MBA - "Former Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association Addresses the Commonwealth Club of California" (10-29-07)

"Late last month Alan Greenspan said he would trade all of his econometrics on any subject for a graph that shows fear in relation to euphoria. He said it was a far greater predictor of any event than the hard numbers, because fear and euphoria are primordial aspects of humankind. The good news is that we can, we must, take advantage of the lessons learned this year, lessons that run the gamut from economic and market realities to human frailty. We must integrate what’s been learned into behavior that prevents so many people from ever again losing their homes."

MSNBC - "Which is worse: foreclosure or bankruptcy?" (10-29-07)

"Based on our mail, the financial squeeze that’s left millions of Americans falling behind on their mortgage payments doesn’t seem to be letting up. For some, that presents a stark choice: is it better to lose your house to foreclosure or file for bankruptcy protection? Neither option is going to be easy. Generally, a foreclosure will remain on your credit report for 7 years, while a bankruptcy remains for 10 years. But that doesn’t mean foreclosure is necessarily the better option, according to Ray Hooper, Education and Housing Director for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas, a non-profit agency that tries to help people facing foreclosure keep their homes."

Bloomberg - "O'Neal Ouster Makes Mess of Maternal Merrill Lynch" (10-29-07)

"Losing a lot of money for shareholders is the surest way to end a career on Wall Street, as Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Stan O'Neal found out this month after the embattled chief executive officer delivered the worst news in the firm's 93-year history. The third-quarter loss of $2.24 billion, or $2.82 a share, was about six times more than O'Neal acknowledged on Oct. 5 and derived from $8.4 billion of writedowns for the subprime mortgages, asset-backed bonds and loans gone bad under his watch."

Los Angeles Times - "Habitat to build 30 town houses in 5 days" (10-29-07)

"According to Habitat International, 1.6 billion people need affordable housing worldwide, including 6 million in the United States. In Los Angeles County, about a quarter of all families of four earn $20,000 to $40,000 a year. In a market where the median home price is about $535,000, that income level puts owning a home out of reach."

Los Angeles Times - "Lessons learned? Lenders still pitching refinancing" (10-29-07)

"One of the reasons this real estate downturn threatens to do unusually widespread damage to the overall economy is the refinancing boom. Even some buyers who bought their houses a decade ago, and should in theory be sitting on a small mountain of equity, are finding themselves in default and foreclosure. Why? Where did their cushion, that mountain of equity, go? They borrowed against it. Again, and again, and again. The refinancing boom has had distorted economic activity in ways policy-makers seem to be ignoring: in the recent past, it pumped up economic activity with spending growth that could not be justified based on income growth; and now, not only is much of that extra economic activity drying up, but refinancing has put at risk homeowners who should in theory have a cushion against a housing downturn."

Los Angeles Times - "Will lenders freeze ARMs?" (10-29-07)

"After arguing the economy needs to be 'rescued' from the mortgage crisis, the Times writes, 'Fortunately, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has come up with such a solution. It has made a compelling case for freezing the introductory rates, typically 7 percent or 8 percent, on the most default-prone adjustable-rate loans. To qualify, a borrower would need to live in the home, be current in monthly payments and not yet have faced an increase in the loan’s rate. The plan would remove up to 1.75 million people from the ranks of future defaulters.'"

Bloomberg - "Simon Property's Third-Quarter Profit Rises on Rents" (10-30-07)

"Simon Property Group Inc., the largest U.S. shopping-mall owner, said third-quarter profit rose 59 percent on increases in store rents and revenue from new shopping centers. Net income jumped to $179.2 million, or 74 cents a share, from $113 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 11 percent to $907.1 million, the Indianapolis-based company said today in a statement. Funds from operations rose to $1.46 a share from $1.30 a year earlier, exceeding analysts' estimates."

Bloomberg - "Mortgage Bankers Ex-Chair Sees Fewer Foreclosures" (10-30-07)

"About 1 million U.S. households will lose their homes to foreclosure in the next two years, half the number predicted by a congressional report, said John Robbins, former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The Joint Economic Committee in Washington on Oct. 25 predicted 2 million subprime borrowers will lose their homes to foreclosure through 2009 if housing prices drop 20 percent, with California, Florida, Ohio, New York and Texas the hardest-hit states. New foreclosures rose to a record in the third quarter, led by defaults in adjustable-rate loans to people with tainted or limited credit histories, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."

Bloomberg - "California Home Sales to `Stay Tough,' KB Chief Says" (10-30-07)

"California's housing market, suffering from a slump in single-family home and inium sales, will 'stay tough for quite some time,' KB Home Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Mezger said. 'I think it's going to take quite some time for the inventory to clear,' said Mezger, whose Los Angeles-based company is the fifth largest U.S. homebuilder by sales. He spoke today during a panel discussion at the Milken Institute State of the State Conference in Beverly Hills, California."