Thursday, January 01, 2009

Bloomberg - "Journal of a Plague Year: Faith in Markets Cracks Under Losses" (1-01-08)

"It has been a year of record misery: the largest bankruptcy, bank failure and Ponzi scheme in U.S. history; $720 billion in writedowns and losses by financial institutions; $30.1 trillion in market valuation wiped out."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Mortgage Rates Fall to Lowest in Three Decades" (1-01-08)

"U.S. mortgage rates dropped to the lowest in more than three decades as the government stepped up efforts to revive the housing market. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage tumbled for a ninth straight week, to 5.10 percent from 5.14 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said in a report today. That’s the lowest on record, according to data that goes back to 1971, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage buyer said."

Bloomberg - "Mortgage-Bond Spreads Narrow on Fed Plans, Ending Worst Year" (1-01-08)

"Yields on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage bonds narrowed relative to government notes after the Federal Reserve said it would buy $500 billion of the securities faster than analysts expected. The difference between yields on Washington-based Fannie’s current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds and 10-year Treasuries fell 8 basis points to 168 basis points as of 3 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg calculations. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point."

Bloomberg - "Muni Sales Dry Up as States Face $42 Billion Deficit" (1-01-08)

"The worst year for municipal bond investors since 1999 may further reduce demand for tax-exempt debt just as state governments face the biggest budget deficits in at least a quarter-century. State and local borrowers sold $385 billion of long-term bonds through yesterday, down 9 percent from 2007, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. Next year, sales will drop more than 6 percent to about $364 billion, the least since 2004, based on an average of estimates from London-based Barclays Plc, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Loop Capital Markets LLC."

Los Angeles Times - "Sale of IndyMac to partnership likely" (12-30-08)

"The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is nearing a deal to sell IndyMac Bank to a partnership of private New York investors, nearly six months after the Pasadena mortgage lender was taken over by regulators."

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