Tuesday April 29 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Condo is Tower of Solitude - (www.tampabay.com) – This is just a great story. Condo owner has almost the entire hi-rise to himself.
Maintenance is slow. Not long ago, Johnny clogged the garbage chute with pizza boxes, and when no one showed up to fix the problem, he dragged a concrete block five flights up and dropped it in the chute. When that failed, he tried another. "It just exploded," he says. The pool isn't heated. Johnny suspects it's because there aren't enough residents to justify the bills. He did figure out how to activate the waterfall, which pours down from Disneyfied bluffs. Still, instead of mingling beauties on lounge chairs and late-night Red Bull-and-vodka parties, the only real action on pool deck is the occasional Realtor networking social. Yay.
Raised in boom times, many Gen-X and Yers see their dreams go bust - (www.latimes.com) – Hmm, it’s just hard for me to feel sorry for these guys.
Jason Liebrecht used to write about his motorcycle adventures on his blog. But since early this month, the 36-year-old San Diego computer software engineer's daily musings have been about a less thrilling new experience: unemployment. "Do I find a job, or do I head to Central and South America on the motorcycle?" he wrote on Day 4. By Day 7, he had become more realistic. After selling some stock and applying for unemployment, Liebrecht figures he can pay his $2,300-a-month mortgage and other bills for just two months. When his company health insurance runs out in a few weeks, he'll go uncovered because he can't afford the premiums. "You have to just hope you land on your feet," Liebrecht said in an interview.
New Houses Turning Old as the Inventory Piles Up - (www.nytimes.com)
History Hints a Recession Would Hit City Hard - (www.nytimes.com) - The situation has worsened enough that the New York City Independent Budget Office, which said a month ago that it expected a brief and mild recession, is preparing a forecast that is likely to be significantly bleaker, said Ronnie Lowenstein, the director.
While You Weren’t Looking: FHA-Insured Jumbos on the Move - (www.ml-implode.com) - Under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, The Federal Housing Administration received a huge shot in the arm when it saw its lend...
Bank of America to Modify Mortgages, Help Homeowners - (www.ml-implode.com) - Bank of America Corp., seeking approval of its Countrywide Financial Corp. takeover, plans to modify at least $40 billion of mor...
Walkaways Are Over Already? - (www.ml-implode.com) - Alan Nevin, chief economist for the California Building Industry Association and San Diego-based MarketPointe Realty Advisors, predicted foreclosure sales could account for as many as 15,000 out of 25,000 total sales this year. But at some point, the foreclosures will drop off, he Nevin said. “Anybody who's going to walk away from a house or condo has already done it,” Nevin said. “Now it's just a matter of the pig going through the snake.”
Taxpayers Already Bailing Out Housing Market - (www.ml-implode.com)
S&P delivers blow to CDOs - (www.ft.com)
RBS May Cut 7,000 Investment Banking Jobs, People Say - (www.bloomberg.com)
Eos is Fourth U.S. Airline To Shut Down This Month - (online.wsj.com)
Greenspan, Bush to blame for U.S. crisis - (www.reuters.com)



Other Stories:

CA Median House Prices Down 29% In March - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
"Financial" Crisis? - (www.atlanticfreepress.com)
Good-Bye, Cheap Oil. So Long, Suburbia? - (www.businessweek.com)
Dealers see SUV glut as drivers trade in gas guzzlers - (www.nytimes.com)
Scholar threatened for warning of housing bubble in Taipei - (au.biz.yahoo.com)
'Estate agents' offer empty houses for squat - (www.dailymail.co.uk)

Pipeline Shock: Wells Wholesale adds 3 points - immediately!!! - (www.ml-implode.com) - "Due to secondary market execution risk, Wells Fargo Wholesale Lending has implemented a new 3.00 price adjuster." We were warn...
How the mortgage industry nurtured deceit - (www.slate.com)
Privatized profits and socialized risk - (www.nytimes.com)
Prosecute the Mortgage Sharks - (www.washingtonpost.com)
I wasn't wrong in '02, just early - (www.ocregister.com)
Mr. Mortgage: Gov’t Reports Record Number of Vacant Homes - (www.ml-implode.com) - ``What does this mean? It means the ’Month’s Supply’ figures, which the press and market get so hot and bothered over each month ...
The Shrinking Pie Effect - (www.ml-implode.com)
Iowa's Largest Home Builder Implodes - (www.ml-implode.com)
Will They Call FHA A Predatory Sub Prime Lender Too? - (www.ml-implode.com)
Investors pull out of mutual funds - (www.ml-implode.com)
The Brighter Side of Housing: LOWER PRICES - (online.wsj.com)
Housing Market is Nowhere Near Bottom - (www.huffingtonpost.com)
Brookfield Net Income Declines as Property Sales Fall - (www.ml-implode.com)
U.K. House Prices Decline the Most in Three Years - (www.ml-implode.com)
Too Many Houses, Not Enough People - (www.ml-implode.com)
Prices down 20% in Bangalore, India - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
Three Reasons Why Mortgage Bailout Is a Terrible Idea - (www.homeguide123.com)
Fed rates down, Mortgage rates up - (www.seekingalpha.com)
6.5 Million Foreclosures; Is There a Behavioral Problem? - (www.seekingalpha.com)

Gold Rises as Oil Costs Jump, Signaling Inflation; Silver Gains - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed's Bailout Is Questioned By Ex-Staffer - (online.wsj.com)
Home vacancies rise to record 2.9% in first quarter - (www.marketwatch.com)
Truckers protest high gasoline prices - (www.ap.com)
Stimulus program rebates start today - (www.latimes.com)

Amid High Oil Prices, Danger Signs in Production - (www.nytimes.com)
Muni Auction Market Shrinks by 33%, Driving Down Interest Costs - (www.bloomberg.com)
S&P Lowers CDO Assumptions, Signaling More Downgrades - (www.bloomberg.com)
OPEC president sees $200 oil possible: report - (www.reuters.com)
Credit card rates hustle higher - (www.usatoday.com)
Resales of homes a house divided - (www.signonsandiego.com)

Loan Industry Fighting Rules on Mortgages - (www.nytimes.com)
Canadian economy stalling - (money.canoe.ca)
Trichet Says Beating Inflation Is Sole Aim of ECB - (www.bloomberg.com)
Turf wars hobble China's financial markets - (www.reuters.com)
Russian Central Bank Raises Rates by Quarter Point - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brazil Oil Trapped by 500-Degree Heat, Salt Barrier - (www.bloomberg.com)
Japan's Inflation: Bad Timing - (online.wsj.com)
Panel to Look at Foreclosure Practices - (www.nytimes.com)
Global adjustment will be long and painful - (www.ft.com)
Where Every Meal Is a Sacrifice - (www.washingtonpost.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)

Tuesday April 15 Housing and Economic stories

Top Stories:

Terrified Fannie "warns" housedebtors who walk away - (www.sfgate.com) – On March 31, Fannie Mae sent out new guidelines to lenders intended for walkaways and other foreclosure situations. Fannie will now prohibit foreclosed borrowers from getting another mortgage through the giant investor for five years, unless there are "documented extenuating circumstances." In those cases, the mortgage prohibition is for three years.
You Thought You Had an Equity Line - (www.nytimes.com)
Continental, United Could Merge 'Pretty Quickly': Source - (www.cnbc.com)
Continental Airlines and United Airlines have laid most of the groundwork for a merger, sources said, and could have a deal ready if Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announce a tie-up.
Sinking housing market maroons houseowners - (www.insidebayarea.com) – Homes are supposed to be more than 1-2 year investments so homeowners “should” be marooned in their homes.
What is Paulson Smoking? "IRS's $600 Stimulus Checks Will Add 500,000 - 600,000 Jobs to Economy." - (www.nytimes.com)
Restaurants Find Diners Choosing Cheaper Fare - (www.boston.com)
Jury Says Realtor Not to Blame for Purchase Price - (www.voiceofsandiego.org) – For once I agree, it is about time the home-purchasers take some blame here for their greed and stupidity instead of blaming everyone else.
New loan changes bring no relief - (www.sfgate.com)
Walking Away From Your Mortgage - (www.ml-implode.com) – The San Francisco Chronicle reported the threat by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 'to make anyone thinking about joining the growing "walkaway" trend,..., feel the pain'. Here are some good observations on the subject on minyanville.com
Biofuels Nothing Short of a Disaster - (www.canada.com)
No-down-payment mortgages are gone - (www.marketwatch.com)
‘Tranche warfare’ breaks out over CDOs - (www.ft.com)
Assets seized to halt payment to others - 18:45
Did appraisers juice Florida real-estate market? - (www.orlandosentinel.com) – Yes, but so did the banks, realtors, homeowners and everyone else. They all participated on the way up and are now blaming each other on the way down.
Stresses on Fannie, Freddie pose wider risks - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'A deep recession could force mortgage-finance titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to require a federal bailout large enough to hurt the U.S. government's top-grade credit rating, Standard & Poor's warned Monday.'
Banks Must Write Down Loans to Prevent a Mass Homeowner Exodus - (www.ml-implode.com) - The word is out and the banks and servicers need to get a clue. People are walking from their underwater homes in droves. Wha...
John Rubino: America, Ex-Distortion - (www.dollarcollapse.com) – Key paragraphs below:
"Almost four decades have passed since the United States scrapped its last currency ties to precious metals. Our copper and nickel coinage still retains some metallic value, but not nearly enough for the purpose of currency tampering--the historic temptation of inflation-plagued or otherwise wayward governments, including, at times, our own. Instead, since the 1960s, Washington has been forced to gull its citizens and creditors by debasing official statistics: the vital instruments with which the vigor and muscle of the American economy are measured. The effect, over the past twenty-five years, has been to create a false sense of economic achievement and rectitude, allowing us to maintain artificially low interest rates, massive government borrowing, and a dangerous reliance on mortgage and financial debt even as real economic growth has been slower than claimed. If Washington’s harping on weapons of mass destruction was essential to buoy public support for the invasion of Iraq, the use of deceptive statistics has played its own vital role in convincing many Americans that the U.S. economy is stronger, fairer, more productive, more dominant, and richer with opportunity than it actually is."


Other Stories:

Nationalization or monetization? - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'Fortunately, given the rate at which home prices are now declining in many parts of the country, any government action in suppo...
Mortgage payments worry many - (www.ml-implode.com) - 'In an ominous snapshot of how the sagging real estate market and sour economy are intersecting, the Associated Press-AOL Money ...
Accounting failures enter the subprime equation - (www.ml-implode.com) - As homeowners, shareholders and federal investigators pick through the subprime wreckage, many have asked how effectively fro...
Bank denies cash-raising reports - (www.ml-implode.com)
Phoenix Median Home Price Down A “Stable” 17% In March - (www.ml-implode.com)
Many skeptical of Foreclosure Protection Act - (www.ml-implode.com)

Credit Crisis Could Affect Markets for Decade: Study - (www.cnbc.com)
Citi allows loan ‘cherry picking’ - (www.ft.com)
Move could complicate balance sheet clean-up - 23:22
Inflation takes bite out of paychecks: Fed's Fault - (www.idahostatesman.com)
Blunt former Fed chairman Volcker takes on Bernanke - (www.theglobeandmail.com)
A Tale of Two Coasts - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Price boom redistributes wealth destructively - (www.independent.co.uk)
California Mortgage Rates Still High - (www.mybudget360.com)
Stocks Brace for Flood of Earnings - (www.marketwatch.com)
Congress study: Housing aid wouldn't help economy - (news.yahoo.com)
'Subprime Relief Plan' May Make a Bad Situation Worse - (www.seekingalpha.com)
US Housing Woes Spread Around the Globe - (www.nytimes.com)
CitiGroup, Merrill Reveal Fresh $15B Losses - (business.timesonline.co.uk)
Oil, Gasoline Close at Records on Dollar Weakness Against Euro - (www.bloomberg.com)
Stocks Close Down Amid Earnings Concerns - (www.ap.com)
Against a housing bailout: let the prices fall! - (www.walletpop.com)
Shiller: Housing Will Continue to Fall - (www.seekingalpha.com)
Pending sales index points to declines ahead - (www.businessweek.com)

U.S. Retail Sales Rise on Gain in Gasoline Purchases - (www.bloomberg.com)
The consumer spending mirage - (www.businessweek.com)
Phoenix job growth slows - (www.azcentral.com)
As Greenspan’s reputation sinks, Volcker’s rises - (www.ap.com)
Atlanta gas prices hit new high of $3.36 per gallon - (www.ajc.com)
Schools Get A Lesson in Lunch Line Economics - (www.nytimes.com)
The Meltdown Lowdown - (www.prospect.org)
Gold as an investment - (en.wikipedia.org)
Is A House Really A Good Investment? - (cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com)

Goldman Strategists Say U.S. Earnings Are `Awful' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Is Street Turmoil Coloring Art Market? - (online.wsj.com)
Record grain prices provide food for thought - (www.ft.com)
Nothing Special With Treasuries as Fed Has Mortgages - (www.bloomberg.com)
IRS audits of largest corporations declining - (www.ajc.com)

Wachovia Posts Loss, Plans $7 Billion Capital Raising - (www.bloomberg.com)
Northwest, Delta near merger deal - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Newspaper Vendors Worry About Downturn - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Ex-Commerce Chief down on big banks - (www.nypost.com)
Housing Woes in U.S. Spread Around Globe - (www.nytimes.com)