Economics Update

Well, GDP in the Euro Zone fell by 1.5% in the 4rth quarter, and 1.2% from the 4th quarter of 2007.

The quarterly drop is the largest in 13 years, and the year over year drop is the first recorded ever.....One of the joys of integrating your economy is that you integrate your recessions.

It's no wonder that OPEC's predictions for world oil consumption have been slashed again, though interestingly enough, oil is up today, by the largest amount this year, largely on the expectation that the stimulus bill will pass.

In real estate, the New York Federal Reserve is continuing its aggressive policy of buying from the sh$% pile, purchasing another $23.2 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities this week, for a total of $114.96 billion.

There is an interesting bit here though, this quote, "The Fed has also said it may soon begin modifying mortgages it owns within the assets it owns."

Somehow I figure that this is part of a much bigger story, only I don't know what it is yet.

Also we have Citi and J.P. Morgan Chase Agreeing to a foreclosure moratorium, and I think that this might be a part of the rest of that story. Specifically, I think that they are worried about Geithner's "Stress Test," and they are doing this because they are hoping for goodwill from regulators.

Finally, the dollar is down today, for the same reason that oil is up. The stimulus package looks like a light at the end of the tunnel, and so the "flight to safety" moderated a bit.