One refreshing consequence of the financial meltdown is that when it comes to tube time and news analysis, Hollywood and athletic celebs are taking a back seat to economic discussions led by well-educated economists and analysts.

Our consumption culture has been led by our celebrity culture in which bling and late-night antics in Las Vegas clubs defines accomplishment.

Today's news profiles smart people trying diligently to think through difficult issues to forge a positive public outcome.

That is a nice change.  more...

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My daughter Liz and her husband Phil closed on a house last week, as Wall Street melted down. We had a house warming party Sunday night and throughout the weekend the neighbors stopped by to welcome them to the neighborhood. Phil and Liz saved to buy the house and discussed how they must watch their spending, but that is OK because they love the little two-bedroom home.

That is how it works, nothing more and nothing less.  more...

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"You save the banking system, now what are you going to do with all this distressed property?"

--Dennis Hedlund, president and founder, iEmergent, "$700 billion question: fate of bad loans," Inman News.

There is only one thing necessary to understanding what is happening and it is this: no one at U.S. Banks, no one at the Federal Reserve and no one in politics can accept the reality that real estate assets in this country remain oversupplied, overpriced and overleveraged."  more...

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