The San Diego Union Tribune - "Homeowners could catch a break" (2-9-08)

"Congress may be issuing $600-per-person tax rebate checks this spring, but the temporary mortgage revisions in the economic stimulus package passed this week could have a greater effect on San Diego's economy, particularly its beleaguered housing market. That's because the package, expected to be signed next week by President Bush, could save some homeowners hundreds of dollars a month in mortgage payments and rescue other owners wanting to refinance out of adjustable-rate mortgages."

EIR - "Foolish Fed's Rate CutPumps Hyperinflation" (2-9-08)

"Panic can be a dangerous thing, especially when it is the response by a central bank to global economic disintegration, and panic is just what the Federal Reserve did with its two interest-rate cuts in January. The combined 1.25 percentage-point cut was precisely the wrong move, amounting to more of the poison which has already killed the patient. The Fed is trying to save a system which cannot be saved, and in doing so, is leading the nation and the world into a Weimar Germany-style hyperinflationary blowout. We are headed, in the analysis of Lyndon LaRouche, into a "global breakdown crisis," a self-feeding downward spiral in which the financial system, the physical economy, and the political structures all collapse, leading to a chaos not seen since the Dark Age of 14th-Century Europe."

The Charlotte Observer - "Wachovia loans questioned" (2-9-08)

"At a time when many lenders are pulling back on nontraditional mortgages, Wachovia Corp. is diving in deeper. The Charlotte bank argues that its 'Pick-A-Payment' mortgage gives customers more flexibility to manage their personal finances. But the product, amid turbulent times in the housing market, has drawn concern from the bank's investors, consumer advocates and even some employees."