Foreclosure Update, Federal Reserve Transparency

25% of the homes sold from July-September 2010 were foreclosures. The average price was 32% less than non-distressed properties. 25-30% have been foreclosure sales for the year. In 2005 it was 1%. Look at this contrast; today it's up to 30 times more than 5 years ago. These statistics plus the commercial market I referred to in the previous blog reflect where we stand in the roots of our country. This area alone has far reaching effects from the bottom all the way to the top.

Transparency finally arrived, after months in court and appeals. The Federal Reserve released the list, and a total of 21,000 transactions, of who received emergency funds during the financial crisis to the tune of $3.3T. Not only our big banks received hundreds of billions (this is beyond the original TARP money), but companies like, G.E., Harley-Davidson, and Verizon. Also, foreign banks in England, Switzerland, Japan, Belgium, Germany and so on received around $600B. The South Korean government and foreign auto makers also were in the receiving line. 9 of the 10 largest money-market funds who managed about $2.4T received help with these emergency funds when investors fled. Again, this reflects the roots of what needs to be changed in this country. It's unclear to me how a determination was made that this group was critical to our financial system. I wonder what their formula was to determine who should be rescued given the variety of countries and companies. As I have said before, Bernanke and this organization have far too much power, especially when they can operate beneath our sight.

I am heartened that all of this is coming to light. Then the roots that don't benefit us at this time in history in our evolution can be cut off, leaving room for what we need to grow to flourish in the future.