BACHELORS always seemed to have it made. With only themselves to support, they could flash their cash and trick out their apartments in such a way that James Bond himself would feel at home shaking himself a martini in their ultra-cool, chick-magnet pads.

But times have changed… Bachelor pads are a lot less fun when you’re broke. [NY Times ]

The FDIC closed five more banks on Friday, and that brings the total FDIC bank failures to 69 in 2009.

The pace has really picked up recently, with the FDIC seizing almost 5 banks per week in July, and with 5 months to go, it seems 125 to 150 bank failures this year is likely.

The recession makes us faster. The following is from NPR News:

Looking for a glimmer of hope in the recession? Maybe losing a job can help you become fitter and faster. That’s the conclusion of a piece today in the Wall Street Journal that points to improving marathon times across the country in 2009.

What makes all this speedy running particularly notable is that more Americans are entering marathons, which means more novice runners, which should mean slower times.

A study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston this week indicates that the $75 billion that the Obama administration is directing to the lending industry to encourage loan modifications probably won’t work.

The four-month-old anti-foreclosure program has — at least so far — shown weak results. According to the Obama administration’s own estimate, “over 50,000″ loans were modified to make payments more affordable for borrowers at risk of default, The New York Times reported. That’s a small number considering that millions of new foreclosures are expected in the next couple years.

Paul S. Willen, senior economist at the Boston Fed, told The Boston Globe that it would probably make more sense to give the money directly to struggling homeowners to cover their payments because lenders aren’t eager to do loan workouts because they aren’t profitable.

The Obama plan would give bonuses and other incentives to loan servicers to modify loans ($1,000 for each loan they modify and $1,000 each year that a borrower says current on their modified loan payments).

According to The Globe:

Willen said the success bonus could have the unintended effect of steering loan servicers away from those who need help the most, and toward only those borrowers most likely to recover on their own anyway. He said that if modifications increase, it won’t be by much. “My guess is they are going to help people who are OK, and they are not going to help people who are deep trouble,’’ he said.

From Bloomberg: U.S. Home-Equity Loan Delinquencies Set Record in First Quarter

Late payments on home-equity loans rose to a record in the first quarter …

Delinquencies on home-equity loans climbed to 3.52 percent of all accounts in the quarter from 3.03 percent in the fourth and late payments on home-equity lines of credit climbed to a record 1.89 percent, the group said. …

“The number one driver of delinquencies is job loss,” James Chessen, the group’s chief economist, said in an e-mailed statement. “Delinquencies won’t improve until companies start hiring again and we see a significant economic turnaround.”

My thoughts: The recession lives on.