The FDIC apparently took the holiday weekend off: no banks were closed yesterday in the United States. With half of 2011 gone, here’s a little data from the “state stress level” compiled by surferdude808 and available here on Calculated Risk:…
Category: Economics
Case-Shiller shows a slight (not-seasonally-adjusted) increase in April home prices
Here’s the title of the latest press release from Standard and Poor’s regarding today’s release of almost-hopeful Case-Shiller home price data: April Seasonal Boost in Home Prices According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Calculated Risk puts it a little…
Here we go again: another Georgia bank failure
Another Georgia bank failed today, a regular Friday routine of the last couple of years. More banks have failed in Georgia since the real estate bubble burst than in any other state. Today, Mountain Heritage Bank in Clayton, Georgia was…
Savannah metro area unemployment up slightly in May
The dark picture for employment has been a running theme of my writing for a while now. So regular readers will not be surprised that the Savannah metro area’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for May was slightly higher than April (which…
Better news for housing: shadow inventory slowly declining
I remain pessimistic about the short- and medium-term prospects for housing prices and construction, but there’s good news in CoreLogic’s data released today: CoreLogic Reports Shadow Inventory Continues to Decline. This doesn’t mean that we’ll work our way through the…
AJC’s hard look at job losses: 2016 before Savannah reaches 2007 levels
If you ignore it, it will go away. Or maybe: If you blame everything on the federal government, you won’t have to take any responsibility. Those seemed to be the prevailing strategies of Georgia leaders as the recession pummeled the…
Robert Shiller sees economy at “tipping point”, at “substantial” risk of new recession
In recent weeks, I more or less predicted another recession and quoted extensively from a respected analyst that thinks we will avoid one. Economist Robert Shiller — co-creator of the widely watched Case-Shiller home price index — is on the…
In race to dredging, Charleston leaves the starting gate
The Charleston Post and Courier is reporting this morning that efforts are finally underway to look at dredging the Port of Charleston to accommodate the post-Panamax ships so that they won’t be reliant on the tides: “Port, Army Corps to…
Washington Post tackles increasing income inequality in America
The Washington Post today has published a major piece about growing income disparity in America: With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America. I guess it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: an economy dependent…
State senate banking chair has property in foreclosure, and other commercial real estate misadventures
Credit is tight, demand is weak, and the commercial property bubble burst right after the residential one did. I have followed housing issues primarily over the last few years, but the commercial market has been tough too. Take a look…
It’s Friday so there must be another Georgia bank failure
The FDIC reported this afternoon that McIntosh State Bank in Jackson is the latest Georgia bank to fail: McIntosh State Bank, Jackson, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance…
A deeper look at housing inventory in various Savannah neighborhoods
In my column this past Tuesday in the Savannah Morning News, I raised a few questions about the current inventory of houses on the market. We have about a year’s worth of single-family homes listed for sale in the Savannah…
Another area bank under an FDIC consent order
The Savannah Morning News is reporting this afternoon that The Coastal Bank is under an FDIC consent order, which is often a first response when regulators decide that a bank has too many non-performing assets on its books. Pretty much…
Calculated Risk predicts continued sluggish and choppy growth, no double dip
A little over a week ago, I made the case that we might be entering a new recession right now. Lots of other commentators have chimed in with similar warnings. But Bill McBride, at Calculated Risk, is sticking with his…