Tuesday January 29 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

As Foreclosures Rise, Mayors Brace for Fallout – (online.wsj.com)
Recession puts Florida housing market in a death grip - (www.dallasnews.com)
Shady finance cries for bailout – (www.economist.com)
Recession puts Florida housing market in a death grip - (www.dallasnews.com)
Humbled homesellers - (www.ocregister.com)

Wall Street bailed out by state-run funds - (www.economist.com)
Mozilo Gives Up $37.5M Severance (probably because he made it due to a Fed/BofA bailout) - (www.ml-implode.com)
New Trend: 'Intentional Foreclosure’ (buying another home from auction, then walking away from current loan) - (www.cbs13.com)
'For Sale' signs a barrier to refinancing home - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ohio Sues Freddie Mac Over Pension Losses - 'Ohio's attorney general has sued mortgage lender Freddie Mac (FRE), accusing the lending giant of defrauding the state's mammot... - (www.ml-implode.com)
It just keeps getting worse for homebuilders - 'The Census Bureau reported that homebuilders slashed new home prices by ten percent in December... - (www.ml-implode.com)
First Horizon Pulls Back on Construction Lending - 'First Horizon reported a fourth quarter net loss of $248.6 million on January 18, … - (www.ml-implode.com)
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Quick Fix Could Cost Taxpayers - (homeguide123.com)
Write Your Senators To Oppose Paying For Bad Fannie Mae Loans - (patrick.net)
Fannie Watchdog Against Increased Taxpayer Liability For Mortgages - (www.ofheo.gov)


Other Stories:

Fitch: Challenges Ahead for CMBS Servicers - 'Saying that it expected CRE delinquencies to double in 2008, Fitch Ratings today said it would put CMBS servicers under “rigorous... - (www.ml-implode.com)
The Greatest Bait And Switch Of All Time - (www.ml-implode.com)
The Crash of the Bank of United States - (www.ml-implode.com)
Shaved Coins - (www.ml-implode.com)
NY Insurance Department Hires Wall Street Firm for Advice on Monoline Insurers - (www.ml-implode.com)

Higher taxpayer liability for mortgages could fail in Senate - (www.usatoday.com)
Stimulus plan may lead to higher mortgage rates - (news.yahoo.com)
Boing! Go Interest Rates - (market-ticker.denninger.net)
Postponing the necessary - (www.livemint.com)
The Next Bubble: "Economic Stimulus" - (patrick.net)
The Illusion of the Bush Economy's Growth is Revealed - (www.huffingtonpost.com)
As America crash lands, the world looks east - (www.guardian.co.uk)
Congress and The Cocaine Monkey - (www.nolanchart.com)
They Said Housing Prices Couldn't Fall. They Lied. - (seekingalpha.com)
Annual house-price decline douses long-held beliefs - (www.marketwatch.com)
Dutch history suggests houses do not increase in value - (www.guardian.co.uk)
A Fear That the Cure Could Be Poison - (biz.yahoo.com)
Gold Futures Rise to Record as Dollar Declines; Platinum Surges - (www.bloomberg.com)
New Home Sales Fall by Record Amount - (www.ap.com)
Fed diverges from other central banks - (www.economist.com)
The U.S. Economy Faces the Guillotine - (www.newsweek.com)
Sales of New Homes Fell by 26% in 2007 - (www.nytimes.com)
America's Hardest-Hit Foreclosure Spots – (www.forbes.com)

Bond Insurer Default May Roil Default Swap Market - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fear stalks the markets - (www.economist.com)
Investors seek best strategies to short credit - (www.reuters.com)

Alliance Data Takeover May Collapse; Shares Fall - (www.bloomberg.com)
Sears' Lewis to Step Down As CEO – (www.ap.com)
Inquiry Raises New Questions on French Bank - (www.nytimes.com)
Societe Generale Trader Built EU50 Billion Position - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bond Insurer Bailout a Bad Bet - (www.thestreet.com)
Reality Check on Raising Mortgage Caps - (blogs.marketwatch.com)
The darker side of interest rate cuts - (money.cnn.com)
Why Raising Conforming Limits Is a Bad Idea - (www.lendingsanity.com)
US recession will dwarf dotcom crash - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Snow storm brings China to a halt – (www.ft.com)
China's Snowstorms Halt Fuel Shipment, Flights, Power - (www.bloomberg.com)
Coal shortages put pressure on Beijing - (www.ft.com)
A French Style of Capitalism Is Now Stained - (www.nytimes.com)
UK economy 'at risk of recession' - (news.bbc.co.uk)
U.K. Hometrack House Prices Fall for a Fourth Month - (www.bloomberg.com)

Kerviel is just part of a global rogues' gallery - (www.ft.com)
'Credit orgy' is over and recession looms, says Jabre - (www.ft.com)