The Washington Post - "Lenders Fighting Mortgage Rewrite" (2-22-08)

"The nation's largest lending institutions are lobbying hard to block a proposal in Congress that would give bankruptcy judges greater latitude to rewrite mortgages held by financially strapped homeowners. The proposal, which could come to a vote in the Senate as early as next week, is being pushed by Democratic congressional leaders and a large coalition of groups that includes labor unions, consumer advocates, civil rights organizations and AARP, the powerful senior citizens' lobby."

CAR - "C.A.R. reports state and regional sales and price information for 2007" (2-22-08)

"Home sales decreased 26 percent in California in 2007 compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 0.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The median price of existing, single-family detached homes in California last year was $558,100, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. That’s 0.3 percent more than the 2006 median price of $556,430."

Bloomberg - "Gold Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain in 19 Months; Platinum Drops" (2-22-08)

"Gold, little changed in London, headed for its biggest weekly advance in 19 months as lower U.S. interest rates may revive investor demand for the metal as an alternative to the dollar. Platinum dropped from a record. The dollar traded near a three-week low against the euro on speculation U.S. economic growth will slow, forcing the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Gold has climbed 45 percent since the Fed in August announced a policy shift to contain the subprime mortgage collapse."

Bloomberg - "Banks Lose to Deadbeat Homeowners as Loans Sold in Bonds Vanish" (2-22-08)

"Joe Lents hasn't made a payment on his $1.5 million mortgage since 2002. That's when Washington Mutual Inc. first tried to foreclose on his home in Boca Raton, Florida. The Seattle-based lender failed to prove that it owned Lents's mortgage note and dropped attempts to take his house. Subsequent efforts to foreclose have stalled because no one has produced the paperwork."

CNN - "Foreclosure prevention plan under attack" (2-22-08)

"Two bills before Congress would give bankruptcy court judges the authority to reduce mortgage debt, which could save thousands of borrowers from foreclosure. Lenders are furious at the prospect of having judges seize control of their mortgage portfolios. Community and consumer advocates argue that such a move makes sense amid the current mortgage crisis."

MSN - "Real-estate agents bail out" (2-22-08)

"As many train for new careers, return to old ones or wait tables until prices rebound, the plight of the real-estate agent -- average age, 51 -- reveals the human dimension of how loose lending, raw opportunity and self-determination produced a housing bust that has stunned the U.S. economy."

Orange County Register - "Early Feb. condo price $100,000 off ‘06 peak" (2-22-08)

"DataQuick’s freshest stats show February starting slow. For the 22 business days ended Feb. 7, overall buying was weak ( -46.7% vs. a year ago) and pricing was soft ( -13.8% vs. a year ago.) Notably, the condo median selling price of $370,000 for the period, if it held for the entire month, would be the lowest since March 2004 –and $100,000 (-21%) off the March ‘06 peak of $470,000."