Los Angeles Times - "Builders balk in the OC" (7-28-07)

"We were accused of sensationalism last week for jumping on that 799% increase in LA homes lost to foreclosure. If that kind of reporting is sensationalism, we'll plead guilty every time. Here's another one, from today's LATimes: 'Housing starts were practically nonexistent last month in Orange County, where the number of permits obtained by builders plunged 85% from a year earlier, data released Friday showed.'"

Orange County Register - "Q&A on a radical proposal to fix subprime lending" (7-28-07)

"Fredde and Fannie, often called government sponsored enterprises or GSEs, aren’t allowed to directly buy subprime loans. (They can buy a limited amount of securities that are backed by subprime loans.) Bostic, however, found that when they were aggressive about buying loans in a certain market, they tended to crowd out subprime lenders. In other words, when the GSEs went after more borrowers on the margin of their credit limitations, they essentially expanded the market of prime borrowers."