Bloomberg - "S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Fell 15.3% in April" (6-24-08)

"Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in April by the most on record, signaling the housing recession is far from over, a private survey showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 15.3 percent from a year earlier, less than forecast, after a 14.3 percent decline in March. The group began keeping year-over-year records in 2001. A separate report showed consumer confidence slumped this month to the lowest level in 16 years."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Homebuilders Rise on Positive Analyst Rating" (6-24-08)

"Centex Corp. and KB Home led an index of U.S. homebuilders to its biggest gain in three weeks after a Credit Suisse analyst started coverage of the builders with an ``overweight'' rating on the industry. A Standard & Poor's measure of home construction companies gained 3.7 percent, the most since June 3, after the positive recommendation in a report dated yesterday by Daniel Oppenheim of Credit Suisse."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Attorney Charges Follieri, Sued by Burkle, With Wire Fraud" (6-24-08)

"Follieri's company, Follieri Group LLC, was sued in April by Ron Burkle's Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Cos., which claimed he used part of a $55.6 million investment in a joint venture with the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I to finance a lifestyle that included private jets, a penthouse and trips to Europe with actress Anne Hathaway, his girlfriend at the time."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing May Reach `Inflection' in 2009, Credit Suisse Says" (6-24-08)

"The U.S. housing market may reach an 'inflection point' next year as the number of existing homes for sale peaks and new-home construction stalls."

Bloomberg - "Fannie, Freddie Fail to Relieve Jumbo Loan Pressure" (6-24-08)

"Three months after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won the freedom to step up home-loan purchases, the government-chartered mortgage-finance companies are doing what critics in the Federal Reserve and Congress had predicted. Instead of using powers granted by Congress to buy jumbo loans for the first time, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are purchasing their own mortgage-backed securities, helping reduce losses, company filings show. The large loans, above $417,000, made up almost a third of the U.S. market last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Plays `Dangerous Game' Weighing Talk, Action" (6-24-08)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, by voicing concern about inflation and the slumping dollar, has fanned investor expectations for an interest-rate increase as soon as August. He may regret it. Raising rates may exacerbate the economic slowdown and roil banks whose losses sent their stocks down the most in a decade this month. Forgoing a rate boost next quarter risks damaging the Fed's credibility and deepening its divisions. Already this year, three officials have dissented on rate decisions."

Reuters - "WaMu may face $30 bln credit losses through 2011: Lehman" (6-24-08)

"Washington Mutual Inc may set aside as much as $30 billion for credit losses through 2011, according to Lehman Brothers Inc analyst Bruce Harting, who increased his forecast for losses this year at the largest U.S. savings and loan. Harting also wrote that the Seattle-based thrift may need to widen its loss forecast of $12 billion to $19 billion tied to single-family residential home loans for the next three to four years."

Wall Street Journal - "U.S.-Backed Mortgage Program Fuels Risks" (6-24-08)

"Mortgages that allow consumers to put little if any money down when buying a home have largely disappeared as a financing option available from private lenders. But they are still available -- and growing more popular -- through a government-backed program. That's raising concerns among critics who blame no-money-down mortgages for many of today's housing market woes. And while federal housing officials are moving to end the practice, for now home builders are promoting the programs to move unsold inventory."

Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-24-08)

"The Joint Center for Housing Studies has reported that America's rental market may see some significant changes as the mortgage crisis continues. Foreclosure rates have jumped from less than 200,000 a decade ago -- to a rate in the millions. While slower economic conditions are creating financial hard times for many individuals, much of the blame points to subprime loans, which skewed the line of affordability and reason for buyers in the past few years."

Realty Times - "Climate Change, Home Location Intertwined" (6-24-08)

"When it comes to where you choose to live, be very careful what you wish for. That river-side bargain, bay view dream home or desert adobe could, along with you, become a victim of climate change."

Daily News - "State's real estate bust is still playing out" (6-24-08)

"California's real estate market is a three-act play. Sort of a greed tragedy full of surprises. That's how the UCLA Anderson Forecast sees things. Part of its second-quarter assessment included a section titled 'The Three Phases of the California Real Estate Bust.' Of course, hindsight is a pretty good rear-view mirror. Act 1 was great, for the most part. Act 2 was horrible and Act 3 is still playing itself out."