I was on Santita Jackson’s VOICE OF CHICAGO radio show yesterday on WVON–she is now the “talk Queen” of the city’s radio airwaves, and deservedly so….She is very professional and engaging but yesterday also very worried…”What should you do, she kept asking, if your bank collapses?”….Thats the new fear on the streets that could easily turn into a panic….I explained about the FDIC insuring accounts up toe $100,000 but that wasn’t all that comforting because apparently the checks that INDY MAC gave to depositors were not honored immediately by every other bank…This is a sign of falling confidence in the banking system…I even read that some wealthy investors are taking their funds out of banks….mmmmm…what to do????

THE TAKE OVER OF FANNIE AND FREDDIE

With the nation puzzling over a government takeover of two mortgage giants that could cost taxpayers over $200 BILLION dollars, millions of homeowners are unclear about what it will mean for them as foreclosures mount in city after city.

In August alone, more than one hundred thousand families lost their homes according to Business Wire, with the year’s foreclosure total expected to hit one million. Forbes reports that the rate is rising along with unsold home inventories. In San Diego California, the City Council is debating declaring a state of emergency. In Governor Sarah Palin’s Alaska, foreclosures of single fanily homes are at their highest levels in five years. The International Herald Tribune in Paris reports that despite the government’s action, foreclosures are spreading. The New York Times carried a big spread on Sunday showing they are now pervasive in affluent areas in Manhattan……

TAKEOVER GOOD SAYS THE FINANCIAL TIMES:

The rescue of Fannie Mae FNM and Freddie Mac amounts to more than a stabilization plan - it is a bold policy intervention that aims to brighten the outlook for housing, credit and the US economy.

TAKEOVER BAD SAYS THE FINANCIAL TIMES

US move triggers CDS default

One of the largest defaults in the history of the $62,000bn credit derivatives market has been triggered by the US government’s seizure of Fannie Mae FNM and Freddie Mac, raising questions about how dealers will unwind billions of dollars worth of contracts.

THE AUSTRALIAN: HEDGE FUNDS IN TROUBLE

DEBT-GORGED hedge funds are the next ticking bomb in the global credit crisis as
they liquidate their positions in equities and commodities ahead of an expected
spike in quarterly redemptions by investors throughout September.

Investment News: banks In Trouble: Heads roll as Lehman shuffles execs; WaMu chief out after 18 years

“Modern Debt Peonage”? Economic Democracy Is Turning Into a Financial Oligarchy

Mike Whitney: An Interview With Michael Hudson

The best that this weekend’s bailout can do is to postpone the losses on bad mortgage debts. But this is a far cry from actually restoring the ability of debtors to pay.

Why The Fannie-Freddie Bailout Will Fail

By Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.

With yesterday’s announcement of the most massive federal bailout of all time, it’s now official: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage lenders on Earth, are bankrupt.

(Reuters) - The old saying holds true: The rich do get richer.

Even as world financial markets broke down last year,
personal wealth around the world grew 5 percent to
$109.5 trillion, according to a global wealth report
released on Thursday by Boston Consulting Group.

It was the sixth consecutive year of expanding wealth.
The fastest growth was among households in developing
regions, such as China and the Gulf States and among
families who were already rich. (SEE MY COMMENTARY ON THE GULF STATES ON MEDIACHANNEL.ORG)

That wealth also is increasingly concentrated among the
richest.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?

HOW IMPORTANT IS “EXPERIENCE” IN CANDIDATES?

Senior Fellow Ivan Eland on the value of executive experience in the presidential race:

“…[P]undits always refer to experience as if it were an end in itself. The assumption seems to be that experience improves future judgment when crisis arises. But what if you don’t learn much from your experiences or learn the wrong things?…. Observers of the elections should remain undistracted by the superficial debate on “experience” and should focus directly on the candidates’ judgment.”