Los Angeles Times - "Mortgage rates likely to remain stable for rest of year, analysts say" (5-22-09)

"Bankrate.com said its weekly national survey taken Wednesday showed an uptick in rates, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 5.24% from 5.21%. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage carried a 0.43 discount and origination points."

Bloomberg - "TARP Warrants Shows Banks May Reap ‘Ruthless Bargain’" (5-22-09)

"Banks negotiating to reclaim stock warrants they granted in return for Troubled Asset Relief Program money may shortchange taxpayers by almost $10 billion if Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s first sale sets the pace, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While 17 financial institutions have repaid TARP funds, only two have come to terms with the U.S. on the value of the rights to buy stock that taxpayers received for the risk of recapitalizing the industry. The first was Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Indiana, which gave the Treasury Department $1.2 million last week for warrants that may have been worth $5.81 million, according to the data."

Yahoo - "44 states lost jobs in April, led by California" (5-22-09)

"Forty-four states lost jobs in April, led by California where employers slashed 63,700 positions, as the recession took a further toll on U.S. workers. Trailing California in over-the-month job losses were: Texas, which saw 39,500 jobs vanish; Michigan, which lost 38,400 jobs; and Ohio, where payrolls fell 25,200, according to a U.S. Labor Department report issued Friday."

Real Estate Journal - "Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns" (5-22-09)

"In the 12 months ended March 31, U.S. malls collectively posted a 6.5% decline in tenants' same-store sales, according to Green Street Advisors Inc., a real-estate research firm. The recent slump was led by an average 7.3% sales drop at Simon Property Group Inc., the operator with the largest number of mall locations."

Inman - "Trust can mend broker-agent relationship" (5-22-09)

"In San Francisco, we expect sales to be down about 20 percent year over year, with prices down about 25 percent. In other parts of the Bay Area that have been in a declining market for several years -- like Oakland -- we expect a bottoming out, with prices down about 50 percent but sales up about 100 percent"