The Wonk Room

According to a USA Today analysis of RealtyTrac data, “the foreclosure rates in 40 of the nation’s counties that have the most households have already doubled from last year.” Unlike the last foreclosure wave, which “was driven by risky subprime loans, the latest increases are the result of the recession.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that “at least three small, cash-strapped banks have stopped paying the U.S. government dividends” on its TARP investments, “a sign of the deepening misery for large swaths of the U.S. banking industry.”

In the Financial Times, Frederic Mishkin explains why all regulatory roads lead to the Fed.

General Stanley McChrystal, the new commander in Afghanistan, is issuing orders “requiring troops to disengage from combat when possible, to reduce civilian deaths that have put their mission at risk,” after taking a “listening tour” during his first days in the country.

Iran’s Guardian Council has found “no witness of major fraud or breach” in the country’s recent election, and left no chance of a general annulment in the face of broad discrepancies in the counting of the vote.

A series of bombings that have left 22 dead across Baghdad is part of increased violence in Iraq, coming a week before most U.S. troops are expected to withdraw from urban bases and outposts.

A report released by Harvard economists shows that while the echo-boom generation (ages 25 to 44) is expected to “invigorate” the real-estate market, immigration remains a “wild card” that could either “dampen” or “lift” the market.

While Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is determined to win the votes he needs to pass comprehensive immigration this year, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated that it’s unlikely reform will be enacted in 2009.

Yesterday, the FBI announced that it has cleared a year-long backlog of identity checks on people pursuing U.S. citizenship or seeking to work and live in the country — however, that backlog does not include the estimated 6,000 cases which require additional evaluation or “interaction” with other agencies.

Is Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) embracing a public option? The Huffington Post is reporting that Conrad “moved sharply toward public health care Monday, saying that he could ‘absolutely’ support major parts of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s compromise proposal for a public option after closed-door negotiations.”

The White House will launch “a massive new online data bank of thousands of health care stories, which will be spread around the country via Obama’s extensive email list.”

“Can we actually see — statistically — the impact of lobbying by the insurance industry on the prospects for health care reform?” Nate Silver believes we can.