Originally written by John Bunch on November 21, 2008 1:37 AM How about an immediate recovery ?

This would seem rather unrealistic, and perhaps even undesireable, if the quick recovery is accomplished by continuing to mortgage other generations.

Originally written by John Bunch on November 21, 2008 7:37 AM How about an immediate recovery ?

Through prayer?

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize laureate in economics, reflects in the business daily Világgazdaság on the global economic crisis. "The world is sinking into an economic crisis that will probably be the worst in the past 25 years, perhaps even the worst since the Great Depression of 1929. In many respects this crisis was 'Made in America'. ... Those who even before the crisis had major trade deficits and high state debts will suffer more than others. States that haven't fully liberalised their capital and financial markets, like China, will be thankful that they didn't give in to pressure from the US Federal Reserve. ... The old institutions recognised the need for reform but they moved at a snail's pace. They did nothing to prevent the current crisis. Then there's the question of how effectively the response of these institutions will be. ... After the Great Depression it took 15 years and a World War for the world to start working as a team and dealing with the weaknesses of the global financial system that had contributed to the crisis. We can only hope that this time it won't take that long: In view of the deeply interwoven nature of the global economy the cost would simply be too high. ... It has become clear that the economic doctrines on which the current Bretton Woods institutions [the World Bank, International Monetary Fund] are based have failed not only in the developing countries, but also in the core countries of capitalism."

Világgazdaság (Hungary)

http://europe.courrierinternational.com/eurotopics/article.asp?langue=uk&publication=20/11/2008&cat=REFLECTIONS&pi=0#0

Originally written by John Bunch on November 21, 2008 6:59 PM I am buying a securitized asset, but how do I know what it is worth ?

Generally, in the world of speculators, you don't know. Look at these two pieces of news from the Warsaw Stock Exchange from the last couple of days:

1) Poland’s financial industry regulator on Friday informed the prosecutor’s office about a possible case of market manipulation involving a person acting in the name of JPMorgan Securities.

The complaint stems from the unusual end to trading on the Warsaw stock exchange on November 12. The market’s blue-chip WIG20 index had slumped by 9.1 per cent during the day, but minutes before the session’s close a series of buy orders worth 130m zlotys ($42m, €34m, £28m) were executed on all the companies making up the index, driving the WIG20 sharply upwards.

It ended the day down 4.93 per cent, and would have closed even higher had the exchange’s circuit breakers designed to dampen wild swings in prices not gone into effect.

“Transactions on the account of JPMorgan Securities could have led investors into error,” said a statement from the Financial Supervision Authority. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fa13dd40-b7f1-11dd-ac6d-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1

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2) Polish oil refiner Lotos denied Monday it is facing bankruptcy as it sought to calm investors unnerved by a Unicredit analyst report which said the company is likely to collapse.

Grupa Lotos SA, Poland's second-largest crude oil refiner, said the UniCredit recommendation, released Friday, to sell the company's stock was "entirely without foundation."

On Monday, shares fell 20 percent at the start of the trading session, but recovered to close down only 6 percent at 12.72 zlotys ($4.05), company spokesman Marcin Zachowicz said.

The Polish news agency PAP said the UniCredit report warned that Lotos has only about a 50 percent chance of surviving in its current form. UniCredit also reportedly slashed its target price for Lotos to zero from 25 zlotys ($8.08). http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-eu-poland-lotos,0,1458118.story

Y'all cheer up! It's Thanksgiving week!

Take part in the usual New Yorker caption contest:

The land of Adam Smith now teems with a vibrant Islamic banking sector, with even non-Muslims being lured by the model's promise of transparency and stability.

'No interest' gains interest with British Muslims

By Ben Quinn | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 28, 2008 edition

London - Shabaz Bhatti is proud to be a devout Muslim – but his plans to remortgage the family home with one of Britain's new generation of Islamic banks isn't just about religion.

The 30-something driving instructor wants reliability, and believes Britain's growing Islamic finance sector offers this in a way that myriad traditional main street banks no longer do.

Excerpts from: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p01s04-woeu.html

and http://teamsugar.com/group/1950914/blog/2541301

Salaam

Ouadoud

I suppose that it's still a willing buyer and willing seller basis. Adam Smith dealt with supply and demand. If there are potential profits to be made out of the Islmaic banking segment, I suppose the banks would consider coming out with the products especially with the Arabs filled up with oil money in recent years.

Anyway, I don't suppose the "administrative fee" would be the same for a 100K house and that of a 200K house?

Islamic principles aside (which I'm not interested in questioning), would there be added cost in the title transfer?

Originally written by Abdelouadoud El Omrani on November 28, 2008 7:08 PM You need cash. the bank studies your refunding capacity (mainly the salary, it needs fixed guaranteed income). It may then buy stocks for you (you decide which ones) and it sells them to you. Once you have the stocks, you sell them immediately and you have cash. You pay back in comfortable monthly payments.

Shall I assume that the profit sharing ratio had been decided in advance as the asset had already changed hands so that the scheduled payments would not change in a falling interest rate environment (such as presently on a global basis)? Thus the borrower would not have the shceduled repayment reduced, just as not having the repayment increased in a rising interest rate environment?