Economy hitting on all cylinders as the Obama recovery rolls on

Defaults on Apartment-Building Loans Set Record for U.S. Banks

'Defaults on apartment-building mortgages held by U.S. banks climbed to a record 4.6 percent in the first quarter, almost twice the year-earlier level...

...Defaults on apartment-building mortgages surpassed the previous record, set in 1993, for the past three consecutive quarters... The U.S. savings-and-loan crisis drove apartment-building defaults to 3.4 percent in 1993. Defaults on other types of commercial property debt peaked at 4.6 percent in 1992, according to Real Capital.'

Foreclosures: Worst lurks ahead

'More than 22,000 homeowners in Utah found themselves in some stage of foreclosure between July 2008 and April 2010, according to a Salt Lake Tribune computer analysis based on data from RealtyTrac... In Salt Lake City, foreclosure filings doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared with the same time last year, the highest rate of increase for all U.S. cities. The number leapt an additional 44 percent in April, raising the share of all Utah homes in foreclosure to one in every 221, fifth highest in the nation.

"I truly believe that we have not seen the worst of this," said Julia Borst, president of the Utah Mortgage Lenders Association. "I can't even explain to you the gravity of it..."'

Healthcare law tax credits encourage small businesses to stay small, not hire

'A study by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows that tax credits in the new healthcare law could negatively impact small-business hiring decisions...

...the credit creates a perverse incentive for business owners that fit the Treasury’s profile. While the tax break is temporary and only returns a fraction of what employees cost a company, businesses owners might forego hiring an extra worker if it means losing a piece of the tax credit.'

The $123 Billion Tab For Job And Tax Bill

'Late Friday, the CBO reported that the the [new Job and Tax bill] would increase the deficit by $123 billion for 2010 and 2011. That number rises to $141 billion for the 2010 to 2015 period. The agency said, “The bill would extend benefits under the unemployment insurance program, at a total cost of about $47 billion, and it would extend (for an additional six months) the increase in the federal share of Medicaid costs that was originally enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."

Like every other program on top of the President’s budget, an additional burden is placed on the Treasury to increase borrowing and, probably the cost of money. The CBO estimates that debt service for the American deficit will hit $700 billion in 2020. That makes the government’s ability to fund Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid more difficult. An aging population will find that its retirement will be more expensive to fund. Some expect that some baby boomers will not get their “fair share” of entitlement programs.'

Commercial foreclosures pick up speed

'Mesa Financial Plaza, the 17-story office tower that lights up the night sky with a neon-blue silhouette, has been noticed for trustee sale.

The $40.6 million default is just one of many that are starting to drop in the Valley. The number of defaults for loans of more than $20 million is increasing rapidly for all product types, including office, industrial, retail and large apartment complexes.

Chris Toci, executive director of the capital markets group at Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc., said Phoenix is at the front end of a major crash...'

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Aren't you relieved that President Obama -- in his words -- saved us from the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression". Of course, he's been calling the mortgage meltdown that since late 2008 and -- things have only gotten worse.

Unemployment's up, foreclosures are up, taxes are up, deficits are up... and the banksters and their sycophants in Washington are still living large. Think about it: Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Franklin Raines, Andrew Cuomo, Jamie Gorelick -- as culpable as any persons on the face of the Earth for the meltdown -- are laughing all the way to the bank.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and Mass Backwards. Thanks!