1) There are many against the merger which makes it doubtful that it will actually materialize. That's not to say that it's not possible. Anything seems to be possible in this market.
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2) Bank of America, a financial company, reportedly in big trouble; Countrywide, a mortgage broker reportedly needing a savior. Consolidation is sometimes the smartest fix (ie. combining resources), but still, many are against the merger as they fear it will hurt the economy as a whole. Mergers require approval, and rumors result in short lived spikes. Follow the clues, but remember how unpredictable the market has been.
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3) The good news!!! Ok, so the housing market went totally out of control, and now seems to be finding itself in a correction. POINTS TO REMEMBER: The lower the value of a home in the past, the more it seems to have been affected (on a percentage basis). I owned a condo which I sold at over twice what I paid for it in under 2 years (bought at $49,000... sold at $108,000 for a one bedroom one bath on ground level) The market has since been correcting itself. What you have to remember, is that housing in the lower retail bracket was effected most (again, as a percentage basis). Take this for example, Consumer A thinks to themselves, WOW, I could have bought that for $49,000 just two years ago. Now it's $108,000, and what could it possibly be in another two years. I better get it now before I'll never be able to afford a house. Consumer A says WOW, that $300,000 home is now $350,000. I better jump on the bandwagon before this goes totally out of control. Homes were selling in a matter of less than a week no matter the price if the loan could be acquired.
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Now, OK, we are seeing a correction. My wife fears that our residence, a $750,000 (three quarters of a million home) will be worth only $200,000 (or less than one quarter of a million) when we go to sell it. But that's way off of the margin when you look at the facts. Consumers were rushing to buy lower cost housing before prices escalated to come close to or equal costs of higher valued properties. The facts: Percentage wise, lower cost housing and smaller homes will make a MUCH GREATER correction in value going back into the reality range. Again, this is percentage wise. Higher valued homes did not escalate in price near as much when compared as a percentage, and therefore, should not come even close to a correction in terms of dollar value. This doesn't mean that values won't drop by $100,000 to $200,000 dollars for a $750,000 to $1,000,000 dollar home, but that is nothing compared to a $108,000 dollar home dropping back in value to $50,000. In conclusion, no, your $400,000 home won't be worth only $50,000 when the correction has completed it's cycle. However, homes purchased during the housing rush will inevitable be victims of mortgages issues at a significant dollar value exceeding the homes actual value. Result, foreclosures on interest only and Adjustable Rate Mortgages used to acquire the homes. Real Estate and Mortgage Brokers would do anything to keep the ball rolling. Afterall, they get the commission and are gone before the ultimate dilema hits you.
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This brings us to WHERE investment banking money should be invested. On of my biggest bets which I am AGAINST, is Citi Financial, who trained a 40 year old retarded man in Georgia (never employed) to print his name (NO, HE COULDN'T WRITE AT ALL BEFORE THAT), and had him do it on several documents in an attempt to get his mom to refinance away from a much cheaper government subsidised loan. They succeeded, and now the home is in foreclosure. Not good for business unless your depending on huge government write-offs for profits. If you don't think it's true, check back with me, as it's documented on video.