NAR - "Stimulus Package Must Include Loan Limit Increase to Help Homeowners, Economy Immediately, Says NAR " (1-17-08)

"The National Association of Realtors® today urged President George W. Bush and Congress to help homeowners and the national economy by loosening constraints on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as an integral part of a federal stimulus package currently being discussed."

DQNews - "California December 2007 Home Sales" (1-17-08)

"A total of 25,585 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That's virtually unchanged from 25,578 for November, and down 41.1 percent from 43,431 for November 2006. Last month's sales made for the slowest December in DataQuick's records, which go back to 1988. On a year-over-year basis, sales have declined the last 27 months."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "MBA Study: Industry Initiated More Than 235,000 Loan Modifications and Repayment Plans in 3rd Quarter" (1-17-08)

"The mortgage industry modified an estimated 54,000 loans and established formal repayment plans with another 183,000 borrowers during the third quarter of 2007, according to a report issued today by the Mortgage Bankers Association. By comparison, foreclosure actions were started on approximately 384,000 loans, but of those foreclosures, 63 percent were cases where the borrower did not live in the home, the borrower did not respond to repeated attempts by the lender to contact them, or where the borrower failed to perform on a repayment plan or loan modification that was already in place."

NAHB - "Builders Continue To Reduce New Housing Production In December" (1-17-08)

"Single-family housing starts declined 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 794,000 units in December as home builders continued to ratchet down production in an effort to reduce inventories of new homes on the market, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Meanwhile, a sharp reduction in the volatile multifamily sector contributed to an overall 14.2 percent decline in nationwide housing starts for the month to a one million-unit rate, the lowest since May of 1991."

Bloomberg - "Merrill Posts Record Loss on $16.7 Billion Writedown" (1-17-08)

"Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest U.S. brokerage, reported a record loss after $16.7 billion of writedowns on assets infected by subprime mortgages. The fourth-quarter net loss of $9.83 billion, or $12.01 a share, compared with earnings of $2.35 billion, or $2.41, a year earlier, the New York-based firm said today in a statement. The loss was almost three times bigger than analysts estimated and resulted in the first full-year loss since 1989, sending Merrill down 10 percent in New York trading, the biggest decline since the 2001 terrorist attacks."

Bloomberg - "CIT Posts Loss on Mortgages, Will Cut 5% of Workforce" (1-17-08)

"CIT Group Inc., the largest independent commercial finance company in the U.S., reported a fourth-quarter loss because of bad home mortgages and the declining value of its student-loan business. The $123.2 million loss before preferred dividends, or 69 cents a share, compares with a profit of $266.8 million, or $1.31 a share, a year earlier, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The full-year loss was $81 million, or 58 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.05 billion in 2006."

Bloomberg - "Moody's, S&P Reviewing Bond Insurers as Losses Mount" (1-17-08)

"Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's increased their scrutiny of bond insurers after losses on subprime-mortgage securities prompted Ambac Financial Group Inc. to report writedowns of $3.5 billion. Ambac and MBIA dropped in early New York Stock Exchange trading and their risk of default soared after Moody's said it may cut Ambac's AAA credit rating. S&P yesterday began examining all bond insurers after increasing its predictions for losses on subprime mortgages. Shares of Ambac plunged $8.01, or 62 percent, to $4.96 as of 9:48 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. MBIA shares dropped $4.57, or 34 percent, to $8.83."

Market Watch - "Wall Street's error-oids era" (1-17-08)

"This week three major banks are scheduled to testify. Through Wednesday, Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. had 'fessed up. Another, Merrill Lynch & Co. is expected to come clean with billions more in write-downs. Ballplayers have ruined their bodies and reputations and often forced themselves into an early retirement for the sake of RBI and ERA. Banks ruined their balance sheets and market values for the sake of SIVs and MBSs."

CNN - "WaMu accused of appraisal fraud" (1-17-08)

"A former real estate appraiser for Washington Mutual is suing the bank, claiming she was blacklisted last year for providing a housing market forecast that was too gloomy. Jeniffer Wertz, who is seeking unspecified damages, says WaMu stopped accepting her appraisals in mid-2007 a month after she reported that her local housing market in California was 'declining.'"