Monday February 11 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Wealthy Sugar Mamas Hunt Down Their Boy Toys (seriously, this was on cnbc.com) - (www.cnbc.com)
Who will pay the mortgage when the homeowner walks? You - In the future, Congress should require California to allow lenders to garnish wages of affluent borrowers who walk away from the... - (www.sfgate.com)
UBS Analyst: Fed Propping Up Banking System On Subprime Collateral? - (www.nakedcapitalism.com)
AFP: World bourses lost 5.2 trillion dlrs in January: credit rater - (afp.google.com)
Macklowe (NY Real Estate Titan) seen in default,no foreclosure yet - The lack of agreement with the lenders technically could put Macklowe in default, the source said, adding that none of the lend... - (www.reuters.com)
Won't borrow? We will MAKE you borrow, but call it a "tax rebate" - (patrick.net)
Ackman to regulators: Let bond insurers fail - (www.reuters.com)
Love Affair With Credit Cards Is On The Rocks - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Filibuster blocks Senate bill to change Fannie loan limits -The Mortgage Bankers Association was pushing for a nationwide, across-the-board increase in the conforming loan limit to $625,000 from the current $417,000, and the National Association of Home Builders was trying for a two-year extension of any higher loan limits that Congress adopts, instead of letting the new limits fade away at the end of 2008. Neither succeeded. (www.heraldtribune.com)
Will "Walk Aways" Increase Discretionary Spending? - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
A Credit Card You Want to Toss. - Bank of America abruptly notified cardholders in good standing their rates would skyrocket if they didn't opt out fast (to 28%). Is BofA greedy or needy? - (www.businessweek.com)
Miami foreclosures swamp courts - (eyeonmiami.blogspot.com)
What slump? Homeowners in denial - (money.cnn.com)
German Bank Gets $7.2 Billion Bailout - (www.nytimes.com)


Other Stories:

Cash-Out Refi's Declining in Both Numbers and Amounts - (www.mortgagenewsdaily.com)
Security Capital shares fall as Goldman says stock may be worthless after second rating cut - (www.cnbc.com)
Krugman on the Economy - (www.nytimes.com)
ECB A Dumping Ground for Financial Toxic Waste - (www.wallstreetexaminer.com)
Two-month-old real estate blog post prompts $25 million defamation suit from large FL developer - (www.ml-implode.com)

Borrowed Reserves And Tin-Foil Hats - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Gift Card Sales Backfire - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Why Raising Conforming Limits Is a Bad Idea - (http://www.lendingsanity.com/)
Stimulus Plan is a Scam to Benefit the Rich - (http://www.globalresearch.ca/)
Senate stimulus plan falls one vote short - (http://www.marketwatch.com/)
Tighter rein on Fannie, Freddie mulled - (http://www.businessweek.com/)
Exploding ARMs Roil Bernanke's Drive to Calm Markets - (http://www.bloomberg.com/)
What Fed cuts really mean for mortgages - (http://www.eastcoastmort.com/)
Debt Trap Mass Exodus - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Las Vegas drop in values will extend through 2009 - (http://www.lvrj.com/)
Zip Code 'Redlining': A Sweeping View of Risk - (http://www.washingtonpost.com/)
Buffett: Bank woes are poetic justice - (www.reuters.com)
House prices in the state of denial - (money.cnn.com)

Rising Costs in China Seep Into U.S. Market - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Global Finance Leaders Warn of Risk From U.S. Housing Woe - (www.nytimes.com)
Consumer Confidence Sinks Even Lower - (www.chicagotribune.com)
People with pricier homes likely to benefit from stimulus plan - (www.ajc.com)
Banks to be hit by LBO loans, insurance failures - (www.economist.com)
Inflation Concerns Weigh on Fed - (online.wsj.com)
ECB's Trichet Says No End to Financial-Market Turmoil in Sight - (www.bloomberg.com)
Regulators deliver grim assessment on credit crisis - (www.reuters.com)
Stock Hedge Funds Lost 4.1% in January; Goldman Fund Dropped 6% - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. widens probe, seeks Merrill information: report - Market Watch from Dow Jones
Creators of Credit Crisis Revel in Las Vegas - (www.nytimes.com)
OFHEO Questions Mortgage Proposal - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Retailers have worst January in 40 years - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Worries Ring Up at Sears - (online.wsj.com)
Analyst: Fannie Mae faces worse credit - (www.businessweek.com)
Shoppers become stingy with gift cards, the latest sign of consumer strain - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Speculators may have accelerated housing crash - (http://www.floridarealtors.org/)
GGP Analysis: Fire Sale of Prime Properties - (seekingalpha.com)
A Credit Card You Want to Toss - (http://www.businessweek.com/)
Facing losses on bad loans, banks boost credit card rates - (www.usatoday.com)
Home loans pain 'worst since 1990' - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
House price weakness spreads to London - (www.ft.com)
Western banks face backlash as they hand out begging bowl - (www.ft.com)
The (Fed) Bag of Tricks Is Almost Empty - (www.nytimes.com)
The Japanese bubble: Alarming parallels with U.S. - (www.iht.com)