Our financial system is crumbling this week.

[stlouie_lipp]

This was nice to read. Bonuses are now called "retention payments". WTF is wrong with people?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/ ... 1900.shtml

[Arthur Dent]

Atlas Shrugged Updated for the Current Financial Crisis

http://mcsweeneys.net/2008/11/20tucker.html

"Damn it, Dagny! I need the government to get out of the way and let me do my job!"

She sat across the desk from him. She appeared casual but confident, a slim body with rounded shoulders like an exquisitely engineered truss. How he hated his debased need for her, he who loathed self-sacrifice but would give up everything he valued to get in her pants ... Did she know?

"I heard the thugs in Washington were trying to take your Rearden metal at the point of a gun," she said. "Don't let them, Hank. With your advanced alloy and my high-tech railroad, we'll revitalize our country's failing infrastructure and make big, virtuous profits."

"Oh, no, I got out of that suckers' game. I now run my own hedge-fund firm, Rearden Capital Management."

"What?"

He stood and adjusted his suit jacket so that his body didn't betray his shameful weakness. He walked toward her and sat informally on the edge of her desk. "Why make a product when you can make dollars? Right this second, I'm earning millions in interest off money I don't even have."

He gestured to his floor-to-ceiling windows, a symbol of his productive ability and goodness.

"There's a whole world out there of byzantine financial products just waiting to be invented, Dagny. Let the leeches run my factories into the ground! I hope they do! I've taken out more insurance on a single Rearden Steel bond than the entire company is even worth! When my old company finally tanks, I'll make a cool $877 million."

...

[tothebeach08]

We didn't have any closing costs (or at didn't have any out of pocket). What you said is what I thought but it's probably worth looking into if the rate drops significantly.

They should be able to tell me what rate I can refinance at before going through the process shouldn't they?

After my divorce I had 30 days to refinance the house into my name. My closing was on day 30 which happened to be 5 days before the rates dropped. I had no out of pocket expenses except the appraisal cost of just over $300. I'm going to refinance again if the rates hit a certain % because the appraisal will still be valid and right now my interest rate is 7%.

[ThatGuy]

Looks like my parents are refinancing the house. An appraiser came by today.

This is exciting.

[cardinalkarp]

We didn't have any closing costs (or at didn't have any out of pocket). What you said is what I thought but it's probably worth looking into if the rate drops significantly.

They should be able to tell me what rate I can refinance at before going through the process shouldn't they?

After my divorce I had 30 days to refinance the house into my name. My closing was on day 30 which happened to be 5 days before the rates dropped. I had no out of pocket expenses except the appraisal cost of just over $300. I'm going to refinance again if the rates hit a certain % because the appraisal will still be valid and right now my interest rate is 7%.

I'm at 6.25% right now but if I can get something in the mid to low 5's that would be sweet.

[TimeForGuinness]

We didn't have any closing costs (or at didn't have any out of pocket). What you said is what I thought but it's probably worth looking into if the rate drops significantly.

They should be able to tell me what rate I can refinance at before going through the process shouldn't they?

After my divorce I had 30 days to refinance the house into my name. My closing was on day 30 which happened to be 5 days before the rates dropped. I had no out of pocket expenses except the appraisal cost of just over $300. I'm going to refinance again if the rates hit a certain % because the appraisal will still be valid and right now my interest rate is 7%.

I'm at 6.25% right now but if I can get something in the mid to low 5's that would be sweet.

++ That's where I'm at.

The bank said to really make a difference, a point lower is a good rule of thumb.

[cardinalkarp]

We didn't have any closing costs (or at didn't have any out of pocket). What you said is what I thought but it's probably worth looking into if the rate drops significantly.

They should be able to tell me what rate I can refinance at before going through the process shouldn't they?

After my divorce I had 30 days to refinance the house into my name. My closing was on day 30 which happened to be 5 days before the rates dropped. I had no out of pocket expenses except the appraisal cost of just over $300. I'm going to refinance again if the rates hit a certain % because the appraisal will still be valid and right now my interest rate is 7%.

I'm at 6.25% right now but if I can get something in the mid to low 5's that would be sweet.

++ That's where I'm at.

The bank said to really make a difference, a point lower is a good rule of thumb.

I may have to wait till they lower it a little bit more then. I don't really want to have to pay out alot for closing costs but if I could get a deal like ttb had that would definitely be worthwhile.

[sighyoung]

I'm at 5.375, so it may not be worth it, but I'll keep an eye out.

[Leroy]

This is comforting:

Meanwhile, the drumbeat of economic news worsened considerably between the late October and December FOMC meetings, highlighting the need for more stimulus. Consumer spending got off to a horrible start in the fourth quarter, and the economy lost more than 500,000 jobs in November alone, a total that could be matched or exceeded this month.

On Dec. 1 the National Bureau of Economic Research, the semi-official arbiter of recession, declared that the U.S. has been in a recession since last December. And it appears to be getting worse. Wall Street economists expect U.S. gross domestic product to plunge as much as 6% at an annual rate or even more this quarter. Some are penciling in another steep drop for the first quarter of 2009.

[sighyoung]

I need to get in on the ground floor of a really good Ponzi scheme.