For 2008, loan volumes plunge 44% while bonds lose 27% - David Oakley - Loan and bond volumes dropped in 2008 to lows last seen at the height of the dot-com bust in 2000. Dealogic figures show that syndicated loan volumes dropped 44%, while bond volumes slid 29%. During the past year, U.S. banks went through significant changes, including bankruptcy, rescues and mergers. The year also included establishment of government-guaranteed bank debt, an asset class that has had significant effect on markets. - Financial Times
————
Andrew Davidson & Co. - The Pipeline - good article about the rally and coupon compression - Securitization.net
————
Home prices may rise on mortgage refinancing boom - Veteran banking analyst Richard Bove said he expects housing prices in the United States to stabilize and/or rise after a likely boom in mortgage refinance, as mortgage rates fall and loan applications increase. - Reuters
————
For FHASecure, a Quiet End Nears - By PAUL JACKSON - housingwire
————
A Case for Higher Interest Rates & Lower Home Prices - With the continual prodding by many to initiate 4.5% mortgage rates to pacify the current housing market glut, it’s important to distinguish the effects based on two categories of buyers:
1. Existing mortgage refinancing
2. Home Purchase Mortgages
Fundamentally, the problem with this policy is that it is likely to have a minimal effect on latter category. - StrucTURa: An Elemental Approach to Finance & Strategy
————
Take heart; no one else knows what’s next, either - JONAH GOLDBERG - Kansas City Star
————
For Regionals, Cleanup Is Top Priority - American Banker - By Paul Davis and Kevin Dobbs - BankInvestmentConsultant.com
————
Research Recap - Bailout Primer - Looking for some light reading while sitting by the yule log? The Capital Markets and Securities practice at Paul Weiss has just published a primer for the bailouts, a Reference Guide to the U.S. Rescue Efforts. The 50+ page report has been updated to include events of the past week and is available for free download. Research Recap - Bailout Primer
————
Chart of the Day - For some perspective into the all-important US real estate market, today’s chart illustrates the US median price of a single-family home over the past 38 years.
————
Agency Copes With a Mortgage-Insurance Overflow - NICK TIMIRAOS and JAMES R. HAGERTY - Federal Housing Administration Receives a Mountain of Paperwork Daily That Employees Check, Relying on Old Systems - Wall Street Journal
————
A Far-East Fiasco? - Posted by Prieur du Plessis - This post is a guest contribution by Vitaliy N. Katsenelson, author of Active Value Investing: Making Money in Range-Bound Markets and director of research at Investment Management Associates. - Investment Postcards from Capetown (think about this … with UST rates at record lows, this would be a great time for China start selling them - BC)
