“Crowdsourcing” is the buzzword of the moment (though coined in the ancient world of technology back in 2006) and pertains to making an open appeal or project to a community and having those connected to that community take on the appeal or project and running it amongst themselves. It assumes the existence of a community […]
The Debate About Interest Rates And Opportunities For Growth
Economists are not known as a gregarious bunch (save Paul Krugman, perhaps). So it might not be much of a surprise to learn that the reports (eight per year) from the Federal Reserve are known as “The Beige Book(s).” The report takes on information from the twelve district Reserve Banks concerning the previous few months […]
Double-Dip Recession Fears Continue To Mute Enthusiasms
We don’t really want to brag about this. We wish we were wrong. But the MKCREATIVE blog was worrying about a double-dip recession before the three-foot-deep snows melted from the double-whammy of Nor’easters born by the eastern seaboard this past winter. The housing market, upon which so much of the US economy depends upon, was […]
Giving By Billionaires Getting Some Reflective/Reflexive Pushback
The pledge of William Buffett, Bill Gates, and a growing number of multi-million and billionaires has received a great deal of press in the last couple of weeks, as Mr. Buffett has made efforts to enlist the super-wealthy from around the world. According to a report in The Washington Post by Donna Gordon Blankinship (5 […]
Recent Reports of Administration’s Efforts To End Foreclosure: “Extend And Pretend”
With midterm elections coming in November, and with the Democrats generally sailing against the political winds, reports about the difficulties and inadequacies of the Obama Administrations project “Making Home Affordable” (MHA) are likely to slacken further the party’s sails. The MHA program was set up in February 2009 as offering “opportunities to modify or refinance […]
Housing Market Remains Soft As Banks Shy Away From Loans
The bubble in the housing market (and the attendant mortgage-backed securities, etc. that pumped up the bubble) is largely blamed for the rise in debt among American consumers. The fear of, and calling in, of that debt led to the collapse in credit in the early fall of 2008 that sparked the recession. Though economists […]
Elizabeth Warren Still Fighting For Consumer Protection
Almost a year ago, Elizabeth Warren began a focused campaign to bring consumer protections to the discussion about financial and credit reform. She is Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard University, and (yet?) chose to introduce her position on such protections via the following YouTube video: That was a year ago. Where is she […]
NeighborWorks Week Draws To Successful Close
The NeighborWorks Week (June 5-12) that just finished (and that we promoted a couple of weeks ago) focused on educating homeowners to the danger signs of mortgage-assistance scams and predatory loan practices. According to the NeighborWorks website, “NeighborWorks America and local NeighborWorks organizations held more than 320 community revitalization and 150 loan modification scam awareness […]