The crash

More housing crash diagnostics. Where has all that talk of a "new era" gone? The danger is we are indeed slipping into a "new era"; one characterized by high interest rates, financial panic and recession.

Is it different this time? It is never different.

California blame game

The finger pointing has begun. Who is to blame for the housing crash? There are so many culprits it is difficult to choose. However, one name stands out: Alan Greenspan.

doozy loans, toxic hedge funds

Here is an intelligent clip from Australia, examining the Bear Sterns hedge fund collapse. Well worth watching.

Burning down the house

Here is an excellent primer on subprime collatoralized debt obligations and why they have become so dangerous.

Where would we be without credit cards

After watching this video clip, I started to feel sorry for students. Here are some horror stories about credit card companies harrassing kids in university.

Am I the only one who thinks that credit cards are evil?

Empire of debt

Here is a nice clip on the horrors of credit card debt.

A sign of the times

Here is a 45 second silent movie about the current state of the housing market. Everywhere is for sale these days.

I laugh in your face

Mortgage rates are spiking, defaults rising and and inventories at all time highs; as the man in this clip says "if anyone tells you that the housing market has bottomed out, you have my permission to laugh in his face".

The dangers of private equity firms

This clip isn't about the housing market. Rather, it contains a stark warning about the dangers of private equity firms. Today, perfectly good companies are being loaded up with debt in the pursuit of short term profit and tax advantages. If there is even a slight downturn in economic activity, many fine American companies will struggle. It is all so unnecesary.

My house is worth how much?

If ever there was a clip that illustrated the absurdity of the housing bubble, it is this one here.

In this clip, we have a woman who bought a house for around $750,000, and needs some cash to renovate it. Along comes the home appraiser and tells her that after two years of ownership, the house is now worth $1.3 million. Furthermore, if she does a couple of quick and cheap repairs, the house's value increases to $1.6 million.

At no point is this appraisal tested against the market. No, this appraisal is about a home equity loan. The whole thing is pure fantasy.

Foreclosures - vultures begin to circle

Making money out of other people's misery.

Smack-down

Housingheads versus the bubbleheads.

Here we have some long-haired realtor type predicting 10 percent house price appreciation in 2007. However, his unbridled optimism about real estate smacks straight into Peter Schiff, who coolly explains why the housing market has a long way to go before it stabilises.

Housing wave

It is a tidal wave of "for sale" signs

How to prevent the housing bubble from crashing...

Here is another out of touch kooky academic talking rubbish.

Florida homes - 50 percent off

The crash accelerates. Now, you can find homes selling at a 50 percent discount.