Thursday May 22 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Congresswoman Walks Away - (www.ml-implode.com) - "The story of the foreclosure of Long Beach Democrat Laura Richardson's Sacramento home is a tale of a real estate market gone s...
Mortgage Applications & Fundings Are Surging. But… - (www.ml-implode.com) - In a nutshell, all increased mortgage volume is great. But, when exotic interest only programs and high loan-to-value FHA programs make up the lion’s share of the volume, you have to be skeptical about the numbers and the quality of the business.
Mortgage Application Volume Sinks as Rates Rise - (www.ml-implode.com) - mortgage application volume fell 7.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 16, according to the latest weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association
Shortage fears push oil futures near $140 - (www.ft.com). Current price near $135/barrel but futures are pushing $140.
Oil Powers to Record, Above $135 as Supplies Fall - (www.cnbc.com)
Countrywide CEO Mozilo's E-mail Bumble Sparks Furor – (www.cnbc.com) – Yes, the tan-man we all love to hate ruining shareholder value and pissing off more customers. Let’s give him another $100M bonus.
Sen. Dodd: Housing Bill Not a Bailout - (www.cnbc.com). Yes, I am saving all Senator Dodd stories saying this is not a bailout so that when it comes out that taxpayers are covering this, we can go back to him and politely correct him.
Commodity collapse coming - (www.news.com.au) - The commodity boom may be turning into a bubble that could burst around the end of the year, according to a special report from Lehman Brothers in New York.
Soros warns global boom is over - (news.bbc.co.uk) - He warned the "financial bubble" of the last 25 years could be drawing to an end and the post World War II "super-boom" era could also be over.
He predicted a "more severe and longer" US slowdown than most people expect. And he said that the UK was worse-placed than America to weather the coming economic storm, because it had such a large financial sector and has had the biggest increase in house prices.
Fannie CEO sees steep house-price drop - (ap.google.com)
Soaring Foreclosure Numbers Mean More Prey for Vulture Funds - (www.sdbj.com)
American cuts flights as oil rises - (www.ft.com). American Airlines said it would eliminate flights, cut thousands of jobs and charge most passengers $15 to check a single piece of luggage, as surging oil prices exacerbated the crisis in the US airline industry
Former AIG chief could face SEC charges - (www.ft.com). Greenberg served with Wells notice. Hopefully the crooked ex-AIG CEO and smarmy rat will stop bothering the existing board (as he is the root cause of many of the problems). Hopefully, they will collect back the money he shuffled to his wife. And hopefully he will get what he deserves - jail time. Last week, a federal judge presiding over a criminal trial that led to convictions of former AIG and Gen Re executives said there was “sufficient evidence” to show that a conspiracy began with a phone call from Mr. Greenberg. Mr. Greenberg had not been previously charged by federal prosecutors or the SEC over the transactions that allegedly inflated AIG’s reserves by $500m and he has always denied any wrongdoing.
Has the Fed really flooded the world with dollars? - (blogs.telegraph.co.uk) - It reinforces my fear that we are heading into a deflationary crunch. No doubt the Fed, ECB, the Bank of England, et al, will ultimately flood the system with money and set off another asset bubble. We are not there yet. The professor warned that yields on 10-year Treasuries (now 3.79pc) have shot up so much on inflation fears since the Fed bail-out in March that the effect risks short-circuiting the whole monetary rescue. “They may find that they don’t benefit after all from cutting rates,” he said. Well, yes, this is the great fear. The Fed may now be trapped. The argument is that the US 10-year rate - set by market forces, and increasingly by the actions of Chinese and Mid-East governments - is the key price setter for the US housing market and corporate debt.
Analyst Meredith Whitney on U.S. banks - (www.businessweek.com) - Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney believes the credit crisis will extend well into 2009, perhaps beyond. She sees three years of multi-billion dollar revenue reversals.
Moody’s launches review in wake of errors - (www.ft.com) - Charles Schumer urges SEC probe


Other Stories:

Crackdown on Foreclosed Kids? - (www.ml-implode.com)
US economy in ‘uncharted waters’ - (ww.ft.com)
US corporate property prices take hit - (www.ft.com)
Citigroup to close down branches in UK - (www.ml-implode.com) - Citigroup announced plans to extricate itself completely from new sub-prime lending in Britain, with the loss of up to 700 jobs,...
Home loan failures rise for 37th straight month, extending record - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Home loan failures in San Diego County continued to set new records in April, the 37th consecutive month of year-over-year incr...
A trying time to lead a bank - (www.mlive.com)
Hedge Funds in Swaps Face Peril With Rising Junk Bond Defaults - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mr Mortgage - ‘Short-Refinances’ Gaining Popularity.. - (www.ml-implode.com)
World Savings Option ARM Training Video - (www.ml-implode.com)
Delta Financial Execs Plan New Mortgage Venture - (www.ml-implode.com)
Impac Mortgage reports loss of $2B for 2007 - (www.ml-implode.com)

Government's 'numbers racket' is about to blow up in our faces - (www.marketwatch.com)
Ownership costs outpacing rental costs by as much as 300% - (www.brokeragentpro.com)
Foreclosures 4 in 10 SoCal house sales - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
UBS $100 Billion Mortgage Wager Caused $24 Billion Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. bank shares sink after Oppenheimer cuts outlook - (www.reuters.com)
60,000 second houses could be sold off in English slump - (www.guardian.co.uk)

U.S. Stocks Drop on Credit Concern, Producer Prices; Banks Fall - (www.bloomberg.com)
Minutes of Federal Open Market Committee, April 29-30, 2008 - (www.federalreserve.gov)
The Risks of Rescuing Borrowers - (www.nytimes.com)
AAA expects fewer Americans to travel over Memorial Day - (www.azcentral.com)
Wealthy consumers cut back on spending, sort of - (www.latimes.com)
Georgia Power bills to go up $2.93 for fuel costs - (www.ajc.com)
NY Times Still Does Not Understand the Housing Crash - (www.prospect.org)
Economic Tide Is Rising for Repo Man - (www.nytimes.com)
US and Canada Demographic Time Bomb - (Mish at globaleconomicanalyst.blogspot.com)Things Are Heating Up - (Mike Morgan at realestateandhousing2.blogspot.com)
Four Overlooked Houseownership Costs - (biz.yahoo.com)

Banks still tough on buyouts - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Why a Housing Bailout Won't Help - (online.wsj.com)
Are commodity traders bidding up food, fuel prices? - (www.latimes.com)
Oil for 2016 Delivery Nears $140 on Supply Concern - (www.bloomberg.com)
Plunge in US commercial property - (www.ft.com)

Target 1Q profit drops, cites higher costs - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Saks profit jumps, but misses expectations - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Less Shopping = Fewer Malls - (online.wsj.com)
Trouble Hid in the Hedges - (online.wsj.com)
Airlines’ Cuts Making Cities No-Fly Zones - (www.nytimes.com)
Shoppers Stick to Buying Only Basics, Retailers Say - (www.nytimes.com)
Banking's Bear Roars Again - (www.portfolio.com)
Customer satisfaction with airlines lowest since 2001 - (www.latimes.com)
Chrysler extends gasoline offer - (www.chicagotribune.com)
AIG Hits 10-yr. Low On Capital Woe - (www.chron.com)
Southern casinos feeling economic pinch - (www.ajc.com)
Local governments rethink municipal Wi-Fi initiatives - (www.chicagotribune.com)

BOE Voted 8-1, Defeating Blanchflower's Call for Cut - (www.bloomberg.com)
German Business Confidence Unexpectedly Increased in May, Ifo Survey Shows - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.K. Rentals See a Boom As House Purchases Cool - (online.wsj.com)
Tice Proves Every Bear Has Its Day With 9.5% Return as He Invokes `D' Word - (www.bloomberg.com)