Thursday November 15 Housing and Economic stories

Best sources of housing and financial news stories (with no spin):
· http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html (Patrick.net US Housing Crash Continues)
· http://www.bullnotbull.com/bull/
· http://www.prudentbear.com/
· http://www.safehaven.com/
· http://www.jasmts.com/readingRoom.php (Jim Shepherd Investment Strategist)
· http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ (Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis)


Housing and Economic News:

John Thain will take over at Merrill Lynch
NYSE’s Thain takes reins at Merrill Lynch - (www.ft.com)
Lex: Merrill’s new boss

Fed offers greater insight on inflation - (www.ft.com)
The Federal Reserve unveiled far-reaching plans to increase its transparency, adopting many of the features of an inflation-targeting regime without actually stating a formal inflation target - 01:17
Fed seeks benefits of inflation targeting - (www.ft.com)

World’s bankers search for virtuous circle - (www.ft.com)
Editorial comment: Balanced Bernanke - (www.ft.com)

Investment bank faces $7.9bn of writedowns - 01:33
Chevron pays $30m in Iraq bribes case - (www.ft.com)
HSBC hit by rise in US bad loan charges - (www.ft.com)

Investors take over collapsed Bear funds - (www.ft.com)
Smaller-than-expected writedown lifts Bear - 20:36

Cerberus pulls out of $7bn deal - (www.ft.com)
Latest casualty of the credit squeeze - 01:50

Buffett backs higher private equity taxes - (www.ft.com)
Investors take over collapsed Bear funds - (www.ft.com)
First step towards recovery of some losses - 22:00
GE fund investors liquidate holdings - (www.ft.com)

Delta sets up team to review options - (www.ft.com)
Shareholder calls for airline merger - 00:14
Delta bounces back from bankruptcy - (www.ft.com)


Merrill's New CEO Hoping To 'Make Things Better' - (www.cnbc.com)
John Thain told CNBC that he sees his new job as CEO of Merrill Lynch as "an opportunity to make things better" after the financial giant suffered huge subprime-related losses.
- Board Approached Fink
- Cramer: Thain Is Good Choice
Barclays Investment Bank Writes Down $2.7 Billion - (www.cnbc.com)
Bear Stearns Says Worst Is Over After Writedown - (www.cnbc.com)
E*Trade CEO: Bankruptcy Talk 'Irresponsible' - (www.cnbc.com)
GE Fund Latest Victim of Subprime, Mortgage Losses - (www.cnbc.com)

Now Money Market Funds Become a Concern - (www.bullnotbull.com/bull)
No, I guess the recession is just starting...
How to Profit from the Real Estate Bust - Interview with John Rubino - (www.bullnotbull.com/bull)
Cost of Iraq, Afghan Wars: $1.6 Trillion - (www.bullnotbull.com/bull)


From http://www.prudentbear.com

Retail Sales in U.S. Rose 0.2 Percent in October; Ex-Autos Up 0.2 Percent - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 07:48 AM)
U.S. Producer Prices Rose 0.1% in October; Core Index Unchanged - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 07:49 AM)
Southern California home prices at 2-1/2 year low - Reuters (11/14/2007 02:24 PM)
Cost of oil felt beyond pump - LA Times (11/14/2007 04:56 AM)
Pending home sales inch up but market remains weak - LA Times (11/14/2007 04:59 AM)
Foreclosure Filings Up in Metro Areas - AP (11/14/2007 05:03 AM)
California, Ohio, Florida Cities Lead U.S. Foreclosure Filings - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 06:24 AM)
Economists predict slow growth through 2011 for Massachusetts and New England - Boston Globe (11/14/2007 05:06 AM)
Foreclosures hit some cities harder than others: Schoen - MSNBC (11/14/2007 05:04 AM)
Fed's Fisher Sees `Sustainable' Growth, Price Risks - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 05:45 AM)
5,244 Atlanta properties to go on auction block - AJC.com (11/14/2007 08:33 AM)
Mortgage applications up 5.5% last week: MBA - Market Watch from Dow Jones (11/14/2007 08:39 AM)

Mortgage Woes Damage a GE Bond Fund - Barron's (11/14/2007 02:27 PM)
GE suffers bond fund damage, lets outsiders exit - Reuters (11/14/2007 08:37 PM)
Subprime fallout hits big money market funds - USA Today (11/14/2007 08:35 AM)
Banks prop up money market funds - FT (11/14/2007 02:04 PM)
Fink predicts worsening credit losses - LA Times (11/14/2007 04:58 AM)
U.S. property values may suffer $223 billion hit in foreclosures - Chicago Tribune (11/14/2007 05:04 AM)
As the Japanese Yen Goes, So, Too, Do Stocks -- Usually - WSJ ($) (11/14/2007 05:14 AM)
Investor Safe Haven Becomes a Concern - NY Times (11/14/2007 05:40 AM)
Gloom grows for commercial property sector - FT (11/14/2007 02:17 PM)
Pressure grows on yen carry trades - FT (11/14/2007 02:06 PM)
Florida Holds $2.2 Billion of Debt Cut to Junk - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 05:42 AM)

Fannie Mae's fuzzy math - Fortune (11/14/2007 12:16 PM)
Bear Stearns Will Take $1.2 Billion Subprime-Mortgage Writedown, CFO Says - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 07:50 AM)
McDonald's is out to win specialty coffee wars - Chicago Tribune (11/14/2007 05:01 AM)
When Home Builders Hit the Skids - WSJ ($) (11/14/2007 05:16 AM)
HSBC Mortgage Takes $3.4B Charge in US - AP (11/14/2007 05:52 AM)
Europe Deepens Google-DoubleClick Probe - TheStreet.com (11/14/2007 08:25 AM)
Cerberus pulls out of $7bn deal - FT (11/14/2007 09:40 PM)
NYSE’s Thain takes reins at Merrill Lynch - FT (11/14/2007 09:45 PM)

ECB Ordonez Warns Prolonged Period Of Uncertainty Possible - Dow Jones (11/14/2007 09:45 AM)
Chinese Prices Surge Again, Despite New Controls - NY Times (11/14/2007 05:41 AM)
China's Retail Sales Grow at Fastest Pace Since 1999 - Bloomberg (11/14/2007 05:43 AM)
Synthetic currency could limit the volatility in foreign exchange trading - CFO.com (11/14/2007 08:37 AM)


From http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html
Charting the Housing Spin (fool.com)
What the 'Subprime' Mess Is Really About (lewrockwell.com)
SoCal house sales plunge in October (money.cnn.com)
OC Sales Log Another 40% Decline in October (ocbj.com)
It's harder than ever to get loans (realestate.msn.com)
Foreclosure filings: No slowdown yet (money.cnn.com)
CA city tops in nation for foreclosure rate (centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)
Foreclosure Filings Increase In Most Metro Areas (efinancedirectory.com)
Foreclosure Filings Up in Metro Areas (sfgate.com)
Ripple effect of foreclosures touch entire communities (sfgate.com)
Empty Houses Home to Crime As Loans Fail (biz.yahoo.com)
Squalor, crime follow wave of foreclosures (msnbc.msn.com)
BofA Joins the Writedown Party; More to Come? (researchrecap.com)
Condo boards caught in fee pinch (dailybusinessreview.com)
House Sweet House (wallstreetexaminer.com)
Top Secret Mortgage Fraud Command Center Opens (Mish)
Bubble Still Inflating in Toronto (thestar.com)