures 08 06 Monday

Someone sent me this link to Jim Cramer losing his cool.



Well, coming from where he's coming from, I don't blame him. The fact remains that he's wrong about "you can't get loans." I actually already have an article set to go tomorrow (August 7th, 2007 ) about the lending meltdown from a consumer standpoint (it'll be here when it publishes). There are solvent lenders who badly want business.



We always knew that the 100% Stated Income, Stated Asset loan was not going to be around forever. Problem is, most agents and loan officers don't know how to tell people to stick to properties they can really afford. Many don't know any other way of doing business. When you can make it look like a minimum wage employee qualifies for a $500,000 property, what do you think most sales persons are going to do? The money I could have made these last two or three years if I was willing to do that would have me set for life.



From the point of view of certain investment managers, who have only been paying attention to the reward and not to the risk of mortgage related securities, there's about a decade of reckoning coming. Many of the fixed income investment folks really are in a world of hurt, and I do expect rates to continue to rise in broad, as the supply of easy money dries up. This doesn't change the fact that these investors and managers did it to themselves. Yes, I'd like to see rates dropped, but we're looking at the impetus for a period of heightened inflation if we do, because the economy is so good, and that would hurt a lot of people, not the least of whom are bankers. The Federal Reserve Board is composed of bankers, not economists, not investors. I expect the Fed to sit tight. I could be wrong, but if I waited until the facts were incontrovertible, my predictive value would be zero.

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Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame

Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late - among other misdemeanors - will be forced to stay in the division office and wear the armband all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan. The officers won't wear the armband in public.

If this doesn't work, they'll go to really drastic measures: Barney



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Not that I thought the Breck Boy was any kind of economic heavyweight, but Edwards jabs at former President Clinton shows how stupid he really is. It's one of the few things President Clinton got mostly right. Of course, Clinton inherited a mostly negotiated treaty from his predecessor...



All Edwards is doing is feeding his populist image, even though his populism is not even skin deep.



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Captain's Quarters lambastes a partisan response to California's proposed change in how it allocates electoral college votes.



I don't think it'd be just a good idea in the big states. The more I think about it, the more I think it's a good idea for everyone.