disgusted and scared

Just two quick things to report:

1. Received a letter yesterday from my bank (JP Morgan Chase) telling me that using their "proven valuation methods" they have determined the value of my apartment is about 50% of what I thought it was worth (and about 50% less than last month's reported sales prices for comparable units in my co-op) and that they were cutting off my home equity line of credit. A good friend and former client of mine, who owns an apartment in an Upper East Side high-rise, got the same letter -- although his apartment has apparently only lost 30% of its value. So, the credit crunch comes home -- quicker than I anticipated and just in time to prevent me from drawing against my HELOC to help pay my kid's school tuition. I am in the process of getting an independent appraisal to appeal this.
   
   
2. I am in a new role at work, and I now attend a weekly meeting, held Wednesday mornings, of the Internal Comms working group. As we need to distribute memos and such regarding any changes to banking regulations, etc., the director of this group was briefing us (five Americans, two Swiss) on the then upcoming Senate vote on the financial bailout. The director said it was likely that the Senate would pass the legislation, mused about what the House might do when they brought the bill back for another vote, and the actually told the people in the room that she didn't know whether the House had to pass the bill in order for it to be signed into law. When I told her that both bodies of Congress need to approve a bill before it can be presented to the President for his signature, she asked whether there weren't some mechanism for the Prez to authorize the Senate to override any House vote in this time of emergency.

I'm really feeling like we're in for a world of trouble.