Economic News/Discussion

[kbohip]

And sheesh..Apple stock. Off topic I know but its an amazing thing to witness.

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.htm...L&iid=HP_Last5

Analysts say 710 is about right as mid price future with highs near 960 or so. I smell a split before it gets there.

What I find much more incredulous is Priceline. Lol, as of right now it's at $655 a share! I guess Apple needs to hire Shatner.

[Keven]

And sheesh..Apple stock. Off topic I know but its an amazing thing to witness.

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.htm...L&iid=HP_Last5

Analysts say 710 is about right as mid price future with highs near 960 or so. I smell a split before it gets there.

Yeah. Now that Jobs is gone, it'll either be split or they'll start issuing regular dividends. Apple's cash-on-hand is more than the GDP of something like 80 countries around the globe.

[jimzinsocal]

What I find much more incredulous is Priceline. Lol, as of right now it's at $655 a share! I guess Apple needs to hire Shatner.

Priceline nobody considers really..not as "in the news" as Apple yet its out performed Apple over 3/5 years. Makes Apple's growth look sick..something like 700% in 3 years if I recall right.
I think what is driving some of these stocks..the name brand stocks..is whats the alternative really?. Bonds suck..so otherwise cautious "savings" type investors..are getting into making some $

[Keven]

What I find much more incredulous is Priceline. Lol, as of right now it's at $655 a share! I guess Apple needs to hire Shatner.

Well, Apple's market cap is $545 billion. Priceline's is $32 billion.

[AMDScooter]

As if the libtards have not f*cked the economy bad enough pushing affirmative action on lending standards through Fan & Fred.They are beyond doubling down on stupid.. how many times is the clueless gaggle going to try to "fix" the mortgage issue with more gubberment intervention?

Dems want Fannie, Freddie overseer out over resistance to mortgage write-downs

A top regulator's unbending refusal to use troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rescue underwater homeowners is whipping up a growing protest from liberal lawmakers and advocacy groups -- some of whom are now calling on President Obama to fire him.

The little-known Washington official, Edward DeMarco, is under pressure by the left to reduce mortgage principals for struggling borrowers. Nearly 20 Democrats in Congress along with groups like MoveOn.org have launched somewhat of a campaign against the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Their solution would presumably help thousands of families, but at taxpayer expense.

And DeMarco has suggested it just wouldn't be fair to use government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to clear the way for a multi-billion-dollar homeowner bailout. In a recent letter, he said foreclosure prevention programs have already added to American taxpayer loss and destabilized neighborhoods.

But the lawmakers and advocacy groups allege he's standing in the way of a robust housing recovery, and want him to either relent to their demands or step down. Absent that, some are calling on Obama to fire him.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Financial Service Committee, recently joined the ranks of those calling on DeMarco to step down.

The lawmakers specifically want DeMarco to agree to write down principal amounts for struggling homeowners. The Van Jones-backed Rebuild the Dream, which is circulating a petition supposedly signed by 90,000 people, calls DeMarco the "number one obstacle to solutions for struggling homeowners" and a "right-wing ideologue" who sides with Wall Street.

A House aide with the Progressive Caucus, whose members are pressuring DeMarco, told FoxNews.com that the strategy is to get him to "write down the loans or get out of the way."

"It's absolutely unconscionable that people would defend DeMarco and his unwillingness to let American homeowners get the relief that they need at a time that we're all trying to put America back to work and get this economy back on track," the aide said.

But DeMarco repeatedly has defended his agency's approach, which focuses on existing mortgage relief programs including recent refinancing opportunities. The agency pushes, among other options, forbearance -- which defers interest payments for portions of the principal.

At a recent forum hosted by the National Journal, DeMarco said the key to mortgage relief is to reduce monthly payments and relieve the strain on family budgets. He said forbearance -- as opposed to principal write-downs -- achieves that goal, and "preserves" taxpayer dollars in the process. Furthermore, he said the majority of deeply underwater homeowners are "current" on their mortgages, meaning they are willing to meet their obligations.

"This should be recognized and encouraged - not dampened with incentives for people to not continue paying," DeMarco said.

DeMarco has been steadfast in trying to strike that balance. In a February letter to California's attorney general, he rejected a request to suspend foreclosures in the state, noting Fannie and Freddie over the past few years have already done more than 1 million loan modifications. He said there's "no question" underwater borrowers "would benefit from other taxpayers across the United States" paying off their underwater portions, but suggested that would not be fair to taxpayers.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., earlier this week came to DeMarco's defense.

In an interview with Fox Business Network, he said DeMarco "has done an incredible job."

"If people had listened to DeMarco earlier, I think we could have avoided some of the problems that we have. He's actually brought a lot of credibility to his job and I give him my strongest vote of confidence," Bachus said.

But some claim a principal relief program could actually make money for the government. A Treasury official told The Hill newspaper last month that a smaller-scale principal forgiveness initiative could save $20 billion by reducing defaults -- as opposed to the $100 billion it would supposedly cost to write down all underwater mortgages.

Fox Business Network's Rich Edson contributed to this report.

Obviously the libtards pushing this ill conceived "plan" have no idea what a moral hazard is.

[Keven]

I don't get why liberals think that foreclosure is the worst thing that can happen to somebody. Yes, I'm sure it's not fun to be kicked out of the house and the kids have to move and all that, but if you can't pay for something, it should be taken away. Does the Congressional Progressive Caucus want to provide relief for people who have their cars repoed because they can't make their car payments?

[kbohip]

Priceline nobody considers really..not as "in the news" as Apple yet its out performed Apple over 3/5 years. Makes Apple's growth look sick..something like 700% in 3 years if I recall right.
I think what is driving some of these stocks..the name brand stocks..is whats the alternative really?. Bonds suck..so otherwise cautious "savings" type investors..are getting into making some $

Priceline up another $17.38 as of right now to almost $675.00 a share, while Apple is down 50 cents. Crazy.

[myv65]

Does the Congressional Progressive Caucus want to provide relief for people who have their cars repoed because they can't make their car payments?

Is that a rhetorical question or what? You know, you don't have to be handing out ideas to that group.

[Nate]

Does the Congressional Progressive Caucus want to provide relief for people who have their cars repoed because they can't make their car payments?

What pisses me and my wife off is that we paid cash money for our house.

We lost just as much equity as everyone else. Yet we get to pay in to help bail out other people who are underwater.

[SteveW]

What pisses me and my wife off is that we paid cash money for our house.

We lost just as much equity as everyone else. Yet we get to pay in to help bail out other people who are underwater.

And that's just phuking criminal. Let the Libberals pay for the crap - they made the mess.

[tucker]

^^^ By the time this president is through this country really will be the land of the free.

Free birth control pills, free college education, free housing and free everything. It’s going to happen like that until the tax payers and the benefactors say no more free ride.

[Keven]

It’s going to happen like that until the tax payers and the benefactors say no more free ride.

You have the Tea Party folks doing that on one side. On the other you have the Occupy crowd who want more handouts from the government and despite private industry.

This country is so polarized right now, it's amazing. I thought I had seen the worst of it during 2005-2007 at the height of the Iraq War's unpopularity but it's gotten even worse. I wasn't alive during the Vietnam War protests of the 60s/early 70s, but that might the last time we've had this sort of divide in the country.

[tucker]

I wasn't alive during the Vietnam War protests of the 60s/early 70s, but that might the last time we've had this sort of divide in the country.

In my opinion the divide is worse now and it’s not unplanned.

[SteveW]

In my opinion the divide is worse now and it’s not unplanned.

Not only is it worse now, add to the divide a feeling of utter hopelessness. Over the past 40+ years, this country has been Libberalized into oblivion......

[smoked trout]

I don't think you can compare the current situation to Vietnam.

Back then we had a draft, and we had extremely high casualties. Socially we also had race riots. And the ever looming possibility of nuclear holocaust sometimes minutes away.

We were lucky to get through all that.