Friday May 23 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Franklin Bank, SSB. Teetering On The Edge - (www.ml-implode.com) - We recently heard Houston-based Franklin Bank shut down wholesale lending operations, but now the entire company appears to be teetering on the brink of failure.
Foreclosure papers' deliverers can't keep up - (www.orlandosentinel.com) - Brent Browning, who delivers foreclosure papers in Osceola County for three different companies, said he is so busy he has been turning down work. Yet the former deputy sheriff also said he has been warned by his clients that the volume of default work is likely to increase sharply this summer.
Congresswoman Walks Away - (www.capitolweekly.net) – Not surprising that the idiots leading our country are clueless.
Congresswoman denies foreclosure report - (latimesblogs.latimes.com) – Let’s get more information on this story to see if she received any special deals or privileges.
Woman loses job, burns down house for money - (blogs.tampabay.com) – Hmmm, these homeowners really have no brains. Burning a house that is already in foreclosure process is pretty silly.
FDIC's Bair: Foreclosure Aid Is 'Train Wreck' - (blogs.wsj.com) – Yes, we all agree, but let’s not add onto the bailout please. Efforts to stem the record tide of U.S. foreclosures are a “train wreck,” hampered by a lack of resources and the continued deterioration of the real-estate market, a federal banking regulator said.
“There are more loan lines and I think servicers are doing more but it’s just not keeping pace,” Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair told reporters following a speech on Amelia Island.
Kucinich: Neighborhoods Are Blameless ‘Victims’ in Subprime Crisis - (www.ml-implode.com) - The Ohio Democrat and former Cleveland mayor heard made the case that concerns about creating a moral hazard — or rewarding risky behavior — were countered by the fact that neighborhoods weren’t at fault for the impending foreclosure boom."
Pounding Continues As Fed Tightens Handcuffs - (www.ml-implode.com) - "As the Fed feeds liquidity out to the hinterlands via the TAF, it continues to punish the Primary Dealers (PD) by withdrawing the cash to pay for the TAF from the PD trading accounts."" The Treasury announced another week of pounding ahead as it plans to dump another mountain of new supply on the market next week.
New Zealand's $8.2 Billion Income Tax Cuts Spark First Deficit Since 2000 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Moody's Falls on "Ratings Error" Probe - (www.bloomberg.com) – Moody’s falls hard for 2nd straight day.
Derivatives Market Expands by 44% as Investors Seek Hedges, BIS Study Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Senators Sharply Question Oil Officials - (www.nytimes.com) – Constituents need to sharply question senators and take them behind a shed and beat them as these clowns are more responsible for oil prices for many reasons.



Other Stories:

Top banks urge relaxed writedown rules - (www.ml-implode.com) - Bankers once again illustrate that it's good to be the king(s): The proposals on “fair value” accounting by the Institute of In...
FICO: The Model Is Dead. Long Live The Model. - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``The first thing my broker tells me when I’m yelling at him about another bad stock pick that he was unable to talk me out of i...
Why It's a Bad Time to Buy a House: High 'Real' Mortgage Rates, Record Inventories - (www.ml-implode.com) - "As bad as that sounds, the housing market is going to get worse, says Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles S...
OFHEO: Home Prices Chalk Worst Ever Decline - (www.ml-implode.com)
Countrywide Buys Homeowner’s Silence Over Angelo Mozilo’s “Disgusting” Email - (www.ml-implode.com) - Welcome to the new way of putting muzzles on homeowners that can shed some light on Countrywide’s widely known practice of customer abuse. Fix their loan in record time, give them a deal they could have never have thought of in their wildest dreams and make them sign a confidentiality agreement.
More on the banking backdrop, they have never had so many loans - (www.ml-implode.com)
A self-serving non-solution to negative equity in America - (www.ml-implode.com)
The Sad Tale of Lewis Ranieri and Franklin Bancorp - (www.ml-implode.com)

Low Rates Fueled Bubble, But Can't Stop Bust - (Charles Hugh Smith at www.oftwominds.com)
Nation's Most and Least Affordable Housing Markets - (www.efinancedirectory.com)
Housing crisis hits the House - (www.politico.com)
The Risks of Rescuing Borrowers - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Stocks Drop on Inflation Caused By Fed Cuts - (www.bloomberg.com)
As Bank Seizures Swell, Investors Seek Elusive Prey - (www.realtytrac.com)
Analysis of Mortgage Crisis - (www.newleftreview.org)
Countrywide CEO Mozilo criticizes customer e-mail - (biz.yahoo.com)

Fed lowers growth forecast - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Fed's Forecast Grows Gloomier - (online.wsj.com)
Concerns From Fed Reverberate on Wall Street - (www.nytimes.com)
The Fed and the Mortgage 'Crisis' - (online.wsj.com)
Fed Appears Unlikely to Keep Cutting Rates - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Congress still loves farm aid - (www.nypost.com)
Study: State infrastructure needs billions to grow - (www.azcentral.com)
Consumers can't save the economy - (money.cnn.com)
Home loan failures rise for 37th straight month, extending record - (www.signonsandiego.com)

IEA to Slash Oil-Supply Estimate - (online.wsj.com)
U.S. Investment-Grade Corporate Bond Sales Surge to Monthly Record in May - (www.bloomberg.com)
Pimco's chief piles into mortgage debt - (www.ft.com)
Nuveen to restructure auction-rate debt issues - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Oil Rises Above $135 to Record After U.S. Stockpiles Unexpectedly Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Blame Wall Street for $135 Oil on Wrong-Way Betting - (www.bloomberg.com)
Cerberus Rues ResCap as Mortgages Put Brakes on Plans - (www.bloomberg.com)
SEC looks to subprime lessons - (www.ft.com)
CDS volumes remain high despite turmoil - (www.ft.com)

Small Businesses (and Their Customers) Feel Sting of Inflation - (www.nytimes.com)
American Airlines to charge for checked baggage - (www.latimes.com)
U.S. Casinos Stumble Over New Business Model in High-Stakes Macau Market - (online.wsj.com)
UBS Sells Stock at 31% Discount, Raising $15.6 Billion to Increase Capital - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ford abandons 2009 profitability goal - (www.latimes.com)
American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Bag Fee - (www.nytimes.com)
Analyst Bove cuts Goldman, Lehman and Merrill to 'sell' - (www.financialweek.com)
Banks Continue to Stuff Loan Cushions - (www.thestreet.com)
Richemont warning for luxury sector - (www.ft.com)

ECB Board Member Weber Says Globalization May Be Major Inflation Driver - (www.bloomberg.com)
Trouble ahead for global house prices - (www.economist.com)
Hong Kong's Inflation Rate Accelerates to 5.4% on Food and Energy Prices - (www.bloomberg.com)
Asia to cut subsidies as oil hits $135 - (www.ft.com)
The Financial Furry Freak Brothers - (goldnews.bullionvault.com)