[IP] Re: The great homeowner equity depression

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dave Wilson <dave@wilson.net>
Date: March 6, 2008 10:28:00 PM EST
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: Re: [IP] The great homeowner equity depression

I believe this article is missing the point. The issue is waaaaay  
beyond mortgages. The entire financial system is based on  
transparency, an ability for investors to properly assess risk and  
price assets accordingly. What the mortgage debacle has demonstrated  
is that, in an environment where oversight is conspicuously lacking,  
people will enthusiastically create elaborate systems designed to make  
it impossible to accurately price investments. While a small element  
of the financial markets related to bonds backed by mortgages have  
completely seized up since professionals have come to realize that all  
the "data" related to those assets is fictitious, the truth is that  
this situation can pretty much be applied to ALL financial markets,  
not just those related to mortgage backed assets...



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