SO You Thought You Had a Softwood Deal

David Emmerson's disastrous software lumber deal whttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifith the US Gov't looks even worse in light of the latest housing start figures from the United States. Give up a billion dollars, half of it to the gentle fingers of the White House.
(I quote Dr.Eliot Feldman in his testamony before the Standing Committee on International Trade:
"So here we have the Government of Canada requiring that Canadian private parties sign over $450 million to an escrow fund slated to be conveyed to the White House. The agreement does not mention Congress, and the Bush administration says Congress will not be involved in any way with this agreement. The Government of Canada is thus making a gift of $450 million to be spent by the President. That was more than a belt buckle, even more than a stetson, on July 6.")

Now we have this report, via Bloomberg:

The 6 percent decrease in housing starts to an annual rate of 1.665 million followed a 1.772 million pace in July, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Building permits dropped for a seventh straight month to the lowest level in four years and a sign home construction will keep slowing.

So the price of softwood lumber will be... soft. Good timing for a bad deal, guys.