“Fitch Ratings today made massive downgrades on various vintage ‘05 through ‘08 subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), indicating the extent of the fallout related to subprime defaults has yet to subside.

The rating agency slashed hundreds of RMBS ratings further into junk territory”

Then went on to say:

“The projected losses also reflect an assumption that from the first quarter of 2009, home prices will fall an additional 12.5% nationally and 36% in California, with home prices not exhibiting stability until the second half of 2010. To date, national home prices have declined by 27%. Fitch Rating’s revised peak-to-trough expectation is for prices to decline by 36% from the peak price achieved in mid-2006. The additional 9% decline represents a 12.5% decline from today’s levels.”

Fitch explains this:

“The home price declines to date have resulted in negative equity for approximately 50% of the remaining performing borrowers in the 2005-2007 vintages. In addition to continued home price deterioration, unemployment has risen significantly since the third quarter of last year, particularly in California where the unemployment rate has jumped from 7.8% to 11%.”

One of the nice things about scalping emini index futures contracts is the freedom from predicting long term, or any term, for that matter, pricing trends. I simply trade what is on the chart in front of me. I will surely admit that much of what I see leaves me scratching my head.

Did I mention that the stock market, by some indicators, is in positive territory for 2009?

And while I am in a questioning kind of mood, can someone explain to me just how the stock market could be in positive territory for the current year?

I don’t spend much of my time pondering the mysteries of life, such as, “what is the meaning of my existence”, or matters of metaphysical consequence. But the rationale for the recent rise in prices is beyond my little one-watt brain’s ability to compute. I have never seen the economy in such shambles, nor the employment numbers, nor the GDP numbers…..

The Fed has taken extraordinary measures, of questionable theoretical value, to prop up the economy, and the government has spent itself into oblivion.

Did I mention the stock market is up this year?

Maybe I should start contemplating the meaning of life.