Friday March 7 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Records galore: dollar plunges, oil and gold soar - (news.yahoo.com) – Unfortunately, none of these are good records for the Fed
Stop Mortgage Payments, Laugh At Bank, Enjoy Free Housing - (seekingalpha.com) – This doesn’t seem like a good strategy, but seems to be working now J
14 Calif. counties get maximum FHA limit, taxpayers on hook - (nalert.blogspot.com) – FHA increases FNM, FRE jumbo loan limits. Investors respond by dropping FNM 10%, FRE 6% to 8-10 year lowsHedge funds stem exits as credit lines tighten - (www.reuters.com) – So remind me again of the benefits of all these hedge funds when they won’t let you remove your money while the fund is imploding?
Macy's Joins Trend Of Retailers Ending Monthly Reports - (online.wsj.com) – Similar to US Government ending money figures and other key figures, businesses like Macy’s have decided to quit reporting on monthly sales.
Agency Mortgage-Bond Spreads Rise; Markets `Utterly Unhinged' - (www.bloomberg.com)
WaMu Insulates Bonuses from Loan Crisis - (www.cfo.com) – As WaMu executives stop hitting bonus targets during meltdown, they change their compensation metrics
OPEC blames 'mismanaged' U.S. economy for soaring oil prices - (www.iht.com) – Everyone is starting to catch on the Fed game of devaluing the US Dollar and impacting all commodity prices
Why Fed Chief Will be Tossing & Turning Tonight - (www.nypost.com)
Alabama County Won't Pledge Money for Swaps, May Force Unwind - (www.bloomberg.com)
Deleveraging's Vicious Spiral Picks Up Speed - (online.wsj.com)
Thornburg Defaults on Loan Pacts - (www.thestreet.com)
Ambac "Bailout" Lands with Big Thud - (Mish)
Hedge Funds Frozen Shut - (www.businessweek.com)
UBS may have dumped $24 billion Alt-A portfolio - (www.marketwatch.com)
UBS burned by mortgage 'fire sale' - (money.cnn.com)
Permabulls Blame Credit Crisis on Accounting - (www.thestreet.com)
Foreclosures drive bankruptcies to highest level since 2005 - (money.cnn.com)
Banks' losses mean less available for lending - (csmonitor.com)


Other Stories:

Illinois AG Subpoenas Countrywide, Wells Fargo - 'The Illinois attorney general subpoenaed units of Countrywide Financial Corp and Wells Fargo & Co on Thursday in an investigat... - (www-ml-implode.com)
US corporate bond spreads approach widest on record - 'Spreads on U.S. corporate bonds on Thursday approached their widest levels since the bankruptcy wave of 2002 on worries about h... - (www-ml-implode.com)
Countrywide and the "left-wing anti-business press - 'Angelo Mozilo's executive compensation package is the gift that keeps on giving. This is especially true for the "left-wing ant... - (www-ml-implode.com)
Calls widen for broader foreclosure solutions - 'Now, with foreclosures still rising, calls for a broader government and industry response are coming from community groups, con... - (www-ml-implode.com)
Federal Reserve: Household Equity at all time lows - 'The Fed just released the Balance Sheet of Households for 2007 Q4. It shows home owners equity as a percentage of household rea... - (www-ml-implode.com)
3 CEOs made $460 million - House panel - (www-ml-implode.com)
Credit crunch catches up with Goldman - (www-ml-implode.com)
Home Equity Slips Further Below 50 Percent - (www-ml-implode.com)
Citi to Sell $45 Billion in Residential Mortgage Assets - (www-ml-implode.com)
Fannie, Freddie Loan Limits Raised For More Than 70 U.S. Counties - (www-ml-implode.com)
Mortgage Crisis Bailout: Relief for Some, Risk for Others - (www-ml-implode.com)
Dunmore matriarch sues grandsons, alleges pressure over loans - (www-ml-implode.com)
Mortgage Rates Swing Wildly Amid MBS Selling Pressure - (www-ml-implode.com)
Mortgage Titans (Tyrants) Will Have to Answer to Congress Friday - (www-ml-implode.com)
U.S. Mortgage Foreclosures Rise as Owners `Give Up' - (www-ml-implode.com)

Merrill Shuts Subprime Unit - (www.thestreet.com)
U.S. Stocks Drop, Led by Banks, as Foreclosures Climb to Record - (www.bloomberg.com)
Corporate Bond Risk Soars as Concerns of Bank Failures Grow - (www.bloomberg.com)
Euro Rises to Record; Trichet Sees `Upward' Inflation Pressure - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge funds spark fixed income stress - (www.ft.com)
Crude Oil Rises to Record $105.97 in New York on Dollar Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Rise on Speculation Credit-Market Losses to Deepen - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. home foreclosures hit record high - (www.reuters.com)
Jingle-mail rings alarm bells for the US - (www.ft.com)
U.S. Mortgage Foreclosures Rise as Owners `Give Up' - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Household Worth Fell for First Time Since 2002 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed needs friendly employment numbers - (www.nypost.com)
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell 24,000 to 351,000- (www.bloomberg.com)
'Beige book' chills rally - (www.latimes.com)

Carlyle Fund Gets Default Notice After Margin Calls - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit Swaps Thwart Fed's Ease as Debt Costs Surge - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge Funds Lock the Gates - (www.nytimes.com)
OPEC Says Members Won't Pump More Oil - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Citigroup to Pare Mortgage Holdings by $45 Billion - (www.bloomberg.com)
Thornburg defaults on financing pacts - (money.cnn.com)
Home builders begin offering discounts - (www.latimes.com)
Neiman Marcus, Saks see bumpy year ahead - (www.dallasnews.com)
U.S. apparel retailers cite slower consumer spending - (www.signonsandiego.com)
When Pyramid Schemes--a.k.a. Housing--Go Bad - (Charles Hugh Smith)
Inflation and the Declining Dollar - (seekingalpha.com)
Ambac Disappoints Market With a Plan to Raise Cash - (www.nytimes.com)
Bad construction loans could crush banks - (news.moneycentral.msn.com)
Fraud compounds woes of housing crisis - (news.yahoo.com)
FHA-backed loan amounts increased for parts of state - (www.latimes.com)
American Axle strike to cut hours at GM's Janesville plant - (www.chicagotribune.com)
In Europe, Central Banking Is Different - (www.nytimes.com)
Various Rescue Plans - (money.cnn.com)
Some Doors Close; Others Open - (washingtonpost.com)
Housing market slowing in Europe - (news.bbc.co.uk)
UK house prices continue to cool - (www.ft.com)
Bernanke Policy to `Destroy' U.S. Dollar, Faber Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Twin shocks of finance and resources facing global economy - (www.ft.com)

The Housing Fix: Lower Prices, Stupid - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Double Bubble Trouble - (www.nytimes.com)
Fed says West's housing "stuck at very low levels" - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
Filings for Bankruptcy Up 18% in February - (nytimes.com)
What's Going On With Bond Insurers - (seekingalpha.com)