MSNBC - "Just 3 ‘superbanks’ now dominate industry" (11-6-08)

"The financial crisis that has been sweeping the globe has reshaped nearly every corner of the economy, but no industry has been altered more radically than banking. Several of the nation's biggest banks have failed or been absorbed by healthier institutions, leaving three giant 'superbanks' with an unprecedented concentration of market power: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo."

CNN - "Mortgage rates fall" (11-6-08)

"Mortgage rates fell this week amid a pullback in consumer spending and a weaker job market. Mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.20% this week. That's down from 6.46% last week and below 6.24%, the rate at this time last year."

CNN - "Forecast 2009: Your home" (11-6-08)

"You know the drill - banks' troubles have made it harder for many home buyers to get mortgages, and those who do qualify have to pay more. A borrower with good credit and a 20% down payment recently got charged an interest rate of 6.7%, on average, according to HSH Associates. It's true that this rate is not historically high (rates often surpassed 9% in the early 1990s). But it's more than the 6.2% that the same borrower would have paid at the beginning of 2008."

CNN - "Mounting job losses fueling foreclosures" (11-6-08)

"For years, bad loans and their aftershocks have been sending homeowners into foreclosure. Now it's lost jobs that are putting troubled borrowers over the edge. As the economy tanks, unemployment is the major factor driving a much larger proportion of foreclosures now than in the earlier stages of the mortgage meltdown. In June, 45.5% of all delinquencies reported by Freddie Mac were due to unemployment or the loss of income, according to the company. That's a rise from a level of 36.3% in 2006."

Bloomberg - "Credit Swap Disclosure Obscures True Financial Risk" (11-6-08)

"A report by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. doesn't include privately negotiated credit-default swaps that insurers such as AIG, MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. sold to guarantee securities known as collateralized debt obligations. It includes only a 'small fraction' of contracts linked to mortgage securities, according to Andrea Cicione at BNP Paribas SA in London."

Bloomberg - "Wells Fargo Raises $11 Billion to Fund Wachovia Deal" (11-6-08)

"Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, raised $11 billion in a stock sale to help fund its purchase of Wachovia Corp., exceeding its estimate for the offering. The bank sold 407.5 million shares for $27 each, 6.2 percent below today's closing price of $28.77, according to a company statement. The company may sell an additional 61 million shares if demand warrants. The San Francisco-based lender had planned to raise $10 billion."

Orange County Register - "Higher-priced O.C. homesellers continue to discount" (11-6-08)

"The upper crust, measured as the 75th percentile or the median of the top half, was asking $791,000 for a residence last month. That is down 0.7% in a month — fifth straight month without a price hike. It leaves the upper crust’s asking price down 7.2% in a year."

Orange County Register - "We print money!" (11-6-08)

"The Federal Reserve, doing everything it can to alleviate the credit crisis, reported today a 75% increase in its assets to $2.076 trillion now, vs. $1.187 trillion a year ago."