Thursday June 19 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

The Sad Tale of Chrysler's Impending Failure - (www.bloomberg.com) - With the company using this much cash and with high gasoline prices, Chrysler has months, not years, to establish alliances to get products it doesn't have,'' says John Casesa, managing partner of Casesa Shapiro Group, a New York-based consulting firm. ``The timeline has been shortened dramatically,'' says Casesa, who predicts Chrysler is unlikely to survive as a free-standing car company.
Morgan Stanley Warns of "Catastrophic Event" as ECB Fights Federal Reserve - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Wooden Nickels and Steel Pennies - (www.mises.org) "Don't take any wooden nickels" was an admonition to be careful in your dealings because someone might try to pay you with worthless money. Wooden coins were actually used in trade in America in certain limited circumstances on a local level. A contemporary equivalent could be "don't take any steel pennies." The United States House Of Representatives has already passed a bill, HR 5512, authorizing the Treasury Department to substitute steel for the nickel and copper now used in American pennies and nickels. This is not the first time in history that the currency of a country has been debased. In centuries past, kings would debase gold and silver coins by reducing metal content, making smaller coins and actually replacing the original metals with cheaper alloys, while holding the legal-tender value the same. This gave rise to Gresham's Law, a principle in economics that bad money drives out good money. Consumers will use the devalued currency in transactions and take the more valuable money out of circulation. Since the establishment of the Federal Reserve, American coins have been debased numerous times, replacing more valuable metals with less valuable ones. The dollar, which was backed by gold decades ago, is now backed by nothing but legal-tender laws.
** Bloomberg: Fed's Bear Stearns Books Look Prime for Cooking ** - (www.bloomberg.com) The Federal Reserve is just days away from completing the financing for its bailout of Bear Stearns Cos., after which the central bank will have another big decision to make: how to account for it. Flip through the footnotes to the Fed's latest annual report, and you'll come across an open secret. The Fed doesn't follow normal accounting rules, as promulgated by any of the major standard-setting boards. Rather, the Fed writes its own, in a document called the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal Reserve Banks. If you ever wanted to design an accounting regime to help a bank cook its books, the Fed's would be perfect. This doesn't exactly inspire faith in the U.S. financial system, at a time when a good example might help a lot.
WaMu To Announce More Layoffs Thursday - (www.ml-implode.com) - Washington Mutual, battered by the nationwide housing downturn, is poised to announce another round of layoffs Thursday that wil...
MBIA Refuses to Downstream Cash, Uses CDS Fears to Defy Regulators - (www.ml-implode.com)
U.S. Senate to probe Countrywide loans - (www.ml-implode.com)
Wachovia to Borrower- “Are You Sure You Understand the Pay Option ARM?” - (www.ml-implode.com) Once the borrower gets a hard-recast letter saying “you have reached your maximum allowable negative amortization for this loan program, so now you must either a) refinance b) pay a minimum of interest only payments so as not to accrue any more negative amortization (this could double the payment)”, borrowers will default. First, you can’t refi in most cases. Second, why in the world would you want to pay twice the monthly payment for a home that has dropped 30% in value and where you have accrued 15 to 25% negative amortization depending on the lender? By the time they get this letter, a borrower could be upside down 50%!
Some buy new house to bail on the old - (www.pressdemocrat.com)
Housing woes hit community banks - (www.latimes.com)
Banker's lament: 'Nobody foresaw what would happen' - (latimesblogs.latimes.com) – Yes, and these are the morons that are paying each other so much money because they say they are so smart.


Other Stories:

Cerberus Rues Chrysler Drain as Nardelli Fails to Arrest Losses - (www.ml-implode.com) The worst U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s was spilling into car buying. Chrysler, which had survived past struggles thanks to a 1980 federal loan guarantee and Daimler-Benz AG's $36 billion purchase in 1998, needed to face reality and forget about making more cars.
Are You Covered if Your Broker Fails? - (www.investorbrain.com)
Recession fears after housing bubble burst - (msnbc.msn.com)
Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? - (cnn.com)
What real estate experts aren't telling you - (www.businessreport.com)

Bush, McCain Push to End Offshore Drilling Ban - (www.bloomberg.com)
Obama's Veep - A Republican? - (www.salon.com)
So Cal median below $500,000, 1st time since '04 - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
So. California house prices, sales plunged in May - (www.apnews.com)
How bad are Things Currently for California Housing? - (www.mybudget360.com)
Ross Perot is Back! With a New Website: Perot Charts - (www.perotcharts.com)
Detroit's Sinking Sales Take a Toll on Dealerships - (www.nytimes.com)
As Costs Rise, Vietnam Becomes the New China - (www.nytimes.com)
Discussion of The Bubble - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Gas prices latest worry for CA real estate market - (www.latimes.com)
Housing, Prices Signal "Some" Stagflation - (www.bloomberg.com)
Central Banks Clash Over Monetary Policy - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)

Thinking About Installments - (www.baltimorechronicle.com)
When Should You Buy And When Is It Better to Rent? - (www.erica.biz)
Seven Indicted In Atlanta Mortgage Fraud Scam - (www.ml-implode.com) - Atlanta federal prosecutors have indicted seven metro Atlanta residents in alleged straw-buyer mortgage fraud scam, centered aro...
Homeowners Offered New Way to Tap House's Equity - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Mortgage rates remain near historic lows. So homeowners entering these deals might be establishing a low baseline for their hom...
Newest Addition to the Ailing/Watch List: American Sterling Bank - Wholesale - (www.ml-implode.com) - See our full report by following the link below.
Fuel Prices Driving Force Behind Foreclosures Down Under - (www.ml-implode.com) - Higher petrol prices could be the straw that breaks the backs of people struggling with their mortgages. Data released yesterd...
SEC Probes Sickly Thornburg - (www.ml-implode.com) - On Wednesday, Thornburg Mortgage revealed the Securities and Exchange Commission had subpoenaed documents on April 24 and May 23 involving the lender's restatement of its 2007 financial results and margin calls it has received; Thornburg said it is cooperating with the agency's probe
LONGEST FORECLOSURE CASE IN HISTORY GOES TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - (www.ml-implode.com)
Real Estate Slowdown - (www.ml-implode.com)
Mortgage Applications Drop as Rates Rise, Refis Dry Up - (www.ml-implode.com)
Pink Sheeted - (www.ml-implode.com)
What’s Old is New Again: HOPE NOW Touts Loss Mit Guidelines - (www.ml-implode.com)

U.S. Stocks Fall on FedEx's Loss, Fifth Third's Dividend Cut - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar May Fall for Fourth Day Before Report on Manufacturing - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bernanke May Regret Interest-Rate Cuts, Lawson Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Floods Add Pressure on Gas Prices - (online.wsj.com)
Gym payments too big a stretch - (www.latimes.com)

MBIA Debt Is Setting Up a Quandary - (www.nytimes.com)
Guarantee Gamble: Developers Dread Return of Recourse - (online.wsj.com)
How rising home values, easy credit put your finances at risk - (www.usatoday.com)
Morgan Stanley Suspends Credit Trader on Valuations - (www.bloomberg.com)
Home prices continue downward spiral - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Morgan Stanley Profit Drops 57% on Debt Losses - (www.bloomberg.com)
FedEx Reports Loss on Fuel Costs, Kinko's Writedown - (www.bloomberg.com)
Lenders, trade groups complain that housing bill is too restrictive - (www.latimes.com)
Airlines face billions in losses, Senate panel told - (www.latimes.com)
Can Hershey Survive Candy Wars? - (online.wsj.com)
Fifth Third to Raise $2 Billion on Share, Asset Sales - (www.bloomberg.com)
Kellogg shrinks cereal boxes, not prices - (www.latimes.com)
Low sales force Ford to idle SUV plant for 9 weeks - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Wal-Mart trims spending on new stores - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Northwest Airlines announces larger capacity cuts - (www.chicagotribune.com)
OfficeMax eliminating 2,700 store positions - (www.chicagotribune.com)

As Chinese costs soar, manufacturers expand elsewhere in Asia - (www.iht.com)
Investors Seek Asian Options to Costly China - (www.nytimes.com)
BOJ Is Watching Growth, Inflation Risks, Minutes Show - (www.bloomberg.com)
Rising costs set manufacturers price dilemma - (www.ft.com)
Hot Money into China Hits New Record - (www.businessweek.com)
Globalized Inflation - (online.wsj.com)

Monday June 16 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

The Specter of Default Haunts Argentina (Again) - (www.ft.com) - Argentina's debt levels are now higher than they were when it crashed into the biggest sovereign debt default in history in 2001, and a worsening crisis of confidence in the government has brought the spectre of a new default closer, a report to be published next week says
Fed talks tough -- and hopes that's all it has to do - (www.latimes.com)
WaMu's Atrocious Mortgage Servicing - (www.portfolio.com) - "You know that if you're running into problems with your mortgage you should contact your servicer, right? Well, best hope your servicer isn't WaMu.” WaMu stock has gone from about $40 to $6.50 in the past 2 years.
Foreclosures Rise 48% in May - (www.bloomberg.com) - Banks repossessed twice as many homes in May and foreclosure filings rose 48 percent from a year ago as falling house prices trapped borrowers in mortgages they couldn't afford, RealtyTrac Inc. said in a report today. One in every 483 U.S. households either lost the home to foreclosure, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction, RealtyTrac said. That was the highest rate since the Irvine, California-based company began reporting in January 2005 and the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Nevada, California and Arizona posted the highest rates in the U.S. and New Jersey entered the top 10. ``It's definitely a different kind of market than what we got used to a couple years ago,'' said Devin Reiss, owner of Realty 500 Reiss Corp. in Las Vegas. ``We used to sell homes in a day. Now 50 percent of our sales are foreclosures.''
Oh No! Here come the politicians, meddling in markets they don't understand: - (www.nytimes.com) – More on Lieberman and Carl Levin not addressing the cause of the rise in commodity markets, just trying to blame others and regulate. Just this week, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the Connecticut independent, said he was working on a proposal to ban large institutional investors from the commodity markets entirely. In Washington, financial speculators have fat targets on their backs. They are being blamed for high gas prices, soaring grocery bills and volatile commodity markets, and lawmakers are lashing out at market regulators for not cracking down on them more vigorously.
The Lieberman plan: "Let them eat dollars." - (www.ml-implode.com)
Dodd and Conrad In Elite "Friends of Mozilo" Club, Too - (www.ml-implode.com) - Those VIPs who received loans through the program that waived points, lender fees and company borrowing rules included Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke, according to Conde Nast Portfolio magazine. Senator Dodd reportedly received two loans in 2003 through the program, borrowing $506,000 and $275,042 to refinance homes in Washington and East Haddam, Connecticut. Countrywide waived $2,000 on the first loan and $700 on the second, according to Portfolio. Since 1997, Countrywide has contributed $21,000 to Dodd's campaigns. During his presidential campaign last year, Dodd introduced legislation to ban practices reportedly used by loan officers at Countrywide _ charging prepayment penalties and steering buyers to costly loans. The picture of where Countrywide's privileged public status comes from is getting clearer:
When Conrad refinanced an eight-unit apartment building in Bismarck, North Dakota, which violated the company's policy of not providing loans for larger buildings, Mozilo told a staffer in an email to "make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator," according to Portfolio.
They all claim to be unknowing, of course. Not so sure I believe that.
NAR: 4% Quarterly Gain is (Oops) Actually a 30% Loss - (www.ml-implode.com) - TBP has long complained about the spinmeisters at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for their pollyannish views and their continual bottom calling.
It turns out that the spin from the NAR isn't the only thing that is suspect. It seems their data collection and basic math skills are questionable, also.
Hong Kong Shares Slide - End Week Down 7.4% - (uk.reuters.com) - The benchmark index lost 7.4 percent in the shortened trading week, mainly in reaction to harsher-than-expected credit tightening measures by Beijing, which raised the amount that lenders must hold in reserve by a full percentage point.


Other Stories:

Austin Housing Market: So This Is Better? - (www. housingdoom.com) - There was a funny article in yesterday’s Austin Statesman trying to put a positive spin about local foreclosures: [Although I don’t think it was meant to be funny]. Foreclosures in the four-county Austin metro area are up 42 percent from a year ago, according to the latest figures from Foreclosure Listing Service, an Addison company that tracks foreclosures. Postings for the July 1 auction show a 39 percent jump in Travis County, 48 percent in Williamson, 27 percent in Hays and 61 percent in Bastrop. OK, that part wasn’t so funny. Here’s where I started laughing: Central Texas is in better shape than many other areas of the country, where foreclosures have been sharply rising for months and real estate sales are in a deep slump. But George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service, said local postings "are at the high end of the foreclosure cycle." The Austin area has less exposure to subprime mortgages, which are behind high foreclosure rates in other cities. Another factor is adjustable-rate loans that are resetting to higher rates, resulting in bigger mortgage payments that homeowners can’t handle. We were just told sales were down 47%, then told that Austin doesn’t have sharply rising foreclosures like other areas? The article doesn’t report the sales numbers that show Austin is not in a "deep slump", but here are May’s figures courtesy the Austin Real Estate Scene: The Month in Review for May 2008 (compared to May 2007): - New listings were up 26%. Pendings were down 67%. Solds Units decreased by 28%. Maybe down 28% is just "slump" instead of "deep slump".
Maestro of Major Scam on the Lam? - (www.ml-implode.com) - The former Plymouth resident and his companies remain the subject of a federal investigation, according to Evans and several buyers. If allegations prove true, it would be the largest mortgage fraud scheme to surface in Minnesota. So, where is Michael Prieskorn?
Stage Two of the Mortgage Collapse - (www.ml-implode.com) - The next stage of the mortgage debacle is only starting to rear its ugly head and all early signs tell us that this is going to be even worse than the subprime mortgage collapse. We need to remember that the subprime mortgage debacle was only one facet of a global debt boom that has taken a stranglehold over the industrialized world. The United Kingdom is now starting to realize that even they are going to face a housing meltdown. Yet there is still a perception out there from pundits and those in the media that this housing meltdown was caused purely by subprime loans, which could not be anything further from the truth.
Short-Sellers, The Ackman Approach - (www.ml-implode.com) - Over at TBP, a video of "The Ackman Approach" to shortselling. Essentially, shortsellers serve an incredibly useful purpose by ...
Condo-mania In Downtown Austin - (www.ml-implode.com)
In came the waves: "Where home prices could fall another 50%" - (www.ml-implode.com)
Pay Option ARMs Imploding…Right on Schedule - (www.ml-implode.com)
Wachovia Hits 16-Yr Low - (www.ml-implode.com) - Wachovia Corp shares fell as much as 10.2 percent to their lowest level since 1992
How to forecast house price direction - (www.fidelitypacificrealestate.com)
Debt Slavery Emancipation - (jonnyob.blogspot.com)
Stagflation is back, but grimmer - (www.marketwatch.com)
Fannie, Freddie STILL putting taxpayers on hood for no-cash mortgages - (www.nashuatelegraph.com)
FHA In Jeopardy? - (www.nuwireinvestor.com)
Update: Downey's Non-Performing Assets Top 14% - (www.ml-implode.com)
30-year mortgage rates at eight-month high - (www.ml-implode.com)
Countrywide eliminating Non-Conforming Fast & Easy stated-income loans today - (www.ml-implode.com)

FHA Faces $4.6 Billion in Losses - (www.nytimes.com)
How HUD Mortgage Policy Fed The Crisis - (www.washingtonpost.com)
CPI Up Big Due to Surging Food, Energy - (www.nytimes.com)Bad Tomato Outbreak Hits More States - (www.marketwatch.com)The Great Seduction - (www.nytimes.com)
Global Junk Bond Default Rate Doubled in Five Months - (www.researchrecap.com)
US house prices may dip 30 pct, junk bonds weaken - (www.reuters.com)
Better off renting in Silicon Valley - (www.techcrunch.com)
Anatomy of a Bank Failure (corrected link) - (www.charleston.net)
Pending Houses Sales are Misleading Tease - (Mike Morgan at www.realestateandhousing2.blogspot.com)

G8 frets over commodity shock - (www.reuters.com)
Greenspan sees Fed getting tough on inflation - (www.reuters.com)
Surging Oil and Food Prices Threaten the World Economy, Finance Ministers Warn - (www.nytimes.com)
Two Bubbles, Two Paths - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Drops to 56.7 - (www.bloomberg.com)
US foreclosure filings surge 48 percent in May - (www.ap.com)
U.S. Consumer Prices Rise 0.6% as Fuel Costs Soared - (www.bloomberg.com)
Workers are sleepwalking towards an impoverished old age - (www.cfo.com)
Energy prices not helping farming losses from wind, drought - (www.lubbockonline.com)
AZ foreclosure filings surge 48 percent in May - (www.azcentral.com)

Viewed with suspicion, short sellers play important role - (www.ft.com)
Midwest Floods Push Grain Prices Higher, Weigh on Ethanol - (online.wsj.com)
Goldman, Banks to Sell `Big Brother' Loans at a 27.5% Discount - (www.bloomberg.com)
S&P, Following Moody's, Finds Errors in CPDO Ratings Models - (www.bloomberg.com)
S&P says it's uncovered a glitch in its CPDO ratings, too - (www.financialweek.com)
A Bull Market Sees the Worst in Speculators - (www.nytimes.com)
As Banks Shun Loans, Hedge Funds Move In - (www.nytimes.com)
SEC, Justice probing whether AIG plumped up value of swaps: Report - (www.financialweek.com)
Mortgage rates up on inflation fears - (www.newsday.com)

Countrywide's 'VIP' loans to Washington insiders raise questions - (www.latimes.com)
Stung by Soaring Transport Costs, Factories Bring Jobs Home Again - (online.wsj.com)
More airlines impose fee on first checked bag - (www.latimes.com)
Exxon getting out of retail gas business - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Rising oil prices squeeze homebuilding sector - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Time Warner reportedly pulls bid for Weather Channel - (www.ajc.com)
High fuel prices, sluggish economy ease trucker shortage - (www.chicagotribune.com)

Plan Would Lift Saudi Oil Output to Highest Ever - (www.nytimes.com)
Eurozone inflation fears mount - (www.ft.com)
China clearly overtakes U.S. as leading emitter of climate-warming gases - (www.iht.com)
European Banks May Need $110 Billion in Capital, Says Merrill - (www.bloomberg.com)
India's inflation jumps to 7-year high - (www.ap.com)
UK retail market 'worst since early 1990s' - (www.ft.com)
China `Not Smart' to Invest in U.S. Bonds, Cheng Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Finnish inflation hits 8-year high - (www.ap.com)

Approve This Deal, or Else - (www.nytimes.com)
The Bubble - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Good Times Left Lehman Unprepared for the Bad - (www.nytimes.com)
The new stagflation: an Asian export - (www.ft.com)
The Perils of Staying Too Close to Home - (www.nytimes.com)
Western banks fall into the addiction trap, Japanese-style - (www.ft.com)

Wednesday May 7 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Vallejo, California City Officials Vote to File for Bankruptcy - (www.bloomberg.com) - Vallejo, California's city council voted to go into bankruptcy, saying the city doesn't have enough money to pay its bills afte...
White House threatens veto of FHA-rescue bill - (www.ml-implode.com)- The House on Wednesday will begin debate on a housing package that would let the government back loans for homeowners at risk ...
Is Pessimism Extreme Enough to Mark Housing Bottom? No. - (Charles Hugh Smith at www.oftwominds.com)
If you bought in 2006 its 50/50 you’re underwater - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Zillow posted some interesting analysis today in which they claim that 50% of all home buyers who purchased a home in 2006 are ...
WaMu's Suspect Mortgage Pool - (www.ml-implode.com)
LOOK OUT!! Home Equity Line Suspensions Go Countrywide…City by City! - (www.ml-implode.com)
The worst is not over - (www.bloomberg.com)
Historic credit crunch still worsening despite Fed's inflation orgy - (www.marketwatch.com)
Why Did the Mortgage Market Go Out of Control? - (www.seekingalpha.com)
FBI Mortgage Fraud Investigation "Overlooks" Fannie Mae and Federal Reserve - (www.nytimes.com)
BofA may lower Countrywide bid to $2/share or below - (www.marketwatch.com)
BofA may renegotiate deal to buy Countrywide - (news.yahoo.com)


Other Stories:

Pending Home Sales Index Declines - (www.ml-implode.com)- "The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, edged down 1.0 percent to 83.0 fr...
Kevin Phillips on the U.S. shark tank and other ills - (www.ml-implode.com) - Kevin Phillips, author of "Bad Money - Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism" was inte...
Tax Policy and the House Price Bubble - (www.ml-implode.com)
Draining national prosperity - (www.ml-implode.com)
New Price Drop Could Imperil Mortgage Agencies - (www.ml-implode.com)
Countrywide Establishing Bankruptcy Ombudsman's Office - (www.ml-implode.com)

Rents Falling Along With House Prices - (www.cbs4.com)
Rent-free defaulted houseowners keep economy going - (www.californiahousingforecast.com)
East Palo Alto House Price Rolled Back to 1999 - (sanmateore.dreamhosters.com)
Simple Economics - (www.patrick.net)
Emblem of OC's house market now a short sale - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
Warren Buffett at annual Berkshire meeting: Think small - (money.cnn.com)
Buffett Castigates Wall Street on Mortgage Disaster - (www.bloomberg.com)
In Need of Serious Repair: U.S. Mortgage Finance - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Bank of America should completely walk away from Countrywide - (www.bloomberg.com)
Housebuyers seek less space, more features - (www.tradingmarkets.com)

Oil Rises to a Record $122.73 on Nigeria Attack, Demand Growth - (www.bloomberg.com)
Gold Rises as Dollar Declines, Oil Tops $122; Silver Gains - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ten-Year Treasury Notes Fall Before Government Auction Tomorrow - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Stocks Rise as Energy Producers, Financial Companies Gain - (www.bloomberg.com)

Bernanke pushes government help to curb foreclosures - (www.latimes.com)
Many wireless resellers going under - (www.usatoday.com)

Goldman's Murti Says Oil `Likely' to Reach $150-$200 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge-Fund Portfolios Stockpile Cash - (online.wsj.com)
How low will real estate go? - (www.latimes.com)
Fannie Mae to Raise $6 Billion After Posting Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Cisco Profit Falls 5.4%; Forecast Meets Estimates - (www.bloomberg.com)
Doubts Raised on Big Backers of Mortgages - (www.nytimes.com)
Home lender ResCap facing cash crunch - (www.latimes.com)
GE to stop financing boat, motor home purchases - (www.latimes.com)
UBS Set to Cut 5,500 Jobs After First-Quarter Loss - (www.bloomberg.com)
Sprint Mulls Shedding Nextel Unit - (online.wsj.com)
Acquisition of Lender Is Possibly in Jeopardy - (www.nytimes.com)
D.R. Horton swings to $1.3 billion loss - Market Watch from Dow Jones
Wal-Mart expands low-price drug program; Target follows - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Merck to cut 1,200 sales jobs following regulatory setback - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Economic Troubles Affect the Vegas Strip - (www.nytimes.com)
Tropicana casino group files for bankruptcy - (afp.google.com)
Sears, Like Consumers, Cuts Back - (online.wsj.com)
Swiss Re First-Quarter Profit Falls on Writedown - (www.bloomberg.com)
Tight Credit Worries for a Hotel and Mall Operator - (www.nytimes.com)

Rising Food Prices Hurting 1 Billion Asians, ADB's Kuroda Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brazil seeing sweet profit from sugar cane-based ethanol - (www.dallasnews.com)
Indonesia Raises Key Rate; Says May `Adjust' Further - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.K. Services Expand at Slowest Pace in Five Years - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brics offer investors a varied harvest - (www.ft.com)
Warning on current account deficit - (www.ft.com)
Subprime disease breeding ground: pools - (www.marketwatch.com)