Bubble Era

Mortgage Finance Bubble

Post-bubble monetary reflation fueled catastrophic excess across mortgage finance — from subprime lending through AAA-rated MBS, complex derivatives, and leveraged Wall Street speculation. The period was defined by the “moneyness of credit” and “Wall Street alchemy.”

341 commentaries

2008 (47)
Dec 19 Q3 2008 Flow of Funds
Nov 28 Just the Facts
Nov 21 Just the Facts...
Nov 14 The Only Cure for a Bubble...
Nov 7 Debt Trap
Oct 31 Trick or Treat or Just the Facts
Oct 24 History's Biggest Margin Call
Oct 17 The 'Arb' Game is Over
Oct 10 Hoping There's Hope
Oct 3 The Wall Street Bust
Sep 26 Changed Financial Landscape
Sep 19 Misdirected Credit Runs Unabated
Sep 7 Too Big to Suffer a Loss
Sep 6 Just the Facts
Aug 29 Ponzi Finance Dynamics Still at Play
Aug 22 Just the Facts
Aug 15 Dysfunctional Pricing Backdrop
Aug 8 Burst Bubble Energy or Speculator
Aug 1 The Uppers
Jul 22 A GSE Perspective
Jul 18 Benchmark MBS and the SEC
Jul 11 Sorry, But Just the Facts
Jul 4 Starbucks, the 'Core,' and Conventional Mortgages
Jun 27 Just the Facts
Jun 20 Good Inflation
Jun 13 Stage II Predicaments
Jun 6 Q1 2008 Flow of Funds
May 30 Just the Facts
May 16 A Red Herring
May 9 A New Inflationary Epoch
May 2 Revisiting Financial Arbitrage Capitalism
Apr 25 The Meaning of Stage II
Apr 18 Setting the Backdrop for Stage II
Apr 4 Economic Structure and the 'Liquidationist Thesis'
Mar 28 End of an Era
Mar 21 Nationalization
Mar 14 Wishing for another Z.1
Mar 7 Q4 2007 Flow of Funds
Feb 29 No LTCM
Feb 22 Confirmations
Feb 15 The Breakdown of Wall Street Alchemy
Feb 8 At the Heart of Deepening Monetary Disorder
Feb 1 Reflation Contemplation
Jan 25 More than 20 years in the making
Jan 18 Daisy-Chain
Jan 11 Mortgage Crisis to Corporate Debt Crisis
Jan 4 Issues 2008
2007 (49)
Dec 28 2007 Wrap Up
Dec 21 Wall Street-Backed Finance
Dec 14 Financial Sector Credit
Dec 7 Q3 2007 'Flow of Funds'
Nov 29 Tight 'Money'
Nov 22 No Regrets
Nov 14 Credit Crunch
Nov 9 Fannie in Her Own Words
Oct 31 Road to Ruin
Oct 24 Structured Finance Under Duress
Oct 17 Respite's Over
Oct 12 Not So Benign Neglect
Oct 5 Financial Structures
Sep 28 Clash of the Paradigms
Sep 21 Q2 2007 'Flow of Funds'
Sep 14 Didn't Really Get It
Sep 7 Just the Facts...Again
Aug 31 Just the Facts
Aug 24 Money Market Issues
Aug 16 Fed to the Rescue
Aug 9 A Run on Wall Street Finance
Aug 2 Credit Market Dislocation
Jul 19 The Hand of Finance
Jul 12 Worse Than Irrelevant
Jul 5 Monopoly
Jun 28 First-Half Global Liquidity Watch
Jun 21 Uncertainty reigns supreme
Jun 14 For the Twenty-First Century
Jun 7 Q1 2007 Flow of Funds
May 31 The Other Side to the Story
May 24 A Scary Proposition
May 21 Special Bulletin
May 10 Checks and Balances
May 3 Then and Now
Apr 26 Unique
Apr 19 Financial Earnings
Apr 12 More Minsky
Apr 5 'Vintage 2007'
Mar 29 Q1 Global Liquidity Watch
Mar 22 The Smooth Flow of Credit
Mar 15 Subprime Contagion Effects
Mar 9 Q4 2006 Flow of Funds
Mar 2 The Confluence
Feb 23 Indictments
Feb 16 Subprime in Context
Feb 9 Subprime in Focus
Feb 2 Income Growth and Credit Bubble Dynamics
Jan 26 Expanding on El-Erian
Jan 12 Nominal GDP
2006 (52)
Dec 29 2006 Wrap-Up *
Dec 27 Embrace the Deficit
Dec 15 Financial Sphere Profits
Dec 8 Q3 2006 Flow of Funds
Dec 1 The Big Wildcard
Nov 24 Just the Facts
Nov 17 Derivatives 'Insurance'
Nov 10 Monetary Developments vs. Monetary Aggregates
Nov 3 Prevailing Inflationary Biases
Oct 26 Current Account 'Recycling' Distortions
Oct 19 Financial Sphere Earnings Watch
Oct 12 Financial Conditions
Oct 5 Inflationary Biases and Chasms at the Fed
Sep 28 Volcker, Corrigan, McDonough and Geithner
Sep 21 Q2 2006 Flow of Funds
Sep 14 Monetary Disorder Watch
Sep 7 Income Inflation
Aug 31 Just the facts
Aug 24 Minsky and Debt Structures
Aug 17 Financial Structure
Aug 10 Something different
Aug 3 The Pause
Jul 27 To wear or not to wear
Jul 13 An Interview with an Esteemed Elder Statesman
Jul 6 An Attempt at Concise
Jun 29 Reality Check
Jun 22 Hays Interviews the Master
Jun 15 Mr. Douglas R. Gillespie, Sr.
Jun 8 Q1 2006 Flow of Funds
Jun 1 What Difference Does a Year Make
May 25 Inflection point or Respite
May 18 The Evolving Nature...
May 11 Reasons
May 4 Money Analysis
Apr 27 Time to pause
Apr 20 So, You Think You've About Wrapped Things Up
Apr 13 The 'Holy Grail'
Apr 6 Banking and the Business Cycle
Mar 31 A Notable Quarter of Global Asset Inflation
Mar 24 The Flow of Finance
Mar 17 A Response to Donald Kohn on Asset Bubbles
Mar 10 Q4 2005 Flow of Funds
Mar 4 A Liquidity-creating Juggernaut
Mar 3 Global Asset Inflation and Lessons to be Learned
Feb 24 Just the Facts
Feb 17 Bernanke and Yield Curve Analysis
Feb 10 Blow-off Analysis
Feb 3 The Essence of the Greenspan Era
Jan 27 Global Imbalances Watch
Jan 20 Welcome to 2006
Jan 13 Anecdotes of Excess Begetting Excess
Jan 6 Issues 2006
2005 (50)
Dec 30 2005 Wrap-Up
Dec 23 Cantillion, Raguet, Hawtrey, & Persons
Dec 16 Most Unfavorable of Legacies
Dec 9 Q3 2005 'Flow of Funds'
Dec 2 Bill and Paul's Wild Analytical Adventure
Nov 25 A Quickie on 'Money'
Nov 18 Content with the Status Quo
Nov 11 (Pollyanna) Poole on the Current Account
Nov 4 The Global Financial Sphere
Oct 27 A Bubble Perpetuator
Oct 20 A Rather Volatile Mix
Oct 13 More Trials and Tribulations of Wall Street Finance
Oct 6 Sphere Analysis
Sep 29 The Global Liquidity Glut
Sep 22 Q2 2005 'Flow of Funds'
Sep 15 Borrowing Short and Lending Short
Sep 8 The Greenspan Levee
Aug 25 The Greenspan Era. Lessons to be Learned
Aug 18 Updating the Mortgage Finance Bubble
Aug 11 The Global Inflationary Boom Thesis
Aug 4 The Downside to Transparent Baby Steps
Jul 28 Just the Facts II
Jul 21 Just the Facts
Jul 14 Asset-backed Securities
Jul 7 The Flow of Finance
Jun 30 Macro Confusion
Jun 23 Thinking Minsky
Jun 16 To Liquidate or Inflate
Jun 9 Q1 2005 'Flow of Funds'
Jun 2 This Time it is Different
May 26 The 'Neutral Rate'
May 19 Conundrums
May 12 Topic de Jour
May 5 Hooked on 'The Hand'
Apr 28 Digging a Little Deeper into 'Financial Sphere' Analysis
Apr 21 Major Uncertainties
Apr 14 The Greatest Ever Speculative Bubble in Risk
Apr 7 The Fed's Dilemma
Apr 1 That Kind-Hearted Kate Welling
Mar 25 Speculator and Liquidity Unfriendly
Mar 21 Booming Broker Finance and Market Tops
Mar 11 Q4 2004 'Flow of Funds'
Feb 25 Dr. Bernanke on the Current Account
Feb 18 It Has Everything to do with 'Finance,' Mr. Chairman
Feb 11 More from Mr. Otmar Issing
Feb 4 The Disparate Approaches of Messrs. Trichet and Greenspan
Jan 28 The Great Dilemma
Jan 21 Inflationist Watch
Jan 14 Fed Again Falls Flat with Bubble Analysis
Jan 7 Issues 2005
2004 (48)
Dec 31 Year in Review. Reflation to Gross Over-Liquefication
Dec 23 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays *
Dec 17 Dilly-Dally Monetary Management
Dec 10 Q3 2004 Z.1 'Flow of Funds'
Nov 26 An Open Letter to the U.S. Dollar
Nov 19 Greenspan Watch
Nov 12 Monetary Disorder
Nov 5 Second Term Realities
Oct 28 Easy Liquidity
Oct 21 The Dollar, Financial 'Profits' and Reflation
Oct 14 Happy. Two-year Anniversary
Oct 6 Sphere Analysis
Sep 23 The Trial and Tribulations of Risk Intermediation Folly
Sep 16 Q2 2004 'Flow of Funds'
Sep 8 Bubble Bubble Mortgage Trouble
Sep 2 Credit Bubble Bulletin
Aug 26 Bubble at the Fringe
Aug 19 Speculative Finance and Liquidity Bulges
Aug 12 The Fragile Stability of Monetary Disorder
Aug 5 Revisiting Financial Arbitrage Capitalism
Jul 29 Trouble at the Core
Jul 22 The Great Mortgage Spread Trade
Jul 15 The Financial Sector Earnings Illusion
Jul 8 Outside the Box
Jul 1 Ebbs & Flows and Dollar Woes
Jun 24 The Mortgage Finance Bubble
Jun 17 Monetary Instability and Lessons Not Learned
Jun 10 Lying in Wait
May 20 Inflation Accommodation
May 13 Money and The Flip Side of Speculator De-leveraging
May 6 Faltering Financial Sphere
Apr 29 Federal Reserve Miracle
Apr 22 Fannie and Freddie to the Rescue
Apr 15 Tightening Lite
Apr 8 Ideologues and Quagmires
Apr 2 The Quest for Monetary Order
Mar 19 Pondering the Two Great Market Stabilizers
Mar 12 The Current Account Deficit and the Bane of Inflationism
Mar 5 A Banner Year for Asset Inflation
Feb 27 The Curious Greenspan and the GSEs
Feb 20 Issing v. Greenspan
Feb 13 Simply Not Credible
Feb 6 The Pay Option Arm
Jan 30 Ruse. 'A crafty stratagem, a subterfuge'
Jan 23 Financial Bubbles Rage On
Jan 16 Q3 2003 'Flow of Funds'
Jan 9 Issues 2004
Jan 2 The Great Reflation of 2003
2003 (48)
Dec 19 No Inflating Out of this Quagmire
Dec 12 OFHEO on Fraud at Freddie
Dec 5 Inflationary Manifestations Hit the Farm Belt
Dec 3 Pertinent Monetary Economics from Ralph G. Hawtrey
Nov 28 Compounding the Problem
Nov 21 It's Here
Nov 14 Liquidity, Money and Credit
Nov 7 The Evolution to an All-Encompassing Credit Bubble
Oct 31 Straight Talk from Consumate Central Banker Dr. Otmar Issing
Oct 23 A True Paradigm Shift
Oct 16 BofA Rings Fannie
Oct 9 The Honorable Life of Mr. Wally Ciochetti
Oct 2 Tipping Point
Sep 25 The Powerful Force
Sep 18 'Let it Rip'
Sep 11 One for the Time Capsule
Aug 28 Two Runaway Bubbles and Global Reflation
Aug 21 Way Behind the Curve
Aug 14 The Interregnum Market
Aug 7 The Post-Boom Boom
Jul 31 Lost Control
Jul 24 Struggling Team Greenspan-Bernanke
Jul 10 North Atlantic Tides
Jul 3 It's Going to be a Fascinating Second Half
Jun 26 Coming Next Year to Madison Square Garden...
Jun 19 Following in Dr. Fisher's Footsteps
Jun 12 Contemplating the Evolution From the Way We Were to the Way It Is
Jun 5 Crazy Horse
May 29 The New New Game
May 22 You Just Gotta Love Congressman Ron Paul
May 15 The Desperate Experiment of Maximum Global Liquidity
May 8 The Stark Contrasts between Competing Central Banks
Apr 24 Reliquefication
Apr 17 Firing on Most Cylinders
Apr 10 The Reasons
Apr 4 Reflation Watch or The Necessity of Diligent Observation
Mar 28 Off Topic
Mar 14 Climbing the Wall of Water
Mar 7 Cheesecake Dependency
Feb 28 Key Inflationary Manifestations
Feb 21 Fiat Money and Credit Inflation in America
Feb 14 Blow off Week #34
Feb 7 Scenario #3
Jan 31 Pondering Post-Bubble America
Jan 24 An Integrity Problem
Jan 17 If Only...
Jan 10 The Transformation of Benjamin Strong
Jan 3 Issues 2003
2002 (47)
Dec 20 Pondering the Next Shoe to Drop
Dec 13 Nehemiah and the Copycats or 'Non Profit' but Big Business
Dec 6 The Anatomy of a Maladjusted Economy
Nov 29 The Delta Hedged Economy
Nov 22 Death to the 'Bubble Poppers'
Nov 15 Weak Links
Nov 8 125 Basis Points Left to Sustain the Unsustainable
Nov 1 National Century Financial Services
Oct 24 Throw in a REIT Bubble
Oct 17 Hawking 'Financial Peace of Mind' and Other Gross Financial Excess
Oct 10 Juan & Maria Guzman *
Oct 3 Coming Apart at the Seams
Sep 26 The Trials and Tribulations of Speculative Finance
Sep 19 Soul Searching
Sep 12 Liquidity Excess vs. Faltering 'Risk' Market
Aug 29 Cold as Ice
Aug 22 Accentuated Credit Cycles
Aug 1 The housing bubble loses some air
Jul 25 Structured Finance in the Crosshairs
Jul 18 That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Jul 11 Palpable Systemic Stress
Jul 4 Ominous portents from the NextBank meltdown
Jun 27 This Week EBITDA. When 'Marked-to-Model'
Jun 20 The Ominous Return of the Twin Deficits
Jun 13 A Few More Years
Jun 6 Point, Counter Point
May 30 Dying a Death of a Thousand Cuts
May 23 Financial Debacle for Dummies
May 16 Food for Thought
May 9 Unstable markets
May 2 The Bundling of Risk and Dollar Vulnerability
Apr 25 Untenable Monetary Regimes
Apr 18 Monetary Policy and the Character of Lending
Apr 11 Lies, Damn Lies, and 'Analysis'
Apr 5 Pondering Imponderables
Mar 29 Terminal Stage of Mortgage Finance Excess
Mar 22 The Diamond Anniversary of Monetary Disorder
Mar 15 Random Thoughts
Mar 8 Market Dislocations
Feb 22 The Clan of Seven
Feb 15 Money, Monetary Policy and the Structure of Debt
Feb 8 The Fun is Gone From the Game of Risk
Feb 1 Partnoy on Plastic Surgery and Lemonade Stands
Jan 25 Experiment on Top of Experiment
Jan 18 The Consumer Bubble
Jan 11 Harry E. Miller
Jan 4 Issues 2002

Other bubble eras

Nineties Bubble → Global Government Finance Bubble →

Mortgage Finance Bubble

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