Thursday, February 15, 2007

Today's WSJ Online loaded with provocative headlines

U.S. INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT FELL 0.5% during January on weaker production of motor vehicles and parts...

Chrysler and GM are exploring joint development of a large SUV like the Chevrolet Suburban, which Chrysler doesn't have in its current lineup....What in the world for? The last thing the US auto market needs is a giant gas hog. This just reiterates the cluelessness of of management at the US automakers.

Major banks and Wall Street firms are unloading bad home loans, as more Americans fall behind on mortgage payments...someone is taking it in the shorts on these loans. Followup quote from the article: "Major financial firms like Merrill Lynch, which bought large amounts of high-risk, high-return mortgage loans in 2005 and 2006, are now trying to force the firms that originated those loans to buy them back, The Wall Street Journal Online reported. The moves reflect the increasing numbers of Americans who are falling behind in their mortgage payments.”

Bernanke reaffirms tightening bias...

China may cut down on U.S. bond purchases as it studies ways to manage its $1.07 trillion in currencies and securities.... if China does so, I foresee a meaningful increase in long-term interest rates in the US, which would likely exacerbate the bad home loan problem mentioned above.

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