Links and Minifeatures 03 08 Wednesday

Bernanke is concerned about signs of some easing of underwriting standards. He's talking about commercial stuff, but he's a long way behind the curve in the residential market.

**********



From a service I get:

...the number of foreclosures nationwide was up 24.5% in the fourth quarter of last year from the first quarter of 2005. A nearly 25% increase in foreclosures last year, combined with slowing sales, softer home prices and higher mortgage rates has many analysts concerned. Hardest hit by rising foreclosure rates during 2005 were Massachusetts, up nearly 200%; Connecticut, up 188%; Michigan up 170%; Virginia up 151% and Maryland, up 117%. Nationwide, the number of foreclosures during the first quarter was 188,122 but by the final quarter was 234,278. In Massachusetts, the foreclosures jumped from 616 to 1,843; Connecticut, 1,456 to 4,202; Michigan, 4,411 to 11,937; Virginia, 380 to 956 and Maryland, 667 to 1,448. Georgia documented the highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states -- one new foreclosure for every 422 households, and Nevada was 2nd with one in 483 households. California has one property in foreclosure for every 1,306 households.

**********



Don't want to see the other side of the story? Only want to hear your own polemics, be they conservative or liberal? Balloon Juice notes a search engine that tells you if the results are conservative or liberal. I'll bet it succeeds, handsomely, too. "We have an exclusive lease on Truth" seems to be one of the most universal human mindsets.



Looks like it's time to enlarge the echo chambers on both sides of the political spectrum.



**********



Strata-Sphere notes that the Senate has decided to work with the administration on the wiretapping issue, folding it's bluff of hearings.



**********



Enrevanche directs us to a cool page full of .pdf downloads on risks caused by political factors



**********



So much for Yemen's "unusual tolerance of free press" (This Weeks US News and World Report). Armies of Liberation notes that the government prosecuters are asking for the death penalty and confiscation of the Yemen Observer.