Bloomberg - "California's Discount Foreclosure Sales Point to Housing Bottom" (7-31-08)

This article features Bruce Norris

"In Stockton, the U.S. metro area with the highest foreclosure rate, home sales more than doubled in the second quarter after prices fell by an average 37 percent, said PMZ Real Estate Corp., the area's largest broker. Across the state, sales rose for three consecutive months starting in April after 30 straight months of declines, the California Association of Realtors said. About 40 percent of those transactions were foreclosure sales, DataQuick Information Systems reported."

CNN - "Foreclosures linked to subprime fraud" (7-31-08)

"Mortgage scammers took advantage of loopholes in New York State lending laws to defraud homeowners and lending institutions all over the state, according to a new report released Thursday. The New York State Commission of Investigations reported that the state's mortgage borrowers need more regulatory protection from predatory lenders. It also linked subprime loans closely to New York's growing foreclosure problem; in 2007, 59% of all foreclosures statewide involved subprime loans."

CNN - "Freddie aims to slow foreclosures" (7-31-08)

"Freddie Mac is doubling the amount of money it pays loan servicers for each successful mortgage workout among other measures to keep struggling borrowers out of foreclosure, it said Thursday. The mortgage financier is also giving more time to negotiate workouts in states with fast foreclosure processes and will reimburse servicers for door-to-door outreach."

CNN - "Mortgage rates drop as oil eases" (7-31-08)

"Mortgage rates fell slightly this week according to a weekly report released Wednesday, as lower oil prices briefly ease fears of price inflation."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Recession May Have Begun in Last Quarter of 2007" (7-31-080)

"The U.S. economy may have slipped into a recession in the last three months of 2007 as consumer spending slowed more than previously estimated and the housing slump worsened, revised government figures indicated. The world's largest economy contracted at a 0.2 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter of last year compared with a previously reported 0.6 percent gain, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Growth for the period from 2005 through 2007 was also trimmed."


Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Demise Proves Premature as 'Ace' Stays" (7-31-08)0

"Bear Stearns, previously the fifth-largest U.S. securities firm, had more than 500 retail brokers under its last chief executive officer, 58-year-old Alan Schwartz, whom JPMorgan said today will leave the firm. The wealth management division booked $830 million of revenue in 2007, 14 percent of the firm's total. JPMorgan didn't have a retail brokerage prior to the purchase, and Jes Staley, 51, who runs the bank's asset management unit, said in December that he wasn't interested in running such a business."

Bloomberg - "Paulson Says Stimulus to Ensure 2nd-Half U.S. Growth" (7-31-08)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he expects the government's fiscal stimulus plan will boost economic growth in the second half of the year, offsetting a housing downturn and high energy prices."

Bloomberg - "Merrill Defrauded Auction-Rate Investors, State Says" (7-31-08)

"Merrill Lynch & Co. was accused by Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin of misleading investors about the stability of the auction-rate market at the same time the investment bank was marketing the securities."