Homeowners are not the only ones having difficulty paying their mortgages. Owners of commercial properties, from office buildings and industrial parks to malls and resorts to hospitals and medical buildings are all feeling the pressure. And as of Tuesday, the cracks are officially beginning to show.

If the mortgage market collapses this week, just “Blame it on Rio,” as that is where this week’s market update is coming to you from.  After all, with the volatility of last week’s shortened trading week, and the volatility sure to come next week as we give thanks, we need to put blame somewhere.

Hedge funds are continuing to lose big bucks, suspending redemptions and, in a number of cases, liquidating. They all cite difficult market conditions. Which markets, though? Derivatives have been under the radar lately, yet there have been many events that would force mark-to-market accounting. Recent changes in SEC rules allow banks to defer mark-to-market and keep off balance sheet certain assets. Hedge funds too?

A guest post from Frank Shump. Frank is a veteran from the financial services industry, and currently authors a blog called Thefinancecastle.com, which documents his thoughts on money matters and his adventures in self employment.

A guest post from Constantine von Hoffman, veteran business journalist and author of the blog CollateralDamage.biz, a humorous look at marketing, business and his dog.
No matter who wins today, the facts on the ground will not change. Currently the best-case scenarios are for a recession ending sometime late next year. Never a good sign when that’s the view from the rose-colored glasses.