Economics Update

The big news, though I'm not sure if it's significant, is that, "The index of pending home resales rose 6.3 percent to 88.2, the highest level in six months."

We are starting to see bargain hunters, but prices are still falling, and that is at the core of the housing bubble collapse. People are under water, and can't sell to get out from under.

Review this article on , the price collapse of exurban McMansions. There is still a lot of pain to go, particularly since many of these homes are poorly built.

I wonder how many will end up multi-residential dwellings.

The dollar is down today, which implies further energy price increases and, eventually, higher interest rates.

Oil fell $4.19 today, which is not surprising after Friday's spike, but retail gasoline prices rose again, to above $4.00/bbl. I filled up on the weekend at $3.93....I never knew that I lived in a low cost gas area.

Finally, Lehman lost $2.8 billion in Q1 of 2008, so this investment banks have a long way down to go.