Friday January 4 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Expect next year to be as bad or worse - (www.sanluisobispo.com)
US approaching 1 year backlog of unsold houses - (patrick.net)
National City to Trim Dividend by 49%, Cut 900 Jobs - (www.bloomberg.com)
Americans Sold Out to Foreign Firms at Record Quarterly Rate - (www.bloomberg.com)
Alt-A mortgage issuance drops sharply - (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Defaults on Insured Mortgages Rise 35% to Record - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:


Brain-Dead Predictions about Housing - (www.oftwominds.com)
Tom Toles Cartoons - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Bed Bath & Beyond Sees 4Q Profit Miss - (www.ap.com)
Gold Futures Rise as Commodity Costs Climb, Dollar Declines - (www.bloomberg.com)
Most U.S. Stocks Decline, Led by Consumer, Automaker Shares - (www.bloomberg.com)

Private-sector job growth slows to 40,000: ADP - (www.marketwatch.com)
Rising Prices Put Pressure On Already Ailing Economy - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Weak US dollar no longer accepted at tourist sites in India - (www.ajc.com)
Initial jobless claims fall 21,000 to 336,000 - (www.marketwatch.com)
Danger ahead - (www.ft.com) ($)
Discussion of a Fed Cut Only Stirs Up Concerns About a Weak Economy - (www.nytimes.com)
Mortgage Application Volume Declines - (www.ap.com)
Can the Economy Handle $100 Oil? - (www.businessweek.com)
California Prices Plummeting - (patrick.net)
(Digg the above link) - (www.digg.com)
Existing Home Sales Expected to Remain Stuck at Record Low - (biz.yahoo.com)
Housing Prices Expected to Keep Falling - (www.npr.org)
National City Cutting Dividend, Jobs - (biz.yahoo.com)
Borrowers Tap Mortgages of Last Resort - (online.wsj.com)
Counterparty Risk and the Subprime Fiasco - (seekingalpha.com)
How Does One Invest For "Muddle Through"? - (Mish)
States Plan to Boost Regulation of Mortgage Brokers - (www.bloomberg.com)
In the Land of Many Ifs - (www.nytimes.com)
Can We Cure Our 'House Lust'? - (www.realclearpolitics.com)
Crystal ball looks for a bolt out of the blue - (www.sfgate.com)
Why the Ratings Agencies Flunked - (www.thestreet.com)
Home Prices Must Fall Far To Be In Sync With Rents - (online.wsj.com) ($)
Leveraged Loans Lose $28 Billion While Carlyle Gets Punished - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge fund losses and systemic risk - (www.cfo.com)
What the SEC Doesn't Want You to Know - (www.cfo.com)
How Safe Bank Tried Subprime And Got Singed - (online.wsj.com)
Collapse Of PHH Deal Is Bad Omen For '08 - (www.forbes.com)

State Street Advisors CEO Hunt Resigns, Company Sees Charge - (www.bloomberg.com)
National City Bank Cuts Jobs & Dividend - (www.nypost.com)
GM Sales Face Economic Headwind - (online.wsj.com) ($)
7 states act to control mortgage brokers - (www.latimes.com)
Orleans Homebuilders sells off properties at a loss - Philly Inquirer

Argentine Farmers Give Up Beef Business - (www.ap.com)
Banks reduce UK household loans - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Spain's house of cards has started tumbling down - (www.ft.com)
U.K. Banks Plan to Tighten All Lending This Quarter - (www.bloomberg.com)
Troubled Spanish property group denies cash crisis - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)
Whither the great wave? - (www.economist.com)