Monday May 12 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Empty Homes Spur Cities' Suits - (www.ml-implode.com) - Cleveland; Baltimore; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Minneapolis, Minn., have all filed lawsuits against lenders or developers based on the devastating effects foreclosures have wreaked on their communities. The lawsuits were filed in recent months under different theories, in state and federal court.
Socialization of the G7 Banking System - (www.ml-implode.com) – Never let the idiots that got you into the problem in the first place put together a plan to get you out. If you think the prices of wheat and rice were overdone you haven’t seen anything yet. Whenever public servants dream up some scheme to protect you the result is predictable: the problem is never solved and the cost is always multiples of what was projected. Vast new industries which are not economically justified become PERMANENT beneficiaries of government and taxpayer subsidies. There are permanent distortions of supply and demand, and that is where we are at in the US and EU.
House Passes $15B Bill To Prevent Affordable Prices - (www.cbsnews.com) – A little bill to bailout our neighbors that bought more house than they could afford, many of who lied about their income, in the hopes of flipping for profit. Also some nuggets to give buyers a one-time credit to help bailout homebuilders.
Bush says he'll veto foreclosure BAILOUT legislation - (www.latimes.com)
A Little Pity, Please, for Lenders - (www.nytimes.com)
AIG Private Equity, Hedge Fund Returns Plunge 84% - (www.bloomberg.com)
Losing a Home, Then Losing All Out of Storage - (www.nytimes.com)
Citigroup Announces Plan To Shed $400 Billion in Assets - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Seeking Foreclosure Riches: What Does it All Mean? - (www.ml-implode.com) - "One of the ingredients for "bubbles" is the quest for the home run. Investors look to how much they wish to gain rather than to...
No account, no mortgage, says Halifax - (www.ml-implode.com)
New Fannie Ponzi programs - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

HSBC to Make $4.6 Billion Provision - (www.ml-implode.com) - "- HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, tomorrow will announce a provision of $4.6 billion linked to losses against mortgag...
Fannie’s New Plan Helps Keep Borrowers Underwater - (www.ml-implode.com)
Morgan Asset's Kelsoe Set to Lose Seven Funds After Vote - (www.ml-implode.com)

What you should know about the Fed - (www.rfdoc.com)
Global inflation cannot be ignored - (www.reportonbusiness.com)
Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit - (www.nytimes.com)
Housing Bailout Bill Seems to Be on Shaky Ground - (www.nytimes.com)

Housing Bust and Self Storage Units - (www.ml-implode.com) - "David Streitfeld writes in the NY Times about the impact of the housing bust on self storage: Losing a Home, Then Losing All Ou...
Housing Bailout Plan In Jeopardy - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Even as the housing foreclosure crisis deepens, legislation to rescue homeowners and their lenders appears to be in significant...
Stocks headed for troubled waters from oil, consumption woes - (www.marketwatch.com)
Market for offloading bad debt balloons as banks free up capital - (www.iht.com)
Mortgage credit losses could total $500 bln: Goldman - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Gas jumps above $3.67, oil passes $126 on Venezuela concerns - (www.ap.com)
Growing Deficits Threaten Pensions - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Chilean Drought, Power Shortages Drive Up World Metal Prices - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Fear of civil war as Lebanon clashes escalate - (www.ft.com)
Surging food prices bite across Asia - (www.forbes.com)
Eurozone loan demand plunges - (www.ft.com)
As Gazprom Goes, So Goes Russia - (www.nytimes.com)
A look at responses to food crisis - (www.ap.com)
Chastened banks tighten up on lending: ECB - (news.yahoo.com)
How Many ARM's Set To Reset in 2008? - (www.urbandigs.com)
Colossal Castle or Humble House? Your Choice - (www.divinecaroline.com)
The Homeless Survival Guide - (www.abovetopsecret.com)
Big Rescues Can Work. Just Ask New York. - (www.nytimes.com)
When Should the Fed Crash the Party? - (www.nytimes.com)

Dow vs House Prices - (homepage.mac.com)
10 markets set for steep losses - (money.cnn.com)
Crash Impacts Long Island - (patrick.net)
Prices fall in Australia - (bunbury.yourguide.com.au)
American housing: Map of happiness for patient buyers - (www.economist.com)
Fannie Mae - Or May Not - (www.seekingalpha.com)

Tuesday April 22 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Libor rate jumps again, still not quite honest - (www.marketwatch.com)
Minnesota's new ghost towns - (www.startribune.com)
Chic, Urban, and Deserted in Vegas - (www.lasvegassun.com)
Subprime debt selling at 10-20 cents on the dollar - (www.goldmau.com)
When a HELOC freezes over - (money.cnn.com)
Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns - (www.ml-implode.com)
$10 Billion Hedge Fund Trade Stings Rivals - (www.nytimes.com) – Yes, Hedge Funds have been playing the steep yield curve trade again and some got partially burned last week.
Amid strong farm economy, some dire signs - (www.ap.com)
Credit getting even tighter for condominium buyers - (www.chicagotribune.com)
BoE unveils 'special liquidity scheme' - (www.ft.com) – Bank of England silently nationalizing mortgage market like the US. Also taking bad debt off the hands of unwise and speculative lenders.
Bank of England Will Unveil Bond Swap to Ease Mortgage Market - (www.bloomberg.com)
$100 Billion Securities Swap at Bank of England - (www.nytimes.com)
Are 98% of the Henderson, NV area houses for sale in foreclosure? - (patrick.net)
OC's high-rent districts suffer higher apartment vacancies - (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
The Orange County you won't see on fantasy TV - (www.businessweek.com)
Analyst Whitney Thinks Wells Fargo Needs Reserves, Capital - (www.ml-implode.com) - Whitney believes that Wells Fargo is under-reserved by at least $4.5 billion as of Monday and will need to raise capital to res...
Auction-Rate Market Shrinks by 18% Amid State Probes - (www.ml-implode.com) - The U.S. auction-rate bond market is starting to disappear. At least $58.9 billion, or 18 percent of the securities outstan...


Other Stories:

Homebuilder shares fall ahead of earnings this week amid troubled housing market - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''Homebuilder shares fell Monday as several companies prepare to report quarterly results this week amid a housing market that c...
The trillion-dollar mortgage time bomb - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''Among the nightmares lurking around the corner for the already battered housing and credit markets would be a meltdown at mort...
Maladjustment - (www.ml-implode.com) - ''Don’t look now, but the next casualties of Bubble-Economics is being set up. Agriculture today is a about as distorted and mal...
An Alarming Forecast For The Housing Bust - (www.ml-implode.com)

Auction-Rate Market Shrinks by 18% as SEC, States Investigate - (www.bloomberg.com)
Euro Rises to Within Cent of Record Versus Dollar on ECB View - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Little Changed as Fed Rate Cut Expectations Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bernanke Grapples With Greenspan as Volcker Scorns Fed Bailouts - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit Woes Stifle Small-Biz Loans - (www.cfo.com)
Risks rise for Fannie, Freddie - (money.cnn.com)
Florida luxury home market shows signs of wear - (www.ml-implode.com)

Financial slump could hit new graduates - (www.ft.com)
Teens turn to thrift as jobs vanish and prices rise - (www.usatoday.com)
Door maker to shut down Tolleson plant - (www.azcentral.com)
Colorado town outsources public works - (denver.bizjournals.com)
Survey: 30 percent believe economy will shrink - (www.newsday.com)

Treasury sell-off hits housing recovery hopes - (www.ft.com)
Wheels Come Off ADS, Blackstone Deal - (www.thestreet.com).com
Debt may be a factor in suspicious house, car fires - (www.latimes.com)
Housing: Time to Halt Taxpayer Subsidies - (www.businessweek.com)
Fed hawks warn on inflation - (www.reuters.com)
Ponzi Squared - (norris.blogs.nytimes.com)
Big Pensions Slash Stock Investments - (www.cfo.com)
Venture capital investing slows in first quarter - (www.marketwatch.com)
Oil producers refuse to raise output - (news.yahoo.com/s/afp)

Lenders lock out new borrowers - (www.independent.co.uk)
Bring back the Gold Standard? - (optionarmageddon.blogspot.com)
Foreclosed listings from Hollywood to Glendale - (www.latimes.com)
Housing slide picks up speed in Chicago - (www.chicagobusiness.com)
Housing sales tumble across Canada - (www.reportonbusiness.com)
How I am Surviving the Sub-Prime Crisis - (www.hubpages.com)
A seller triumphs in a bad micro-market's micro-bloodbath - (www.sfgate.com)
Greenspan, Cheerleader for debt - (from 2004) - (www.bloomberg.com)
Gas, CPI, and Fraud - (www.youtube.com)

Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
XM, Sirius Still Have Much to Prove - (www.thestreet.com).com
Funds to invest up to $8bn in National City bank - (www.ft.com)
Dollar's plunge becoming lynchpin in 1Q earnings - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Student Lenders Pull a Failing Grade - (www.thestreet.com).com
Corroded to the core: How a staid Swiss bank let ambitions lead it into folly - (www.ft.com)
AT&T to cut about 4,600 jobs - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Is this the end for cheap airline fares? - (www.chicagotribune.com)

Hint of Division in ECB - (online.wsj.com)
World recession 'worst since 70s' - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Asia Risks `Silent Famine' as Food Soars, WFP Warns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wall St. Socialism A Brave New Federal Reserve - (www.nypost.com)
D.C. debate is whether to regulate or not - (www.ap.com)

Friday April 18 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Review of Libor brought forward as closely watched rate spikes - (www.marketwatch.com)
"Who to Blame When the Next Bubble Bursts" - from 2003! - (www.commondreams.org) – Good analysis predicting Greenspan’s next bubble in 2003.
Fed Accepts Dodgy Collateral in Race to Bottom - (www.bloomberg.com)
Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill - (www.nytimes.com) – Yes, this story has been a top story for 3 days running, but I think it is important to know how the big business lobbying powers are making a killing here.
Vacant Homes in U.K. Prove Speculator Nightmare as Losses Mount - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``The unraveling buy-to-rent investment market contributed to a 2.5 percent drop in home prices last month, the biggest since 19...
Sinking housing market maroons homeowners - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'As America's housing market has foundered, homeowners who bought into newly rising projects at just the wrong time have found t...
FHA's Risky Business - (www.forbes.com)
The worst spring in San Diego's history! - (www.californiahousingforecast.com)
Court Case Is Lost in Cauldron of Muni Market Woes: Joe Mysak - (www.bloomberg.com)
Feds to Collect DNA from Everyone They Arrest - (news.yahoo.com) – Yes, we now live in a pseudo-police state
Libor's accuracy questioned - Fraud? - (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
JPMorgan's Dimon Says Real Estate Is Getting Worse - (bloomberg.com)
Appraisers say WaMu cut corners - (businessvoip.tmcnet.com)
Copper Jumps to Record as Strike in Chile May Disrupt Output - (www.bloomberg.com) – Expect more copper theft in abandoned houses and industrial parks.
Walking Away: The Next Mortgage Crisis - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Art dealers brace for a bust - (money.cnn.com)
Merrill Reports Loss on $6.5 Billion of Writedowns - (www.bloomberg.com)
Sallie Mae Sounds the Alarm - (online.wsj.com)
NYT: "US Inflation Appears to Be Retreating" (What are they smoking?) - (www.nytimes.com)
Mobius: Credit Crisis Near End. Time to Buy! - (www.bloomberg.com)


Other Stories:

FBI home mortgage probe now targets 19 firms - (www.ml-implode.com)
Germany is in shock as subprime gets worse - (www.ml-implode.com)
Flashback to 2005: NAR States "Foreclosure Risk Minimal" - (www.erica.biz)
The Pentagon's $1 Trillion Problem (Where's the money?) - (www.portfolio.com)
Oil Futures Jump to Record $115 - (biz.yahoo.com)
As Australia Dries, A Global Shortage of Rice - (www.iht.com)
Sickened Pork Workers Have New Neurological Disorder - (www.reuters.com)
Retailers Get Stingy With Data - (www.nytimes.com)
Housing Starts Slide ot Lowest Level in 17 Years – (www.bloomberg.com)
Jim Willie: Liars, Wall Street and Your Gold - (www.financialsense.com)

CA Foreclosure news nobody reporting - (mrmortgage.typepad.com)
Rate of foreclosures expected to get worse - (www.usatoday.com)
Treasuries Fall as Traders Bet Fed to Cut Rates Just Once More - (www.bloomberg.com)
Rice Rises to Record in Chicago, Leading Wheat, Soybean Gains - (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil steadies after hitting record over $115 - (www.reuters.com)
Most U.S. Stocks Retreat on Earnings; Pfizer Shares Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed causes inflation above 6% for 6 months running - (patrick.net)
The Fed Undermines Democracy - (robertreich.blogspot.com)
The Madness of Ben Bernanke - (www.spiegel.de)
My Foreclosure - (foreclosuremine.blogspot.com)

Philadelphia Fed Index Declines More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
S.F. Federal Reserve chief sees long recovery - (www.latimes.com)
Big questions on collateral for Fed loans - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Fed favors loans over dividends - (www.boston.com)
Reports Offer Grim Picture of Economy - (www.washingtonpost.com)
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise 17,000 to 372,000 - (www.bloomberg.com)
US mortgage clock ticking, Dodd warns - (www.ft.com)
Net widening in FBI probe of mortgage fraud - (www.financialweek.com)
Now is not the best time to buy - (patrick.net)
O'ahu rents dipped 1% last year - (www.honoluluadvertiser.com)
San Diego median price keeps falling - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Pace of O.C. foreclosures triples 90's slump - (mortgage.freedomblogging.com)

Hedge Funds Cut Risk, Wait for Opportunities - (online.wsj.com)
Are Credit Derivatives Next? - (online.wsj.com)
Soros urges regulation for hedge funds - (www.forbes.com)
Top hedge fund managers raked in billions - (www.usatoday.com)

Where are Google's clicks? - (www.nypost.com)
Slower American sales hit prescription market - (www.ft.com)
GM plant partially halts production due to strike - (money.cnn.com)
Retailers angling for your tax rebate - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Two banks to cut $265m in credit for struggling Talbots - (www.boston.com)
Capital Spending SeenFalling in Chip Market - (online.wsj.com)
Low Liquidity Plagues More Firms - (online.wsj.com)
Banking Watchdog Barks at Poor Disclosure - (www.cfo.com)
Harley-Davidson cuts back - (money.cnn.com)
Eli Lilly looks to cut 500 jobs - (money.cnn.com)
Freddie Mac to announce agreement with lenders: report - (www.reuters.com)
SLM Has Loss as Student Loan Business Looks `Broken' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Freddie Mac to Unveil Lenders' Pact - (online.wsj.com)
Harley cuts guidance; to slash output - (www.reuters.com)

China Cuts Fertilizer Sales; Philippine Tender Flops - (www.bloomberg.com)
Weber Says ECB to Assess Whether Rates High Enough - (www.bloomberg.com)
BOE Received Most Bids in Three Months at Auction - (www.bloomberg.com)
As Australia dries, a global shortage of rice - (www.iht.com)
India's Inflation Near Three-Year High on Food Prices - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brazil Seeks to Curb Prices by Raising Rate More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)
Samsung Group chairman indicted on tax-evasion charge - (www.iht.com)
'10% of GDP' - (online.wsj.com)
Goldman's Glass Brims, Lehman's Cracks: Mark Gilbert - (www.bloomberg.com)

Thursday April 17 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

JPMorgan Quietly Raising $6 Billion - (www.ml-implode.com) - The hush-hush plans to raise capital at the Wall Street bank would seem to contrast sharply against remarks made by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon earlier Wednesday, who had said that the credit mess was “working itself out.” No mention was made on the earnings call about raising $6 billion, and a source that spoke with HW reacted to the news with stunned silence upon hearing of the plan.
Foreclosures' grim rise reverses fortunes in city - (www.palmbeachpost.com)
States Tackle Foreclosures In Absence of Federal Help - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Foreclosure Act Does Squat for Houseowners - (www.thestreet.com) – It shouldn’t do squat for homeowners or lenders or banks. Let’s face it, most deserve the situation they are in.
US mortgage clock ticking, Dodd warns - (www.ft.com)
Der Spiegel: The Madness of Ben Bernanke - (www.spiegel.de)
Washington Mutual swings to 1Q loss on $3.5B provision - (www.forbes.com)
Merrill Upped Ante as Bonds Fizzled - (online.wsj.com)
JPMorgan Net Drops 50% on $5.1 Billion of Writedowns, Reserves - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar Falls to Record Against Euro as EU Inflation Quickens - (www.bloomberg.com)
Businesses Get Big Tax Breaks in Housing Bill - (www.nytimes.com)
Banking Supervisors Move to Gird International System - (www.iht.com)
March's housing stats grim; no sign of foreclosure peak - (www.modbee.com)
Houseowners get that drowning feeling - (www.sfgate.com)
SoCal house prices fall to 2004 levels - (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Housing crisis yields 18.9-month supply of houses for sale - (www.freep.com)
Merrill's Reckless Mortgage Bond Binge - (www.ml-implode.com)


Other Stories:

S&P may cut $57 bln subprime debt, reviewing loss - (www.ml-implode.com) - Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said it may cut $57.1 billion of subprime-related debt due to continuing delinquencies and a wor...
Government plans to help UK banks - (www.ml-implode.com) - The Bank of England is poised to launch a new lending programme for UK banks in an effort to break the logjam in the credit mar...
CtW Invest Asks WaMu Board To Demand Resignations Of 2 Directors - (www.ml-implode.com)
Economists Debate Link Between War, Credit Crisis - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Coming Soon to a Bank Near You: The $57 Overdraft Fee? - (blog.lendingclub.com)
The Price of Oil Hasn't Budged Since 2001 -- Priced in Gold - (www.dailygreen.com)
Bush the Most Unpopular Post War President Ever - (abcnews.go.com)
Fears of Long Recession Rising - (money.cnn.com)
80% of Arab World Has Negative View of US - (news.bbc.co.uk)
Obama Would Ask His AG to "Immediately Review" Potential Bush War Crimes - (www.philly.com)
Dollar Falls to Record Low vs. Euro - (www.bloomberg.com)
Price of Oil, Gas Hit New Highs - (ww.nytimes.com)
The Next Mortgage Crisis - (www.slate.com)
Why the next mortgage crisis may be worse - (www.slate.com)
House Sales, Prices Down In January - (www.allheadlinenews.com)
New buyers need a price crash - (www.introducertoday.co.uk)
Borrowers Sober Up - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Ron Paul Sees Bailout Writing on the Wall - (www.usnews.com)
Angry Renter: Oppose the Mortgage Lender Housing Bailout - (www.angryrenter.com)

Gold, Silver Climb as Dollar Falls to All-Time Low Against Euro - (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil, Gasoline Rise to Records After Unexpected U.S. Supply Drop - (www.bloomberg.com)
Foreclosures Jump 57% as Homedebtors WALK AWAY - (www.bloomberg.com)
California Foreclosures Increase 20 Percent in March - (www.kpbs.org)
Foreclosures continue to soar, worst is not over - (www.msnbc.msn.com)
Foreclosure glut further depresses housing prices - (www.latimes.com)
As Greenspan's reputation sinks, Volcker's rises - (msnbc.msn.com)
Wholesale prices soared in March: Thank The Fed - (news.yahoo.com)
'Mr. No Bailout' getting noticed - (www.kentucky.com)

U.S. Housing Starts Slide to Lowest Level in 17 Years - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.3% in March, Led by Food - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed Beige Book Says Economy `Weakened' Since February - (www.bloomberg.com)
Inflation Everywhere - (www.forbes.com)
Bankruptcy filings rise 38% in 2007 - (www.latimes.com)
An Inflation Indicator Leaves the Fed in a Tough Spot - (www.nytimes.com)
Houston's upscale home sales fall victim to slump - (www.chron.com)
Record number of Atlanta properties up for auction - (www.ajc.com)
Rate of home foreclosures expected to get worse - (www.usatoday.com)
Bankers Cast Doubt on Key Rate - (online.wsj.com)
OECD predicts subprime losses to hit $420bn - (www.ft.com)
Subprime past its heyday - (www.financialweek.com)
Foreclosure glut further depresses housing prices - (www.latimes.com)
Hedge Funds Need More Oversight, Transparency, Treasury Panels Say - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Merrill Lynch to write down further $6-8 bln: report - (www.reuters.com)
Fannie, Freddie regulator sees more risk ahead - (www.reuters.com)
GM plant partially halts production due to strike - (money.cnn.com)
2 more carriers consider merging - (www.latimes.com)
Europe car sales hit by financial crisis - (www.ft.com)
North Korea Faces Food Crisis, UN Agency Warns - (www.bloomberg.com)

Wednesday April 16 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Implications of Central Bank monetary policies, Politician subsidies for farmers to convert food to Bio-Fuels. But do we expect anything other than market meddling from our representatives in government?
· Stupiditiy, Fuel Choices & Food Crises - (www.nytimes.com)
· Riots, Instability Spread as Food Prices Skyrocket - (www.cnn.com)
· IMF Alert on Starvation and Civil Unrest - (www.smh.com.au)
· Food Riots 'An apocalyptic warning' - (www.abc.net.au)
· Oil Hits $113 - (www.bloomberg.com)
· Egyptians Cannot Afford Daily Bread - (edition.cnn.com)

Mortgage Payments Worry Many - (www.sfgate.com)
Many Homedebtors Can Walk Away With No Penalty - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing - (www.nytimes.com) – I like how the originators of the food to biofuel programs are trying hard to defend the program.
Foreclosures on Marco Island, FL - (patrick.net) – Look at the foreclosure map/chart for the island. Pretty wild.
Feeling cheated, houseowners sue Realtors - (www.lvrj.com) – This is another case. Previous case was near San Diego. This one is near Las Vegas.
Youngstown Ohio: The Incredible Shrinking City - (money.cnn.com)
Falling corporate profits gouge wider hole in Calif. budget - (www.latimes.com)
Southern California home prices slide to 2004 levels - (www.latimes.com)
March's median is off 5.6% from the previous month and 23.8% from February 2007.
Crocs to fire 600 workers in Canada after cutting profit, sales forecasts - (www.latimes.com) Crocs, maker of the namesake colorful clogs, said it would fire its 600 Canadian plant workers after lowering annual earnings and sales forecasts as consumer spending
Citi allows loan 'cherry picking' - (www.ft.com)
'Tranche warfare' breaks out over CDOs - (www.ft.com)
Sour economy casts pall over once sunny Florida - (www.reuters.com)
Jefferson County Wins Bond Payment Break as State Mulls Options - (www.bloomberg.com) – Alabama county spared bankruptcy for now.


Other Stories:

Southern California home prices take another hit - (www.latimes.com) - The region's median sales price drops to $385,000 in March. The total number of homes sold is up from February, but down 41% from a year ago.
FT: US Credit Rating Under Threat - (ws.ft.com)
March Wholesale Prices Soar – (biz.yahoo.com/ap)
Cascading Retail Bankruptcies as Recession Takes HoldBear Market Rally Fooling No One - (www.stuff.co.nz)
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo Warn "Delusional" Investors on Stocks - (www.telegraph.co.uk)US Foreclosures Jump 57 as Homeowners Just Say No - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bulging Prisons Drain Michigan's Budget - (www.detnews.com)
And now this: Boomers to Flood Medical System - (www.sfgate.com)

Oil, Gasoline Climb to Records as Investors Move to Commodities - (www.bloomberg.com)
Corn, Soybeans Rise on `Buying Panic' to Avoid Food Shortages - (www.bloomberg.com)
US consumer confidence lowest since Oct 1993 - (www.reuters.com)
US Foreclosure Filings Jump in March - (www.chicagotribune.com)
U.S. Foreclosures Jump 57% as Homeowners Walk Away - (www.bloomberg.com)
America's long hangover - (www.economist.com)
The next mortgage crisis - (www.slate.com)
New York Fed Factory Index Unexpectedly Rose in April - (www.bloomberg.com)
Largest Vegas casino operator fires 440 - (www.allheadlinenews.com)

Swaps Tied to Losses Transformed Into `Frankenstein's Monster' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge funds don't need rules, just guidance: - (www.ap.com)
Global funding pressures intensify - (www.ft.com)
More shock than awe this earnings season - (www.nypost.com)
Mark to market good for the long term? - (www.cfo.com)
Growing Majority Avoid Buying Houses - (apnews.myway.com)
Embracing shrinkage - (money.cnn.com)
National web of greed lured foolish buyers - (news.bostonherald.com)
Auction-Rate Bond Market Will `Cease to Exist', Citigroup Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Credit-Default Swaps Market Grows to $62.2 Trillion, ISDA Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Pessimism over housing crisis grows - (www.signonsandiego.com)
Food Shortage Rises With Prices - (www.forbes.com)
Squeeze takes toll on US student loans - (www.ft.com)
Success as a trader linked to testosterone level? - (www.chicagotribune.com)
America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets - (www.forbes.com)
Fourth-largest US bank resorts to emergency fundraising - (www.guardian.co.uk)
U.S. housing collapse spreads overseas - (www.iht.com)
An Economy Built On Lies - (www.lewrockwell.com)

Report Highlights Fannie, Freddie Risks - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Intel Forecast Tops Analysts' Estimates; Shares Rise - (www.bloomberg.com)
The bust is starting to catch up with regional lenders - (www.economist.com)
Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies - (www.nytimes.com)
Surprise Loss at Wachovia Stirs Profit-Season Unease - (www.nytimes.com)
Fitch downgrades Macy's to near junk - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chrysler, Nissan buy each other's vehicle - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Small business: How to borrow in a weak economy - (www.newsday.com)
Appraisers say WaMu cut corners to increase its mortgage business - (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Fannie, Freddie pressed on risk management - (www.ft.com)
The Housing Bailout Backlash - (www.usnews.com)
California Median: $373,000, Fannie Limit: $729,500. Make Sense? - (www.mybudget360.com)
Letter To Senators - (patrick.net)
At Wachovia, Pick-A-Pay Becomes Pick-A-Problem - (money.cnn.com)
What Warren thinks investors should do - (money.cnn.com)

London could lose 40,000 financial jobs - (www.reportonbusiness.com)
Eurozone inflation at 16-year high - (www.ft.com)
Fears that Russian oil output has hit its peak - (www.ft.com)
UK housing gloom 'worst in 30 years' - (news.bbc.co.uk)
German Investor Confidence Unexpectedly Fell in April - (www.bloomberg.com)
City may lose 40,000 jobs, predicts JP Morgan - (www.telegraph.co.uk)
U.K. RICS House-Price Balance Is Worst Since 1978 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Insight: Watch out for aftershocks - (www.ft.com) ($) , Stephen Roach
Goldman Says "Awful" Profits Will Drag Down Stocks - (www.bloomberg.com)
Auction Rate Collapse Creates 12% After-Tax - (www.bloomberg.com)
House Price Crash Calculator - (img.thisismoney.co.uk)