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)