Tuesday January 15 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

NovaStar’s Shares Slump (down 38%); to give up mortgage licenses, cut staffers ... - (www.marketwatch.com)
Consumers Getting Less Cash From Their Homes – (www.cnbc.com)
Citigroup's Layoffs Could Reach 24,000 This Year – (www.cnbc.com)
Citigroup to Cut 20,000 Jobs and Slash Dividend, (online.wsj.com) Reports - (www.bloomberg.com)
Citigroup write-offs could reach $24 billion: report - (www.marketwatch.com)
Report on Bakersfield house prices - (www.youtube.com)
Banks foreclosed on much of Los Banos, CA (very good diagram) - (patrick.net)
Lennar's New Houses Fetch 60% Less - (www.bloomberg.com)
States to Tighten Belts - (online.wsj.com)
More credit crisis write-downs and writs - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
BOJ head: US subprime mortgage crisis had bigger-than-expected impact on Japan economy - (www.iht.com)
NAACP President: Ron Paul Not a Racist - (www.prisonplanet.com)


Other Stories:

Barney Frank on the regulation warpath - 'As we prepare for this election, the results are in on America's 30-year experiment with radical economic deregulation... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Victoria Finance Credit Ratings Cut to D by S&P - 'Victoria's portfolio included a high concentration of CDOs involving ``corporate, residential, and c... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Countrywide Draws Ire of Judges - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fed to Show New Openness on Outlook – (online.wsj.com)
Americans Cut Back Sharply on Spending - (www.nytimes.com)
Passing the devalued buck - (www.newsweek.com)
San Francisco Prices Fall 4.6% in Just 3 Months - (www.housingwire.com)
Shiller Says recent buyers "have an incentive to default" - (www.bloomberg.com)
Can Accounting Principles Survive the Mortgage Crisis? - (www.cfo.com)
Rate cuts might not benefit borrowers - (www.ft.com)
Moody’s threat on ‘aggressive’ buy-outs - (www.ft.com)
Doctor in the House - (www.bigbuilderonline.com)
We've run out of bubbles - (articles.moneycentral.msn.com)
Relisting Fraud Continues - (patrick.net)
Will subprime spark an arson boom? - (money.cnn.com)
Housing: No room for bulls - (money.cnn.com)
Fed Behind Countrywide Deal? - (seekingalpha.com)
Country Fried - (www.wallstreetexaminer.com)
Ooooooh Shit! No.... Shit. Economic Rollercoaster - (www.atlanticfreepress.com)
Ron Paul: Time for Fed to Get Out of Housing - (efinancedirectory.com)
Condo strategy: Rent now, buy later - (www.dailybusinessreview.com)
Stepping beyond subprime - (www.economist.com)
Inquiry Focuses on Withholding of Data on Loans - (www.nytimes.com)
Stretching Old Formulas Can Take You to the Edge - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Corporate Bond Risk Rises on Speculation Over Bank Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Adjustable loans spur new worries - (www.latimes.com)
A Fund Behind Astronomical Losses - (online.wsj.com)
Inquiry's Focus Broadens To Mortgage-Bond Insurers - (online.wsj.com)

China's Government Could Hamper Citigroup's Plans to Raise Capital - (online.wsj.com)
Centro Chief Quits; Lenders May Ease Funding Deadline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wall Street's $35 Billion Writedown Puts Squeeze on '08 Profits - (www.bloomberg.com)
SEC investigates front-running at Merrill Lynch - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
Banks face higher borrowing costs - (www.ft.com)
Data show huge withdrawals - (www.ft.com)
Chavez Says to End Asphalt Sales, May Seize Companies - (www.bloomberg.com)

Greenspan legacy questioned amid subprime crisis - (www.chron.com)
Insight: The fire threatens credit insurance - (www.ft.com)
China + Citigroup + Alwaleed = Brave New World: William Pesek - (www.bloomberg.com)
'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb warns traders to look out for the improbable - (www.chicagotribune.com)