Tuesday June 10 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

FPO (First Party Origination) the Next Industry Acronym? - (www.ml-implode.com) - At least, that what this article about one CA company implies. "Close Your Own Loan.com has eliminated the Loan Officer so you ...
Top Talent Scout for Obama Tied to Subprime Lender - (www.ml-implode.com) - More on this important story. Both Obama and McCain are saddled with shady subprime connections -- and McCain even tops it off ...
Gasoline still dirt cheap in the USA - (www.ml-implode.com) - Most Americans think gas is expensive. Well, they'd better hope it doesn't really get expensive, which appears to be where it's...
Lehman’s Lies Sparked Recent 2-Month Market Rally - (www.ml-implode.com) - Lehman was first scheduled to release earnings following the Bear Stearns implosion in March. If they would have shown a loss, l...
Monolines and Bank Write-downs - (www.ml-implode.com) - The most important question regarding yesterday's downgrade of Ambac and MBIA is obviously not about munis but about ABS and CDOs. As readers undoubtedly know by now, banks and brokerages routinely purchased monoline insurance on ABS and CDO transactions. In CDO land, the trade was usually done on the senior-most tranche of the CDO, with the monoline writing a credit-default swap on the trade
Enrollment in real-estate schools plummets - (www.azcentral.com)
Geithner Calls for More Fed Authority to Prevent Future Crises - (www.bloomberg.com) – Does anyone think is a good idea to put more power in hands of moron Geithner and other Fed governors that got us into this mess in the first place? Probably yes, because most Americans are too stupid to understand how badly the Fed has corrupted the country and disregarded the constitution.
LandSource Files for Bankruptcy - (online.wsj.com) - A partnership that involves the nation's largest pension fund and owns 15,000 acres of land outside of Los Angeles has filed for bankruptcy-court protection, representing one of the biggest land deals to sour amid the housing bust. The Chapter 11 filing by LandSource Communities Development LLC late Sunday is a potentially costly and embarrassing blow for the venture's main investor, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as Calpers. The bankruptcy filing in federal court in Delaware means Calpers could lose much of its $970 million investment in the venture, which it made through an investment vehicle in February 2007, only months before land values plunged. At the time, the venture's assets were appraised at about $2.6 billion. Earlier this year, the value had shrunk to $1.8 billion.
Russia blames U.S. for global financial crisis - (www.reuters.com)
Citi, Merrill, UBS Face Monoline Losses, Whitney Says - (www.ml-implode.com) - Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS AG may post losses of $10 billion on bond insurance after MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. lost their top credit ratings, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney said.


Other Stories:

Pending Sales No Longer Good Indicator Of Future Sales - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Year-over-year is more significant than the more volatile month-to-month comparison. More importantly though, I believe that p...
Lenders Facing Another Wave of Write-Offs - (www.ml-implode.com)
UK Economy: It's gone to meet its maker - (www.ml-implode.com)
The Psychology of Foreclosure - (www.ml-implode.com)

Oil Falls as Saudi Arabia Calls for Producer-Consumer Meeting - (www.bloomberg.com)
How does this crisis compare to others? - (www.cfo.com)
Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average - (www.nytimes.com)
Inflation Is Biggest Threat to Global Economy, Executives Say - (www.bloomberg.com)
Playing politics with the Fed - (www.economist.com)
CIT Group Rises on $3 Billion Goldman Sachs Financing - (www.ml-implode.com)
Big Shareholders Rebel at AIG - (www.ml-implode.com)
AIG: Not as Simple as It Seems - (www.ml-implode.com)

Recession Rally on Hold? - (online.wsj.com)
Buffet bets own money against hedge funds - (money.cnn.com)
Speculators caught short by crude price - (www.ft.com)
Number of Wall Street IPOs pulled - (www.ft.com)
Midcaps have outperformed, but recent results may be misleading - (www.chicagotribune.com)

Lehman to Raise $6 Billion, Expects $2.8 Billion Loss - (www.cnbc.com)
Investments banks face regulation - (www.economist.com)
Georgia's heavy equipment industry struggling - (www.ajc.com)
Soaring shipping costs fuel inflation - (www.ft.com)
RV sales travel off course - (www.chicagotribune.com)

U.K. Producer Prices Rise at Fastest Pace Since 1986 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Farm crisis spooks Argentine economy - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Fed Not in It to Back a `Strong Dollar' Policy: John M. Berry - (www.bloomberg.com)