George Soros on housing

[james armstrong]

Why quote George Soros on the Financial Crisis.?

Because he operates in the money market and our 'housing crisis' is really a 'housing debt' - i.e. 'housing money' crisis. 

What does he say?
"you need to prevent human suffering  and social disruption, because its going to be very, very severe."

- on the regulation  of 'leverage'
"You have got to control leverage-  credit obtained for investment  purposes- Excessive use of leverage  is at the bottom of the problem".

-on adjustable rate mortgages 
"problems with (them) are going to be  of about the same magnitude as  with sub-prime mortgages"

-on sovereign wealth funds 
"they're already equal in size to  all the hedge funds in the world  combined"

-on the dollar's fall in value (important for housing in UK since the pound is arguably even more vulnerable  than the dollar so Bank of England uses housing debt as the main lever to stimulate  the economy.)
"we are close to the tipping point  where the willingness of banks and countries to hold dollars  is definitely  impaired."

>From the  New York Review of Books , May 15, 2008



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