Friday May 16 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

US consumer confidence at lowest since 1980 - (www.ft.com) – The US consumers are no longer buying the bogus understated inflation numbers being provided by the government. US consumer confidence sank to its lowest level in 28 years this month as anxious shoppers grappled with surging food and fuel costs, according to a new survey published on Friday. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index plunged from 62.6 to 59.5 in May, the lowest reading since June 1980.
Record condo numbers to saturate downtown area - (www.chicagotribune.com) - Nearly 6,000 condos, by far a record number, are expected to come on the market in downtown Chicago this year at a time when mortgages are tougher to get and sales have slowed dramatically, according to a report. Sales of newly built downtown condominiums plummeted by about 83 percent during the first quarter, to 201 units from 1,207 units a year earlier, according to a report to be released Wednesday by Appraisal Research Counselors.
Electricity retailer won't honor fixed-rate contracts - (www.chron.com)
Scenes of monkeys running around during the greatest housing crash in human history - (www.ml-implode.com) - The monkeys are "congress critters." Some good C-Span fodder.
Foreclosures moving up the Housing Chain - (www.ml-implode.com) - "The foreclosure signs that have been sprouting up in less-affluent communities since 2006 are beginning to appear in the well-o...
Is the Noose Tightening Around Countrywide? - (www.ml-implode.com) - "One of the reasons for Bank of America to walk from the Countrywide deal is the rising tide of legal costs and potential for si...
Democrats Face BAILOUT Backlash - (online.wsj.com) - Democrats may be risking a backlash at the polls in November by pushing hard to use taxpayer money to rescue homeowners who can no longer afford their mortgages in the face of stiff resistance from President Bush and many other Republicans.
FHA scam mortgages still happening at taxpayer expense - (msnbc.msn.com) - No down payment? No problem. Loophole still allowing risky mortgages by disguising money as a gift
Lehman to Cut 5% of Staff, Starting Next Week: Source - (www.cnbc.com)
'Stealth Layoffs' Sweep Across Wall Street - (www.cnbc.com)
Luxury Foreclosures - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Americans' money worries are growing, L.A. Times/(www.bloomberg.com) poll finds - (www.latimes.com)
Judge Says Countrywide Officers Must Face Suit by Shareholders - (www.nytimes.com)
Boone Pickens project buys 667 GE wind turbines - (www.chron.com)
Who Will Buy the Condos? - (www.chicagomag.com)
As Condo Dues Dry Up, The Neighbors Pay - (online.wsj.com)


Other Stories:

Goldman Forecasts $141 Oil For Second Half of Year - (www.cnbc.com)
Oil Soars to Record Near $128 Before Backing Off - (www.cnbc.com)

Barclays Profit Falls After $3.3 Billion Writedown - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank, reported a drop in first-quarter earnings because of 1.7 billion pounds ($3.3 bill...
Sorry Greenspan, But I’m Not Seeing It - (www.ml-implode.com) - "According to Marketwatch yesterday, "Greenspan sees U.S. house price hit bottom in 2009". I think he’s seeing things. "
FHA Chief Criticizes Rescue Plan - (www.ml-implode.com)
Strength in Unity: PA Lenders Gateway and Arlington Unite - (www.ml-implode.com)
Flood of Foreclosures Prove Loan Modification Isn't Working - (www.ml-implode.com)
Food Stamps and The Un-Adjusted Economy - (www.ml-implode.com)
CDOs Flicker to Life With Babson, Deutsche Takeovers - (www.ml-implode.com)
Phoenix: April Home Sales Up But Median Down 21% - (www.ml-implode.com)
Freddie Mac Reports Better Than Expected First Quarter Results - (www.ml-implode.com)
For IndyMac, Another Ratings Cut; Capital Raise Looming? - (www.ml-implode.com)

U.S. Industrial Production Drops More Than Forecast as Consumers Cut Back - (www.bloomberg.com)
Manufacturing in New York Contracted in May, Orders Dropped - (www.bloomberg.com)
Food Costs Jump Most in 18 Years - (www.washingtonpost.com)
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose to 371,000 Last Week - (www.bloomberg.com)
Manufacturing in Philadelphia Region Shrank in May - (www.bloomberg.com)
Inflation may be worse than consumer price index shows - (www.usatoday.com)

Is Debt Thaw on Borrowed Time? - (online.wsj.com)
Private equity: Year of the vulture - (money.cnn.com)
10 private-equity deals gone bust - (money.cnn.com)
Critics: SEC no match for investment banks - (www.financialweek.com)
Rate rise flattens money funds - (www.financialweek.com)
Hedge Funds Under Scrutiny - (www.forbes.com)
Paulson Should Act to Stop Dollar Slump - (www.bloomberg.com)
Gaffe reveals English ministers' fears of housing slump - (www.independent.co.uk)

Fast-Rising Steel Prices Set Back Big Projects - (online.wsj.com)
FedEx and UPS Still Wait For Recovery to Arrive - (online.wsj.com)
WaMu COO: We're Not Done Hemorrhaging - (www.thestreet.com)
GE could sell appliances unit - (www.ft.com)
Barclays Profit Falls After $3.3 Billion Writedown - (www.bloomberg.com)
Jack in the Box shares tumble on revised outlook - (www.latimes.com)
Sony has 4Q profit, but expects decline this year - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Distressing time for furniture retailers - (www.latimes.com)
Guilty plea in Monterey house-sale scam - (www.montereyherald.com)
Housing market flooded by sellers - (www.reportonbusiness.com)
House Price Erosion Will Continue - (www.seekingalpha.com)
What Garage Sales Tell Us About Our Economy - (www.thetrumpet.com)

China's fixed-asset investment steams ahead 25.7% - (www.marketwatch.com)
European Expansion Accelerates More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
Japan's machinery orders fall in March - (www.latimes.com)
Petrobras Hires 80% of Deepwater Drilling Rigs, Drives Up Costs - (www.bloomberg.com)
England Q1 housing starts down 24 percent year-on-year - (www.forbes.com)
New Zealand Spending Report Another Sign Economy Has Contracted - (www.bloomberg.com)
Keep hold of the basic rules of finance - (www.ft.com)

California Prices Still Plummeting - (patrick.net)
House prices Keep Getting Better For Patient Buyers - (biz.yahoo.com)
No inflation if you don't eat or drive - (money.cnn.com)
US foreclosure filings surge 65 percent in April - (news.yahoo.com)

Friday April 11 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Senate Passes Bill with Builder Tax Breaks - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'At a cost of $15 billion over 10 years, the Senate bill would give a $6 billion tax break to home builders by temporarily exten...
Lucrative Grim Repo Man - (clubs.ccsu.edu) – Entrepreneur takes foreclosure hunters on bus tours
Lehman Brothers Says It Liquidated Three Investment Funds - (www.bloomberg.com)
Jefferson County AL Close to Bankruptcy - Meets With Fed - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wall Street Banks May Cut 35% of Jobs - (www.bloomberg.com)
Auction Failures Force Students to Lose College Funds - (www.bloomberg.com)
Jefferson County Advisers Meet U.S. Officials as Crisis Looms - (www.bloomberg.com)
Americans with mortgages exceeding value of homes unlikely to be helped by Bush refinance plan - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Another Flavor of Bonds Threatens to Turn Sour: Mark Gilbert - (www.bloomberg.com)
GMAC's Bank Unit Has a Problem - (online.wsj.com)
Hedge Funds Make It Hard To Say Goodbye - (online.wsj.com) – Was it such a great deal to be in a hedge fund when they prevent you from withdrawing your money?
Slowdown Deals A Bad Hand to Las Vegas Casinos - (online.wsj.com)
The REO Life: Vandalism - (www.youtube.com)
Opposition to Proposed Houseowner Bailout Growing - (www.npr.org)
House committee backs additional theft of renter taxes - (www.reuters.com)


Other Stories:

White House Presents Plan To Aid Subprime Borrowers - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'The proposal was quickly criticized by consumer groups, who said it would do little to slow a mortgage meltdown that last year ...
Phoenix Foreclosures: If Not A Crisis, Pretty Close To It - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Home inventories are continuing to rise and prices are declining, so there is still some more time before the Phoenix area mark...
Scam Spam Flyer from FHA "Downpayment Assistance Firm" - (www.ml-implode.com) - We received this lovely mailer as spam to our inbox today. It quite nicely demonstrates and proves that down-payment assistance...
We only thought we were getting wealthier - (www.ml-implode.com)
Failures of the Term Auction Facility - (www.ml-implode.com)
Trouble in the Cockroach Hotels - (www.ml-implode.com)
Stress Returns to Interbank Lending - (www.ml-implode.com)
Lust helped drive the housing bust, but mass amnesia also factored - (www.ml-implode.com)

Fed Prepares for More Bank Failures In Wake of Housing Collapse - (www.marketoracle.co.uk)
Denver house prices continue to plummet - (denverpost.com)
Housing-market joy spread to England - (www.economist.com)
Lenders Giving Underwater Borrowers Cash for Keys - (www.homeguide123.com)
Drop in house values brings dip in property taxes - (www.modbee.com)

Ron Paul Questions General Petraeus Yesterday [Video] - (www.dailypaul.com)
Fed fears deep recession - (www.thestar.com)
The Fed Is Terrified - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Fed mulls options in easing credit crunch - (www.financialnews-us.com)
Volker: Is the Fed's Bear Stearns Loan Legal? - (www.bloomberg.com)
Interactive Foreclosure Map of Denver - 11,000 More Foreclosures Expected This Year - (www.usatoday.com)
Americans: Can't Get Ahead, Hard to Keep Up - (www.washingtonpost.com)
US Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Widens - (www.bloomberg.com)
Iceland Raises Benchmark Rates to 15.5% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasury Notes Fall as U.S. Stocks Advance, After Fed Auction - (www.bloomberg.com)
Crude Oil Falls on Signs Record Prices Will Curb U.S. Demand - (www.bloomberg.com)
Diesel price fuels US truckers’ anger - (www.ft.com)

Real Estate: A Capital Trap for National Savings - (Charles Hugh Smith)
Bob's tips on renting safely during the next few years - (www.politicalgateway.com)
Ambac, MBIA Finally Get the Rating They Deserve - (www.seekingalpha.com)
35 signs the market hasn't hit bottom - (www.marketwatch.com)
U.S. Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Widened on Imports - (www.bloomberg.com)
Inflation Is Set to Reach Decade High - (online.wsj.com)
IMF sees U.S. falling into recession - (www.chicagotribune.com)
U.S. office vacancies up as leasing ebbs - (www.latimes.com)
Volcker, ex-Fed chairman, chides Bernanke - (www.iht.com)
Fed Bashed, ECB Spared in Finger-Pointing Match - (www.cnbc.com)

Housing Bust Offers Insights - (online.wsj.com)
The Bank-Loan Haircut - (online.wsj.com)
'B-Pieces' Wield Their CMBS Clout - (online.wsj.com)
Asian currencies rise as recession fears hit dollar - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)
Having lost fortunes, banks such as UBS have to raise money - (www.economist.com)
Soros Says Credit Crisis Will Worsen Before Improving - (www.bloomberg.com)
Are you upside down in your home? - (www.ocregister.com)
Painful shake-out seen for Asian hedge funds - (www.reuters.com)
Volatile Waters Tossed Around Hedge Funds - (online.wsj.com)
New Delays Loom as F.A.A. Expands Airliner Review - (www.nytimes.com)
Slowdown Deals A Bad Hand to Las Vegas Casinos - (online.wsj.com)
Fuel Costs Just Part of Airlines’ List of Woes - (www.nytimes.com)

Bank of England cuts key rate by quarter point - (www.marketwatch.com)
World inflation fuelled by surge in farm, energy prices - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)
Iceland Raises Benchmark Interest Rate to 15.5% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Australia aims regulatory fire at hedge funds - (www.ft.com)
A New Poll Finds Americans Feeling a Lot More Squeezed - (www.washingtonpost.com)
What We've Learned From the Market Mess - (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)