Friday June 20 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Two More Homebuilders Go Bust - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) - Oakridge Homes LLC in California and M.W. Johnson Construction Inc., which builds homes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida, both sought Chapter 11 protection Friday. The companies are two of many home builders in bankruptcy proceedings, including Levitt and Sons LLC and Tousa Inc. M.W. Johnson, of Lakeville, Minn., reported assets and debts in the range of $50 million to $100 million in its bankruptcy petition and said it has between 200 and 999 creditors. The home builder's affiliate, M.W. Johnson Construction of Florida Inc., also filed for bankruptcy.
Kellogg shrinking cereal boxes - ContraCostaTimes.com - (www.contracostatimes.com) – How should a producer deal with inflation? Kellogg Co. is using smaller packaging while charging the same prices for five of its cereals sold in the United States, effectively raising their prices for the second time this year. The company started shipping the new boxes to stores in early June.
Paulson to Urge New Fed Powers - (www.washingtonpost.com) – How does the US Government punish the felons that got us into the mess in the first place? By giving them more powers of course. What is wrong with this picture.
Ambac Financial to Terminate Fitch Ratings Contract - (www.ml-implode.com) – If they won’t rate you highly, ask them not to rate you.
Thornburg’s Survival on the Line - (www.ml-implode.com) Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (TMA: 0.65, 0.00%), the ultra-jumbo mortgage lender that has been staring at possible extinction on and off over the course of most of 2008, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday that its survival is in doubt. Questions over the company’s future remain despite a last-ditch $1.35 billion financing plan that saved the company from bankruptcy in late March
Phoenix Sellers: “So Tired, Tired Of Waiting…” - (www.ml-implode.com) – Some key figures:
Total number of properties found: 43,341 Active single family detached now on the market
Total number of properties found: 22,201 Single family detached more than 100 days on the marketTotal number of properties found: 11,493 Single family detached more than 200 days on the marketTotal number of properties found: 5830 Single family detached more than 300 days on the marketTotal number of properties found: 2802 Single family detached more than 400 days on the market
WaMu Nixes Option ARMs, Adds $1 Billion to Borrower Assistance Fund - (www.ml-implode.com)
Slowest May in 20 years for Bay Area housing activity - (www.sfgate.com)
Home Repossession Rates Double - (www.thetrumpet.com)
Foreclosure Prices Slashed by Desperate Lenders - (www.nuwireinvestor.com)
When Builders Go Broke - (www.businessweek.com)
Housebuilders scream for help after losing their 'one-way' bet - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
AMBAC mad that Fitch won't falsify ratings - (www.marketwatch.com)
Australia Loses Mind By Proposing Its Own Fannie Mae - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)


Other Stories:

Screams For More Fed Authority Get Louder - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
How Citigroup Games The Play - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Global stock and credit crash alert - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Lenders, trade groups opposed to responsible lending - (www.latimes.com)
Rich facing foreclosure too - (www.dailybusinessreview.com)
Senators Deny Knowing Of Mortgage Loan Favoritism - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Ackman Was Right On MBIA Ambac - (www.ml-implode.com)
Japan Gripped by Suicide Epidemic - (www.timesonline.co.uk)
Bank Writedowns May Reach $1.3 Trillion - (www.bloomberg.com) – Are Bernanke and Paulson still saying subprime is “contained” J
Why Real Estate Market Is Nowhere Near a Bottom - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housing Bottom Keeps Moving Lower as Mortgage Rates Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brace for other shoe to drop in mortgage mess - (msnbc.msn.com)
Mortgage Applications Index Fell 8.8% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Free Trade On the Ropes Amid Shortages - (www.bloomberg.com)
SoCal House Prices Continue to Plumb New Lows - (www.seekingalpha.com)
San Diego County house prices lowest since Sept. '03 - (www.signonsandiego.com)

NJ's AG Says Florham Pk's American Mortgage Co. Committed Fraud - (www.ml-implode.com) - The state is suing 15 corporations and 21 people in three real estate organizations, alleging complex schemes to cheat unschoole...
Hundreds swept up in mortgage fraud arrests - (www.ml-implode.com) - "More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March — including dozens over the last two days — in a Just...
McMahon shouldn't be face of foreclosure - (www.cnn.com)
Selling your house means being realistic in down market - (www.sun-sentinel.com)
‘Old-School’ Wild-Card Housing Threat Coming Into Play - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Affordability is a moving target with many parts, which many forget about when offering up housing forecasts. One, which has co...
BankUnited needs a rescue - (www.ml-implode.com) - "After an analyst downgrade sent their stock diving 30% to $2.35 today, BankUnited Financial of Florida tonight issued a press r...
Ex-Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Managers Arrested - (www.ml-implode.com) - Two former Bear Stearns managers have been arrested, federal authorities said Thursday, becoming the first executives to face cr...
Wachovia Still Does Not Understand Pay Option ARM Risk - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Investor's Business Daily calls for formal investigation of MoziloGate, - (www.ml-implode.com)
Tucson: New Home Prices Plunging Is The New Normal - (www.ml-implode.com)

Oil closes almost $5 lower on China's fuel price hike - (www.marketwatch.com)
Gold Rises as Surging Raw-Material Costs Spur Inflation Concern - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Fall After Note Sale Announcement, Jobless Report - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Stocks Advance, Led by Technology, Transportation Shares - (www.bloomberg.com)
Inflation Now Enemy No. 1 for Fed - (online.wsj.com)
Big three central banks tone down rate hike threats - (www.boston.com)
Paulson To Urge New Fed Powers - (www.washingtonpost.com)
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell to 381,000 Last Week - (www.bloomberg.com)
Many CEOs expect to cut jobs - (www.latimes.com)
Yellow Buses Put Schools in the Red - (online.wsj.com)
More consumers, workers shoplift as economy slows - (www.usatoday.com)


Gold May Rise to $5,000 on Inflation, Schroder Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Free Trade in Food Is `On the Ropes' Amid Shortages, Price Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge fund chief warns of worse to come - (www.ft.com)
Push for new sub-prime mortgage regulations loses steam - (www.latimes.com)
Investment in U.S. commercial real estate falls 70% - (www.latimes.com)
Commercial foreclosure postings rise 35% - (www.dallasnews.com)
Dearth of Ships Delays Drilling of Offshore Oil - (www.nytimes.com)
Europe's buy-out groups hit by funding slump - (www.ft.com)

Citigroup's Crittenden Sees More Subprime Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
GM Delays New Truck, SUV Programs - (online.wsj.com)
Regulators Lay Plans for Investment Banks' Access to Fed Loans - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fallout From Bad Loans Rocks Regional Banks - (www.nytimes.com)
Overnight delivery becomes a luxury - (www.latimes.com)
Retailers evaluate new shopping centers more cautiously - (www.dallasnews.com)
Gannett Gets Stung by Loss of Ad Revenue - (online.wsj.com)
Ex-Bear Stearns Fund Managers Arrested by FBI Agents - (www.bloomberg.com)

Writedowns to hit HBOS as house market worsens - (www.reuters.com)
Amid Crisis, Argentina Wonders Which Kirchner Is in Charge - (online.wsj.com)
China May Be Overwhelmed by Cash, World Bank Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.K. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Rise by Most on Record - (www.bloomberg.com)
A Brave New World for Financial Regulation - (online.wsj.com)