Mortgage Bankers Association - "Commercial/Multifamily Originations Lowest Since 2004, Originations for CMBS Show Biggest Drop" (6-3-08)

"Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers' loan originations fell on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. First quarter originations were fifty-three percent lower than during the same period last year. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all property types and most investor groups."

Yahoo - "Don't Raid Retirement Savings to Pay the Mortgage" (6-3-08)

"Before you dip into your retirement, try to prioritize your spending. After health care, keeping your home should be your first priority, says Jacob Benaroya, president of Biltmore Capital Group, a company which buys nonperforming mortgages and tries to get borrowers back on the straight and narrow. So make your house payments before your pay on your credit cards or other unsecured debts. Visa can't take your house away from you, but your mortgage holder can."

Bloomberg - "Toll Reports Third Straight Loss on Land Writedown" (6-3-08)

"Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, reported its third straight quarterly loss as tumbling demand forced the company to write down land values. The net loss for the fiscal second quarter ended April 30 was $93.7 million, or 59 cents a share. In the year-earlier second quarter, Toll had net income of $36.7 million, or 22 cents a share. The shares rose 3.1 percent after Toll recorded its lowest cancellation rate in a year and the loss was smaller than analysts' estimates."

CNN - "Fat pensions spell doom for many cities" (6-3-08)

"The jig is up. For years, politicians have been playing what amounts to a multi-trillion-dollar shell game with state and local pensions. They've doled out lush retiree benefits to their heavily unionized workforces, knowing that they could shove the cost for those benefits onto future generations of taxpayers. But a recent financial bombshell dropped by a San Francisco suburb shows why that shell game is now starting to unravel in a nasty way. And it's a cautionary tale that you can't afford to ignore."

Yahoo - "Lehman shares plunge on capital raising concern" (6-3-08)

"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shares plunged as much as 14 percent on Tuesday to their lowest level since the meltdown of Bear Stearns on concern that Wall Street's smallest surviving major brokerage could need to raise more capital."

Bloomberg - "ResCap Gets GMAC, Cerberus Funding to Avoid Default" (6-3-08)

"Cerberus Capital Management LP and GMAC LLC will prop up Residential Capital LLC with at least $2.88 billion in funding after previous rescue plans for the mortgage unit failed. GMAC, the owner of ResCap, and Cerberus, which controls GMAC, stepped in after the home-loan unit fell $2 billion short of meeting its debt obligations this month -- more than triple the gap disclosed last month, according to a regulatory filing today. ResCap's original plan to sell $1.3 billion in assets collapsed, the filing said."

Yahoo - "Inflation moves up on Bernanke's worry list" (6-3-08)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has moved inflation up on his list of worries, suggesting more pointedly than ever that the time for cutting interest rates is over in view of soaring oil and commodity prices and a weakened dollar."

Bloomberg - "Wachovia's Thompson Joins Prince, O'Neal Toppled by Subprime" (6-3-08)

"Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kennedy Thompson sounded like a gambler who'd spotted a sure thing in 2006 when he paid $24.6 billion for Golden West, a California lender specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages."

Bloomberg - "Moody's, McGraw-Hill Shares Rise on Cuomo Pact Report" (6-3-08)

"Moody's Corp. and McGraw-Cos. rose in New York trading on speculation they reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo without agreeing to any harsh penalties. Moody's Investors Service, McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, the three largest bond-rating companies, agreed to change the way they collect fees as part of the agreement with Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reported today."

Bloomberg - "Vornado Seeks Retail Acquisitions With $1.4 Billion in Cash" (6-3-08)

"Vornado Realty Trust, the fourth- biggest U.S. real estate investment trust, is looking for retail properties to buy with the $1.4 billion of cash on its balance sheet, company executives said."