Bloomberg - "Citigroup May Cut Dividend by 40%, Goldman Sachs Says" (12-27-07)

"Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, may cut its dividend 40 percent to preserve capital and write down more fixed-income securities than it has told investors to expect, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, may write off $3.4 billion in fixed-income securities in response to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, double Goldman's previous estimate, analysts led by William Tanona said in a report on the companies dated Dec. 26."

Bloomberg - "Dollar Strategists Predict End of Bear Market in 2008" (12-27-07)

"The dollar is poised to end a two- year slide against the euro in 2008 as government-backed funds in Asia and the Middle East purchase U.S. assets, currency strategists say. The currency will gain 4.4 percent to $1.40 per euro by the end of the third quarter, according to the median forecast of 43 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The dollar is down 9.8 percent this year to $1.4638 per euro, after weakening more than 10 percent in 2006."

CNN - "Some mortgage rates inch higher" (12-27-07)

"Some mortgage rates rose along with bond rates this week as reports of stronger consumer spending in November were tempered by disappointing readings of other economic measures, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The government-sponsored loan buyer said the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.17 percent for the week ending Dec. 27, up from 6.14 percent a week earlier."

NAR - "NAR Says Terrorism Insurance Law Will Protect Commercial Market" (12-27-07)

"The commercial real estate market and the health of the nation’s economy as a whole will benefit from the reauthorization of the federal government’s terrorism risk insurance program, which President George W. Bush signed into law yesterday. The National Association of Realtors® has long advocated for passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision Extension Act to maintain a strong commercial market."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (12-27-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 21, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 603.8, a decrease of 7.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 653.8 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 8.2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 9.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Seeking Alpha - "Shiller: Single-Family Housing Market Is 'Grim'" (12-27-07)

"Data through October 2007 for the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices fell 6.1% year over year, showing broadbased declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States. This marks the 10th consecutive month of negative annual returns, and the 23rd consecutive month of decelerating returns. This was the biggest decline in this down cycle as prices fell 1.42% sequentially."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Home prices fell faster in October" (12-27-07)

"The decline in home prices accelerated and spread to more regions of the country in October, according to a series of private indexes released Wednesday. Prices fell 6.1 percent from October 2006 in 20 large metropolitan areas, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller indexes, compared with a 4.9 percent decline in September. All but three of the 20 regions saw real estate values fall, and even the three places where prices were up from a year ago - Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C. - saw prices fall from a month earlier."

The Washington Post - "Mortgage Probes Face Big Hurdles" (12-27-07)

"The nation's largest banks are losing billions of dollars from the mortgage debacle. But will pain from bad housing bets be compounded by government investigations?"

This Is Money - "Property confidence crash as 75% see falls" (12-27-07)

"Confidence in the property market has crashed with three quarters of people predicting house price falls in 2008 - and just one in five believing the average home will rise in value. A poll of more than 4,000 people by This is Money has revealed that 75% expect property to fall over the coming year and 52% say prices will drop by 11% or more."

Los Angeles Times - "WaMu lowers limits on HELOCs" (12-27-07)

"Various blogs have been popping in the past 24 hours with rumors that Washington Mutual would be lowering limits on existing home equity lines of credit. It turns out there is some truth to the rumors -- WaMu is in fact lowering the amount of some existing HELOCs, but not as sharply as some bloggers have predicted. "

Los Angeles Times - "L.A. listing prices down another $5,100" (12-27-07)

"Good morning. Median listing prices in greater Los Angeles continued their slide over the past week, dropping by $5,100, or 1.0% in a week, according to Housing Tracker's weekly analysis of MLS listings."

Real Estate Journal - "Reverse Mortgages: A Way OutOf a Bind for Older Homeowners" (12-27-07)

"With a reverse mortgage, the bank makes payments to the homeowner instead of the homeowner making payments to a bank. The loan is repaid, with interest, when the borrower sells the house, moves out permanently or dies. The products are complex and have high fees -- typically about 7% of the home's value -- and they make it difficult for homeowners to leave the property to their heirs. But they may be the best option for people who have built up equity in their home and would otherwise lose it."

Real Estate Journal - "Cities Across the Globe ProposeLarge Real-Estate Projects" (12-27-07)

"Some of the biggest cities in the world are proposing the most ambitious real-estate projects in a generation, a sign of growing confidence in urban living even as the current financial landscape grows bleaker. The list is long and expensive, with more than 15 ventures, some of which are expected to cost as much as $30 billion: Four in New York City, at least three in Dubai, two in London, Chicago and Milan, and one in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Paris and Mumbai."