Thursday January 31 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Immigrants hit hard by slowdown, subprime crisis - Yahoo! News - (news.yahoo.com)
S&P Lowers or May Cut Ratings on $534 Billion of Mortgage Debt - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bond insurers bail-out 'unlikely' - (www.ft.com)
Broke houseowners linked to arsons - (articles.moneycentral.msn.com)
Brokers Asked to Refund Money After Buyers Walk Away (ah, another type of lawsuit being played out) - (futurerealestate.blogspot.com)
FGIC Loses AAA Rating at Fitch After Missing Deadline - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. 10-city house price drop a record in Nov - (www.reuters.com)
FBI Probe Excludes The Biggest Fraudster: Fannie Mae - (news.yahoo.com)
California Unemployment Agency Blames Housing - (edd.ca.gov)
The great fiscal stimulus package ... of 1929 - (www.marketwatch.com)
High anxiety for 401(k) investors - (www.latimes.com)
Basis hedge fund valued at 2 cents in dollar - (www.ft.com)
Subprime Lenders Get Big Accounting Break at SEC - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:

BNP Paribas Profit Falls 42% on Credit Market Slump - (www.bloomberg.com)
Don't Make The California Refinance Mistake - (www.sandiegopredatorylending.com)
Is the Fed Bailing out the Economy or the Banks? I think we all know the answer here. Both, but not until the banks started having trouble - (www.prospect.org)
U.S. Economy Expanded 0.6 Percent, Less Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
Text of FOMC statement - (www.marketwatch.com)
Fed Lowers Rate to 3% as Six-Year U.S. Expansion Falters - (www.bloomberg.com)
CFO optimism plunges on recession fears - (www.reuters.com)
Foreclosures continue to soar - (money.cnn.com)
House prices keep falling - (money.cnn.com)
Fed’s Issue on Rates: How Low? - (www.nytimes.com)
$146 Billion Stimulus Plan Passes House - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Mortgage applications near 4-year high: MBA - (www.reuters.com)
FBI Probing Subprime - (www.thestreet.com)
Economic growth in '07 weakest in five years - (www.reuters.com)
House Prices Fall, but Remain Unaffordable - (biz.yahoo.com)
House Foreclosure Rate Soars in 2007 - (biz.yahoo.com)
In America, the land of bubbles, the next pop will be the biggest - (www.marketwatch.com)
F.B.I. Opens Subprime Inquiry - (www.nytimes.com)
Banks May Write Down $70 Billion on Insurers, Oppenheimer Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
KKR: Expect PE Deals To Shrink - (www.thestreet.com)
Merrill to Exit CDO, Structured Credit Businesses, Thain Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Morgan Stanley Writes Down SIVs After Helping Its Money Funds - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Fed and Mortgage Debt as Money - (patrick.net)
Real Problem: Consumers at End of Their Ropes - (robertreich.blogspot.com)
What's Bernanke To Do? - (www.seekingalpha.com)
UBS Reports Record Loss After $14 Billion Writedown - (www.bloomberg.com)
2 Biggest Wall Street Firms Probed - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Britian keen on preventing bank runs - (money.cnn.com)
The Fed is between a rock & a hard place - (www.nypost.com)

Case-Shiller Housing Index Continues to Slide - (seekingalpha.com)
SPCase-Shiller Data for November 2007 - (eastbayhousingbubble.blogspot.com)
Great news! House prices are down - (www.timesonline.co.uk)

Wednesday January 30 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

IndyMac says Moody's pulls rating at its request - (us.rd.yahoo.com)
Housing Prices Drop 8.4%, Setting New Record - (www.ft.com)
Subprime Meltdown - (60minutes.yahoo.com)
O Wise Bank, What Do We Do? - (www.nytimes.com)
Open Letter from Gray Davis - California needs a 'rainy day' fund – (www.insidebayarea.com)
US homebuilders face growing bankruptcy threat - (www.ft.com)
Countrywide Financial Posts Loss on Overdue Mortgages - (www.bloomberg.com)
Basis hedge fund valued at 2 cents in dollar - (www.ft.com)
Foreclosure rate almost doubled in 2007: report - (www.reuters.com)
FBI Probing 14 Companies in Connection With Subprime Lending - (www.bloomberg.com)
Corporate America braced for recession - (www.ft.com)
Cleanup crews often can tell why eviction happened - (www.ohio.com)
Sales of New Homes Fell by 26% in 2007 - (www.nytimes.com)
REITs Point to Further Decline In Commercial-Property - (online.wsj.com)
Banks' bad loans hit level of S&L Crisis - (atlanta.bizjournals.com)
Nevada had top foreclosure rate in 2007 - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

House Passes $146 Billion Economic Aid Package - ``But on Tuesday, Ms. Pelosi said that her personal support for some of the proposals being floated in the Senate was secondary ... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Feds open subprime mortgage probe in 14 companies... - SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Federal investigators have opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging i... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Bank Reserves Go Negative - 'A deepening recession, a falling stock market, plunging commercial real estate, and social acceptance of walking away are all g... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fired VP files suit against lender (Countrywie) and builder (KB Home) joint venture - (www.ml-implode.com)
Countrywide And The Failure of Mortgage Socialism - (www.ml-implode.com)

Yahoo Warns on 2008 Outlook; Shares Fall and announce 1000 layoffs - Shares of the company fell as its sales guidance was light and Chief Executive Jerry Yang warned of 2008 "headwinds." - (www.ft.com)
Feds Investigate Banks Over Subprime Lending - (www.ft.com)
House Passes Economic Stimulus Package - (www.ft.com)

U.S. Consumer Confidence Declined to 87.9 in January From 90.6 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Case-Shiller Home Prices in U.S. Fall for 11th Month - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed May Cut Rate to Below Inflation, Risking New Asset Bubbles - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed risks 'blood on the floor' on rate cuts - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
IMF slashes US growth forecast - (www.ft.com)
Regulator opposes stimulus plan's mortgage fix - (money.cnn.com)
Write Your Senators - (patrick.net)
Beyond the Stimulus Package - (nytimes.com)
Junk Bond Rising Spreads Signal Worst Bust Since 2001 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Foreclosure Filings Surged 75% in '07 - (online.wsj.com)
Emerging Market Debt Rises Sevenfold Since 1994, Says ABN Amro - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ratio of distressed debt soars to its highest level in five years - (money.cnn.com)
For private-equity firms, it's no longer a done deal - (www.usatoday.com)
A Beautiful Model for Loan Fraud - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Speculation or Investment? - (www.irvinehousingblog.com)
Median House Prices If Bubble Never Happened - (www.homeguide123.com)
French Inquiry: Bank’s Inaction Grows as Issue - (www.nytimes.com)
France says SocGen in crisis, pressure on chairman - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Countrywide deal spurred by crackdown worries: report - (www.reuters.com)
US homebuilders face growing bankruptcy threat - (www.ft.com)
US recession will dwarf dotcom crash - (telegraph.co.uk)
Let The Market Work - (patrick.net)
How to Survive the Fortune You Made in Subprime - (www.bloomberg.com)
Countrywide's Mozilo to give up $37.5 million severance - (www.marketwatch.com)
Mozilo should give it all back - (www.lendingsanity.com)
Gulf States Face `Inflationary Spiral,' Moody's Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit crunch spreads eastwards - (www.ft.com)
French consumer confidence plunges - (www.ft.com)
Private investors take the money and run - (www.ft.com)
Whose Fault Is This? - (www.newsweek.com)

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)

Monday January 28 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Bad borrowers send rest of us to poorhouse (protesters protect idiot realtor/assistant teacher with little income who bought $470K house) - (www.bostonherald.com)
Misspent activism (more nonsense about idiot realtor/teacher and misguided protesters) - (www.bostonherald.com)
In face of rally, eviction canceled ... for now (and more nonsense) - (www.bostonherald.com)

US mortgage crisis creates ghost town - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)
Financial Crisis Poised To Hit Europe - (mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com). Mish discusses the following 3 stories
· Crisis grips European hedge funds - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
· Financial crisis to hit 20,000 London jobs - (biz.yahoo.com)
· Landesbanks' subprime exposure 80 billion euros ($117.2B USD) - (www.reuters.com)

New Trend: 'Intentional Foreclosure’ (buying house across street in auction, walking away from existing house) - (www.cbs13.com)
Fannie Watchdog Against Increased Taxpayer Liability For Mortgages - (www.ofheo.gov)
Real Estate Auctions Booming - (mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Commercial Real Estate Crash Underway - (mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Building Costs Deal Blow to Local Budgets - (www.nytimes.com)
IMF head in shock fiscal appeal - (www.ft.com)
Miami: burning down the house - (eyeonmiami.blogspot.com)
Bank's billions burnt in 10 days - (business.timesonline.co.uk)


Other Stories:

Subprime bailout - (www.washingtontimes.com)
Asian Stocks Fall on Credit-Loss Concerns; Mitsubishi UFJ Drops - (www.bloomberg.com)
Global Recession Risk Grows as U.S. `Collateral Damage' Spreads - (www.bloomberg.com)
Paulson warns Senate on stimulus delays - (www.ft.com)
Bush speech to focus on economic concerns - (www.ft.com)
Credit crunch threatens financial obesity - (www.miamiherald.com)
Fed watchers at a loss about Fed move this week - (www.marketwatch.com)
Saving becomes a campaign issue - (www.latimes.com)
Davos economic forum ends with grim warnings for economic year ahead - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)
The struggle to hang onto 'American Dream' in mortgage crisis - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)

O.C. house-building hit 41-year low - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
Existing House Sales Fall, Prices Drop - (www.bloomberg.com)
S. Florida house prices decline - (www.miamiherald.com)
Key West Realtor Predicts Prices Will Fall Further - (keywestchronicle.blogspot.com)
Bankers, politicians warn of worsening crisis - (www.reuters.com)
Deal Reached To Force More Debt On Public - (www.breitbart.com)
Why Tuesday's Surprise Rate Cut Won't Cut It - (www.seekingalpha.com)
December drop caps worst housing year in decades - (www.marketwatch.com)
No relief so far from corporate earnings - (www.marketwatch.com)
Hedge funds find there is nowhere to hide - (www.ft.com)
Derivatives boom raises risk of bankruptcy - (www.ft.com)
Beware market rally . . . it could be a false dawn - (www.ft.com)
Checks by SocGen missed $73 billion wrong-way bet - (www.reuters.com)

Goldman, Credit Suisse to cut about 2,000 jobs - (www.reuters.com)
Builder Lennar loss swells to $1.25 billion - (www.miamiherald.com)
Housing Slump Starts to Hit Stronger Cities - (online.wsj.com)
Existing Single-Family House Sales Drop - (biz.yahoo.com)
Saving Sears Doesn’t Look Easy Anymore - (www.nytimes.com)
Countrywide Bonds Stir Angst - (online.wsj.com)
SocGen reveals how it was duped in trading scam - (www.reuters.com)
Clayton Cooperates in Wall Street Subprime Probe, Company Says - (www.bloomberg.com)

Is George Soros right that economy is doomed? - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
French Police Search Societe Generale - (www.ap.com)
Pressure on Fortis after subprime loss report - (www.reuters.com)
Kerviel lawyers accuse SocGen of smokescreen - (www.ft.com)
O Wise Bank, What Do We Do? (No Fibbing Now) - (www.nytimes.com)

Bond insurers fall - (www.marketwatch.com)
Heady Real Estate Days Are Behind Us - (www.nysun.com)
Next on Worry List: Bond Insurers - (www.nytimes.com)
Buy America! - (www.sfgate.com)

Friday January 25 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Security Capital Downgraded by Fitch; Second Insurer to Lose AAA Rating - Fitch is certainly cruisin' to get kicked out of the "PigMan Protection" club with this kind of behavior. - (www.ml-implode.com)
Debt Backlog Isn't Shrinking, Bank of America Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Pelosi and Frank try to keep prices out of reach by increasing Fannie Mae limit to $700,000. Tell them we need lower prices, not more Fannie Mae scams!
Monoline Insurance Bailout: Where's the Justice in That? - (www.ml-implode.com)
New York is Trying to Aid Ambac and MBIA by Arranging a Bail-Out - (www.ml-implode.com)
Impact of Fed panic rate cut may be limited - (msnbc.msn.com)
A year later, foreclosure news 10 times worse (in CA central valley) - (www.modbee.com)
US housebuilder Lennar takes $1.25bn loss - (www.ft.com)
Bank of America Cuts 25% of Its Analysts, People Say - (www.bloomberg.com)
E-Trade posts $1.7B loss - (www.ap.com)

Builder Lennar loss swells to $1.25 billion - (www.miamiherald.com)
Housing Slump Starts to Hit Stronger Cities - (online.wsj.com)
Deal Reached To Force More Debt On Public - (www.breitbart.com)


Other Stories:

Mortgage bond insurers 'need $200bn boost' - Sounds more realistic to us. We're sure the banks exposed have that sort of money just sitting around, right? Oh, sorry, we f... - (www.ml-implode.com)
E-Trade Posts $1.7 Billion Loss for 4Q - ``In an illustration of how the mortgage industry crisis has spread to other types of companies, the New York-based brokerage in... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Bank United Non-Performing Loans Doubled in Fourth Quarter - ``BankUnited was a big option-ARM lender. Notice how more and more of their interest, and income, are coming in the form of non-... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Banks Attempt To Freeze Balance Sheets - (mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Noyer Knew of Societe Generale Trades `In Real Time' - (www.ml-implode.com)

How Low Should the Fed Go When Cutting Rates? - (online.wsj.com)
U.S. Existing Home Sales Fell More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dodd seeks 'ambitious' financial rescue plan - (www.ft.com)
Soros accuses Fed of panic rate cut - (www.ft.com)
How Real Was the Prosperity? - (www.businessweek.com)
Deal for economic rescue package closer - (www.rockymountainnews.com)

California defaults soar in 4Q - (www.businessweek.com)
48% Off In Winsconsin - (www.patrick.net)
Fed Risks Fueling More Bubbles - (www.bloomberg.com)
Rate cuts alone unlikely to provide fix - (www.nytimes.com)
Faith In The Fed: The Last Bubble To Pop - (Mish)
Robert Reich: The Politics of an Economic Nightmare - (robertreich.blogspot.com)
Where is the government? - (optionarmageddon.blogspot.com)
Bought a house in Vegas - (wcvarones.blogspot.com)
Downey Financial's Non-performing Loans Skyrocketing - (www.creditbubblestocks.com)
Indicators Show this Recession to be Led by Housing - (www.mybudget360.com)
Echoes of tech crash in U.S. housing slump - (www.nationalpost.com)
A Serious Pessimist - (www.newstarget.com)
Patent sought for extra fee attached to transactions - (Humor?) - (www.dailybusinessreview.com)

Housing prices to free fall in 2008 - (money.cnn.com)
U.S. nationwide house prices may fall 30% - (www.marketwatch.com)
Worries That the Good Times Were Mostly a Mirage - (www.nytimes.com)
Bill would let judges alter mortgage terms - (www.lvrj.com)
New York Regulator Pushes for Banks to Rescue Bond Insurers - (www.bloomberg.com)
Next on the Worry List: Shaky Insurers of Bonds - (www.nytimes.com)
Be wary of rebound - (www.nypost.com)
Where Have Buybacks Gone? - (online.wsj.com)
Housing Slump Starts to Hit Stronger Cities - (online.wsj.com)
Money market funds wait to see where the buck will stop - (www.ft.com)


Citi Prunes Its Branch Expansion - (online.wsj.com)
Dark cloud hangs over banks - (www.ft.com)
Ryland Posts Big Loss - (www.thestreet.com)
Ford to offer buyouts to all U.S. hourly workers - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Enron Creditors Seek $18B From Citi - (www.nypost.com)

SocGen News Turns Asia Lower - (www.thestreet.com)
Societe Generale Reports Record Trading Loss of EU4.9 Billion - (www.bloomberg.com)
SocGen uncovers €5bn fraud - (www.ft.com)
Fed cuts pose new policy dilemmas for Asia - (www.iht.com)
ECB's Weber Says Interest Rates `Accommodative' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed's Panicked Rate Cut Puts Spotlight on BOJ: William Pesek - (www.bloomberg.com)
Forbes Says U.S. Dollar Policy Amounts to `Zimbabwe Economics' - (www.bloomberg.com)

Thursday January 24 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Société Générale uncovers €4.9bn fraud (blame the one single fall-guy) - France’s second-largest listed bank has uncovered a fraud by one of its traders which will have a €4.9bn negative impact on the group
Banks pressed to bail-out bond insurers - (www.ft.com)
Shares in monolines soar on news - (www.ft.com)
Regulator offers hope for bond insurers - (www.ft.com)
Wall St rebounds on talk of credit rescue - (www.ft.com)
Dogs, cats latest victims of subprime-mortgage mess - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Financier Sees Signs of ‘Systemic Failure’ - (www.nytimes.com)
Stunning jump in SF Bay Area foreclosures - (www.sfgate.com)
Foreclosures Prompt Cities to Make Plea for U.S. Aid (250 mayors converge on DC to make their case for bailout) - (www.nytimes.com)
Soros accuses Fed of panic rate cut - (www.ft.com)
Bill would let judges alter mortgage terms (scary story, but has been circulating for several months) - (www.lvrj.com)
Mea Culpa - How Not to Ruin Your Life (Ben Stein blaming fed for his bad prediction for not acting quickly enough) – (finance.yahoo.com)
Ohio Attorney General Sues Freddie Mac - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

Kass: Nationalize The Monolines - (www.ml-implode.com)
Bombarded With Refis (but not approvals, only applications) - (www.ml-implode.com)
Moody's Drops IndyMac - (www.ml-implode.com)
As warned in the several posts previous, Ambac has come dangerously close to tripping loan covenants - (www.ml-implode.com)


Fed Rate Cut Halts Market Free Fall, But Recession Fears Are Mounting - (online.wsj.com)
Worries That the Good Times Were a Mirage - (www.nytimes.com)
Are American consumers too strapped to spend? - (www.startribune.com)
Markets Force Fed to Make a Big, Risky Rate Cut: John M. Berry - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housing Prices Demand Correction - (seekingalpha.com)
High House Prices Caused This Crisis - (patrick.net)
Why You Might Never Own a House - (articles.moneycentral.msn.com)
Fed cuts rates 75 basis points in panic move - (www.marketwatch.com)
Fed Statement Of Panic - (www.federalreserve.gov)
What the Fed Cut Means For Your Mortgage - (biz.yahoo.com)
California foreclosures soar - (www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)
Virtual bank's Second Life scheme raises real concerns - (www.latimes.com)
CBO sees $250 billion deficit (but add $1.1T in 2008 for wars which are off-balance sheet items) - (www.businessweek.com)
US tax rebate to take six months to kick in - (www.ft.com)
Lawmakers Urge Spending on Infrastructure, Housing - (www.bloomberg.com)
Recession 2008: How bad it can get - (money.cnn.com)
Chicago Fed economic index drops to lowest level since 2003 - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Only When the Bubble Bursts - (www.washingtonpost.com)

An even worse deal in Bend, OR - (patrick.net)
Misleading Listing - (www.patrick.net)
Unhappy house buyer sues agent - (seattlepi.nwsource.com)
Bank of America, Wachovia Profits Slump on Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Myths of the R-Word - (www.nysun.com)
If Everyone's Finger-Pointing, Who's to Blame? - (www.nytimes.com)
Deregulation and the Financial Crisis - (www.huffingtonpost.com)
On the cusp of economic history - (www.iht.com)
Banks, New York Regulator Meet on Bond Insurer Rescue - (www.bloomberg.com)
Pain goes through the roof - (www.latimes.com)
SWFs face growing US pressure - (www.ft.com)
County default, foreclosure rates at all-time high in '07 - (www.signonsandiego.com)
SunTrust Net Falls on Bad Loans, Money Fund Bailout - (www.bloomberg.com)
Capital Spending Is Expected To Slow -- for a While - (online.wsj.com)

Retreat of the Foreign Investor Is Singularly Painful for Japan - (www.nytimes.com)
China orders 'urgent' action to avert power crisis - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)

The worst market crisis in 60 years - (www.ft.com) ($) , Soros
The financial turmoil is like an elephant in a dark room - (www.ft.com)
A Fear That the Cure Could Be Poison - (www.nytimes.com)