NAHB - "Media Advisory: NAHB Chief Economist To Discuss Mid-Year Housing Outlook" (7-23-07)

"The U.S. housing market continues to suffer through a downswing. When will we begin to see a recovery? What are builders doing to ride out these turbulent times? What regions of the country are still experiencing growth and which can expect further decline? How are tightening lending standards and the subprime market affecting housing? NAHB Chief Economist, David Seiders will discuss the answers to these questions and more during his mid-year economic teleconference. Seiders will provide a year-to-date analysis of the housing and mortgage markets, and his forecast for the rest of 2007 and beyond."

Market Watch - "Gold to test $720?" (7-23-07)

"Gold closed at $683.50 an ounce Friday, after a strong close to the week. And it is not just the gold price chart that is cheering gold's friends. The major gold stocks have suddenly started out performing gold--for the first time in well over a year. This month, the Phlx Gold Silver Index index is up 16% and the Amex Gold Bugs Index 14%. Gold itself is up just over 5%."

Business Week - "The Subprime Mess: "It's Just Going To Get Worse" (7-23-07)

"The subprime storm isn't blowing over. On July 10, credit-rating agencies Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's (like BusinessWeek, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP )) warned of greater-than-expected losses for bonds backed by subprime loans--news that helped send stocks tumbling. The ratings changes were small. S&P put $7.4 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities, just 1.3% of the total issued from late 2005 through 2006, on watch for downgrades, while Moody's cut its ratings on just $5.2 billion worth. (S&P originally said the total was $12 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities, but later lowered the figure.) S&P also said mortgage fraud is a bigger problem than it had foreseen and that it's tightening its rating practices."

Bloomberg - "CEOs See `No Clear Signs' of Crisis as Woes Intensify" (7-23-07)

"On Wall Street, where the most lucrative credit markets are barely limping thanks to the worst housing slump in a decade, there isn't a chief executive officer who will tell you there is a crisis. A few weeks after Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO Stanley O'Neal said he saw ``no clear signs'' that rising delinquencies on subprime U.S. mortgages were hurting the rest of the debt markets, borrowing costs for non-investment grade companies rose to the highest in nine months. ServiceMaster Co., US Foodservice and 19 other companies have canceled bond sales because nobody wants to buy them."

CNN - "Most ruthless foreclosure states" (7-23-07)

"In Alabama, late-paying homeowners can lose their properties to foreclosure at breathtaking speed - as little as 30 days after a delinquency notice is published. In New York State, the process can drag on for well more than a year. With foreclosures spiking around the nation, homeowners should learn the foreclosure laws in their states - what you don't know can hurt you."

Los Angeles Times - "Home sales data, earnings reports could set mood" (7-23-07)

"Wall Street faces home sales data and more earnings reports this week, as it decides whether growth is strong enough to justify pushing the Dow Jones industrial average back above 14,000. Although most major companies have been meeting or exceeding Street expectations in their quarterly earnings reports, a few misses and warnings about future performance have rattled investors. This week, six of the 30 companies that make up the Dow release financial results, as do a slew of home builders. More troubling earnings surprises could give the market a jolt."

Real Estate Journal - "Mortgage Delinquencies Climbed in Second Quarter" (7-23-07)

"Mortgage delinquencies continued to climb in the second quarter, new data show. The map below shows how delinquency rates have increased in those metro areas as the housing market has slowed. The pickup in delinquencies has been particularly notable in parts of Florida and California. Nationwide, delinquency rates climbed to 3.15% in the second quarter, compared with 2.87% in the first quarter."