Norway + Greece = ?? If busted sovereigns were banks, policymakers would know exactly what to do: fold the bankrupt country into a designated “acquirer” with a strong (or at least stronger) balance sheet, which is then given a package of cheap financing, guaranties, and indemnity (or maybe not) in return for straightening out the...Read More
Are Twin Cities Condo’s Suddenly Pet-Friendly? At my broker open in Golden Valley yesterday, a “civilian” (vs. Realtor) came through who was grumbling about a $6,000 special assessment just levied on the condo association where he lives. Apparently, even though the condo association’s Bylaws expressly prohibit animals, a resident who was evicted because he had...Read More
The Right Stimulus for Housing There now seems to be a clear consensus that, to help the economy, government must first do something to help housing. However, there’s still no consensus about what. The two leading strategies are: One. Using taxpayer money to basically subsidize mortgage rates down to some previously unheard of number, like...Read More
Creative Responses to the Financial Crisis I suppose it’s just another a sign of our warped, contemporary values that we have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (“SPR“) — heaven forbid our SUV’s become idled — but nothing equivalent for food. Clearly, the ongoing financial crisis is going to be with us for awhile longer. In the...Read More
Cramer: ‘Home Buyers Need a Bigger Carrot’In the financial community, Mad Money’s Jim Cramer is known for being a showman first, and for prescient market calls a very distant second (his manic, shotgun approach to stock picking seems to be if you throw enough darts, sooner or later a couple are bound to hit the...Read More
