Friday, September 07, 2007

Yahoo - "Hovnanian Shares Fall After 3Q Loss" (9-7-07)

"Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. fell 4 percent Friday after the luxury homebuilder reported it fourth conscutive quarterly loss and said it would cut prices to reduce inventory. Hovnanian shares dropped 46 cents to $10.91 in morning trading on Friday. Its shares are near the low end of their 52-week trading range of $10.35 to $38.66."

CNN - "Who would buy real estate in this market?" (9-7-07)

"Several months ago Silvia Cuevas took stock of her life, and it was a profoundly unsettling experience. At 40 she had a solid job with a modest salary at the public library in Santa Ana, Calif. She'd carefully squirreled away some savings and bought herself a little house. She was financially secure - and utterly dissatisfied. All around her, Santa Ana throbbed with the feverish energy of recent immigrants eager to cash in on the promises of America. A short drive from Disneyland, Santa Ana boasts one of the highest concentrations of Latinos of any city in the U.S., and these days it is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. Cuevas, though, felt as conservative, meek, and, well, dull as a church mouse in Vegas. 'I was going nowhere,' she recalls. 'How was I going to find my fortune?' Then a girlfriend introduced her to Nouveau Riche University."

Bloomberg - "Fed May Cut to 5 Percent Without Promising More" (9-7-07)

"If Federal Reserve officials cut their 5.25 percent target for the overnight lending rate when they meet on Sept. 18, it will be by only a quarter-percentage point with no promise of more to come. Officials have already disappointed many market participants by refusing to cut the target in response to turmoil in financial markets. And they will surely disappoint those hoping for a half-point cut at the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee."

Bloomberg - "CB Richard Ellis Declines After Lehman Cuts Earnings Estimates" (9-7-07)

"CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. fell to the lowest since October after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. cut profit estimates for this year and next on expectations the commercial real estate market will weaken. CB Richard Ellis, the largest commercial broker, dropped $2.24, or 8.1 percent, to $25.41 in 10:41 a.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have lost 24 percent this year."

Bloomberg - "Citigroup Unit Won't Take New Mortgage Bank Clients, People Say" (9-7-07)

"Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank, stopped accepting new clients in a unit that offers credit lines to mortgage banks, according to two people familiar with the situation. First Collateral Services of Concord, California, is pulling back as failures of mortgage lenders make the business more risky. The unit still lends to existing customers, according to the people, who declined to be identified because they don't want to hurt relationships with New York-based Citigroup. First Collateral's 'warehouse' loans provide mortgage companies with cash so they can fund purchases and refinancings."

Bloomberg - "Beazer Shares Fall After Receiving Default Notices" (9-7-07)

"Beazer Homes USA Inc. shares fell as much as 13 percent after the homebuilder received notices of default from a bondholders' group for failing to file a quarterly report with regulators. The seller of homes for first-time buyers said the notices have no merit and it's not in default. The notices from U.S. Bank National Association, a trustee for debt investors, cover notes due 2011 to 2016, Atlanta-based Beazer said today in a statement."

Bloomberg - "IndyMac to Cut 10 Percent of Jobs; May Post a Loss" (9-7-07)

"IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the second- biggest U.S. mortgage company, plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and lower the dividend as housing sales falter and defaults on home loans climb. It may post a loss for the first time in at least eight years. IndyMac expects to eliminate about 1,000 jobs over the next 'several months' and slice its dividend in half to 25 cents a share, the Pasadena, California-based company said today in a statement. It also may report a third-quarter loss of as much as $36.8 million, or 50 cents a share. The forecast falls short of the average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who predicted the company would earn 30 cents a share."

Orange County Register - "Home foreclosures, delinquencies at record high" (9-7-07)

"The number of Americans who may lose their homes to foreclosure reached a record in the second quarter as late payments by subprime borrowers surged to one out of every seven loans. Lenders began the process of seizing properties on 0.65 percent of U.S. mortgages in the second quarter, an all-time high, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report Thursday. In the first quarter, that figure was 0.58 percent. The percentage of subprime borrowers making late payments increased to 14.82 from 13.77."

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