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To: Vet_6780
Morgan Stanley's Asia Chairman, Stephen Roach, made this observation in a New York Times op-ed on Sunday:

If he's counting on the ability of Roach to predict the future.....

Most people have no idea how grave the present situation is or the disaster the country will face if trillions of dollars of over-leveraged bonds and equities begin to unwind.

How do bonds and equities "unwind"?

Fed chief Bernanke hasn't done much better than Paulson. His three-quarter point cut to the Fed's Funds rate hasn't lowered interest rates on mortgages

30 year mortgages are below 6%.

All it's done is weaken the dollar and trigger a wave of inflation.

The dollar has strengthened in the last week.

Bernanke's "master plan" is little more than a cash giveaway to sinking banks. It has scant chance of succeeding. The Fed is offering $.85 on the dollar for mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that sold last week in the E*Trade liquidation for $.27 on the dollar.

Taking MBS as collateral for a loan that must be paid back is not a "giveaway".

28 posted on 12/19/2007 11:27:30 AM PST by Toddsterpatriot (What came first, the bad math or the goldbuggery?)
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To: Toddsterpatriot
How do bonds and equities "unwind"?

They unwind when sold. If they sell below cost then the loss is made geometrically worse by the amount of the leverage.

30 year mortgages are below 6%

That means foreclosure for most who bought 4.5% ARMs two years ago and now have to reset. Not to speak of loans that are underwater due to declining home values.

The dollar has strengthened in the last week

According to BLS inflation statistics, the dollar has lost 95% of its value since the Fed was created in 1913. Confirmed by the fact that over the same period gold has gone from $35 to $800.

Taking MBS as collateral for a loan that must be paid back is not a "giveaway".

It is when accounting rule FAS 157 is being thwarted by extending its deadline. And why is the Fed money auction anonymous ? So much for transparency.

29 posted on 12/19/2007 2:36:23 PM PST by Vet_6780
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