NAR - "Near-Term Home Sales to Stay in Narrow Range" (9-09-08)

"The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, fell 3.2 percent to 86.5 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.4 in June, which had risen 5.8 percent from May. The July index remains 6.8 percent below July 2007 when it stood at 92.8."

Sacramento Bee - "Falling interest rates attract Sacramento home buyers" (9-09-08)

"Sacramento-area homebuyers flocked to mortgage offices Monday to lock in some of the year's lowest interest rates following a weekend federal takeover of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. But inside one of the nation's hardest-hit housing markets, which has seen billions of dollars in home equity erased the past two years, it was still tough to gauge the longer impact. The early consensus among local mortgage brokers, home builders and economists was that the government takeover can't hurt and might be good for Sacramento's real estate market."

Inman News - "Realtors weigh in on Fannie, Freddie takeover" (9-09-08)

"The U.S. Treasury Department takeover of mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could "short-circuit" the role of the entities during real estate downturns and lead to higher down-payment requirements and lower home-ownership rates, the California Association of Realtors cautioned in a statement Monday afternoon."

Bloomberg - "Credit Suisse Says Stock-Market Advance Won't Last" (9-09-08)

"The U.S. government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac drove the MSCI World Index of developed-market stocks to a 2.2 percent gain yesterday, the most since April 16. The rebound won't last because the U.S. housing crisis, which caused the first nationwide decline in home prices since the 1930s, will persist, Credit Suisse's London-based strategists led by Andrew Garthwaite wrote in a report. Also, Europe and the U.K. are 'close to recession,' they added."

Bloomberg - "Government Payments to Wall Street for Auction-Rate Wreck Climb" (9-09-08)

"Government officials are letting Wall Street banks pull off what makers of defective cars, computers and condos can't. After the collapse of a product banks created and controlled, they're charging the customers for repairs. The customers include taxpayers from New York to California, as well as not-for-profit institutions such as hospitals and universities. They sold auction-rate bonds, whose interest rates were set in periodic bidding. Since the market for those bonds began to fall apart last year, the issuers have had to pay an extra $2 billion in interest."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Treasury Credit-Default Swaps Increase to Record, CMA Says" (9-09-08)

"The cost of hedging against losses on Treasuries rose to a record on concern the U.S. government faces higher liabilities because of its rescue of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, credit-default swaps show."

Bloomberg - "Fannie, Freddie Mortgage Bonds Rise Further; Debt Spreads Widen" (9-09-08)

"Yields relative to benchmarks on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's $4 trillion of mortgage securities fell for a fifth day after the largest drop on record yesterday. Spreads on the government-controlled companies' $1.7 trillion of corporate debt rose a day after their biggest drop."

Yahoo - "Lehman sinks 45 percent on capital worries" (9-09-08)

"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shares sank 45 percent on Tuesday on growing concern the fourth-largest Wall Street investment bank won't be able to raise sufficient capital to survive the global credit crisis."

Orange County Register - "Bear Stearns pays $28 million for unfair mortgage billings" (9-09-08)

"The Federal Trade Commission said today that Bear and its EMC Mortgage Corp. subsidiary have agreed to pay $28 million to settle a FTC lawsuit that accused them of unfair billing practices. The FTC charged that Bear and EMC misrepresented what its customers owed and collected unauthorized fees. They also allegedly violated credit-reporting rules by turning over customers’ names and payment histories to credit agencies without disclosing that some of the amounts were disputed."

Orange County Register - "Newport Beach is 7th priciest U.S. home market" (9-09-08)

"Unlike other surveys that are based on median home prices, Coldwell Banker’s ranking is based on an apples-to-apples comparison of a 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home in 315 U.S. markets, as well as Puerto Rico, Canada and a sampling of countries and territories outside of North America where Coldwell Banker has a presence"

Orange County Register - "Pimco fund makes $1.7 billion in a day after bailout" (9-09-08)

"A huge winner from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac federal takeover was Bill Gross’ mortgage-heavy Pimco Total Return Fund, which rose 1.3% in price on Monday. That’s a huge jump for any bond fund, and the Newport Beach money manager believes it was likely a record gain for the mutual fund."