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Drinking Is BelievingDrinking Is BelievingDrinking Is Believing is a website that highlights top stories about Real Estate and the Economy. The term Drinking Is Believing is a reference to the concept of Drinking the Kool-Aid. At drinkingisbelieving.com, we highlight some of the theories and
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Renting a foreclosed home
2008-05-29 17:35:00 We’re still alive! After a month and a half of waiting for things to turn around, we realized that just the opposite is happening. There’s even more doom-and-gloom to highlight than ever before!!!! US auto sales are bad (again), oil is bouncing around but still near an all-time high, everyone’s arguing about whether we’re in a ... More About: Real Estate , Home , Renting , Foreclosed , Kool-Aid
Who Deserves Mortgage Help?
2008-04-07 17:44:00 The LA Times is featuring an article that highlights how federal intervention in the mortgage mess may end up helping the wrong people. The House and Senate are beginning to consider proposals for federal intervention on a massive scale. In effect, the government would take over many of the risks now borne by lenders, borrowers and ... More About: Economy , Real Estate , Mortgage , Kool-Aid
Is this the end?
2008-03-31 17:15:00 CNNMoney.com is reporting a doom-and-gloom scenario that highlights the chaos on Wall Street caused by banks’ fear of loss threatening to bring down the financial system. We’re suffering the aftereffects of the collapse of a Tinker Bell financial market, one that depended heavily on borrowed money that has now vanished like pixie dust. Like Tink, ... More About: Economy , Credit , Stock Market , Investing , Kool-Aid
3 CEOs Made $460 Million
2008-03-07 00:00:00 CNN reports that a house oversight committee is preparing to investigate why three CEOs with ties to the mortgage crisis were paid $460 million over five years. The panel, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will hear testimony from Charles Prince, former CEO of Citigroup Inc.; Stanley O’Neal, former CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co.; and ... More About: Real Estate , Schadenfreude , Made , Million , Kool-Aid
Retirement Insecurity
2008-03-05 23:25:00 Wow! We’re finally back. After a severe bout of depression suffered after hearing so much negative news regarding our economy, the housing market, and international politics, the KoolAidMan finally decided it’s time to stop crying and hiding and write another post! Yahoo news is reporting that the heavy dependence on the stock market for retirement is ... More About: Economy , Retirement , Investing , Kool-Aid
Countrywide To Help Customers
2008-02-11 17:14:00 CNN is reporting that Countrywide Financial is expanding the scope of mortgage help to its customers. Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500), the nation’s largest mortgage lender and home loan servicer, has sought to address the growing number of defaults on its books by modifying loan terms, working out long-term repayment plans and other actions. The company ... More About: Credit , Real Estate , Customers , Kool-Aid
Brace Yourself
2008-02-04 17:03:00 Yahoo! Finance has posted an excellent article (from Businessweek) discussing the reasons why home prices could drop 25% or more before the housing market finally hits bottom. Some experts have begun to suggest that a bottom is in sight. Pali Research analyst Stephen East wrote in a research note to his firm’s clients on Jan. ... More About: Real Estate , Kool-Aid
Substantial Action
2008-01-24 11:17:00 Big apologies to our regular readers. The KoolAidMan took off on a last minute vacation halfway around the world, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to be exact. He’s had very little access to the internet and mainstream news, choosing to go hiking, diving, and fishing instead, but boy was he shocked to turn on ... More About: Economy , Credit , Action , Stock Market , Interest Rates
Citi: A $9.8 Billion Loss
2008-01-15 17:00:00 CNN reports that Citi bank delivered its worst quarterly results in its history with a $9.8B loss. The financial giant also announced a writedown of $18.1 billion related to soured mortgage investments and a 41 percent cut to its dividend. At the same time, it said it was receiving a $12.5 billion infusion from investors in ... More About: Stock Market , Investing , Loss , Kool-Aid
The Fed To The Rescue!
2008-01-11 16:54:00 CNN reports that the Federal Reserve is “ready to take ’substantive additional action’ to cut interest rates in order to support lagging economy“. We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks,” Bernanke said in prepared remarks before the Women in Housing and ... More About: Economy , Credit , Interest Rates , Rescue , Kool-Aid
Wall Street Bracing For Bad Bank Earnings
2008-01-09 16:37:00 CNN (among nearly all mainstream media outlets) is reporting that investors are bracing for a tough week as the nation’s biggest banks are releasing quarterly earnings reports. “It’s not going to be a pretty sight,” said Frank Barkocy, director of research at the investment advisory firm Mendon Capital Advisors in New York, which owns shares ... More About: Economy , Stock Market , Wall Street , Street , Wall
There?s No Simple Answer
2008-01-07 17:44:00 Forbes reports that US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said there’s no simple answer to the housing crisis. “By preventing avoidable foreclosures, we will safeguard neighborhoods and communities and fulfill our responsibility of protecting the broader U.S. economy,” Paulson said in excerpts of his speech released by Treasury. “However, let me be clear: there is no ... More About: Economy , Stock Market , Interest Rates , Answer , Simple
NYC Real Estate Still Booming
2008-01-03 14:51:00 CNN reports that Manhattan home prices are still holding strong as overseas buyers and Wall Street workers compete for the few homes for sale. Manhattan real estate continues to buck national trends - New York home prices soared during the last three months of the year, according to several surveys released Thursday. Several factors buoyed ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Kool-Aid
The Housing ?Experts? Were Wrong
2007-12-28 16:09:00 CNN is featuring a great article that highlights how it’s difficult to believe what so-called experts predict will happen in the housing market. Before you put much hope in forecasts for a 2008 rebound in the battered housing market, consider this: A year ago at this time many top economists were looking for that recovery ... More About: Real Estate , Housing , Experts , Wrong , Kool-Aid
Cracking Down on Mortgage Fraud
2007-12-27 16:13:00 The New York Times is reporting that in several cities officials can’t keep up on mortgage fraud investigation cases. The number of mortgage fraud cases has grown so fast that government agencies that investigate and prosecute them cannot keep up, lenders and law enforcement officials have said. … ?I don?t think any law enforcement agency can keep ... More About: Fraud , Real Estate , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Cracking
Do Commercial Banks Get It?
2007-12-21 20:14:00 Financial Times has a nice op-ed that discusses how despite liquidity injections from the central banks, commercial banks still can’t manage to straighten their mess out. (the full article was available earlier, but now requires free registration to be read in its entirety) The combined central bank injection of liquidity last week was impressive. Still, ... More About: Commercial , Credit , Banks , Kool-Aid
Can?t Get Away
2007-12-21 17:11:00 In our last post, we hinted at some discussion that this bubble is bigger than anyone had expected. After a weekend skiing in Utah, the KoolAidMan still couldn’t get away from Real Estate ! Throughout the day, several people had been discussing Real Estate. In the lodge restaurant, there ... More About: Kool-Aid
Drinking Is Believing
2007-12-19 21:50:00 Apologies to our regular readers who came here and didn’t see any new material in almost a week. The KoolAidMan was on another mini-vacation, hitting the slopes in Utah for an adventurous weekend, returning with a minor cold that required some additional recovery time. One observation the KoolAidMan made, just by looking and listening, was that ... More About: Stock Market , Drinking , Kool-Aid
The Future Of Our Economy
2007-12-13 18:19:00 The Motley Fool has a lengthy but excellent article showing us where the future of the US economy may be headed. Despite a number of hiccups this year, the stock market is still just a rock’s throw from another all-time high. But we’re coming up on a bend in the yellow brick road, and going ’round ... More About: Economy , Credit , Future , The Future , Kool-Aid
Things Are Different This Time
2007-12-12 22:01:00 During the run-up days of the bubble, many buyers were defending their high priced purchases saying ‘things are different this time’ along with the usual defenses that ‘they aren’t making any more land’ and ‘real estate always goes up.’ Well things are different this time. I’m not claiming this as an original idea, but this housing ... More About: Real Estate , Time , Things , Kool-Aid , Diff
More Bad News
2007-12-12 21:52:00 CNN is running an article with the headline “More Bad News From The Banks” which informs us that more banks are warning of bigger than expected writedowns which may result in disappointing quarterly results. Among the first to issue a warning was Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, who said that the company now expected to ... More About: Bad News , Kool-Aid
Bailout Won?t Stop Recession
2007-12-11 15:51:00 Marketwatch has a nice article today highlighting thirteen reasons why Bush’s bailout plan won’t stop a recession. Like the tide, recessions are natural, healthy, positive … and inevitable Fortune magazine recently put CEOs such as Citi’s Prince and Merrill’s O’Neill under the microscope: “What Were They Smoking?” The best-and-brightest lost $165 billion, but exited rich, with ... More About: Economy , Stop , Recession , Bailout , Kool-Aid
Another Writedown
2007-12-10 16:38:00 CNN is reporting that Swiss bank UBS is writing down another $10B on losses in the US subprime lending market. Swiss banking giant UBS AG said Monday it will write off a further $10 billion on losses in the U.S. subprime lending market and will raise capital by selling shares to Singapore and an unnamed investor ... More About: Kool-Aid
More Credit, Please!
2007-12-10 16:25:00 This was seen last Friday on Yahoo, but it’s too good to pass up. Recently compiled statistics show that consumer borrowing, specifically credit card use, increased significantly. Credit card debt has been surging in recent months as consumers have started borrowing more heavily on their credit cards now that home refinancings have slowed. That slowdown ... More About: Economy
Is China?s IPO Boom Over?
2007-12-10 05:02:00 There have been many things going on in the financial markets here in the United States; the terms “Credit Crunch” and “Subprime Crisis” seems to be dominating the headlines. But what’s going on in the rest of the world? We’ve all been aware of a booming market in China with a growing middle class ... More About: Economy , Stock Market , Investing , Boom
Consumer Confidence Drops
2007-12-07 17:22:00 Yahoo has two articles today that tell how employers added jobs last month, but consumer confidence remains at a two year low. Analysts said continued gains in hiring showed the economy was not at immediate risk of crumbling onto recession despite strains from a weak housing sector and credit tightness. But a later report showed consumers’ ... More About: Economy , Consumer , Confidence
The Rich Get Richer
2007-12-06 22:57:00 We’ve been drinking a lot of Kool-Aid here lately, trying to cope with everything that’s going on in the financial and real-estate world. Whether you’re a regular reader here or not, you’re probably aware by now that there’s talk in the White House about freezing adjustable interest rates to help save the ailing subprime ... More About: Rich , Richer
Rate Cut And More Credit
2007-12-05 18:22:00 Bloomberg.com is reporting that the Federal Reserve may couple a rate cut with additional measures to increase credit. Federal Reserve officials, who are forecast to lower their main interest rate next week, are signaling that they are looking for additional ways to increase credit to companies and consumers. “The Fed has to re-liquefy the markets to reduce ... More About: Economy , Credit , Rate
GS Bull Predicts 15% Rise of S&P 500 by End of ?08
2007-12-04 21:19:00 Bloomberg.com reports that Abby Joseph Cohen, a Goldman Sachs strategist, predicts the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rise 14 percent by the end of next year. Cohen, 55, says the S&P 500 will climb to a record 1,675, extending the longest stretch of annual gains since the 1980s. She joins strategists at Citigroup Inc., ... More About: Stock Market , Bull , Rise
Rate Freeze To Help Struggling Homeowners
More articles from this author:2007-12-03 19:12:00 CNN is reporting that there will soon be an agreement to help thousands of homeowners avoid mortgage defaults by temporarily freezing interest rates. Paulson told a national housing conference that this effort involved a “pragmatic response” to current realities as the economy goes through the worst housing slump in more than two decades. The number ... More About: Economy , Real Estate , Interest Rates , Freeze , Rate 1, 2 |
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