Thursday February 28 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Classes of subprime mortgages ruled “structurally unfair” under state law - A Suffolk Superior Court judge has issued a potential landmark ruling that can potentially halt Massachusetts foreclosures and declaring whole classes of subprime mortgages “structurally unfair” under state law - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fannie Mae Has $3.55 Billion Fourth-Quarter Loss - (www.bloomberg.com) – Bad idea? - On same day FNM announces massive 4Q loss, government gives FNM and FRE unlimited abilities to buy back mortgages
Losses appear certain for investors in beach resort - (www.myrtlebeachonline.com) - $7.4M in condo deposits missing as FBI begins investigation of developers.
Paul: Dollar being deliberately destroyed - (www.prisonplanet.com) – good text and Youtube video links of Ron Paul schooling Ben “Helicopter Pilot” Bernanke. Paul argues inflation is killing middle class and is more likely at 16%
Sacramento house prices tumble 28 percent - (www.bizjournals.com)
Pennsylvania Student Loans Halted on Auction Failures - 'The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the second-largest seller of auction-rate debt for the past seven years, w... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Indonesia warns of unrest as food prices rise - (www.ft.com)
Shea Homes halts development in Santa Clara, Mountain View - (www.bizjournals.com)
UBS Chief: Worst Crisis Since 1929 – (www.ap.com)
FDIC gears up for bank failures as 'problem' banks soar - (www.bloggingstocks.com)
Housebuyer Patience Triumphs in a Waiting Game - (www.bloomberg.com)
States Seek To Soak Taxpayers as Subprime Boosts Interest Rates - (www.bloomberg.com)
The next bubble: Priming the markets for tomorrow's big crash - (www.harpers.org)
Bernanke Calls Plan to Buy Mortgages `Worthwhile' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Small and Midsize U.S. Banks Beginning to Struggle in Credit Crisis - (www.nytimes.com)
Speech Not Actually Free - (www.socalbubble.com) – No free speech for bloggers posting information on house declines
Palm Beach County fell 12% in January - (www.sun-sentinel.com)
Frank wants states to buy foreclosed homes - 'U.S. Rep. Barney Frank wants Uncle Sam to loan states some $5 billion to buy foreclosed homes on the cheap and turn properties ... - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

Fitch Places $97B of SF CDOs on Watch Negative on Worsening Mortgage Performance - 'Following continued deterioration in the subprime and Alt-A RMBS markets, Fitch Ratings initiated a global review of 430 struct... - (www.ml-implode.com)
California City Moves Closer to Bankruptcy Filing - ``Vallejo, a city of 135,000 outside of San Francisco, moved closer to bankruptcy after negotiations with its labor unions colla... - (www.ml-implode.com)
A Dry Well: With a Large Firehose Stuck Into It - (www.ml-implode.com)
Regulator Lifts Caps on Fannie, Freddie - (www.ml-implode.com)
Wells Fargo Names Most of California Severely Distressed - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ferrovial Profit Falls 49% on Debt, Building Slowdown - (www.ml-implode.com)
FDIC to add staff to cope with bank failures - (online.wsj.com)

U.S. House Foreclosures Jump 90% as Mortgages Reset - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housing slump causes U.S. to weigh another big bailout - (www.csmonitor.com)
ace of New Home Sales Drops; Months of Supply Nears Three-Decade High - (www.ml-implode.com)
Kass: MBIA Gets Top Rating — Should I Laugh or Cry? - (www.ml-implode.com)
Let market forces work their way to bail the system out - (www.business24-7.ae)
Injecting Accountability into the Credit Crisis - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Latest Case-Schiller Report Shows the Sky is Falling - (www.seekingalpha.com)
New-Home Sales in U.S. Decreased More Than Forecast in January – (www.bloomberg.com)
Mortgage Application Volume Tumbles - (www.ap.com)
Gas Prices Soar, Posing a Threat to Family Budget - (www.nytimes.com)
New Worries on Inflation and Homes - (www.bloomberg.com)
Looks a Lot Like Stagflation… - (www.businessweek.com)
Atlanta home sales slow to trickle - (www.ajc.com)
Businesses, Worried About Economy, Invest Less - (www.nytimes.com)
Bernanke's `Brilliant' Fed Vision Evokes Investors' Frustration - (www.bloomberg.com)
Foreclosure Handouts Rising, as Is Dissent - (www.nytimes.com)
Homes in Bubble Regions Remain Wildly Overvalued - (finance.yahoo.com)
House prices still have a long way to fall - (www.sfgate.com)
Confidence plunges, inflation rate soars - (news.yahoo.com)
As Inflation Rises, House Values Slump, Data Show - (www.nytimes.com)
S&P/Case-Shiller House Prices Fell 9.1% in December - (www.bloomberg.com)
New Monkey, Same Backs - (online.wsj.com)
Rating Changes May Unravel CDOs, Royal Bank Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
A Hedge Fund's Bad Year, Just in January - (online.wsj.com)
Let Houses Find a Bottom - (online.wsj.com)
January foreclosures up 57 percent in year - (www.reuters.com)
Students feel credit crunch too - (www.latimes.com)
Toll Brothers posts loss, CEO notes 'ceaseless' recession talk - (www.marketwatch.com)
A Highflier Loses Altitude as Google’s Clicks Go Flat - (www.nytimes.com)
BMW to cut 5,600 jobs by end of 2008 - (www.ajc.com)
Russia prepares to switch some oil trading from dollars to rubles - (www.iht.com)
Don't let inflation sneak up on your savings - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Inflation May Be Worse Than We Think - (online.wsj.com)
Housing upheaval: a tale of two homes - (www.latimes.com)