Research Zeitgeist: Prime Primers, Palin’s Pitfall
One of the aims of Research Recap is to provide educational background on financial and economic topics, so it is gratifying when our “Research Primers” attract attention. The latest of these, based on an article in the International Monetary Fund’s Finance & Development magazine, provides a useful history and explanation of Securitization. Indeed, the IMF publication is earning a reputation for this kind of thing. Its December explainer of the Role of Hedge Funds in the Subprime Crisis features among the top posts on a regular basis and this week was no exception.
The top post of the week by a considerable margin was Fitch Says Worst of Credit Storm is Over for US Banks, in which Fitch Ratings threw every meteorological metaphor in the book at the issue. Fitch also featured in another top post, noting that the decline in house prices was likely to accelerate resetting of payment rates on option adjustable rate mortgages to higher levels. In the same post, CreditSights wondered why delinquencies are running at a higher rate than they should be based on the pace of rate resets.
There’s no doubt that Sarah Palin captured the zeitgeist this week, and the inaugural edition of the WSJ glossy wealthy lifestyle magazine includes an interview with the Alaska Governor about her running (marathons, that is). Carried out before she joined the McCain ticket, the interview reveals that her biggest pitfall is breakfast. “I hate to admit it, but a skinny white-chocolate mocha is my staple in the morning.” Guess that takes the “latte factor” off the table as an attack weapon against Barack Obama.
Now that the euphoria of the Democratic and Republican conventions has been punctured by Palin and unemployment respectively, the focus should return to policy issues and what the respective tickets plan to do about a weak economy and fragile markets. First up, the much anticipated takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Research Recap Quote of the Week:
Dependence on oil imports continues to be highest, reaching 95% in 2030. – International Energy Agency analysis of European Community energy policies.
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