Another guest post from MG Dungan who went from Wharton to Wall St. to real estate to Blown Mortgage.
This meme—government confiscation of retirement accounts— is rapidly gaining credence. On November 4, Carolina Journal Online reported that Democrats have been meeting to discuss transferring currently-voluntary private retirement accounts to eventually-mandatory government administered retirement accounts that would […]

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A guest post from Frank Shump. Frank is a veteran from the financial services industry, and currently authors a blog called Thefinancecastle.com, which documents his thoughts on money matters and his adventures in self employment.
An often used saying when it comes to value investing is that you don’t want to “catch a falling knife.” Many […]

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Two news items were released on Friday that would seem to bode poorly for the state of the real economy. One of these was the report on unemployment rates, which has now shot up to approximately 6.5%. That figure happens to be the highest since 1994, which curiously represented a turning point for the American […]

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Hat tip to Tyler. Visit his site.
More consolidation and reduction from Countrywide Wholesale.  It makes perfect sense as the company has greatly reduced volume on strict underwriting guidelines from Bank of America and lesser demand.  Bank of America earlier in the year outlined their strategy to all but eliminate wholesale lending from their lending plans; […]

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Hedge funds are continuing to lose big bucks, suspending redemptions and, in a number of cases, liquidating. They all cite difficult market conditions. Which markets, though? Derivatives have been under the radar lately, yet there have been many events that would force mark-to-market accounting. Recent changes in SEC rules allow banks to defer mark-to-market and […]

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A guest post by Jay C. Hammond, freelance journalist and researcher.
There are plenty of candidates for blame in the current mortgage meltdown. Yet the ability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate mortgage fraud and other financial crimes is increasingly being called into question. The FBI and the Department of Justice are the agencies […]

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No matter your affiliation get out and vote! It’s crucial and it feels great. I got mine in first thing this AM.
Yeah America!

I was first in line so I snapped a quick photo (w/a crummy iPhone camera) before the polls opened.
If you want to follow election results, have at it:

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A guest post from Frank Shump. Frank is a veteran from the financial services industry, and currently authors a blog called Thefinancecastle.com, which documents his thoughts on money-mattersand his adventures in self employment.
In the midst of the widening housing crisis, there’s been quite a lot of criticism from voters aimed at the recent efforts by […]

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A guest post from Constantine von Hoffman, veteran business journalist and author of the blog CollateralDamage.biz, a humorous look at marketing, business and his dog.
No matter who wins today, the facts on the ground will not change. Currently the best-case scenarios are for a recession ending sometime late next year. Never a good sign when […]

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Have you seen Robert Wagner recently? Chances are you have and he’s been talking about reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages have been touted as a solution for cash strapped seniors allowing them to keep and live in their home while still enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. Comfort has lately taken a back seat to surviving the current economic […]

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