New York Times - "It May Be Time for the Fed to Go Negative" (4-18-09)

"The problem today, it seems, is that the Federal Reserve has done just about as much interest rate cutting as it can. Its target for the federal funds rate is about zero, so it has turned to other tools, such as buying longer-term debt securities, to get the economy going again. But the efficacy of those tools is uncertain, and there are risks associated with them."

Bloomberg - "Volcker Says Fed’s Authority Probably to Be Reviewed" (4-18-09)

"U.S. lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concern in recent months that the central bank has overstepped its authority by creating several emergency credit programs aimed at reviving lending and ending the recession."

San Francisco Chronicle - "State unemployment rate highest since 1941" (4-18-09)

"The state unemployment rate soared to 11.2 percent in March, the highest since before World War II, leaving a record 2.1 million Californians out of work, according to a report issued Friday."

Bloomberg - "Obama Can’t Pick Up the Phone for Mortgage Customers" (4-20-09)

"President Barack Obama is counting on banks to help revive the economy by refinancing home loans for as many as 5 million borrowers and modifying the mortgages of another 4 million who don’t qualify for refinancing. Lenders, swamped by customers, miss an estimated 750,000 calls a month, which could translate into 125,000 mortgages added to the 850,000 loans that are made each month, according to Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance."

Inman - "Short sales, REOs contribute wave of lawsuits" (4-20-09)

"An increase in short-sale attempts has resulted in an uptick in short-sale lawsuits, while the recent increase in loan-modification attempts could result in future litigation, according to a presentation at the San Diego Association of Realtors Expo earlier this month."

Bloomberg - "Lennar Declines on Possible Stock Sale, Drywall Suit" (4-20-09)

"Lennar Corp. fell 19 percent in New York trading after the U.S. homebuilder said it may sell up to $275 million in Class A common stock."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America Shares Decline on More Bad Loans" (4-20-09)

"Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender by assets, dropped the most in almost two months of New York trading after the company put aside $6.4 billion to cover a growing pool of uncollectible loans."

Los Angeles Times - "Leading economic indicators dip more than expected" (4-20-09)

"A private sector group's index of leading economic indicators fell more than expected in March, but the forecast called for the recession's intensity to ease this summer. The Conference Board said Monday that its monthly forecast of economic activity fell 0.3 percent in March and has not risen in nine months. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.2 percent decline."

Orange County Register - "Just 19 days worth of O.C. foreclosures for sale" (4-20-09)

"There were just 613 bank-owned foreclosures for sale in Orange County last week — and deals in the works to buy homes from banks totaled 938. That puts Thomas’ expected market time for foreclosures at 19 days vs. 3 months for all homes."