Monday March 10 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Some saw credit crisis coming three years ago - (www.economist.com) – Including many amateur bloggers; Of course US Government, Fitch, S&P, Moody’s were not smart enough to predict this.
Bernanke Urges Gift For Debtors Only; Screw Savers! - (www.fool.com) – So is the message “fall behind on your mortgage payments and we will lower your outstanding balance and interest rate”. Idiotic incentive plan, but then again, this is government we are talking about!!
Prices cut for Oakland condo auction - (www.sfgate.com)
U.S. Mortgage Foreclosures Rise as Owners "Give Up" - (www.bloomberg.com)
Houseowner Equity Below 50%, Lowest Since Records Started - (biz.yahoo.com)
Did Lack Of Regulation Cause This Mess? - `` The repeal of Glass-Steagall did not create this mess. Glass-Steagall itself helped create this mess. Would people put money ... - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
F.B.I. Opens Criminal Inquiry Into Countrywide - (www.nytimes.com) – About time, but the FBI was too busy working on prosecuting Roger Clemons to focus on CFC
Rumour of Second Bail Out Rumour - Hilarious, from yesterday: A source close to the industry said that a consortium is "being put in place to work on new rumours... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Mortgage-Backed Securities Market Rocked by Thornburg Default - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Banks face "systemic margin call," $325 billion hit: JPM - (www.reuters.com)
Tight Credit, Tough Times for Buyout Lords - (www.nytimes.com)
Is Fannie Mae the Next Government Bailout? - (online.barrons.com)
Australia May Recruit U.S. Builders to its Beaches, Wineries - (www.bloomberg.com) – I recommend that Australia recruit in Mexico, they can get workers much cheaper than the US
More Trouble at Carlyle Capital - (www.ap.com)
Even Thornburg,'Strong' Lender, Is On the Brink - (online.wsj.com)
Bond Markets "Utterly Unhinged" - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bernanke Urges Banks to Forgive Portion of Mortgages - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:

Downturn Tests the Fed’s Ability to Avert a Crisis - (www.nytimes.com)
Sharp Drop in Jobs Adds to Grim Economic Picture - (www.nytimes.com)
Dangerous Cracks Appearing in Job Market - (www.ap.com)
A Construction Sector, Once Robust, Now Falters - (www.nytimes.com)
Jobs Data Suggest U.S. - (online.wsj.com)
Fed Goes Beyond Rate Cuts - (online.wsj.com)
Bernanke Call for Mortgage Forgiveness Puts Pressure on Paulson - (www.bloomberg.com)Agency Mortgage-Backed Bond Spreads Reach Highest Since 1986 - (www.bloomberg.com)

Amazing Action In Ambac, MBIA - 'The New York Times is reporting MBIA, the Bond Insurer, Asks Fitch to Quit Rating Some Units.' - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
What if Fannie and Freddie Can’t Prop Up Housing? - ``what if Fannie and Freddie fall victim to the same sort of crisis of confidence that has utterly paralyzed the private-party m... - (www.housingwire.com)
Goldman Sachs: All in, Lloyd Blankfein reaped around $100 million in 2007 - 'when you tally it all up --- his $53.97 million fiscal 2007 package plus the vesting of stock -- that Lloyd took in around $100... - (www.ml-implode.com)
Reduced rental demand noted for the SF Bay Area - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
The Feldman Plan: Just Get Yourself a Latte - (calculatedrisk.blogspot.com)
WaMu board challenge eyed - (www.ml-implode.com)
House Foreclosures Hit Record High - (biz.yahoo.com)
Mortgage Foreclosures Reach All-Time High - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Countrywide reportedly under FBI investigation - (www.ml-implode.com)
Thornburg Mortgage future in doubt - (money.cnn.com)
Countrywide CEO Defends Compensation Plan - (www.ml-implode.com)
HomeSaver Advance is the Latest Program to Assist Delinquent Homeowners - (www.mortgagenewsdaily.com)
Forget the flat-screens, builders are slashing prices - (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Fresh gloom for US housing market - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Dollar's Decline a Crisis of Solvency - Not Liquidity - (seekingalpha.com)
'Exotics' fears after Lehman action - (www.ft.com)
March May Be Quite Cruel - (online.wsj.com)
A Global Need for Grain That Farms Can’t Fill - (www.nytimes.com)

FBI probes Countrywide for possible fraud: report - (www.marketwatch.com)
FBI Investigates Countrywide - (online.wsj.com)
Carlyle Capital Aims to Halt a Meltdown - (online.wsj.com)
As Good as Cash, Until It’s Not - (www.nytimes.com)
Seeing an End to the Good Times (Such as They Were) - (www.nytimes.com)
House debt greater than equity for first time - (www.usatoday.com)
Credit Swaps Thwart Fed's Ease as Interest Rates Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
We're just in the first inning of the housing crash - (www.marketoracle.co.uk)