Mixed Bag

As most of you are probably aware, last week was a tough week for banks. Indy Mac failed. There was the beginning of a run on Indy Mac as a result of depositors 'concerns and fear escalated as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were also in serious trouble. In addition, the confidence indicator for builders was at an all-time low. (Source: WSJ, CNBC)

This week, the stock market continued its downward spiral and then bounced back with, of all things, the banks leading a 2-day rally. Fannie and Freddie seem to be out of the woods for the time-being as the government has indicated that those institutions are, in fact, too big to be allowed to fail. This morning, JP Morgan reported better than expected results and Bank of America is showing signs of life notwithstanding the purchase of Countrywide. (Source: WSJ, CNBC)

In conjunction with the above, and just as important to the real estate market, is the fact that June housing starts were up 11.1%. Moreover, building permits for June were up 9.1%. (Source: CNBC)

As an aside, oil prices have come down a bit, and reserves for natural gas came in higher than expected. (Source: WSJ, CNBC)

What does all this mean? I am not sure if anyone knows. Stay tuned...