Two interesting statistics from Bill Fleckenstein. 1.) In 2001 only 2% of new mortgages in California were Interest-Only. In 2004 this rose to 49%. 2.) In 2004 proceeds from Cash-out refinancing, and Home-equity line-of-credit, accounted for 77% of total U.S. consumption. <A HREF="http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=21323364" target="_blank">http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=21323364</A>