The new Canadian housing bubble?

China isn't the only place where they are talking about a housing bubble again these days and this morning's papers were sprinkled with reports on the subject. It would seem that, after the events of the last ten years or so, about the only way to be sure that there is a bubble is when you hear a high ranking government official deny its existence and that's exactly what happened north of the border according to this story in the Globe and Mail.

Ottawa says housing bubble not a concern
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty appears to have no immediate plans to tighten Canadian mortgage rules despite the advice of senior bankers concerned about surging home prices.

Mr. Flaherty said he sees no evidence of a housing bubble in Canada.

Easy access to risky mortgages was at the heart of the global financial collapse. Some are calling on Canada to err on the side of caution in ensuring the economy is protected from an American-style wave of mortgage defaults by homeowners.

The Globe and Mail reported Saturday that the heads of the country's six largest banks privately told Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney in November that they fear a potential collapse in house prices and the ensuing potential for economic damage.

Apparently, all they're asking for is a return to 10 percent down payments which, when you think about it, isn't asking all that much.

The Wall Street Journal filed this lengthy report on the subject and the anecdotal accounts of rising prices sound just like those heard in places like California, Las Vegas, Florida, and Arizona about five years ago. Sadly, policy makers in the U.S. would likely give their left arm to be hearing reports like these and warnings that a new housing bubble is forming.

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An interview with Fred Sheehan

Frederick Sheehan was interviewed by Jim Puplava on Financial Sense Online over the weekend and the audio has been matched up with some imagery in the YouTube clip below. Recall that Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession.

The fact that he studied under Arthur Burns came as a surprise to me but, when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense since, in the fullness of time, history will likely view these two as the worst Fed chairmen of all time. Also, despite the long-held belief that Greenspan was an ardent follower of Ayn Rand, apparently he wasn't interested in much more than rounding out his Rolodex, all of which helps to explain Sheehan's title selection for the book.

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Greenspan: The danger of falling stock prices

The win by the Saints yesterday was something of an upset but, nonetheless, the graphic to the right that appears this morning in the "Meet the Press" section over at MSNBC is more than a little bit ironic in light of the predictions that former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson were making a few years back about the future of the economy and financial markets.

I haven't cued up the Meet the Press video just yet and may wait until later in the day as a glass of wine (or two) may be needed before it is deemed safe to watch these two together, but Bloomberg carried this report of the event in which more warnings were heard from the former Fed chairman about the dangers of falling stock prices.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a U.S. economic recovery is “going to be a slow, trudging thing,” and that he “would get very concerned” if stock prices continue to fall.

A drop in stock prices is “more than a warning sign,” Greenspan said yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “It’s important to remember that equity values, stock prices, are not just paper profits. They actually have a profoundly important impact on economic activity.”

It's surprising that Bloomberg writers Alan Bjerga and Vincent Del Giudice didn't see fit to include the seemingly mandatory disclaimers that have been included in stories about the former Fed chairman in recent years, something along the lines of, "Many blame years of easy money policies by Alan Greenspan for multiple asset bubbles over the last decade..."

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The best defense is a good offense, absolutely

Secretary Treasurer Tim Geithner was on ABC's This Week yesterday and you have to give the guy credit for at least attempting to instill confidence. The problem is, once you've lost as much credibility as he has and after so many have called for you to step down, sometimes you start to look silly when you keep saying 'absolutely' this and 'absolutely' that.

From the transcript, first on whether or not jobs will be created this spring:

Absolutely. But remember where we were a year ago.

On whether enough is being done to bring down unemployment:

We need to -- we have more work to do, absolutely we have more work to do.

On the U.S. losing it's AAA-rating:

Absolutely not. And that will never happen to this country.

On whether the proposed budget is a serious attempt at deficit reduction:

Absolutely. Again, look what the president proposed.

This is absolutely unconvincing.

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Monday morning links

TOP STORIES
European Central Bank in a Squeeze - NY Times
G7 reaffirms commitment to bank reform - Globe and Mail
With the Euro Falling, US Recovery Is Under Threat - HuffPost
Euro under pressure as Greek crisis becomes a 'huge game of chicken' - Telegraph
The debasement of world currency: It is inflation, but not as we know it - Warburton, GATA
Greenspan Sees ‘Slow’ Recovery, Is ‘Concerned’ If Stocks Drop - Bloomberg
More consumers just say no to credit cards - USA Today
Secret summit of top bankers - Daily Telegraph

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MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil holds above $71 in rebound after sharp slide - Reuters
Gold Increases 0.4% to $1,070.25 an Ounce - Bloomberg
Buy Stock Now to Ride Second Stage of Bull Market - CNBC
Investor frenzy grips Platinum, Palladium ETFs - Commodity Online
Weak Dollar Illusory as Correlated Trade Shows Gains - Bloomberg
Gold falls in Vietnam after c.bank orders sales - Alibaba
Cautiously Pessimistic - Hussman Funds

ECONOMY
US economic stress hit a peak in Dec. - AP
Long-term unemployed still wait for recovery to arrive - USA Today
No Job Growth for Small Business Spurs Recovery Doubt - Bloomberg
No Double-Dip Slump but Recovery Slow: Geithner - CNBC
Toward a Different Fiscal Future - Hubbard, WSJ

INTERNATIONAL
Greece readies tax change to fight crisis - AP
Unions Threaten More Strikes Against Greek Govt - Reuters
Greek Ouzo crisis escalates into global margin call - Telegraph
Greece haunts investors, European shares reverse - Reuters
More than 10,000 Britons declared insolvent every month - Telegraph
Blair’s Business Backers Split in ‘Up for Grabs’ Vote - Bloomberg
Maybe it's the army of bureaucrats we should cut - Telegraph
Ottawa says housing bubble not a concern - Globe and Mail

REAL ESTATE
Mortgage Bankers sells headquarters at a loss - Reuters
Soured NYC deal portends property storm - Globe and Mail
Baby boomers busted by housing market collapse - Chicago Tribune
Homeowners rent out rooms to stave off foreclosure - Mercury News

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Geithner Says U.S. Will ‘Never’ Lose Aaa Debt Rating - Bloomberg
Ben Bernanke: The Very Model of a Modern Pliant Bureaucrat - aucontrarian
Bond Traders See Slim Pickings With Volcker Rule - Bloomberg
Fed to lay out interest rate hike plan this week - MarketWatch

INTERESTING
Snowpocalypse Seen from Space - LiveScience
Goodell: NFL would consider ban on 3-point stance - AP
'The View' gets political -- viewers love it (and so does D.C.) - LA Times
The story behind that Leno-Letterman-Oprah Super Bowl promo - USA Today

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Too much skin from the men

This was one of the more disturbing commercials during the Super Bowl today where it clearly seemed that there were too many men walking around with far too few clothes on.

It was a great game to watch, so long as you weren't rooting for the Colts. What, just one spot with the Budweiser Clydesdales and about a million Bud Light commercials? Fortunately, most of the Bud Light ads were pretty good.

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A review of 2009 Super Bowl commercials

Get ready for a whole new batch of memorable Super Bowl commercials in a few hours - at least, that's the hope. Here's a compilation of the best from last year's game.

The rhinoceros is quite funny, but, if you ask me, those baby ETRADE spots are just creepy.

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