Yahoo - "Countrywide to Aid More Borrowers" (2-11-08)

"Countrywide Financial Corp., under pressure to help stem growing home loan defaults, says it will expand programs to help borrowers manage their mortgage payments regardless of the type of subprime loan they have or whether they have already fallen behind on payments.Full details of the initiative, the result of a pact with the national community advocacy group, were to be disclosed Monday. Initial plans to disclose the deal were postponed last month after Calabasas-based Countrywide agreed to be acquired by Bank of America Corp. for $4.1 billion in stock."

Bloomberg - "Economy Rebounds Before Election, Treasuries Show" (2-11-08)

"Before you can say 'Barack Obama is president of the United States,' the economy will be growing faster again. That forecast is based on the rise in the five-year Treasury yield from its lowest level relative to two- and 10- year notes since 2001. The last two times that happened was during the recessions of 1990 and 2001, and the economy began to expand within nine months."

Bloomberg - "Bond Insurance Turns Toxic for Munis as Rates Soar" (2-11-08)

"Bond insurance sold by MBIA Inc., Ambac Financial Group Inc. and Security Capital Assurance Ltd. is backfiring on counties, universities and hospitals across the U.S., more than doubling some borrowing costs. Park Nicollet Health Services in Minneapolis may pay an extra $5 million to $6 million this year, about a quarter of its operating profit, because interest on $375 million in floating- rate debt doubled in the last six weeks, said Chief Financial Officer David Cooke. The rate on $98 million insured by Ambac climbed to 6 percent on Jan. 30 from 3.06 percent on Jan. 2."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "So much for a break in credit card rates after the Fed's cuts" (2-11-08)

"The Federal Reserve's dramatic rate cuts were expected to make it cheaper for consumers to use credit cards. But credit card interest rates remain high and in many cases have even climbed. Bruised by a rise in foreclosures, banks have been reluctant to lower rates for cardholders who have missed payments or had their credit scores slip, analysts and industry watchdogs said. Yet even some cardholders who pay on time have not benefited from the Federal Reserve's recent actions, as banks raise rates and fees to make up for losses in their mortgage departments, analysts said."

Bloomberg - "CDO Losses Driving Credit-Default Swaps to Record, Analysts Say" (2-11-08)

"Banks are driving the cost of protecting corporate bonds from default to the highest on record as they seek to hedge against losses on collateralized debt obligations, according to traders of credit-default swaps. Contracts on the benchmark Markit iTraxx Crossover Index soared 17 basis points to 547 at 12:50 p.m. in London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The Markit iTraxx Asia Ex-Japan Series 8 Index soared the most in one day, rising 15 basis points to an all-time high of 144.5, according to BNP Paribas SA. The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index rose 2.5 basis points to 132.25, Deutsche Bank AG prices show."

Bloomberg - "AIG Discloses `Weakness' in Derivative Accounting" (2-11-08)

"American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, said auditors found a 'material weakness' in how the company values its credit- default swap portfolio. The stock fell the most in 20 years. The contracts declined by about $4.88 billion in October and November, according to data in a regulatory filing today. The drop was confirmed by company spokesman Chris Winans. AIG had said in December that the value of the 'super senior credit derivatives' fell by about $1.1 billion in those two months. The stock retreated 11 percent to $45.16 as of 10:19 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading."

Voice of San Diego - "Mortgage Distress Spreads Beyond Subprime" (2-11-08)

"In the year since national spotlights became trained on problems affiliated with subprime mortgages, some pundits and analysts have made "subprime" synonymous with the entire crisis in the economy, the housing market and a lot of other, sometimes unrelated, issues. But growth in late payments and foreclosures among other loans in San Diego County speaks to a problem that is far from contained to subprime, analysts caution."

Los Angeles Times - "Oops, we lost another $4.36 billion" (2-11-08)

"American International Group, the world's largest insurer, disclosed that the value of some of its risky debt portfolio had plunged by $5.96 billion, not $1.6 billion as reported earlier. The disclosure cast doubt on AIG's past contention that it didn't face major problems stemming from the credit crisis that has slammed other financial institutions."

Orange County Register - "Calif. ranks 32nd for outbound van moves" (2-11-08)

"Allied Van Lines’ moving data for 2007 shows that 52% of its California moves were outbound. My trusty spreadsheet tells me that ranks California 32nd among 48 states (no Hawaii or Iowa) in terms of a state’s relative “draw” for new residents. Michigan (67% outbound) was worst; Arkansas (38%) was best."

Orange County Register - "O.C. home supply at 7-month low" (2-11-08)

"it would take 9.73 months for buyers to gobble up all homes listed for sale last Thursday at the current pace of deals vs. 12.51 months two weeks earlier and vs. 4.87 months a year ago."

Real Estate Journal - "Commentary: The RiseOf the Mortgage Walkers" (2-11-08)

"'The apparent willingness of borrowers to walk away from mortgage debt,' the analysts noted, 'has contributed to extraordinary high levels of early default' on loans issued during the 18 months before the mortgage bubble burst. It expects losses to reach 21% of initial loan balances for subprime mortgages issued in 2006 and 26% for those issued in early 2007."