Tight Credit for How Long?

From Reuters - "UK's Barclays sees 1-2 years of tight credit - BBC":

Bank lending will take 1-2 years to return to normal, and asset prices need as much as 18 months to stabilise, Barclays (BARC.L) Chief Executive John Varley said in an interview released on Saturday.

This economic mess will simply take time to work through but work through we must:

"I think that we will see the process of reduced borrowing play out over at least the course of the next 12 months ... maybe 24 months," he said.

"That is a painful process, it's a process through which the world absolutely has to go," he said.

Stating the obvious:

"As soon as asset prices stabilize, then we will see the financial economy recover. And when will that occur? That will occur some time over the course of the next 18 months," he said.

It took years to get to this point. Really, no surprise that it has already taken some time and will continue to do so before a solid recovery takes place. This housing and economic mess is like a clogged drain. Slowly, over time and with major neglect, the clog gets worse until one day it becomes completely clogged and only a major effort will fix what could have been prevented with simple basic measures. If only ...

Bank Failures of 2008 - FDIC List of Failed Banks

As reported by the FDIC (bank failures of 2008). 19 and counting. Looking to modify your loan? Wondering who owns your loan? Wondering where you should make your next mortgage loan payment? Follow the links below to learn more about each failed bank and their plight.

1. PFF Bank and Trust, Pomona, CA
2. Downey Savings and Loan, Newport Beach, CA
3. The Community Bank, Loganville, GA
4. Security Pacific Bank, Los Angeles, CA
5. Franklin Bank, SSB, Houston, TX
6. Freedom Bank, Bradenton, FL
7. Alpha Bank & Trust, Alpharetta, GA
8. Meridian Bank, Eldred, IL
9. Main Street Bank, Northville, MI
10. Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson, NV and Washington Mutual Bank FSB, Park City, UT
11. Ameribank, Northfork, WV
12. Silver State Bank, Henderson, NV En Espanol
13. Integrity Bank, Alpharetta, GA
14. The Columbian Bank and Trust, Topeka, KS
15. First Priority Bank, Bradenton, FL
16. First Heritage Bank, NA, Newport Beach, CA
17. First National Bank of Nevada, Reno, NV
18. IndyMac Bank, Pasadena, CA
19. First Integrity Bank, NA, Staples, MN
20. ANB Financial, NA, Bentonville, AR
21. Hume Bank, Hume, MO
22. Douglass National Bank, Kansas City, MO

Bank failure after bank failure! When will they stop? How many more will fall victim? The economic crisis is ugly. Is it getting uglier? The money trees continue to shake into oblivion.

Florida`s Freedom Bank - Another Victim

As reported by MarketWatch.com - "FDIC takes over Florida's Freedom Bank":

Bradenton, Fla. - based Freedom Bank was closed Friday, marking the 17th bank failure so far this year amid the ongoing credit crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a statement that as of Oct. 17, Freedom Bank had $287 million in total assets and $254 million in total deposits. Freedom Bank's four branches will open Monday as branches of Grand Rapids, Mich. - based Fifth Third Bank (FITB), which has assumed Freedom Bank's deposits, the FDIC said.

Another bank, another victim. The economic crisis continues its brisk march down the road nobody ever wanted to travel.

U.S. Markets Get Hammered

The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops over 700 points, NASDAQ loses over 8%, and S&P looks to have lost about 9%. -(CNNMoney.com)

U.S. Markets Stuck on the Rinse Cycle

Dow Doom Returns?

This is beginning to look like a trend. A plan is announced that promises a government of one nation or another to pump unbelievable amounts of liquidity and the stock market gets happy for one jovial moment before they awake and realize how bad all of this really is.

De ja vue all over again?

The Sky’s Falling!

Just when you think it can't get any worse. Just when you think the government throwing more money at it will fix the problem. Just when you think .... oh well, what's the point, we all know it's a disaster out there.

Are you starting to wonder if anyone has a clue as to what's going on and what needs to be done to get this problem fixed?

Our economy is deteriorating and doing so frighteningly fast. The Dow is off nearly 40% over the past year, losing over 2,271 points, or 20.1%, during the last seven sessions of trading. The Nasdaq is down more than 40% over the past year as well. Housing has been bruised and battered beyond belief. We could go on and on and ...

It seems like the sky is falling but if you look really close, far off in the distance, you will see what looks to be a light. Yes, that's right, a light. It may be hardly noticeable but make no mistake, it's there.

Do I need to remind you to take notice of how low housing prices are with stocks not too far behind?

Remember when you thought housing prices would stretch to the moon but you forgot that little thing called a cycle? Don't forget about Mr. Cycle. Just when you think he's gone, he has a mysterious way of showing up again. Shortly to follow are the endless cries, "If I only ...", "I should have ...", "I didn't realize ..."

Yes, this will cycle too.