Remember when Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, you know, the one with the credibility, said that “All the signs I look at” show “the housing market is at or near the bottom.” and that “the U.S. economy is “very healthy” and “robust?”

Of course you do, because I’ve been documenting each time the data makes an ass out of The Credible One. Today’s edition hits both ends of Paulson’s disingenuous statement.

US economy slows to 4-year low – TimesOnline (5/31/07):

The US economy slowed to its weakest pace in four years in the first quarter this year as a housing slump, growing trade deficit and factory inventories weighed.

US GDP grew at an annual pace of just 0.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said.

The figure – a sharp downward revision from an earlier estimate of 1.3 per cent – came in below analyst forecasts of a 0.8 per cent annual pace. It followed a 2.5 per cent pace of expansion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

…and…

Credit Collapse – Lamont Trading Advisors (5/10/07):

In the Reset Schedule below from Credit Suisse, over a trillion dollars in ARMS will adjust in rates over the next 5 years.

Heckuva job, Paulie!