The San Diego Union Tribune - "'Cyclical' real estate market will improve, Realtors told" (5-10-08)

"Many analysts blame the current market downturn on weak loan underwriting standards. Davi said the blame for the subprime mortgage crisis extends beyond real estate professionals. In cases of consumer loan fraud that his department investigates, borrowers often are in complicity."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Citigroup to sell off assets, shrink by one-fifth" (5-10-08)

"Citigroup's new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, plans to stick with a global banking model after months of intense review – but only after shrinking the company by about one-fifth first. The three-year plan, revealed yesterday, includes getting rid of more businesses, mortgages, real estate operations and jobs."

Bloomberg - "Paulson, Trichet Signal Welcome at Dollar's Recovery Since G-7" (5-10-08)

"U.S. and European officials signaled satisfaction that the dollar is stabilizing after Group of Seven policy makers expressed concern a month ago about its decline. The dollar has advanced 3.4 percent from its record low of $1.6019 per euro on April 22, and is up 2.1 percent since the G-7 central bankers and finance ministers met in Washington April 11."

Bloomberg - "Treasuries Post Weekly Advance as Falling Stocks Spur Demand" (5-10-08)

"Two-year Treasury notes posted their biggest weekly gain since February as stocks declined and yields close to a four-month high attracted investors to government debt."

Orange County Register - "Did the agencies rating mortgage bonds let greed trump common sense?" (5-10-08)

"Turmoil in credit markets has sent politicians and investigators looking for the bad guy, the one who started it all. Critics say the potential culprits include agencies that rate bonds, including ones backed by home loans, because many bonds have lost value as homeowners default on their mortgages. They are Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch."

IdahoStatesmen.com - "Lotterman: The way mortgages are set up is why the market is down" (5-10-08)

"Our economy is reeling because many borrowers are failing to make their mortgage payments. This undercuts the value of mortgage-backed securities, which, in turn, threatens the solvency of large financial institutions. The irony surrounding mortgage defaults is that securities at the core of the crisis were designed to solve a very different problem, that of borrowers paying off their mortgages too soon rather than late or not at all."