Portfolio manager Cale Smith on investing, Spoke Funds®, and Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

This week the Mortgage Banker’s Association, a group that represents 2,400 real estate finance companies in Washington, DC, was forced into a rather embarrassing situation on its own mortgage.

The MBA sold its headquarters building on a short sale for $41.3 million…a little more than half the $79 million it originally financed in 2007.

I’m not sure how they could even attempt to spin that. Sums up this mortgage crisis pretty well, though, don’t ya think?

An insightful Bloomberg video about the number of Wall Street lobbyists currently swarming over D.C.:

Here are some highlights:

Citigroup – 46 lobbyists
Chamber of Commerce – 46 lobbyists
American Bankers Association – 44 lobbyists
Prudential – 41 lobbyists
Goldman Sachs – 29 lobbyists
American Insurance Association – 29 lobbyists
Charles Schwab – 28 lobbyists
Investment Company Institute – 28 lobbyists

That last one, ICI, is the lobbying arm of the mutual fund industry.

The summary:

Total number of lobbyists representing Wall Street: 1479
Total number of lobbyists representing investors: 58
Ratio: 25 to 1

H/t Tyler Durden and Shopyield.com.