Predatory lending, in my mind, is when a lender encourages a buyer to purchase a loan that they know puts a buyer at risk for default, in order to enrich either the seller or the lender.  Representatives Barney Frank and Anthony Weiner would undoubtedly deny the charge, but they are promoting predatory lending in their support of relaxing borrowing standards for condominium developments: (Reuters) – Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums, saying they could threaten the viability of some developments and slow the housing-market recovery,…
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“The Fed is reminding the hyperventilating bond market that it needs to relax,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “Inflation will be low for some time because the economic weakness will be with us for a time. They are not about to start to thinking about an exit strategy.” [1] The above is an example of jawboning, the term a wonderful allusion to an Old Testament story. That, combined with an inability to actually do anything is what we at the Castle sometimes refer to as Ben’s state of Flexible Paralysis….
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  Tucson: Five of last year’s Parade of Homes properties have gone back to the bank- and there were only seven of them: [Hat tip M.R.!] Five custom homes featured in last year’s Parade of Homes have now gone back to the Bank of Oklahoma after several months of negotiations. Their failure to sell reflects the sharp decline in the high-end housing market where there are soft prices, a limited number of buyers and plenty of properties to choose from. Of the seven featured properties in the Sonoran Preserve on the Bajada, near Dove Mountain in Marana, only one home…
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