WORTH READING: shows accounting bs -  The End of the Credit Crisis - Alex Trias - seeking alpha ------------ Bernanke suggests mark-to-market revisions for illiquid assets - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says mark-to-market accounting rules are "a good principle in general" but that accounting-standards groups should figure out a better way to value assets that aren't being traded on liquid markets. "I don't see a suspension of the whole system as being constructive, because there is a great deal of information in valuing many of these assets," he said. - Bloomberg ------------ Terminated: Why the Women of Wall Street Are Disappearing - Anita Raghavan - After the scandals of the 1990s, didn't Investment Banks put sexist employment practices behind them? Evidently not. -   Forbes ------------ Agencies to Begin Forward-Looking Economic Assessments - The federal bank regulatory agencies announced today that they will start conducting forward-looking economic assessments of large U.S. banking organizations as the Capital Assistance Program (CAP) gets under way. These assessments will be done on an interagency basis as a coordinated supervisory exercise to ensure they are carried out in a timely and consistent manner. Supervisors will work with institutions to estimate the range of possible future losses and the resources to absorb such losses over a two-year period. - FRB Atlanta ------------    and  1.  Insured Banks and Thrifts Lost $26.2 Billion in the Fourth Quarter - Domestic Deposits Increased by 3.8 Percent - FDIC Press Release 2.  F.D.I.C.’s Bank Fund at Lowest Point in 25 Years - ERIC LIPTON - NY Times  ------------ Cash offers for bank owned property soar - Tim Iacono - themessthatgreenspanmade ------------ A better way to fix the banks - Lowell Bryan and Toos Daruvala - Here’s a plan that could solve the toxic-asset pricing problem voluntarily—without requiring Uncle Sam to nationalize the whole industry—and make (pretty much) everyone a winner. - McKinsey Quarterly   ------------ 1.  HUD Makes Higher Reverse Mortgage Loan Limits Official - Kohn Yedinak - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2009-07 which raises the national FHA loan limit for HECMs to $625,500.  The changes are effective immediately for loans closed on or after February 24, 2009 - Reverse Mortgage Daily 2.  Huffington Post Describes How Housing Crisis Is Hurting Seniors Looking To Move - John Yedinak -  Mark Miller is one of my favorite journalists who covers all things Baby Boomer on websites like Retirement Revised, 50+ Digital, and he also contributes to the Huffington Post.  Over the weekend, Miller wrote about how the housing crisis is hurting seniors who are unable to sell their homes when they decide to move for health or lifestyle reasons.  As a result, continuing care communities are having problems attracting new residents due to the large upfront payment which is required for seniors to move into these types of communities. - more - Reverse Mortgage Daily   ------------ Mortgage Interest Deduction on the Slicing Block - Luke Mullins - In order to pay for health care reform, President Barack Obama is proposing to take the axe--or at least the scalpel--to a longtime sacred cow: the mortgage interest deduction. The plan, which was included as part of the president's budget proposal for 2010--unveiled Thursday---would reduce the value of the mortgage interest and other deductions for the nation's highest earners. Taken together, the increases are expected to bring in $318 billion over 10 years.  - US News ------------ 23 Financial Videos for the past week - Prier du Plessis's weekly summary - Investment Postcards from Capetown