Monday April 21 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Libor's Rise May Sock Many Borrowers - (online.wsj.com)
Traders Braced For Fresh Libor Reading - (www.fxstreet.com) - The British Bankers' Association said Wednesday it had brought forward a review of the Libor setting process and was investigating whether banks had misquoted Libor in recent months. The investigation comes in response to concerns that some banks may have been giving artificially low Libor quotes over recent months in an effort to mask their funding problems.
LIBOR Rate Apparently Rising In Response To BBA Investigation ... – (www.bumpzee.com)
Florida has a 5-year Condo Glut - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''A great article in Builder highlights Jack McCabe’s research report which calculates that the Florida condo market has a whopp...
Fed Officials May Be Nearing Rate Pause as Inflation Quickens - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''Federal Reserve policy makers, sensing both renewed inflation dangers and a possible economic boost from government rebate che...
Gas prices push closer to $3.50 a gallon, oil hits $117 - (ap.google.cm)
Speculator Nightmare as Losses Mount in England - (www.bloomberg.com)
Foreclosure future grim for Utahns - (www.deseretnews.com)
Auction-Bond Probes Widen as Cuomo Subpoenas 18 Firms - (www.ml-implode.com)
Citigroup Has Second Straight Loss After $12 Billion Writedown - (www.bloomberg.com)
BOE Prepares 50 Billion-Pound Mortgage Plan, BBC Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Britain Said to Consider Shoring Up Debt Market - (www.nytimes.com)
Another record low for Bay Area home sales - (www.sfgate.com)
Wall St. braces for thousands of pink slips - (www.reuters.com)
1 Man, 1 Year: $3.7 Billion Payout - (www.washingtonpost.com)
San Francisco Area median price tumbles 16.1% - (www.sfgate.com)
San Francisco area prices plunge - (www.insidebayarea.com)
Buiter Says U.K. Banks Need $200 Billion Aid From BOE - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''Former Bank of England policy maker Willem Buiter said the central bank will need to offer loan swaps to financial institution...
Public opinion about the economy erodes rapidly - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

The Economist's Cheery View of Credit Default Swaps - (www.ml-implode.com) - It's remarkable how attending an industry love-fest can distort one's perception. The Economist seems to have fallen hook, lin...
Wilmington Finance: "We're still here..." - (www.ml-implode.com) - In a conference call today announcing yet more layoffs, the speaker ended by saying "We are still here, no matter what they say ...
Bush Taps Preston as New Chief at HUD - (www.ml-implode.com)
How do you recognize a credit-card fueled city with a fake economy full of $30k millionaires? - (www.ml-implode.com)
Barratt Cut by UBS as Homebuilding Profit Nears Brink - (www.ml-implode.com)
Are South Florida foreclosure numbers misleading? - (www.ml-implode.com)

Beach communities not immune from crash - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
Dallas foreclosures rise 40% - (www.dallasnews.com)
Condo Glut In Florida - (www.builderonline.com)
Paying for College Without the Home Equity Option - (www.nytimes.com)
Trapped in the Middle - (online.wsj.com)
Video from Mr. Mortgage: Fannie/Freddie 'Con' Jumbos a Bust - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fed hawks Lacker, Fisher warn on inflation - (www.reuters.com)
Fed's Kohn says banks' caution an economic threat - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Mortgage plan could cost taxpayers $6bn - (www.ft.com)
San Diego median price keeps falling - (www.signonsandiego.com)
California house prices plummet 26 percent - (www.sfgate.com)
Financial CEOs sees 88 pct chance of US recession - (www.forbes.com)
Latest Economic Tea Leaves Point to Recession - (www.nytimes.com)
Fannie and Freddie Are Risk to US Credit Rating - (nalert.blogspot.com)
Be wary of federal housing "help" - (www.wickedlocal.com)
Your House Is Worth Less? Good - (from 2007) - (www.time.com)
Bear Robbed By Insiders, Loss Paid By Taxpayers - (www.badcyclopedia.com)
Workers Get Fewer Hours, Deepening the Downturn - (www.nytimes.com)
Fuel prices fatten up airfares again - (www.usatoday.com)
Clearing the fog - (www.economist.com)
Why Russia should help America - (english.pravda.ru)
House Price Divided By Income, Over 20 Years - (PDF - comstockfunds.com)

U.S. housing bust not so special - (www.financialpost.com)
FBI sees surge in mortgage fraud investigations - (www.sfgate.com)
"Home buyers go wild over zero down" - (from 2004) - (eastbay.bizjournals.com)
Citigroup Records a Loss and Plans 9,000 Layoffs - (www.nytimes.com)
Harley-Davidson cuts shipments, jobs at quarterly profit skids - (www.latimes.com)
Pfizer quarterly profit falls on buyout charges, patent losses - (www.latimes.com)
Fannie Regulator May Settle With Raines, Person Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
At Merrill, Write-Downs and More Layoffs - (www.nytimes.com)
OFHEO Plans Settlement With Raines - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Earnings Reveal Economic Split - (online.wsj.com)

Iceland, a Tiny Dynamo, Loses Steam - (www.nytimes.com)
Booming Brazil could be world power soon - (www.ap.com)
Let Britain’s housing bubble burst - (www.ft.com)
U.K. Budget Deficit Widens to Record on Investment - (www.bloomberg.com)
Russia's Richest: Why a Billion Won't Cut It Now - (www.cnbc.com)


Looking Up, but From a Deep Hole - (www.nytimes.com)
Authorities lose patience with collapsing dollar - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Behind the Food-Price Riots - (online.wsj.com)

Tuesday April 8 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Market slump makes divorce more difficult - (www.sfgate.com)
"Stated income" loans should be reported to IRS - (market-ticker.denninger.net) – Pretty radical concept
Crude Oil Rises More Than $2 as Gasoline Surges to a Record - (www.bloomberg.com)
Lenders retreat as housing market plummets - (www.sfgate.com)
Rice Run Prompts Curbs to Rival Credit Market Seizure - (www.bloomberg.com) - Rice, the staple food for half the world, rose 2.4 percent to a record $21 per 100 pounds in Chicago today, double the price a year ago and a fivefold increase from 2001.
As standards tighten, borrowers face equity credit roadblock - (www.projo.com)
Biggest bond insurer loses AAA rating - (www.bloomberg.com)
Foreclosures come to McMansion country - (www.ml-implode.com) – The crisis has hit especially hard here in Loudoun County, Virginia, where upscale developments have supplanted horse farms over the past fifteen years.... Now the bill has come due. One out of every 69 households in the county was in foreclosure in the last three months of 2008. Yes, most people eventually get what they deserve and in this case
Good time to buy? Only if you believe your own lies. - (www.builderonline.com)
The Mortgage Bust Goes Global - (www.nytimes.com)
Stymied house sellers slashing prices - (www.palmbeachpost.com)
Soros predicts end of the road for cheap borrowing - (www.independent.co.uk)
Foreclosures leave Clearwater's Island Estates residents disenchanted - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'Sale prices on the island averaged $1.25-million two years ago. Among the homes under contract this month, the average price is...
The Assassination of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer - [2008-04-07] - Like an Iceberg. Just a bunch of crap from some Spitzer defenders.
Housing Bubble Bursts Wide Open In Spain - (www.ml-implode.com)
Nine Mortgage Servicers Sign Pact to Help Ohio Homeowners - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced today that nine mortgage loan servicers have signed the “Compact to Help Ohioans Preserve Homeownership,” a pledge to work with the state to stem a rise in foreclosures.' Yes, another idiotic government program that will fail.


Other Stories:

Which Traders Scored Big Betting Against Housing? - (www.ml-implode.com) 'John Paulson, who ran a medium-sized fund until last year, zoomed to the top of the industry's earnings table when he took home...
And ... it's a hat trick - (www.ml-implode.com)
Hemingway haunt gives discounts to "poor Americans" - (www.ml-implode.com)
More than 14,000 Mortgage Layoffs in First Quarter - (www.ml-implode.com)
FDIC chief: We could do more - (www.ml-implode.com)
Deposed, not composed. - (www.ml-implode.com)
Wild, Wild West: California Cold To 'Jumbo Conforming' Loans - (www.ml-implode.com)

Shallowness of pro-housing arguments - (www.nytimes.com)
Housing and Ponzi Units - (optionarmageddon.blogspot.com)
Two Wrongs Make A Wrong - (great graphics!) - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)

Advanced Micro Sales Miss Forecast; Job Cuts Planned - (www.bloomberg.com)
Alcoa Says Profit Falls 54% as Energy Costs Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housing Bust Duration - (calculatedrisk.blogspot.com)
Reverse Ripple Theory of Metropolitan Price Corrections - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Bankruptcies Jump 30% in March, Led by Housing-Bust States - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Fall as Confidence Grows Fed Steps to Limit Slowdown - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit Cost Hikes Know No Boundaries - (www.cfo.com)
Consumer credit rose $5.16 bln in February - (www.reuters.com)

Auction-Rate Collapse Quadruples Expenses for Bond Alternatives - (www.bloomberg.com)
Shareholders get more involved - (www.cfo.com)
Mortgages: Is the wound fatal this time? - (www.ocregister.com)
Soros Says Deregulation Created Super-Bubble - (www.bloomberg.com)
Borrowers Default On Mortgage, Lenders Let Them Stay Free! - (www.bloomberg.com)
Don't shift mortgage burden to taxpayers - (www.detnews.com)
The problem is unimaginably, indescribably big - (www.jamaica-gleaner.com)
Across the Globe, Hints of More Perils in Housing - (www.nytimes.com)

Washington Mutual to receive $5 bln from TPG, others - report - (money.cnn.com)
Losing Leverage: Some Firms Cut Debt in This Uncertain Era - (online.wsj.com)
Builders' Rally Masks Lingering Questions - (www.thestreet.com)
Idle cars signal a downturn - (www.latimes.com)
More layoffs expected in construction, real estate - (www.ajc.com)
Hard times hit U.S. hardwood lumber industry - (www.ap.com)
Surging renminbi - (www.ft.com)
Europeans Target Inflation, not Slowdown - (www.cfo.com)
Shirakawa Is Nominated to Lead Japan's Central Bank - (www.bloomberg.com)
Eastern Europe Boom May Prove Bust Amid Labor Dearth - (www.bloomberg.com)
US policymakers could learn from ECB - (www.ft.com)

Monday April 7 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Skybus Becomes Latest Airline to Shut Down - (www.cnbc.com) – Third US air carrier in 1 week to shut its doors. This is different than 2003-2004 where carriers went into bankruptcy to get rid of debt. These are permanently shutting their doors due to Fed inflationary policies.
Must listen-to interview with Bill Fleckenstein - Greenspan's Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve – (www.financialsense.com) – Yes, we must try Greenspan, and see if this criminal belongs in prison for fleecing the public.
Lenders refuse title on foreclosures, avoid taxes and maintenance - (bigpicture.typepad.com)
MBIA Loses AAA Insurer Rating From Fitch Over Capital - (www.ml-implode.com) - Fitch Ratings cut MBIA Inc.'s insurance unit to AA from AAA, saying the bond insurer no longer has enough capital to warrant the...
Woman Accused Of Burning House On Eve Of Foreclosure - (www.wyff4.com) - Yes folks, another smart individual who thought she wouldn’t get caught burning her own house down to get out of her foreclosure.
Mass State Treasurer: "No matter how bad this year was, 2009 is going to be worse." - (news.bostonherald.com)
Mortgage lender files for Chapter 7 - (www.sanluisobispo.com) - Mortgage lender files for Chapter 7
San Luis Obispo-based company with $28 million in debts had offered loans to people with ‘bruised credit’
Lenders Buried By Foreclosures Let Late Borrowers Stay in Homes - (www.bloomberg.com) – Many living in homes without making any payments for 6 or more months
Foreclosure crisis reaches into rural communities, too - (www.usatoday.com)
Student Lenders Stifled by Auction Failures as Cities Refinance - (www.bloomberg.com)
Congress Introduces Student-Loan Aid For Lenders - (online.wsj.com)
Investors abandon $2.6bn Delphi deal - (www.ft.com) Serious implications for General Motors - 15:
Rice jumps as Africa joins race for supplies - (www.ft.com) Prices more than doubled since January
Washington's $4-billion land grab - (www.latimes.com)
Buying a New House Before Letting The Old Go Into Foreclosure - (kathyneilsen.blogspot.com)
Soros Sees Additional Stock Market Declines - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:

Housing bill gives more to businesses - (www.usatoday.com)
Paulson Plan's Problems - (www.theconglomerate.org)
Unsold Homes Tie Down Would-Be Transplants - (nytimes.com)
Denver House Prices - (www.ml-implode.com) - An interesting case of a market that is mostly "inventory-bad", not "price-bad".
The Forbidden Financial Topic: U.S. National Debt - (www.ml-implode.com)
Goldman's Equity Arm Backs Out Of $794 Million Myers Takeover - (money.cnn.com) – Another private equity deal goes bad due to credit crisis
Soros Lambasts Paulson, Call for Intervention - (www.ml-implode.com)
BayernLB profit slumps as write-downs reach $6.7 billion - (www.marketwatch.com)
Bank Write-Downs: No End Yet - (www.time.com)
Congress Bails Out the Homebuilders - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Food Prices to Rise For Years, Thanks to Biofuels - (www.reuters.com)
Food Riots Rock Yemen - (www.inteldaily.com)
Reuters: Hungry Crowds Spell Trouble for World Leaders - (www.alertnet.org)
Hey, Fed: Stop robbing my savings! - (www.marketwatch.com)
The great inflation cover-up - (money.cnn.com)
House Prices Around the Nation - (efinancedirectory.com)

Bankruptcies Jump 30% in March, Led by Housing-Bust States - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Suffers Biggest Jobs Drop In 5 Years as Downturn Spreads - (online.wsj.com)
81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on the Wrong Track - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Loses 80,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Increases - (www.bloomberg.com)
Texas gas price sets record high - (www.chron.com)

Why lenders are feeling the squeeze - (www.ft.com)
Fed Officials Defend Bailout of Bear Stearns - (www.nytimes.com)
Fed money is based on confidence - (www.rfdoc.com)
In God We Better Trust - (eyeonmiami.blogspot.com)
Soros Calls For Clearing House For Credit Default Swaps In US - (online.wsj.com)
Death of a Bond Insurer - (www.businessweek.com)
Rooms With a Bubble View - (online.wsj.com)
Hundreds to foreclose on Placer land - (www.sacramentobizjournals.com)
Corn hits $6 on tight supplies - (www.chicagotribune.com)
An Insider's Look at the Subprime Mortgage Collapse - (www.seekingalpha.com)
When leverage gets out control - (www.iht.com)
Overdue Consumer Debts Highest Since 1992 - (www.bloomberg.com)

Microsoft May Cut Yahoo Bid Amid Slowdown, People Familiar Say - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dimon Rejected Rescuing Bear Until Geithner Promised Funding - (www.bloomberg.com)
Latest Hitch for Delphi, New Worry for G.M. - (www.nytimes.com)
Northwest raising fuel surcharges, freezing pilot hiring - (www.ajc.com)

Mortgage golden age comes to close - (www.ft.com)
Euro zone finance ministers back ECB's inflation battle - (www.iht.com)
No Cushion Against Hubris - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Take financial talking-heads with a grain of salt - (www.ft.com)

Thursday April 3 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Wachovia mortgage program stirs concerns - (www.ml-implode.com) - Wachovia has required its loan officers to sell a minimum number of Pick-A-Payment, traditional and other loans or face discipli...
House lawmakers propose $10000 home-buyer tax credit - MarketWatch - (www.marketwatch.com). More stupidity coming from our politicians to purely benefit the homebuilders and other interest groups.
Fannie Mae tightens rules for mortgages: report - (www.reuters.com)
Fannie Tightens Mortgage Terms, Sets Minimum Score - (www.ml-implode.com) - '- Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, told lenders it will no longer buy most loans made to borrowers with c...
World Bank: Rising prices more pressing problem for East Asia than financial turmoil - (www.signonsandiego.com) – Another potential side effect of FED inflation and money printing.
Lehman Stops Writing Mortgages in the U.K., S&P Says - (www.ml-implode.com) - '- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm by market value, will stop writing mortgages at two U....
Fed Aided Bear Stearns as Firm Faced Chapter 11, Bernanke Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brace for $1 Trillion Writedown of Yertle the Turtle' Debt - (www.bloomberg.com)
WaMu Alt-A Pool Deteriorates Further - (Mish)
Foreclosure Freeze in MN hits obstacle: The Governor - (www.startribune.com)
From $701,000 to $459,000 to $229,000 in less than 2 years - (patrick.net)
House prices plunge in MA - (www.salemnews.com)
Luxury condos in Oakland sell at a discount - (www.sfgate.com)
Who owns you Americans? - (www.youtube.com)
Mortgage defaults force Denver exodus - (www.usatoday.com)
Living paycheck to paycheck - (www.cnn.com)


Other Stories:

Not the Financial End of the World as We Know It - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'I thought the release of the new REM album today might be a good excuse for a time out and a little perspective on what we’ve b...
WestLB Posts 1.6 Billion-Euro Loss on Writedowns - (www.ml-implode.com) - '- WestLB AG, the government-owned German bank reeling from subprime-related investments, had its first loss in three years on w...
Dumb Money - (www.time.com)
The Road To Serfdom - (www.michael-hudson.com)
Hillside Whore - (sbhousingbubble.blogspot.com)

Oil Rises, Gasoline Surges to Record on U.S. Fuel-Supply Drop - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. 2-Year Notes Fall on Jobs Gain, Bernanke Bailout Defense - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S Stocks Retreat on Recession Concern; GE, Caterpillar Fall - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar Falls Versus Euro as Bernanke Says Economy May Contract - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Moral Hazard of Creditors - (www.seekingalpha.com)
How Far Will House Prices Fall? - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Some houses worth less than their pipes - (www.reuters.com)

The underemployment rate is rising - (money.cnn.com)
Chaos on Wall Street, explained - (money.cnn.com)
What To Understand About the Bear Stearns Deal - (www.hussmanfunds.com)
We no longer live in a constitutional republic - (market-ticker.denninger.net)
UBS doubles sub-prime writedowns - (news.bbc.co.uk)
IMF Cuts Global Forecast on Worst Crisis Since 1930s - (www.bloomberg.com)
Higher Prices Sink Consumer Spending, US Outlook: Survey - (online.wsj.com)
Bernanke to Face Bear Stearns Queries - (www.bloomberg.com)
Manhattan Apartment Sales Fall Most in 18 Years as Buyers Wait - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mortgage applications volume down as refis drop - (www.marketwatch.com)
Hey, Fed: Stop robbing my savings and stop the inflation - (www.marketwatch.com)

Who wants auction rate securities? - (www.cfo.com)
Manhattan housing prices hit record high - (money.cnn.com)
Investors' love affair with government debt may get rocky - (www.reuters.com)
Danger in Banks' Balance Sheets - (online.wsj.com)
Lenders Ease The Throttle On Car Loans - (online.wsj.com)
Skunk at the Bank Party - (online.wsj.com)
Pace of U.S. air fare hikes may be slowing - (www.signonsandiego.com)

Inflation Asia's biggest risk, says ADB - (www.ft.com)
$6-a-month raise ends Nike strike in Vietnam - (www.chron.com)
New mortgage gloom as lenders close the door - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
Britons scramble for funds as credit crunch bites - (www.iht.com)
Iceland threatens direct markets intervention - (www.ft.com)
HBOS expects house sale fall of up to 30% - (www.ft.com)

False ideology at the heart of the financial crisis - (www.ft.com)
The KISS Rule for Markets - (online.wsj.com)
Leveraged Planet - (www.nytimes.com)
Workers on cell phones cost their companies big bucks in wrecks - (www.ajc.com)

Wednesday April 2 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

WaMu Alt-A Pool Deteriorates Further - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``The problem should be clear. In no way shape or form, should any package of liar loans been rated AAA.''
Pardus $2 billion hedge fund suspends withdrawals – (www.reuters.com) – Now hedge funds don’t seem like such a good idea anymore, especially when they halt all redemptions
Subprime vets saw their industry, finances vanish in a flash - (money.cnn.com) – Very good story about a real life married couple in San Clemente CA working at New Century and other subprime powerhouses.
Closer Look At The ARMs Reset Problem - (www.ml-implode.com) - The Fed vaporized much of the ARM reset problem in 2008-2009 by slashing interest rates. This is especially true for those in 3-...
JPMorgan memo shows dirty tricks of mortgage trade - (www.usatoday.com) – Yes, this is the company the Fed is assisting with the Bear Stearns acquisition.
No bids on 67 of 99 entries at real estate event - (www.heraldtribune.com) – Maybe the banks/owners should try lowering the price. What a novel approach, unless they have no ability to go lower.
That 6% Is Getting Harder to Earn - (www.nytimes.com) – Is anyone losing any sleep over realtors having to work a bit harder for their commission? This will help root out the ones that didn’t belong in the first place.
Housing slump comes to the Hamptons - (www.ft.com) – and is anyone losing sleep over these 3 Bear Stearns execs who are trying to sell their homes in the Hamptons?
More $$$ for Countrywide bigs - (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
59% of Los Angles Houses for Sale Are Foreclosures - (patrick.net)
McCain Delivers In Housing Crisis Speech - (www.cbsnews.com)
Effort to Stop Bailout Plans Is Uphill Battle - (dadtalk.typepad.com) – Mostly because consumers believe the bailout is helping them, when it is really a ruse to help banks and lenders.
BIS heralds demise of CDOs - (www.ft.com)


Other Stories:

The Chase “Cheats And Tricks” Memo - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``How about some perspective. How prevalent was the problem? In my position as an underwriter I had a pretty good view of thin...

Manhattan Market Slows as Wall Street Cuts Jobs - (www.bloomberg.com)
Senate deal breathes life into housing rescue bill - (www.ml-implode.com) - In the vote, Republicans had been expected to easily be able to block progress until Democrats agreed to back away from a techni...
Wachovia stops some California loans - (www.ml-implode.com)
West Palm Beach to open foreclosure help center - (www.ml-implode.com)
Bernanke Faces Grilling On Bear Rescue, Credit Crisis - (www.ml-implode.com)
Pay Electric or Mortgage? - (www.mothering.com)
In Treasury Plan, a Reluctant Eye Over Wall Street - (www.nytimes.com)

Paulson Plan Gets Blasted - (www.wsj.com)
Americans Delay Retirement As Housing, Stocks Swoon - (www.wsj.com)
Doubts Greet Treasury Plan Regulation - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Economy: ISM Index Unexpectedly Rose in March - (www.bloomberg.com)
Construction Spending in U.S. Fell 0.3% in February - (www.bloomberg.com)
Food Price Inflation Changes How We Shop - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Treasury Official Behind Finance Overhaul - (www.wsj.com)
Let the housing chips fall - (www.latimes.com)
It's time to rein in the Fed - (articles.moneycentral.msn.com)
German watchdog eyes $600 bln global bank losses - (biz.yahoo.com)
HUD chief resigns during housing crisis - (www.9news.com)

Blame Game: The 'Uptick' Rule Debate - (www.wsj.com)
Muni market crisis - (www.ft.com)
Bank ownership of foreclosed homes doubles - (www.chicagotribune.com)
U.S. Corporate Bond Sales Fall 32 Percent in the First Quarter - (www.bloomberg.com)
What's wrong with Wall St. and how to fix it - (money.cnn.com)
How those who were pushing for less regulation missed the boat - (money.cnn.com)
8 reasons no Wall Street reforms in '08 - (www.marketwatch.com)
Failure rate rockets for buy-out companies - (www.ft.com)
A Nervous Wall St. Seems Unsure What's Next - (www.nytimes.com)
Shrinking Prices, Rising Deliquencies - (online.wsj.com)
Many Houseowners Insist on Inflated Prices - (audio - npr.org)
Book: $1 Trillion in Writedowns in '08 - (www.nypost.com)
Fewer Class Action Suits Cite Accounting Issues - (www.cfo.com)
Reduced corn crop forecast plants fears - (www.latimes.com)
Hedge fund Pardus halts withdrawals - (www.chicagotribune.com)

Lehman Sells $4 Billion Shares as Fuld Tries to Calm Investors - (www.bloomberg.com)
UBS Says Ospel Resigns After $19 Billion Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Banks seen cutting 200,000 jobs - (money.cnn.com)
Big US carmakers report lower sales - (www.ft.com)
Deutsche Bank to Write Down Record 2.5 Billion Euros - (www.bloomberg.com)
Banks Face Most Severe Crisis in 30 Years, Morgan Stanley Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Thornburg Mortgage raises $1.35 billion to avoid bankruptcy danger - (www.iht.com)
What's wrong with Wall St. and how to fix it - (www.fortune.com)
Lehman to Offer Preferred Stock - (www.thestreet.com)
Dell to Close Texas Plant, Weighs Shutting Finance Group - (www.wsj.com)
Could Citi Shake-Up Signal Asset Sales? - (www.thestreet.com)

China and Core Inflation - (www.wsj.com)
Struggle to keep food supplies at home - (www.ft.com)
Japanese business sentiment at 4-year low - (www.ft.com)
Radical action to fight credit crisis discussed - (www.ft.com)
High inflation in South Africa - (www.economist.com)
Poland shows the strain - (www.ft.com)

Looming dangers for the dollar - (www.ft.com)
Playing the Housing Blame Game - (www.nytimes.com)

Tuesday April 1 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

59% of Los Angles Houses for Sale Are Foreclosures - (patrick.net)
HUD chief resigns during housing crisis - (www.9news.com) – Amid scandal and housing crisis, Alphonso Jackson resigns.
Lehman to Sell $3 Billion of Shares to Raise Capital - (www.bloomberg.com) - Lehman trying to avoid a run on the bank.
New rules not providing attractive 'jumbo' loan rates in Silicon Valley - (www.mercurynews.com)
Philadelphia suspends sales of foreclosed homes - (www.reuters.com) Socialism has fully arrived. Authorities in Philadelphia will suspend foreclosure sales of homes whose owners have fallen behind on adjustable-rate subprime loan payments -- potential relief for tens of thousands of struggling debtors. Ken comment: And acceleration of the dominoes falling in the credit crisis.
A Nervous Wall St. Seems Unsure What’s Next - (www.nytimes.com)
Fed's 'Supercop' Role May Give It Headaches - (online.wsj.com) – As we have said many times, never count on the IDIOTS who got us into the situation to also get us out. If anything, we should be trying and jailing these idiots starting with the NY Fed chief.
Nearly 50 hedge funds liquidated last year - (www.financialweek.com) – Probably another 50 have suspended withdrawals.
German Watchdog Said to Eye $600 Billion in Banking Losses - (www.nytimes.com)
For Americans, a Bit of the Swagger Is Gone - (www.nytimes.com)
Tight credit doomed airline - (www.cfo.com)
Fed eyes Nordic-style nationalisation of US banks - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Struggling houseowners find little hope in federal program - (www.mcclatchydc.com)
Spanish Property Market in Freefall - (www.businessweek.com)
Former center of subprime boom struggles with bust - (money.cnn.com)


Other Stories:

Pink Slips in a Bloodbath - (www.lewrockwell.com)
Lessons From Japan's Malaise - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Paulson Backs Regulatory Overhaul, Broader Fed Role - (www.bloomberg.com)
Paulson Plan Begins Battle Over How to Police Market - (online.wsj.com)
Bush to use tax money to guarantee foolish mortgages - (msnbc.msn.com)
McCain and the mortgage bailout - (www.csmonitor.com)
Who Needs the Mortgage-Interest Deduction? - (www.nytimes.com)
States Are Hit Hard by Economic Downturn - (www.washingtonpost.com)
The credit drought continues - (www.economist.com)
What went wrong - (www.economist.com)
Let the housing chips fall - (www.latimes.com) , Schiff
Weak economy slows cargo, idles railcars - (www.ap.com)
Real Estate Devastation Not Nearly Done - (www.sandiegoreader.com)
House prices may not stop falling till 2010 - (www.mcclatchydc.com)
Hawaii foreclosures 'slowly building' - (www.honoluluadvertiser.com)
California Sale Prices by County and City - (www.dqnews.com)
Angry Houseowners Wreak Havoc on Foreclosure Properties - (blogs.wsj.com)
Sneaking In a Bank Bailout - (tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com)
Only 29 Percent of Americans Approve Mortgage Bailout - (www.efinancedirectory.com)
Bloggers' lobby: Stopthehousingbailout.com - (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Federal Reserve Origins - (www.youtube.com)
Treasury's Plan Would Give Fed Wide New Power - (www.nytimes.com)

Wild ride in 'auction-rate securities' bond market - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Prepare for more swaps suits - (www.financialweek.com)
M&A Bankers Suffer 35% Drop in Fees as Deals Dry Up From Record - (www.bloomberg.com)
Worried hedge funds move cash - (www.ft.com)
Fed too generous with Bear bailout - (www.nypost.com)
NY real estate slump due in 2010 - (www.nypost.com)
How Weak Is M&A? The Worst Since 2004 - (www.cfo.com)
Most mutual funds retreated in 1Q - (www.azcentral.com)
Derivatives: The New Disclosure Rule - (money.cnn.com)

Bear's board was busy elsewhere - (www.financialweek.com)
Citigroup to Separate Card Unit in Banking Overhaul - (www.bloomberg.com)
Spending Trimmed for Slower Times - (online.wsj.com)
2 cholesterol drugs may have no benefit - (www.latimes.com)

Europe Inflation Accelerates to 3.5%, Sentiment Drops - (www.bloomberg.com)
China Stocks Have Worst Quarterly Drop - (www.bloomberg.com)
Singh to Tackle Wheat, Steel Prices to Curb Inflation – (www.bloomberg.com)
Japan Inflation Accelerates, Posing Risk to Consumption - (online.wsj.com)
Iceland counters alleged hedge fund attacks - (www.ft.com)
China sees the world differently - (www.iht.com)
The baton passes to Asia - (www.iht.com)
UK house prices continue to slide - (www.ft.com)

Cash management tough with low Treasury yields - (www.financialweek.com)
Chaos on Wall Street - (www.fortune.com)