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Archive for September, 2008

Worst Housing Crisis Since the Great Depression

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) — Silver State Bank of Henderson, Nevada was closed by U.S. regulators today, the 11th bank to collapse this year amid a surge in soured real-estate loans stemming from the worst housing slump since the Depression.

Silver State, with $2 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits, was shut by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FDIC said today in a statement.

Mortgage Giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be Placed Under Federal Control

The government has formulated a plan to put troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under federal control, dismiss their top executives, and use government funds to prop them up, government officials told the two companies yesterday, according to sources familiar with the conversations.

This is an ominous sign of the fragile state of the U.S. Mortgage Industry and housing markets. Many Americans are simply walking away from their homes after being unable to sell or refinance due to the current credit crunch and falling home values.

Many homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages are simply choosing to walk away and start over. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to try and save a depreciating asset while monthly payments and interest rates rise to unreasonable levels.

I’ve been working down in Maysville, Kentucky at the Spurlock Powerhouse in the Ohio River Valley.

While the work picture has been getting worse in IBEW Local 58, things are still humming along the Ohio River in Maysville.

There are three powerhouses within a ten mile radius of Maysville, KY and Aberdeen, OH. Killen Station is planning a second unit in the near future. Stuart Station has been employing IBEW members, and Spurlock Station is trying to bring Unit 4 online by spring of 2009. A unit 5 addition is also planned for the future at Spurlock Station.

We are currently working 5-10′s on the Unit 4 addition at Spurlock Station in Maysville. We’re working for Cherne Electric and are being treated well. The job consists of mostly tramps with a high turnover due to many brothers dragging weekly for more OT. Today there was a call for nine men and only one showed up to work.

The local 575 Portsmouth hands seem to be letting the job go, mostly due to the drive.

While things are slowing down in Portsmouth, there is still a demand for wireman in Maysville.

In addition to power house work along the river, they also just broke ground for a new steel mill next to the recent coke oven job south of Franklin Furnace, OH. The steel mill should start hiring IBEW members in the spring of 2009.

Work will slow this winter, but things look good down here for the next few years.