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Liquidating the ‘Hood
Stranded assets are the beached whales of capitalism. Capital invested in what looked like a good long term bet, that has now turned into an illiquid headache due to a change of circumstances. This term is often used in the context of regulation and environmentalism, but assets can become stranded in other ways:
If you keep even half an eye on the investing scene, you know that commercial real estate in general, and retail in particular, has been in trouble for some time. The advance of online shopping and networked business in general has been relentless and deadly. ‘Category killer’ store fronts and department stores alike have fallen to bankruptcy and reorganization, shopping malls have lost their anchor tenants, gone under and been rebuilt into everything from housing to entertainment centers. And that was before COVID, and before looters and arsonists showed up at the door.
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If you’re like many Ricochet folks, you get “
After a near-depression and worst-ever financial crisis that cost the US economy as much as $14 trillion, one might think Washington would be careful to avoid repeating the same policy mistakes. One might think, for instance, Washington would think twice and then thrice before loosening mortgage lending standards to boost home ownership, particularly among low-income borrowers. Because, you know, loosened mortgage standards seem to have played some role in helping set the stage for the catastrophic mortgage meltdown.
