Friday April 18 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Review of Libor brought forward as closely watched rate spikes - (www.marketwatch.com)
"Who to Blame When the Next Bubble Bursts" - from 2003! - (www.commondreams.org) – Good analysis predicting Greenspan’s next bubble in 2003.
Fed Accepts Dodgy Collateral in Race to Bottom - (www.bloomberg.com)
Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill - (www.nytimes.com) – Yes, this story has been a top story for 3 days running, but I think it is important to know how the big business lobbying powers are making a killing here.
Vacant Homes in U.K. Prove Speculator Nightmare as Losses Mount - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``The unraveling buy-to-rent investment market contributed to a 2.5 percent drop in home prices last month, the biggest since 19...
Sinking housing market maroons homeowners - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'As America's housing market has foundered, homeowners who bought into newly rising projects at just the wrong time have found t...
FHA's Risky Business - (www.forbes.com)
The worst spring in San Diego's history! - (www.californiahousingforecast.com)
Court Case Is Lost in Cauldron of Muni Market Woes: Joe Mysak - (www.bloomberg.com)
Feds to Collect DNA from Everyone They Arrest - (news.yahoo.com) – Yes, we now live in a pseudo-police state
Libor's accuracy questioned - Fraud? - (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
JPMorgan's Dimon Says Real Estate Is Getting Worse - (bloomberg.com)
Appraisers say WaMu cut corners - (businessvoip.tmcnet.com)
Copper Jumps to Record as Strike in Chile May Disrupt Output - (www.bloomberg.com) – Expect more copper theft in abandoned houses and industrial parks.
Walking Away: The Next Mortgage Crisis - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Art dealers brace for a bust - (money.cnn.com)
Merrill Reports Loss on $6.5 Billion of Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Sallie Mae Sounds the Alarm - (online.wsj.com)
NYT: "US Inflation Appears to Be Retreating" (What are they smoking?) - (www.nytimes.com)
Mobius: Credit Crisis Near End. Time to Buy! - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:

FBI home mortgage probe now targets 19 firms - (www.ml-implode.com)
Germany is in shock as subprime gets worse - (www.ml-implode.com)
Flashback to 2005: NAR States "Foreclosure Risk Minimal" - (www.erica.biz)
The Pentagon's $1 Trillion Problem (Where's the money?) - (www.portfolio.com)
Oil Futures Jump to Record $115 - (biz.yahoo.com)
As Australia Dries, A Global Shortage of Rice - (www.iht.com)
Sickened Pork Workers Have New Neurological Disorder - (www.reuters.com)
Retailers Get Stingy With Data - (www.nytimes.com)
Housing Starts Slide ot Lowest Level in 17 Years – (www.bloomberg.com)
Jim Willie: Liars, Wall Street and Your Gold - (www.financialsense.com)

CA Foreclosure news nobody reporting - (mrmortgage.typepad.com)
Rate of foreclosures expected to get worse - (www.usatoday.com)
Treasuries Fall as Traders Bet Fed to Cut Rates Just Once More - (www.bloomberg.com)
Rice Rises to Record in Chicago, Leading Wheat, Soybean Gains - (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil steadies after hitting record over $115 - (www.reuters.com)
Most U.S. Stocks Retreat on Earnings; Pfizer Shares Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed causes inflation above 6% for 6 months running - (patrick.net)
The Fed Undermines Democracy - (robertreich.blogspot.com)
The Madness of Ben Bernanke - (www.spiegel.de)
My Foreclosure - (foreclosuremine.blogspot.com)

Philadelphia Fed Index Declines More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
S.F. Federal Reserve chief sees long recovery - (www.latimes.com)
Big questions on collateral for Fed loans - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Fed favors loans over dividends - (www.boston.com)
Reports Offer Grim Picture of Economy - (www.washingtonpost.com)
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise 17,000 to 372,000 - (www.bloomberg.com)
US mortgage clock ticking, Dodd warns - (www.ft.com)
Net widening in FBI probe of mortgage fraud - (www.financialweek.com)
Now is not the best time to buy - (patrick.net)
O'ahu rents dipped 1% last year - (www.honoluluadvertiser.com)
San Diego median price keeps falling - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Pace of O.C. foreclosures triples 90's slump - (mortgage.freedomblogging.com)

Hedge Funds Cut Risk, Wait for Opportunities - (online.wsj.com)
Are Credit Derivatives Next? - (online.wsj.com)
Soros urges regulation for hedge funds - (www.forbes.com)
Top hedge fund managers raked in billions - (www.usatoday.com)

Where are Google's clicks? - (www.nypost.com)
Slower American sales hit prescription market - (www.ft.com)
GM plant partially halts production due to strike - (money.cnn.com)
Retailers angling for your tax rebate - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Two banks to cut $265m in credit for struggling Talbots - (www.boston.com)
Capital Spending SeenFalling in Chip Market - (online.wsj.com)
Low Liquidity Plagues More Firms - (online.wsj.com)
Banking Watchdog Barks at Poor Disclosure - (www.cfo.com)
Harley-Davidson cuts back - (money.cnn.com)
Eli Lilly looks to cut 500 jobs - (money.cnn.com)
Freddie Mac to announce agreement with lenders: report - (www.reuters.com)
SLM Has Loss as Student Loan Business Looks `Broken' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Freddie Mac to Unveil Lenders' Pact - (online.wsj.com)
Harley cuts guidance; to slash output - (www.reuters.com)

China Cuts Fertilizer Sales; Philippine Tender Flops - (www.bloomberg.com)
Weber Says ECB to Assess Whether Rates High Enough - (www.bloomberg.com)
BOE Received Most Bids in Three Months at Auction - (www.bloomberg.com)
As Australia dries, a global shortage of rice - (www.iht.com)
India's Inflation Near Three-Year High on Food Prices - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brazil Seeks to Curb Prices by Raising Rate More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
Samsung Group chairman indicted on tax-evasion charge - (www.iht.com)
'10% of GDP' - (online.wsj.com)
Goldman's Glass Brims, Lehman's Cracks: Mark Gilbert - (www.bloomberg.com)