Duane Gran’s log of thoughts

I recently upgraded to Wordpress version 2.6.5 and it appears that comments are currently broken. I’m investigating it.

Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions. :)

Update: This has been sort of low priority lately, but the comments are working again. The solution was rather simple and involved performing a MySQL table repair operation.

The marketplace is, frankly speaking, a mess right now. Nothing earth shattering or newsworthy in itself, but what is driving the current malaise?

In a word, uncertainty. Take the latest example where the Treasury Department is considering a program to offer fixed mortgages at 4.5%. For the past two months you might say they have done a lot of considering about:

• Bailing out automakers
• Throwing ungodly sums of money into the financial sector
• Nationalizing the main mortgage lendors
• Creating relief programs for people with upside mortgages

Like any rational person on the sidelines, I’m watching to see what happens. When I watch I don’t spend and to a lesser extent I don’t invest. Millions of people who may have planned to execute on a home purchase or refinance are likely putting the brakes on the process to find out which way the wind blows with the Treasury Department.

What we collectively face in the market is fear brought about through uncertainty. Yes, there is a liquidity crises and any number of perfectly clear explanations for why the market is slumping, but beyond that many people are simply waiting for a clear indication of public policy. I’m eager for the hand wringing to cease and to make way for something more productive, even if it means we must wade through a painful market correction.