Thursday January 10 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Will the Fed Scramble to Tackle Recession? Consensus is for 25 to 50 basis point cut - (www.cnbc.com)
Bush convenes Plunge Protection Team - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
As housing slumps, realtors quit 'As many train for new careers, return to old ones, or wait tables until prices rebound’ - (news.yahoo.com)
SIVs Must Refinance $70 Billion This Year, Merrill Lynch Says - [2008-01-09] - 'Structured investment vehicles have $70 billion of medium-term debt maturing this year. - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bank of America's Countrywide trap - [2008-01-09] - 'The financial behemoth's $2 billion investment in the mortgage lender is disappearing fast. - (money.cnn.com)
Unfinished Ghost Town (great photo) - (patrick.net)
Schwarzenegger, Battling Huge CA Deficits, Tries Again to Revamp Budget - (www.bloomberg.com)
Record number of California houses go to foreclosure auctions - (www.modbee.com)
Flood of foreclosures (in Massachusetts) keeps raging - (www.bostonherald.com)
Dismal Outlook for SF Bay Area Housing - (www.kcbs.com)
Top 5 Most Ridiculous Mortgage Borrower Stories of 2007 - (homeguide123.com)
KB Home posts huge loss ($9.99 per share), sees tough '08 for industry - (news.yahoo.com)
Housing Drop Saps Retail Landlords' Strength - (online.wsj.com)
How Do You Spell 'Crisis'? MBIA (mortgage and municipal bond insurer) – (www.forbes.com)


Other Stories:

Foreclosure hotline looks for help - (www.ml-implode.com)
Housing Slump to Continue: Fannie CEO - (biz.yahoo.com)
Company Bond Risk Soars to Record as Goldman Predicts Recession - (www.bloomberg.com)
Official: Housing market will sap economy through '09 - (www.ajc.com)
Economist fears 'nasty' recession headed our way this year - (www.usatoday.com)
Why Washington Can't Stop Recession - (www.forbes.com)
Paulson 'Sees No Evidence' Housing Decline Is Ending - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit turmoil risk to global outlook - (www.ft.com)
Florida Appears to Be Losing Its Sunny Magnetism - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Investment professionals blew it, Poole says (of course Fed takes ZERO blame here) - (www.marketwatch.com)
L.A. listing prices down $95K from peak - (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Baltimore targets Wells Fargo in subprime suit - (money.cnn.com)
Britons 'richer than Americans' - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Recession in the US 'has arrived' - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Pimco chief's ominous call on credit losses - (www.ft.com)
Realtors expect pace of U.S. home sales to be flat in 2008 - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Costs rise on home loans - (www.ocregister.com)
KB Home loses $773 million; CEO is gloomy - (www.latimes.com)
America's inflated asset prices must fall - (news.yahoo.com)
Spin Doctors in Overdrive - (www.financialsense.com)
Robert Shiller Gets It Wrong - (www.marketoracle.co.uk)
Countrywide says it's not filing for bankruptcy as shares slump - (www.marketwatch.com)
There Goes the Neighborhood - (www.theatlantic.com)

Countrywide Says Foreclosures, Overdue Loans Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
MBIA Cuts Dividend, to Raise $1 Billion After Losses - (www.bloomberg.com)
Regulators start informal probe into MBIA - (www.marketwatch.com)
Lender stung by fears on finances - (www.latimes.com)
Housing: A Fresh Jolt of Bad News - (www.businessweek.com)
Bracing for bad bank earnings - (money.cnn.com)
Extrication Time at Bear Stearns - (www.nytimes.com)
Buffett Makes 1st Foray in Muni Bond Insuring-Sources - (www.reuters.com)
Bank of America's Countrywide trap - (www.fortune.com)
China acting to halt price increases - (www.iht.com)
IKB Delays 3Q Results - (www.ap.com)
Britain ‘at particular risk from credit crunch’ - UK (www.telegraph.co.uk)