Oh "BIG BROTHER", Where Art Thou?

I may no longer be a man of constant sorrow; not after the watchful eye of Big Brother has taken over. I'm sure you have heard, since it is all the rage, the government seized control of the mortgage giants, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Seized is such an ugly word, but let's face it, this is down right, run 'em through the mud, dirty! Let's review how it all went down, shall we? First, a little over a year ago, banks started dropping like flies. Then, investors only wanted Fannie & Freddie backed loans. Next, foreclosures started multiplying to historic levels. Then, Fannie & Freddie found themselves in the precarious situation of having way more debts than assets. Finally, the government stepped in, took control of all their assets, kicked the CEOs to the curb, caused shareholders to loose most of their investments and barred the firms from lobbying in Congress! Whew. Are you as spent as I am? It is all practically dizzying!

The Libertarian part of me keeps repeating, "How is this disturbing? Let me count the ways." 1. The government just seized control of the 2 largest mortgage lenders in the country! Need I say more? 2. The government now owns more than half of all US mortgages; maybe even yours! 3. The tax payers will end up paying a hefty price for this seizure, no matter what they say. 4. Fannie & Freddie shareholders were left in the dust. Let's hope it wasn't their retirement! 5. It's 2008, so why does it feel like 1984?

As I said, this is the Libertarian part of me. There is also this little mortgage banker voice that keeps screaming, "Is this the way out? I think I can see sunlight!" To everything, there is a reason, and the government had lots of them when they decided to take over. First and foremost, they were completely terrified of the mortgage giants collapsing. You think it is tough out there now? That would have been down right depressing. I guarantee you would have seen make-shift "Hooverville's" again. Also, they felt compelled to stop the bleeding in the market, and my wallet. The word on the street is this take over is going to lower 30 year fixed rates by almost a full point, leading to the rebound of the housing market! Can I get an Amen! Clearly, I smell a refinance boom! And here's the skinny. The more quickly the housing market rebounds, the less impact this whole take over will have on tax payers. So, here's the deal. We all need to get off our duffs and make this happen! With a quickness!! Never before has my mantra of "It will be if we believe," meant more!

Even though it doesn't seem like it, there are other items in the news today. As was expected, the markets have gone on quite a little rally today! Investors are feeling great and believe the new government mortgage presence will lead to a broad economic recovery. The global markets are also increasing, and much more confident about their US mortgage investments. Also, OPEC is at it again. With oil dropping from $147 to $109, Iran & Libya think there is just too much oil in the global markets. As a result, they want to cut production. Apparently, it is making them poor at $109/barrel, even though it was never that high until a year ago! Luckily, the Saudis have to approve reducing output and they are saying nothing needs to be done until oil reaches a floor of $80/barrel. Thank goodness. As a side note, I had a globe as a child that my dad would spin, point to a country and ask me for its capital. Fun game, I know. Anyway, during our issues with Libya in the early 80's, I blacked it out in pen. If they mess with oil production, I just may have to get out that globe again. After all, there is no need to be greedy, but this incident points out there plenty of need to have the US be Energy Independent.

Finally, onto Hollywood where Ms. Britney Jean Spears has officially proven you can have a comeback. One year after her disastrous, and quite embarrassing, performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, she took the stage looking poised and beautiful. She even took home 3 awards. Thank goodness for conservanship! Heading back to the East Coast, it is a story about the good, the bad, and the ugly! Serena Williams was all good as she won the US Open Tennis Championship and took over the #1 ranking in the world. Congratulations! But, unfortunately, there is no joy in Beantown, for the mighty Brady has been hurt! Yes, the bad and the ugly go out to Tom, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. We all wish him a speedy recovery!