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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on December 15, 2008 9:50 AM. The previous post in this blog was Buck-a-Hit Day goes to 5,000 hits. The next post in this blog is Whole Foods vs. the feds: It's gotten personal. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« Buck-a-Hit Day goes to 5,000 hits | Main | Whole Foods vs. the feds: It's gotten personal »

Monday, December 15, 2008

We're only halfway through this

Here's some not-so-good news about the economy.

Posted at 9:50 AM | Permalink

Comments (6)

Here's my question: We've been exploring the financial meltdown on this site for months with plenty of comments from people chastising others for not knowing what derivatives are, etc...Right?
I've read article after article in the mainstream press about the problem, and yet last night on "60 Minutes" was the first time I heard the phrases "Alt-A and Option ARM loans." And these are supposed to combine to be more trouble than Sub-primes!!! Why haven't these been mentioned before?
I can only conclude that the powers-that-be and their flunkies in the media are deliberately keeping the scope of our economic nightmare from us. Plus, I conclude that the snippy comments made here by people pretending to be experts were just so much cyber-air because they never got near this.
P.S. It also hurt watching "60 Minutes" when I realized the USC coach is a great guy. Ouch.

Posted by Bill McDonald | December 15, 2008 12:54 PM

Housing Doom blog and Housing Panic blog (among many others) have been warning about the menagerie of exotic animals that mutated in the lending garden for quite some time.

Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | December 15, 2008 1:44 PM

"Why haven't these been mentioned before?"
To avoid public panic, of course.
Many of us have been aware of the risks associated with ARMs for years. If the whole truth were told at once, riots would ensue. But, spread the angst over several months and the public can accept the loss in a peaceful way.

Posted by David Smoot | December 15, 2008 4:36 PM

Per George, there have been discussions and warning for years in the WSJ and various finance, real estate, and business magazines and websites. Just that the average public-school educated, clueless Joe is too busy watching ESPN or the local TV news for the days big automobile pile-up to actually think and ask questions.

Posted by Bankerman | December 15, 2008 8:38 PM

Or here.

Alleged Madoff Fraud Has Worldwide Exposure, By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, December 15, 2008.

Damage continued to ripple from the massive fraud allegedly engineered by storied Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff on Monday, even as investigators worked to unravel the scheme's working and its reach.
While details remained sketchy, the sudden collapse of Madoff's firm began revealing an impact far beyond the world of the ultra-wealthy and well-connected who were the mainstay of his client base. And the firm's extensive dealings with charitable foundations and other groups suggest the fraud may take a toll in unexpected places.

The 70-year-old Madoff (MAY-doff), well respected in the investment community after serving as chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was arrested Thursday in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion scheme to defraud investors.

But the list of people and organizations allegedly taken by Madoff reached into the ranks of the little guy, too.

When local officials in Fairfield, Conn., heard of Madoff's arrest ''it set off every bell,'' said Paul Hiller, the town's chief fiscal officer.

The town's employees board and police and fire board -- which cover 971 workers -- had $41.9 million invested with Madoff, said Paul Hiller, Fairfield's chief fiscal officer.

Town officials immediately notified their investment fund to liquidate. ''At that point, it was too late,'' he said.

''We obviously didn't ask enough questions,'' Hiller said.

Without the Madoff funds, the town's pension funds remain safe, officials said, but the loss means they've lost their cushion.

Others, though, have no such comfort zone.

Posted by Tenskwatawa | December 16, 2008 2:23 AM

WWW.SAVEOURECONOMY.COM

Posted by realdoN | December 17, 2008 11:05 PM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 26
At this date last year: 15
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269