Elusive Search for the Bottom: Housing Market Update
posted by Rayman Mathoda on November 03, 2008 at 11:48 AM
A lot of people around me, especially those focused on buying real estate as an investment in this historically challenging real estate market, are obsessed with when US home prices will “bottom out”. I believe people sometimes focus on finding the lowest home price at the expense of other equally important economic factors such as the cost of construction/”fixing the place” and financing costs…both of which are at historic lows right now, and thought I’d share some of the latest news/information relevant to this topic:
Continue reading "Elusive Search for the Bottom: Housing Market Update"
Speculation and accountability in the real estate market
posted by Rayman Mathoda on October 30, 2008 at 05:27 PM
It is a well known fact that most if not all asset bubbles are characterized by significant speculative investment activity (and by this I mean investors with very short investment timeframes and expectations). And this was certainly true of the US housing market (and other overinflated housing markets globally) over the last few years. It’s impossible to know exactly how much of the housing market was driven by speculation, as no agency tracks this issue…and even if they tried, it’s impossible to verify someone’s intent. But I sit back and wonder if our society has gotten too lax on “personal accountability”.
Continue reading "Speculation and accountability in the real estate market"
Is the Global Credit Crunch going to help to Save the Planet?
posted by DK Matai on October 28, 2008 at 12:56 AM
Dear Friends, it would be useful to have your considered input in regard to the following: "Is the Global Credit Crunch going to help to Save the Planet?"
Continue reading "Is the Global Credit Crunch going to help to Save the Planet?"
One simple idea for ending price discrimination in health care
posted by Rayman Mathoda on October 27, 2008 at 09:36 AM
2 women walk into a hospital with acute stomach pain. One is a highly paid lawyer at a top law firm who is covered by her company’s health insurance plan and the other is a working class American without health insurance. Both women get the exact same diagnostic tests and medical care, and both stay in the hospital for the exact same number of nights. Do the two women pay the same amount for the health care they consume (in total, including payments made by the insurance company on behalf of the lawyer who has health insurance)? Likely not, if the above happens in the USA.
Continue reading "One simple idea for ending price discrimination in health care"
My 2 Cents On The Issue of Mortgage Fraud
posted by Rayman Mathoda on October 22, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I worked at Indymac Bank for a little over 4 years till July 2008 when - after the FDIC took management control of the Bank after a “run on the Bank” was (unfortunately) triggered by Senator Schumer’s leaked WSJ letter (discussed in a prior blog) - I resigned from my position as Chief Administrative Officer. My role had put me in charge of the “People” and “Expense/Cost” functions of the Company…but thankfully (I guess – given the massive blame game going on against anyone involved in the lending industry) I was not involved in any way with making loans.
Continue reading "My 2 Cents On The Issue of Mortgage Fraud"
Schumer triggers Indymac failure....why?
posted by Rayman Mathoda on October 18, 2008 at 02:22 PM
In late June this summer, about 2 weeks before the “failure” (i.e., inability to continue to be in business without third party support) of my ethical and well run employer Indymac Bank, I – then a Senior Executive at the Company - read in horror a letter that New York Senator Charles Schumer had sent to two key regulatory bodies - the Office of Thrift Supervision (Indymac’s primary regulator) and the FDIC - and that his office had “leaked” to the Wall Street Journal. We had been fighting hard to adapt/save our business and as many jobs as possible for 12 hard months since the capital markets froze up in the summer of 2007....and this Schumer letter looked like a possible death warrant for our business. "When it rains, it really pours", I thought.
Continue reading "Schumer triggers Indymac failure....why?"
The Question of Trust: Beyond Paulson's Bold Plan
posted by ATCA on September 21, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Dear Friends, we are grateful to Dr Harald Malmgren, Chief Executive, Malmgren Global, based in Washington, DC -- an internationally recognised expert on world trade and investment flows who has worked with four US Presidents -- and the ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) based in Canary Wharf, London, for their joint submission.
Continue reading "The Question of Trust: Beyond Paulson's Bold Plan"
Havoc from UDS 65+ Trillion Credit Default Swaps
posted by DK Matai on September 18, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Growth in Credit Default Swaps from 2001 to 2007
Dear Friends, it would be useful to have your considered input in regard to what havoc have the USD 65+ trillion of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) yet to create? Note Reference.
Continue reading "Havoc from UDS 65+ Trillion Credit Default Swaps"
AIG Downgrade, Wobble and General Confidence
posted by DK Matai on September 16, 2008 at 02:32 AM
Dear Friends, it would be useful to have your considered input in regard to the global implications of the AIG downgrade and share price wobble. What is it likely to do to general confidence?
Continue reading "AIG Downgrade, Wobble and General Confidence"
Consequences of Lehman Brothers Insolvency
posted by DK Matai on September 15, 2008 at 12:35 AM
Lehman Brothers Insolvent
Dear Friends, it would be useful to have your considered input in regard to the global implications of the Lehman Brothers insolvency.
Continue reading "Consequences of Lehman Brothers Insolvency"
4Cs: China, Commodities, Currencies, Correction
posted by DK Matai on August 17, 2008 at 11:09 PM
China Slow Down
Dear Friends, there are four Cs worth contemplating post the Olympics:
Continue reading "4Cs: China, Commodities, Currencies, Correction"
Outlook - Perspective - Meinung - Pensiero!
posted by DK Matai on August 04, 2008 at 11:01 PM
DK is cautiously optimistic and you? ...est prudemment optimiste et vous?... ist vorsichtig optimistisch und Sie? ...è cautamente ottimista e voi?
Continue reading "Outlook - Perspective - Meinung - Pensiero!"
Sustained & Rising Oil Price: Main Reason?
posted by ATCA on June 12, 2008 at 03:36 AM
Dear Friends, we are grateful to Prof Prabhu Guptara, Executive Director, Wolfsberg (UBS), Switzerland...
Continue reading "Sustained & Rising Oil Price: Main Reason?"
What is the Right Price for Oil?
posted by ATCA on June 09, 2008 at 02:16 AM
Dear Friends, oil prices staged their biggest one day advance on record to reach an all-time high of almost USD 140 on Friday.
Continue reading "What is the Right Price for Oil?"
High Oil Price Bubble -- Driven by Speculation?
posted by ATCA on June 06, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Peak Oil
Dear Friends, we are grateful to the distinguished ATCA contributor, Prof Lord Desai of St Clement Danes, from the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster...
Continue reading "High Oil Price Bubble -- Driven by Speculation?"
Towards a Golden Age? Wisdom Global Economy
posted by DK Matai on May 23, 2008 at 03:25 AM
Enabling a Wisdom based Global Economy
Dear Friends, the response to the ATCA briefing "The Super Inflation Freeze -- Abrupt Financial Climate Change?" from amongst the distinguished members, luminaries and friends of ATCA and The Philanthropia has been overwhelmingly positive and extremely impressive.
Continue reading "Towards a Golden Age? Wisdom Global Economy"
The Super Inflation Freeze -- Abrupt Financial Climate Change?
posted by DK Matai on May 21, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Super Inflation: German Marks Worthless (1920s)
Dear Friends, ever higher fuel and food prices are stirring up double-digit super inflation in an increasing number of countries across the world, while economic growth shows severe signs of faltering.
Continue reading "The Super Inflation Freeze -- Abrupt Financial Climate Change?"
Interspecies 'Semolina' crosses New Line: Where is evidence of benefit? Why ignore adult stem cells?
posted by ATCA on May 20, 2008 at 06:43 AM
Interspecies Hybrid
Dear Friends, we are grateful to the distinguished ATCA contributor, Lord Alton, from the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster for his response to Dr Moore's "Human-Animal Hybrid Experimentation -- The Opportunity for Asymmetric Intervention?"
Human-Animal Hybrid Experimentation -- The Opportunity for Asymmetric Intervention?
posted by ATCA on May 19, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Combining Animal Eggs with Human DNA
Dear Friends, we are grateful to the distinguished ATCA contributor, Dr Pete Moore, a Science Communicator and Author, for his addition to the Socratic dialogue in this regard.
Demographics, Infrastructure and Investment Flows -- Where and Why? India versus China
posted by DK Matai on May 18, 2008 at 02:40 AM
The World including India & China
Dear Friends, while demographics and other longer-term factors have led to a rise in commodity prices, the dramatic spike over the past three months has more to do with investment flows and allocation of smart capital.
Lebanon & Ten Fundamental Mega-Trends in the Middle East -- Potential for Multiple Black Swans?
posted by DK Matai on May 10, 2008 at 11:40 PM
Future TV under attack, Beirut
Dear Friends, the international community is waking up to the shock of the "yellow topple" Hezbollah power grab which threatens to change the fundamentals in Lebanon as well as the Levant, and more broadly across the Middle East.
USD 200 Oil Super Spike: What Consequences?
posted by ATCA on May 10, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Global Oil Super Spike
Dear Friends, most analysts laughed when Goldman Sachs predicted that oil would go to USD 100 a barrel more than two years ago. Brent crude is around USD 124 a barrel at present.
Continue reading "USD 200 Oil Super Spike: What Consequences?"
The Second Burma Black Swan -- Nargis -- A Wake up Call for The World? Global Risk Management
posted by ATCA on May 10, 2008 at 09:00 PM
Cyclone Nargis, Burma
Dear Friends, the second grotesque tragedy unfolding in Burma in less than a year post the political turmoil -- with 60,000+ dead and millions left homeless post cyclone Nargis -- is just one of the many examples...
One Universe or Multi-Unique & Parallel Universes?
posted by DK Matai on May 07, 2008 at 02:06 AM
One Universe: Multi-Unique & Parallel Universes
Dear Friends, in response to "Is the World Really Flat?" Vernon Collins from New York has written, "DK, its neither flat nor round nor in a parallel dimension ... its a universe that each individual lives in and plays and exists within..."
Continue reading "One Universe or Multi-Unique & Parallel Universes?"
Is the World Really Flat? Global Fuel, Food and Finance Crises
posted by DK Matai on May 04, 2008 at 04:32 PM
Dear Friends, it has been a long march since Thomas Friedman declared the world to be flat. This thinking may have its boundary conditions, which are now being tested as the global fuel, food and finance crises loom ever larger.
Continue reading "Is the World Really Flat? Global Fuel, Food and Finance Crises"
The Emerging Golden Triangle of SMEC: Singapore, Middle East and China?
posted by DK Matai on May 02, 2008 at 01:01 AM
and Wealth Management Strategy
The Merlion, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Singapore, Middle East and China (SMEC) are together configuring the emerging Golden Triangle of strategic long term investment & global wealth management ...
Continue reading "The Emerging Golden Triangle of SMEC: Singapore, Middle East and China?"
Fighting Fire with Fire? The Limits to Knowledge in Financial (Re)Engineering
posted by ATCA on May 01, 2008 at 01:21 AM
Dear Friends, we are grateful to Prof Joseph Mason, a distinguished