Bloomberg - "Citigroup Plans to Sell $6 Billion of Hybrid Bonds" (4-21-08)

"Citigroup Inc., after posting almost $16 billion in writedowns, is bolstering capital by selling $6 billion of preferred shares in its biggest public debt offering. The perpetual hybrid bonds may pay 8.4 percent for 10 years, according to a person who declined to be named because terms aren't set."

Bloomberg - "National City May Get $7 Billion to Replenish Capital" (4-21-08)

"National City Corp., Ohio's biggest bank and subprime lender, may get $6 billion to $7 billion from a group led by Corsair Capital LLC to bolster its balance sheet, said a person with knowledge of the situation. The investors will pay $5 a share, said the person, who didn't want to be identified before a possible announcement later today. National City slid 8.4 percent to $7.65 in premarket trading today at 8:35 a.m. in New York."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns" (4-21-08)

"Bank of America Corp., the second- largest U.S. bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans. First-quarter net income declined 77 percent to $1.21 billion from $5.26 billion a year earlier, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said today in a statement. The results fell short of analysts' estimates and sent the bank's stock down 2.5 percent in New York trading."

MSN - "Average Joe still can't afford a home" (4-21-08)

"Comparing housing costs in 210 metropolitan areas with the wages earned by workers in 60 occupations, the study found that homeownership is often unaffordable for workers in each of the five-fastest growing occupations -- registered nurses, retail salespeople, customer-service representatives, food-preparation workers and office clerks. Registered nurses, who typically have high salaries, were unable to purchase a median-priced home in 108 of the markets."

The Washington Post - "Housing Sense in Congress?" (4-21-08)

"Presidential candidates insist that Washington needs fixing, and we in the commentariat love to expose hypocrisy, pork-barreling and gridlock. So it feels awkward to admit the truth about the subprime meltdown. First Congress produced a timely and well-crafted stimulus. Now it is working on proposals to help homeowners, and with one ugly exception, the recommendations are sound."

CNN - "The trillion-dollar mortgage time bomb" (4-21-08)

"Among the nightmares lurking around the corner for the already battered housing and credit markets would be a meltdown at mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although few are predicting an imminent need for a bailout just yet, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's recently placed an estimated price tag on this worst case scenario -- $420 billion to $1.1 trillion of taxpayer's money."

CNN - "When a HELOC freezes over" (4-21-08)

"As of September, delinquencies on HELOCs were up 47% year over year, according to Economy.com; the numbers are expected to be worse in 2008. In response, Countrywide has already suspended an estimated 122,000 lines, many in high-foreclosure-rate states, and USAA has frozen or reduced some 15,000 accounts.Bank of America, Chase and Citibank, among others, are following suit."

CNN - "Waiting for a subprime perp walk" (4-21-08)

"Admit it. you want to see some justice handed out on Wall Street. Thanks to the Great Mortgage Panic of 2008, your home value is tumbling, credit is harder to get and the job market may turn a lot tougher. And let's not even talk about your 401(k) balance. It's natural to be angry when forces beyond your control mess with your life. So we're looking for villains. Some people - especially Wall Street people - blame feckless, house-hungry borrowers. Then there were regulators who didn't bother to regulate. But the heart of the matter is that Wall Street went nuts. Again."

Orange County Register - "Downey reports $248 million loss, says reduced pay-option loans" (4-21-08)

"Downey Financial in Newport Beach reported Monday a first-quarter loss of $248 million, vs. a profit of $43 million a year ago. It’s suspending its dividend to shore up capital amid soft housing and credit markets."

Orange County Register - "Realtors volunteer as foreclosure counselors" (4-21-08)

"The Orange County Association of Realtors donated $20,000 to support foreclosure counseling by the Fair Housing Council of Orange County, the council announced last week. In addition, more than 50 real estate agents have been trained as volunteers to support the foreclosure counseling process and about 100 volunteers more are expected to be trained, said Connie Der Torossian, the council’s vice president of marketing and outreach."