Could this finally be the anvil that sinks the Hammer? From Drudge via Oliver Willis: NYT PAGE ONE LEAD, WASH POST PAGE ONE WEDNESDAY, NEWSROOM SOURCES TELLDRUDGE: … A six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by then-House MajorityWhip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was underwritten by business interestslobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four peoplewith firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements…. Developing… Of course, everything Drudge says needs to be taken with a big grain of salt — could be true, partly true, or not true at all. But it seems fairly specific — we’ll all check the "reliable media" tomorrow. (And if it’s bunk, this post never happened!) (I see it’s also at RawStory via Atrios, which actually has a supposed excerpt from the upcoming WaPo story. It’s another Jack Abramoff junket.) If it is true, then I think we’ll see the end of the Tom DeLay circus pretty soon. There’s something about the soundbite of "shady Russian connections", both past and present, that will not sit well with the conservative true believers. They are world-class rationalizers, but sometimes the BS is just piled too high to ignore. And us, well … it doesn’t really change our opinion [...]
Bubble bubble toil and trouble III: Forewarned is fore-ARMed
Yikes: "There are a lot more people questioningthe prevailing wisdom" of traditional fixed-rate mortgages, Lewis says.Many don’t plan to stay in their homes for more than a few years andare unwilling to pay a premium for a 30-year fixed rate, he says. That’s just fine, until "a few years" becomes "now". And then, if you’ve taken out a big Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) that was a good fit for your finances at the low interest rate, and now find it difficult to pay at the higher rate, you need to find a Greater Fool to sell to. (Hah. Maybe I’ll start a finance site, and call it "The Greater Fool.") The degree to which the current housing market is sound or bubbly depends on elasticity of demand: if there are a lot of folks who don’t need to/can’t afford to stay owners in this market, then that will make the pop that much louder. Speculators don’t need their investments to live in, and folks maxing out their budget on an ARM "just for a few years" aren’t going to be able to afford it, as rates creep ever upward. Update: Wonk out on some graphs at Angry Bear via Ezra [...]
