Orange County Register - "Real estate woes cut deep" (12-16-07)

"After updates and revisions to key data, The Big O's losing streak now stretches back three quarters to last spring. That's the longest drought since recessionary times of 2001. These drops put The Big O down 1.6 percent in a year, the biggest decline since early 2002."

Ventura County Star - "Families finding struggle to stay in pricey state as economy softens" (12-16-07)

"A new state forecast from the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project finds that California will have to grapple with the shrinking size of its middle class. There's always a flow of people into and out of the state, said Dan Hamilton, director of economics for the Economic Forecast Project. But 'the middle age groups as well as the middle income groups are leaving just a little faster than other income groups,' he said."

Bloomberg - "Greenspan Favors Government Bailout for Homeowners" (12-16-07)

"Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he favors spending U.S. government money to bail out mortgage borrowers who risk losing their homes because they can't make payments. Greenspan, speaking on ABC's 'This Week' program aired today, said cash bailouts, while creating a larger budget deficit, have the advantage of helping homeowners without distorting property prices or interest rates on mortgages."