USA Today - "U.S. debt: $30,000 per American" (12-4-07)

"Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute. What's that mean to you? It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States."

Bloomberg - "Citigroup, Top Securities Firms Have Estimates Cut" (12-4-07)

"Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, and Wall Street's four largest securities firms had their earnings estimates cut by analysts on concern additional writedowns for fixed-income assets and a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions will hurt profit. JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Kenneth Worthington said New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will probably face weak credit markets for the next two to three quarters. The companies tumbled in New York trading, with Morgan Stanley posting the biggest drop of as much as 5.9 percent."

Bloomberg - "H&R Block Shuts Option One, Will Sell Servicing Unit" (12-4-07)

"H&R Block Inc., the biggest U.S. tax preparer, shut its subprime home-lending unit and cut 620 jobs after a sale to Cerberus Capital Management LP unraveled. H&R Block will try to sell the portion of Option One Mortgage Corp. that does billing and collections, the Kansas City, Missouri-based company said today in a statement. The decision eliminates more than 40 percent of the unit's remaining staff and may trigger $200 million in pretax costs."

Bloomberg - "Subprime Seizure Solution May Be in Hospital Bills" (12-4-07)

"The solution for the subprime-infected credit market seizure that wiped out $66 billion of securities industry capital this year may be found in a bunch of hospital bills. Day trader Richard Field in Needham, Massachusetts, says his patent for tracking medical invoices can be adapted for mortgage interest payments, helping banks better value securities derived from home loans and other receivables. From its headquarters in New York, accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP says it's developing computer models that will do the same."

Bloomberg - "Citi's Losses `Greatly Exceeded' Profits for Subprime" (12-4-07)

"Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, lost more money than it made from financial instruments based on U.S. subprime mortgages, a senior company executive said in a meeting at the British Parliament. William Mills, chief executive officer of Citigroup's markets and banking division in Europe, said his bank had suffered ``reputational damage'' from the fallout even though the New York-based company had made 'adequate disclosures' to customers who were trading subprime-related securities including collateralized debt obligations."

Los Angeles Times - "The chill spreads to commercial real estate" (12-4-07)

"The global credit crunch that took hold of financial markets in the summer is now taking the steam out of commercial real estate. Office buildings, warehouses and shopping centers looked like a safer haven for big investors wary of falling prices for houses and condominiums. But now, the commercial side is feeling the pinch."

Los Angeles Times - "30% "price cuts" at Oxnard auction" (12-4-07)

"Forty new homes were auctioned off in roughly an hour on Sunday. Prices and discounts? A home 'once listed' at $608,000 sold for $425,000, a 'price cut' of 30%. A real price cut? Who knows -- it's hard to say whether the 'once listed' price was ever close to a market price."

Bloomberg - "Paulson Goes to Washington, Loses Way: Caroline Baum" (12-4-07)

"The investor who owns the AAA-rated CDO tranche and is first in line to get paid has no motivation to support a modification of the underlying loans; the holder of the residual tranche does. According to the broad outlines of the plan, the Treasury will divide subprime borrowers into four groups."

Reuters - "Mistakes made during credit crunch, bankers say" (12-4-07)

"Top executives from four of the world's biggest banks told British lawmakers on Tuesday that errors were made during the recent credit-market crunch but said they had not been reckless or failed to tell clients of risks."