Bloomberg - "ACA Customers Allow More Time to Unwind Default Swaps" (1-21-08)

"ACA Capital Holdings Inc., the bond insurer being run by regulators after subprime-mortgage losses, won a month's grace to unwind $60 billion of credit-default swap contracts that it can't pay. ACA, under the control of the Maryland Insurance Administration, extended an agreement that waives collateral requirements, policy claims and termination rights until Feb. 19, the New York-based company said in a statement on Business Wire late yesterday."

Los Angeles Times - "Paid too much? Sue your agent" (1-21-08)

"You knew it was coming: a potentially trend-setting lawsuit in which buyers who paid too much for their house are now suing their real-estate agent. The New York Times' David Streitfeld reports tonight on a Carlsbad couple who paid $1.2 million for their home in August 2005 only to realize that similar homes in their neighborhood were selling for up to $175,000 less. Naturally, they are suing their agent."

St. Petersburg Times - "A recession touches many hands" (1-21-08)

"Economists are debating the point as conditions deteriorate: Foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and unemployment are rising. Florida reported Friday that the state's jobless rate rose to 4.7 percent last month from 3.3 percent a year ago. Real estate sales and stock prices are tanking. That's the big picture and it's still murky. The little picture is a whole lot clearer. If you've lost your job or your income has fallen, the recession has arrived."