Monday March 17 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Latest Foreclosure Tent City - (www.youtube.com, found on www.ml-implode.com) – Very sad and scary as tent cities of homeless and foreclosed building outside Los Angeles.
And Another about Shanty/Tent City outside Ontario CA - (www.youtube.com)
Another Sad but Good Tent City Video - (www.youtube.com) – Another sad one with 150 shanties and tents.

Two Projects in Default Dog Big Home Builders - (www.washingtonpost.com) - Two massive housing developments in Las Vegas, involving several of the nation's largest home builders (Toll Brothers, Lennar, KB Home), have received default notices on about $765 million in debt, according to one of the partners in the projects.
Shock Deal as JPMorgan acquires troubled Bear for $2/share (after trading for $170 last year) – (money.cnn.com) - `` JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Sunday that it would acquire troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns amid deepening fears that Bear'...
Jim Rogers: "Abolish the Federal Reserve" - (patrick.net) – This sounds extreme, but this is the best idea out there. The Fed is accountable to no one (except the NY Banks) and are as crooked and reckless as they come.
Houses are left behind to pay car, credit bills - (www.startribune.com)
20 Canadian ABCP Trusts File Bankruptcy - (www.ml-implode.com) - From Mish website.

US Dollar Tumbles, Shrugs Off Fed's Emergency Steps - (www.cnbc.com) – Another sign CNBC does not get it. Haven’t you guys figured it out yet? The Fed emergency steps are causing the US Dollar to tumble.
U.S. Fed Cuts Discount Rate, Says Dealers May Borrow - (www.bloomberg.com)
Large firms start to dump office space - (www.crainsnewyork.com)
Housing Group Challenges Fed's Bear Stearns Deal - (www.nytimes.com)
Get Your Bank Really Pissed Off About Your Loan - (www.lectlaw.com) – Very funny tactic to take with your bank during foreclosure.
We will never have a perfect model of risk - (www.ft.com) , Greenspan – Another shameless attempt to deflect blame by a guy who should be thrown in jail for his remaining days on this earth.
President Acknowledges Strains on the Economy - (www.nytimes.com) – But still minimizes the problem saying prices have gone down in “some” markets in the US.
Commodities Rally Complicates Fed's Battle - (www.thestreet.com) – Of course, the commodity rally is partially or greatly caused by the results of Fed actions.
Buy my house, please! - (http://www.csmonitor.com/)
France's sordid housing crisis - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Stronger Rules for Mortgages Are Proposed - (nytimes.com) – But mortgage industry is against the new rules (of course) as it requires disclosure of fee paid by lenders to brokers.


Other Stories:

Sunday Night Massacre- Fed Finally Decides To Print Infinite Quantity of Money - [2008-03-16] - ``There you have it. The Fed for the first time will be monetizing crap, above and beyond the crap they already monetize. '' -- ...
Oh God! You knew this was coming - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``With a reverse mortgage, a bank makes payments to a homeowner instead of the homeowner making payments to a bank. The loan is ...
Bear Stearns Unlawful Foreclosure Letter – (www.ml-implode.com) - ``I have spoken to a couple of your directors over the years and they claimed ignorance of Bear and EMC’s mortgage operations, c...
Bernanke's Rate Cuts Endanger Fed's Inflation Outlook - (bloomberg.com)
Freddie Mac CEO: House Price Drops Only 1/3 Done - (seekingalpha.com)
Why U.S. House Prices May Continue To Fall - (boom2bust.com)
The Bubble is Bursting - (http://www.europac.net/)
Fed takes boldest action since the Depression to rescue banks - (telegraph.co.uk)
Florida No. 1 in mortgage fraud; foreclosures up 60% - (www.usatoday.com)
How a lender bailout hurts the economy - (money.cnn.com)
Bernanke's dollar sinks worldwide - (news.yahoo.com)
JPMorgan Chase Buys Bear Stearns for $270 Million - (www.bloomberg.com)
Asian Stocks, U.S. Futures, Dollar Decline After Fed Cuts Rate - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar Falls Below 97 Yen, First Time Since 1995, as Fed Cuts - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ailing dollar plunges to new low against euro - (afp.google.com)
Australia, Japan Company Bond Risk Surges on Bear Stearns Sale - (www.bloomberg.com)
House prices plunge across California - (news.yahoo.com)
Southern California house prices still dropping at record rate - (latimes.com)

Hawaii house foreclosures show no sign of tapering off - (www.honoluluadvertiser.com)Proposal to limit banks' dividends elicits strong reactions - (http://www.marketwatch.com/)
U.S. Mint is making cents, but at a price far more than a penny - (www.marketwatch.com)
U.S. Fed Cuts Discount Rate, Says Dealers May Borrow - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Fed Statement on Initiatives to Bolster `Liquidity:' Text - (www.bloomberg.com)
Debt Reckoning: U.S. Receives a Margin Call – (online.wsj.com)
More in foreclosure choose to walk away - (www.sfgate.com)
Luxuries are cheap, neccessities are expensive - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Fed Races to Rescue Bear Stearns In Bid to Steady Financial System - (online.wsj.com)
Bernanke Discards Monetary History With Bear Stearns Bailout - (www.bloomberg.com)
The next shoe to drop in housing - (money.cnn.com)Foreclosures up 60% in February - (money.cnn.com)
Fed Efforts Foiled By Banks as Residential Mortgage Rates Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)

Costs Surge for Stocking the Pantry - (www.nytimes.com)

Behind Bear Stearns Rescue Plan, a Wall St. Domino Theory - (www.nytimes.com)
Wall Street waits for the next domino to fall - (www.ft.com)
Fears That Bear Stearns’s Downfall May Spread - (www.nytimes.com)
Run on Big Wall St. Bank Spurs Rescue Backed by U.S. - (www.nytimes.com)
CDS sector weighs Bear Stearns backlash - (www.ft.com)

JPMorgan Chase Buys Bear Stearns for $270 Million - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bear Stearns May Lose Independence After Fed-JPMorgan Bailout - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Buzz on the Bear Bailout - (www.businessweek.com)
Brought low by crisis in credit and confidence - (www.ft.com) ($)
How Bear Stearns ran out of the necessities - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
After Bear bailout, who's next? - (www.theglobeandmail.com)
The week that brought down Wall Street's Bear - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Bear Stearns: the banking twister heading your way - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
A world addicted to easy credit must go cold turkey - (www.telegraph.co.uk)

US Economy's Collapse Fear - (www.nypost.com)
Rescue Me: A Fed Bailout Crosses a Line - (www.nytimes.com)
F.D.R.’s Safety Net Gets a Big Stretch - (www.nytimes.com)
Debt Reckoning: U.S. Receives a Margin Call - (online.wsj.com)
This big rescue may be just the beginning - (www.latimes.com)