Tuesday June 3 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Has Phase 2 of the Credit Crisis begun???:
Student Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges - (www.nytimes.com) – Credit crunch beginning to freeze loans for 2 year colleges and lower quality (perceived by lenders) 4 year colleges.
Wachovia Ousts Thompson on Writedowns, Share Plunge - (www.ml-implode.com) - Wachovia Corp. ousted Kennedy Thompson as chief executive officer of the fourth-largest U.S. bank after the board blamed him for...
Expect further declines in 2008 and into 2009 - (www.freddiemac.com) - While we expect to see further declines in average home values throughout this year and into 2009, we will be watching very carefully for signs of stabilization in indicators of real housing activity, such as a leveling off in home sales, now that the traditional home-buying season spanning late spring and early summer is underway
Liars Rejoice! Stated income cannot be used against you - (www.theconglomerate.org) - Judge Leslie Tchaikovsky, a bankruptcy judge in the Northern District of California, has issued a whopper of an opinion holding that a mortgage lender on a stated income loan is not entitled to rely on the "stated" income in the loan application for purposes of bankruptcy discharge.
Permabear Peter Schiff's Worst-Case Scenario - (www.usnews.com) – First off, the title is a bit unfair, as Peter was not a bear 12 years ago. He says “There's nothing good to say about our situation. The policies both the Fed and government are pursuing are making the situation worse. We've been getting a free ride on the global gravy train. Other countries are starting to reclaim their resources and goods, so as Americans are priced out of various markets, the rest of the world is going to enjoy the consumption of goods Americans had previously purchased. This is a natural consequence of this phony economy. If America had maintained a viable economy and continued to produce goods instead of merely consuming them, and if we had saved money instead of borrowing, our standard of living could rise with everybody else's. Instead, we gutted our manufacturing, let our infrastructure decay, and encouraged our citizens to borrow with reckless abandon.”
Price Erosion Hits the $5 Million-Plus Market - (finance.yahoo.com)
Moody's Implied Ratings Show MBIA, Ambac Are Junk - (www.bloomberg.com)
House of pain - (www.jsonline.com) - While earning $9.25 an hour, Medellin struggles to pay a $103,500 high-interest loan for an often-vandalized house on Milwaukee's north side. The city assessed the property at almost $40,000 less.
Next Housing Market to Crash? Seattle - (www.usnews.com)
SUV Owners Trash Vehicles, Turn in the Keys - (www.ml-implode.com)
Repackaged Mortgage Garbage Is Still Garbage - (www.ml-implode.com) - It's what financial engineering and securitization is all about: It's taking something nobody wants and creating something people will want, be able to finance, or able to hold,'' said James Grady, a managing director at the New York-based unit, which has $240 billion of fixed-income assets under management
Credit where it’s due - (www.ml-implode.com) - The slowdown in housing looks increasingly hazardous to the overall economy…. Without such a strong underlying economy, the current malaise in housing could turn into a deeper, longer downturn….Arguably, the current episode may…be one of the worst housing downturns we have ever seen, given the amount of excess supply coupled with extremely low levels of affordability and the deflation of what could be described as a speculative investment mania
Apollo company halts cash payouts - (www.ft.com) A fourth company owned by private equity firm Apollo Management has exercised its option to suspend cash payments on part of its debt, taking advantage of one of the most controversial financing techniques of the leveraged buy-out boom. But the obvious downside is that some investors are being paid with paper, increasing their exposure to troubled companies. Other companies with PIK options enabling them to suspend cash payments on their bonds include some of the targets of the leveraged buy-out binge – such as Freescale Semiconductor, HCA and Univision.
Moody's Implied Ratings Show MBIA, Ambac Turn to Junk - (www.bloomberg.com) - The team from Moody's Analytics, which operates separately from Moody's ratings division, uses credit-default swap prices as an alternative system of grading debt. These so-called implied ratings often differ significantly from Moody's official grades. The implied ratings frequently show that swap traders think debt is in more danger of defaulting than Moody's credit ratings signify. And here's the kicker: The swaps traders are usually right
Banks' credit crisis solutions have echoes of 1929 Depression - (www.telegraph.co.uk)


Other Stories:

Thornburg Earnings Further Delayed, Stock Faces Delisting - (www.ml-implode.com) - Thornburg Mortgage announced today that it needed even more time to complete its form 10-Q for the first quarter, which was expe...
A Tale of Two Housing Markets: There’s REO, and Everything Else - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Proving that even within a single local housing market, sales trends can be more complex than they might otherwise seem, new da...
Real Price Declines Swamping Nominal Home Price Trends: First American - (www.ml-implode.com) - "That inflation monster investors are worried about? It may prove to have a strong bite on housing just yet, according to data released Monday morning by First American CoreLogic
Fed On Hold Till the Fall (Despite Calls to Raise Rates)? - (www.ml-implode.com) - "It appears the US central bank got taken to the woodshed at a conference hosted by the New York Fed for overly aggressive rate ...
Number of Foreclosed Homes Keeps Rising - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fed Buying Less at Treasury Auctions Thanks to New Facilities - (www.ml-implode.com)
In ‘Foreclosure Capital’ 3 out of 4 homes for sale is a foreclosure - (www.ml-implode.com)
Research Zeitgeist: Inflation, Libor and Vintage Subprime - (www.ml-implode.com)
Liquidity Issues Hit Hedge Funds - (www.ml-implode.com)
Kohn Signals Wall Street May Get Permanent Access to Fed Loans - (www.ml-implode.com)

The Lowdown on Libor - (www.businessweek.com)
Traders Seek Truth With Swaps Instead Of Libor - (www.bloomberg.com)
The State of Real Estate - (PDF - patrick.net)
Trouble in Housing Trickles Up - (www.nytimes.com)
Troubled Sellers Up 463% In San Mateo County - (sanmateore.dreamhosters.com)
Global housing markets in review; forecasts for 2008 - (www.globalpropertyguide.com)
Banks' solutions have echoes of 1929 Depression - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Newly Overdue Mortgages Swamp Effort to Fix Defaults - (www.bloomberg.com)
It's Only Going to Get Worse - (www.weeklystandard.com)
U.S. Bank Failures Loom - (www.blacklistednews.com)
Don't raid retirement savings to pay the mortgage - (www.marketwatch.com)
Maryland County Realtors' Building For Sale - (patrick.net)

Influx of workers 65 or older working in retail jobs - (www.chron.com)
Egg price reflects soaring costs for diesel, feed, chicks - (www.ajc.com)
Economic chill freezes Vegas budget - (www.lasvegassun.com)
Slow economic times mean pay cuts for many workers - (www.usatoday.com)

Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Lehman Ratings Cut by S&P - (www.bloomberg.com)
The market turns cold in a desert boomtown - (www.latimes.com)
U.S. Treasury secretary: No 'quick fix' for high oil prices - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Number of Foreclosed Homes Keeps Rising - (online.wsj.com)
Foreclosure Bus Tour, Sign of Housing Bust, Hits New York Area - (www.bloomberg.com)
A Return of That ’70s Show? - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. ISM Factory Index Probably Shrank in May for Fourth Month - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Fed, the cost of oil and inflation - (www.ft.com)

Wachovia Ousts Thompson on Writedowns, Share Plunge - (www.bloomberg.com)
HSBC overhauling mortgage, credit practices - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Luxury retailers realize it's a new shopping scene - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Airline Group Sees ‘Desperate’ Times - (www.nytimes.com)
GM, Motorola, New York Times Burn Cash Flow, Keeping Dividends - (www.bloomberg.com)
Airline industry to plunge into loss - (www.ft.com)
Minnesota town tells Google Maps to get lost - (news.cnet.com)
Student Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges - (www.nytimes.com)

U.K. Mortgage Approvals Drop to Record, Factory Growth Stalls - (www.bloomberg.com)
European Finance Ministers Signal Inflation Concerns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Outlook: UK nears recession - (www.ft.com)
US staring at double-dip recession as calls for higher interest rates grow - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
South Korea to delay resumption of U.S. beef imports - (www.chron.com)
Negative equity mounting in the UK - (www.guardian.co.uk)
Malaysia tired of subsidizing gas for Thai drivers - (www.chron.com)

Tuesday May 27 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

LTCM's John Meriwether in trouble again - (www.ml-implode.com) - A decade on, it seems that “not much has been learnt”, said Roger Lowenstein, author of When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management. “The quote I read of Meriwether saying he was going to lower the risk was strikingly reminiscent. I think that’s what he said when he was backing out of LTCM.” ... like Bear Stearns, Meriwether blamed a “run on the bank” for LTCM’s crash.
Bank failures to surge in coming years - (www.marketwatch.com) - Only three banks have failed so far in 2008. But that number is set to surge as the credit crunch slows economic growth and hammers some lenders that grew too fast during the recent real-estate boom, experts say. The roots of today's banking crisis grew out of the boom and bust
A Congressional Speculator? - (calculatedrisk.blogspot.com) - This is an update to post below on Rep. Linda Richardson's foreclosure woes. Gene Maddaus of the Daily Breeze kindly forwarded today's additions to the saga. There are not two, but three homes owned by Richardson in foreclosure. And yes, she appears to have cashed out her primary residence back in 2006 to fund her campaign for State Assembly. So it looks like a pattern."
City of Vallejo, California files for bankruptcy - (www.reuters.com) - The city of Vallejo, California, filed for bankruptcy on Friday, a move signaled by its city council earlier this month as it struggles to avoid running out of money amid steep city personnel costs and sliding revenues from a housing slump. Vallejo, with more than 100,000 residents, is the first sizable city in California to file for bankruptcy.
Report says Moody's, others shifted analysts at banks' request - (www.financialweek.com) – Yes, the same companies that rated mortgage securities as AAA and rated Enron highly before they went into bankruptcy are showing their conflicts of interest.
Limits Weighed for Commodities Investors - (www.nytimes.com) Patients are now running the asylum. Instead of addressing root case, moron Joseph Lieberman, chairman of a Senate oversight committee, said Tuesday that he was considering legislation limiting large institutional investors in commodities markets. The legislation would be aimed at speculators and other investors who use commodities like oil as a way to hedge against swings in other investment instruments, like stocks and the American dollar.
Toughest Summer Job Is Finding One - (www.nytimes.com) - As the forces of economic downturn ripple widely across the United States, the job market of 2008 is shaping up as the weakest in more than half a century for teenagers looking for summer work, according to labor economists, government data and companies that hire young people.
Home price index posts largest drop in history - (www.ap.com) - A home-price index considered to be the most comprehensive reading of the U.S. market posted the sharpest decline (3.1% in 1Q2008) in its 17-year history, & analysts say housing has yet to bottom out.
Mesa Air may file for bankruptcy - (www.arizonarepublic.com)
Fingerprint Registry in Housing Bill!!! – (www.openmarket.org) – You wonder why Congress’ approval ratings are lower than Bush, because they are standing around giving away all our rights. Earlier this week, a measure creating a federal fingerprint registry totally unrelated to national security passed a U.S. Senate committee almost without notice. The legislation would require thousands of individuals working even tangentially in the mortgage and real estate industries — and not suspected of anything — to send their prints to the feds. The database and fingerprint mandates were tucked into housing and foreclosure assistance bills that on Tuesday passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 19-2
New Vanguard CEO declares Media Blackout - (www.ml-implode.com) - New CEO Joe Nocito Jr. warns his "employees" of "DISCIPLINARY ACTION" if they talk to the media. "There is to be NO communication with ANY members of the media."
Woman loses job, burns down house for money - (blogs.tampabay.com)
Citigroup's CDO Shows Enron Accounting - (www.bloomberg.com)
Florida Pension Fund Is Suing AIG - (www.nytimes.com)
Moody's Plunges for Second Day After Cover-Up Probe - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housing: Why was Kudlow so wrong? - (www.ml-implode.com) – Why is anyone surprised that Kudlow and Cramer have been wrong?


Other Stories:

As Credit Tightens, the Auto Industry Feels the Pain - (www.nytimes.com) - Squeezed by the credit crunch and the softening economy, the American auto industry faces what may be its worst year in more than a decade.
Abandoned Houses Are Keeping Contractors Busy - (www.nytimes.com) - It can take months, even years, for some homes to wind through the foreclosure process, and decay sets in.

UBS Falls After Saying More Mortgage Losses Possible - (www.ml-implode.com)
Senior Bear Departures: Signs of Valuation Headaches for JP Morgan? - (www.ml-implode.com)

Prices soar for Memorial Day fixins' for barbecues - (www.usatoday.com)
British house prices continue fall - (www.marketwatch.com)
Japanese real estate firms seek big rent increases in central Tokyo - (www.iht.com)

Housing's False Bottom - (Charles Hugh Smith at www.oftwominds.com)
Loan failures rise for 37th straight month, extending record - (www.signonsandiego.com)
FDIC's Bair: Foreclosure Aid Is 'Train Wreck' - (blogs.wsj.com)
How Is the Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents? - (www.freakonomicsbook.com)

Canadian Housing Market Also Subject To Housing “Physics” And Is Going Down - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Alas, what goes up, must come down- even in Canada. After months of the MSM reporting that the Canadian housing market would n...
Bribery, Kickbacks, Indictments, Ratergate - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Fraud, greed, and market tops go hand in hand like clockwork. We saw that in housing, we are seeing it other places as well suc...
David Einhorn’s ‘Must-Read’ Speech Exposing Lehman’s Lies - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``After an in-depth and informative intro, [Einhorn] dives right into Lehman with research that is quite damning.'' Here is a n...
Historical Housing Graphs: Months of Supply, Sales and Inventory - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fraud Probe At Moody's - (www.ml-implode.com)
Merrill Suspends Trader, Finds Overvalued Derivatives - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ranieri Pursuing $1 Billion Distressed Mortgage Fund - (www.ml-implode.com)
As I see it, 32 commercial banks and thrifts may see the feces hit the fan blades - (www.ml-implode.com)
Comptroller Dugan on "Unprecedented Home Equity Loan Losses" - (www.ml-implode.com)
Existing Home Sales Match All-Time Low in April; Inventory Swells - (www.ml-implode.com)
Builders STILL Tout No-Money Down, Adjustable Mortgages - (money.cnn.com)
Fannie Still Runs Amok: Didn't We Learn Anything? - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Freddie Mac Suffers Bout of "Temporary" Insanity - (www.bloomberg.com)
US House Prices Tumble 3.1% in First Quarter - (www.bloomberg.com)
Gov't house price index posts largest drop in 17-year history - (www.breitbart.com)
Trouble ahead for global house prices - (www.economist.com)
More Questions Are Raised About Moody's Ratings - (www.nytimes.com)
Pimco's Gross Says U.S. Underestimating Inflation - (www.bloomberg.com)

An inquiry into interbank loan rate - (www.iht.com)
Bad Oil Bets Haunt Speculators - (online.wsj.com)
Prices of Credit Derivatives Take a Drift - (online.wsj.com)
Foreclosure forecast grim - (www.signonsandiego.com)
If $4 Gas Is Bad, Just Wait - (online.wsj.com)

Retailers face uncertain second half of 2008 - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Builders Tout Incentives In Bid to Sell Homes - (online.wsj.com)
Moody's Cuts AIG's Senior Unsecured Credit Rating After Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hybrid sales are zooming - (www.latimes.com)
McDonald's dollar menu to stay, executives say - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Housing slump, fuel prices squeeze moving firms - (www.latimes.com)

New Find Fuels Speculation Brazil Will Be a Power in Oil - (online.wsj.com)
U.K. Economy Grows the Least Since 2005 on Investment - (www.bloomberg.com)
European Services, Manufacturing Growth Slowed in May - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mexico prospering despite U.S. slowdown - (www.latimes.com)
Gauging the Big Bets of a Hot Hand - (www.nytimes.com)
FBI: Mortgage fraud cases on upswing - (www.chicagotribune.com)

Monday May 26 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

A Congressional Speculator? - (calculatedrisk.blogspot.com) - This is an update to post below on Rep. Linda Richardson's foreclosure woes. Gene Maddaus of the Daily Breeze kindly forwarded today's additions to the saga. There are not two, but three homes owned by Richardson in foreclosure. And yes, she appears to have cashed out her primary residence back in 2006 to fund her campaign for State Assembly. So it looks like a pattern."
City of Vallejo, California files for bankruptcy - (www.reuters.com) - The city of Vallejo, California, filed for bankruptcy on Friday, a move signaled by its city council earlier this month as it struggles to avoid running out of money amid steep city personnel costs and sliding revenues from a housing slump. Vallejo, with more than 100,000 residents, is the first sizable city in California to file for bankruptcy.
Report says Moody's, others shifted analysts at banks' request - (www.financialweek.com) – Yes, the same companies that rated mortgage securities as AAA and rated Enron highly before they went into bankruptcy are showing their conflicts of interest.
Limits Weighed for Commodities Investors - (www.nytimes.com) Patients are now running the asylum. Instead of addressing root case, moron Joseph Lieberman, chairman of a Senate oversight committee, said Tuesday that he was considering legislation limiting large institutional investors in commodities markets. The legislation would be aimed at speculators and other investors who use commodities like oil as a way to hedge against swings in other investment instruments, like stocks and the American dollar.
Toughest Summer Job Is Finding One - (www.nytimes.com) - As the forces of economic downturn ripple widely across the United States, the job market of 2008 is shaping up as the weakest in more than half a century for teenagers looking for summer work, according to labor economists, government data and companies that hire young people.
Home price index posts largest drop in history - (www.ap.com) - A home-price index considered to be the most comprehensive reading of the U.S. market posted the sharpest decline (3.1% in 1Q2008) in its 17-year history, & analysts say housing has yet to bottom out.
Mesa Air may file for bankruptcy - (www.arizonarepublic.com)
Fingerprint Registry in Housing Bill!!! – (www.openmarket.org) – You wonder why Congress’ approval ratings are lower than Bush, because they are standing around giving away all our rights. Earlier this week, a measure creating a federal fingerprint registry totally unrelated to national security passed a U.S. Senate committee almost without notice. The legislation would require thousands of individuals working even tangentially in the mortgage and real estate industries — and not suspected of anything — to send their prints to the feds. The database and fingerprint mandates were tucked into housing and foreclosure assistance bills that on Tuesday passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 19-2
New Vanguard CEO declares Media Blackout - (www.ml-implode.com) - New CEO Joe Nocito Jr. warns his "employees" of "DISCIPLINARY ACTION" if they talk to the media. "There is to be NO communication with ANY members of the media."
Woman loses job, burns down house for money - (blogs.tampabay.com)
Citigroup's CDO Shows Enron Accounting - (www.bloomberg.com)
Florida Pension Fund Is Suing AIG - (www.nytimes.com)
Moody's Plunges for Second Day After Cover-Up Probe - (www.bloomberg.com)



Other Stories:

Housing's False Bottom - (Charles Hugh Smith at www.oftwominds.com)
Loan failures rise for 37th straight month, extending record - (www.signonsandiego.com)
FDIC's Bair: Foreclosure Aid Is 'Train Wreck' - (blogs.wsj.com)
How Is the Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents? - (www.freakonomicsbook.com)

Canadian Housing Market Also Subject To Housing “Physics” And Is Going Down - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Alas, what goes up, must come down- even in Canada. After months of the MSM reporting that the Canadian housing market would n...
Bribery, Kickbacks, Indictments, Ratergate - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Fraud, greed, and market tops go hand in hand like clockwork. We saw that in housing, we are seeing it other places as well suc...
David Einhorn’s ‘Must-Read’ Speech Exposing Lehman’s Lies - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``After an in-depth and informative intro, [Einhorn] dives right into Lehman with research that is quite damning.'' Here is a n...
Historical Housing Graphs: Months of Supply, Sales and Inventory - (www.ml-implode.com)
Fraud Probe At Moody's - (www.ml-implode.com)
Merrill Suspends Trader, Finds Overvalued Derivatives - (www.ml-implode.com)
Ranieri Pursuing $1 Billion Distressed Mortgage Fund - (www.ml-implode.com)
As I see it, 32 commercial banks and thrifts may see the feces hit the fan blades - (www.ml-implode.com)
Comptroller Dugan on "Unprecedented Home Equity Loan Losses" - (www.ml-implode.com)
Existing Home Sales Match All-Time Low in April; Inventory Swells - (www.ml-implode.com)
Builders STILL Tout No-Money Down, Adjustable Mortgages - (money.cnn.com)
Fannie Still Runs Amok: Didn't We Learn Anything? - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Freddie Mac Suffers Bout of "Temporary" Insanity - (www.bloomberg.com)
US House Prices Tumble 3.1% in First Quarter - (www.bloomberg.com)
Gov't house price index posts largest drop in 17-year history - (www.breitbart.com)
Trouble ahead for global house prices - (www.economist.com)
More Questions Are Raised About Moody's Ratings - (www.nytimes.com)
Pimco's Gross Says U.S. Underestimating Inflation - (www.bloomberg.com)

An inquiry into interbank loan rate - (www.iht.com)
Bad Oil Bets Haunt Speculators - (online.wsj.com)
Prices of Credit Derivatives Take a Drift - (online.wsj.com)
Foreclosure forecast grim - (www.signonsandiego.com)
If $4 Gas Is Bad, Just Wait - (online.wsj.com)

Retailers face uncertain second half of 2008 - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Builders Tout Incentives In Bid to Sell Homes - (online.wsj.com)
Moody's Cuts AIG's Senior Unsecured Credit Rating After Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hybrid sales are zooming - (www.latimes.com)
McDonald's dollar menu to stay, executives say - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Housing slump, fuel prices squeeze moving firms - (www.latimes.com)

New Find Fuels Speculation Brazil Will Be a Power in Oil - (online.wsj.com)
U.K. Economy Grows the Least Since 2005 on Investment - (www.bloomberg.com)
European Services, Manufacturing Growth Slowed in May - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mexico prospering despite U.S. slowdown - (www.latimes.com)
Gauging the Big Bets of a Hot Hand - (www.nytimes.com)
FBI: Mortgage fraud cases on upswing - (www.chicagotribune.com)

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)