NAHB - "Builders Applaud OFHEO Decision On Conforming Loan Limits" (3-26-08)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today applauded the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) for its decision not to decrease conforming loan limits from the current level of $417,000 in 2009 and subsequent years."

CBIA - "Total New-Home Starts Decline Again in February, CBIA Announces" (3-26-08)

"New-home starts in California continued to decline in February as homebuilders continued to grapple with problems in the housing and credit markets, the California Building Industry Association reported today. According to housing permit data supplied by the Construction Industry Research Board, total housing starts in California, as measured by building permits issued, dropped 28 percent in February when compared to the same month a year ago to 6,855 units. Production of single-family homes fell 60 percent while construction of multifamily units increased 36 percent when compared to February of 2007."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Spike In Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Refis Up 82 Percent" (3-26-08)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 21, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 965.9, an increase of 48.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 652.0 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 46.1 percent compared with the previous week and was up 41.1 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Bloomberg - "Paulson Urges Broader Fed Oversight of Wall Street" (3-26-08)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the Federal Reserve should broaden its oversight to include Wall Street investment firms in a shakeup of the supervisory system set up during the Great Depression. In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Paulson praised the Fed's decision last week to lend to securities dealers and said the policy should be reserved for times of market stress. 'Certainly, any regular access to the discount window should involve the same type of regulation and supervision,' he said in the remarks today in Washington."

Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Sale to JPMorgan to Be Probed by Senate" (3-26-08)

"The top lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee said they are reviewing the terms of the taxpayer-backed sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to JPMorgan Chase & Co."

Market Watch - "Paulson resists Congressional effort to stem mortgage crisis" (3-26-08)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Wednesday continued to resist Congressional efforts to stem the negative consequences to homeowners of the housing market collapse. Opposition from the White House could make it difficult for Congress to pass any legislation to help homeowners battling the mortgage crisis."

Bloomberg - "Taxpayers May Be Liable From Bear, Mortgage Rescue" (3-26-08)

"Even as the Bush administration insists it won't risk public funds in a bailout, American taxpayers may already be liable for billions of dollars stemming from Federal Reserve and Treasury efforts to quell a financial crisis. History suggests the Fed may not recover some of the almost $30 billion investment in illiquid mortgage securities it received from Bear Stearns Cos., said Joe Mason, a Drexel University professor who has written on banking crises. Treasury's push to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy more mortgage bonds reduces the capital the government-chartered companies hold in reserve at a time when foreclosures and defaults are surging. Senators are promising to investigate."

Orange County Register - "New Century’s bankruptcy report blames KPMG, executives for misstatements" (3-26-08)

"A bankruptcy examiner’s report on New Century Financial Corp. accuses the Irvine company’s auditor, KPMG, of allowing the company to change its accounting practices so it could report a profit rather than a loss in the second half of 2006."

Real Estate Journal - "U.S. Officials Warn of ScamsTargeting Homeowners" (3-26-08)

"Federal officials say a wave of opportunistic scams are targeting homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure in the current housing downturn. Monday, prosecutors in California unsealed twin cases against 19 people who, according to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, skimmed nearly $13 million in equity from 115 homeowners coast to coast under the guise of a mortgage rescue."