Odds ‘n Sods:

Credit Default Swaps Are Next to Take the Crunch Test. Does this sound familiar?

   o o o

A reader sent me an e-mail to chide me for mentioning that hedge fund redemption suspensions were on the increase. He said: that I was being “an alarmist” because “those [redemption suspensions] are still rare.” Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and state publicly that I believe that they are going to become a lot less rare in the immediate future. Even large hedge funds are not immune. For example, just recently one of CitiGroup’s hedge funds announced a withdrawal suspension. There are a lot of hedge funds with bond, CDO, and CDS exposure!

   o o o

Even Boise, Idaho is not immune from the foreclosure flurry: Foreclosures hit pricey Eagle homes hard

   o o o

Reader Phil T. asked about rolling over his existing Individual retirement Account (IRA) into a precious metals IRA that holds US Gold Eagles in bonded storage. It is quick and easy to do. I recommended Swiss America for setting up his gold IRA