DQNews - "Southland home sales highest in eight months" (5-19-08)

"Southern California home sales surged last month to the highest level since August as bargain shoppers took advantage of price slashing. Although some higher-end costal markets also posted gains, the swell in transactions mainly reflects more sales of homes under $500,000 in inland areas where depreciation and foreclosures have been greatest, a real estate information service reported."

Bloomerg - "California Luxury Home Prices Fall for Second Straight Quarter" (5-19-08)

"The average price of a luxury home in the San Francisco Bay Area declined 0.8 percent from the previous three months to $3 million, according to a survey by First Republic Bank, a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co. Los Angeles prices dropped 2.2 percent to $2.35 million and San Diego prices fell 2.2 percent to $2.06 million."

Bloomberg - "UBS $100 Billion Wager Prompted $24 Billion Loss in Nine Months" (5-19-08)

"In the nine months ended on March 31, UBS lost 25.4 billion Swiss francs ($24.3 billion), more than any other bank caught in the worldwide credit crunch."

Market Watch - "Continued weakness in housing seen in data" (5-19-08)

"U.S. consumers won't really feel comfortable until home values stop falling. They could be in for a rough year because there's no sign that home-price declines are letting up. And with home prices falling, fewer buyers are willing to take the plunge."

The Washington Post - "The Old Titans All Collapsed. Is the U.S. Next?" (5-19-08)

"Back in August, during the panic over mortgages, Alan Greenspan offered reassurance to an anxious public. The current turmoil, the former Federal Reserve Board chairman said, strongly resembled brief financial scares such as the Russian debt crisis of 1998 or the U.S. stock market crash of 1987. Not to worry. But in the background, one could hear the groans and feel the tremors as larger political and economic tectonic plates collided. Nine months later, Greenspan's soothing analogies no longer wash. The U.S. economy faces unprecedented debt levels, soaring commodity prices and sliding home prices, to say nothing of a weak dollar. Despite the recent stabilization of the economy, some economists fear that the world will soon face the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s."

Yahoo - "Lowe's profit falls nearly 18 pct, lowers view" (5-19-08)

"A struggling economy and continued turmoil in the housing market drove the nation's second-biggest home improvement retailer to report a nearly 18 percent drop in first-quarter earnings from a year earlier and lower its guidance for the year on Monday."

Bloomberg - "Home Depot May Say Profit Fell Again on Housing Slump" (5-19-08)

"First-quarter net income, which Home Depot said will include expenses to close stores, may fall 68 percent to $331 million, said Daniel Binder, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. Excluding the costs, the average profit estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 37 cents a share. Revenue excluding the wholesale-supply unit sold last year may have fallen 4.9 percent to $17.6 billion, 17 analysts predict."

Realty Times - "Washington Report: Risk-Based Pricing" (5-19-08)

"The Federal Housing Administration shook up Washington's mortgage and real estate leaders last week by announcing that it's shifting its entire production line to risk-based pricing -- starting this summer."

Realty Times - "Be Effective In Sales By Understanding People" (5-19-08)

"People are egocentric: This means they are self-focused. They are clearly fixated on what's in it for them. If we don't know what they want and link that with the benefits of doing business with us, we will stumble in sales. We all look at the world based on how a given situation or opportunity relates to us personally. When we fail to connect the dots personally with our customers, we are rendered less effective."