Bloomberg - "Bernanke Was Wrong: Subprime Contagion Is Spreading" (8-10-07)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was wrong. So were U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer Stanley O'Neal. The subprime mortgage industry's problems were contained, they all said. It turns out that the turmoil was contagious."

CNN - "Countrywide: Secondary Mortage Market Conditions 'unprecedented'" (8-10-07)

"Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said Thursday that 'unprecedented' poor conditions in the secondary-mortgage market are causing it to retain a greater proportion of mortgage loans than it sells. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Countrywide said that while it plans to retain more loans until investor demand improves, it warned that a prolonged period of poor conditions could have an adverse impact on our future earnings and financial condition."

Yahoo - "ECB, Fed Inject Cash to Ease Fears" (8-10-07)

"Central banks around the world injected more cash into the international banking system Friday as problems that began with U.S. subprime mortgages rattle the global economy. The ECB injected a further 61 billion euros ($83.8 billion) Friday morning, while the U.S. Federal Reserve later announced a three-day repurchase agreement to inject liquidity into the market."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Stocks Drop on Credit Concern; Countrywide, GE Shares Fall" (8-10-07)

"U.S. stocks dropped for a second day, following European and Asian markets lower on concern the credit crunch will hamper growth in the world's biggest economy. Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, helped lead a retreat in financial shares after saying investor demand for its loans has dried up. General Electric Co., the world's second-biggest company by market value, posted its largest two-day decline in four years amid speculation higher financing costs will reduce global demand."

CNN - "Rate jump for big mortgages" (8-10-07)

"Don't look now but the cost of financing a home purchase in some of the nation's priciest areas just got more expensive. Wells Fargo, one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, raised the interest rates on its 30-year, fixed-rate, non-conforming (AKA jumbo) loan to 8 percent last week, up from 6.875 percent for loans made through mortgage brokers. Wednesday, they stood at 7.875 percent. (See correction below) Other lenders followed suit and more are likely to join them."

Bloomberg - "Fed Adds $35 Bln in Funds, Most Since September 2001" (8-10-07)

"The Federal Reserve added $35 billion in temporary funds to the banking system through the purchase of securities including mortgage-backed debt to meet demand for cash amid a rout in bonds backed by home loans to riskier borrowers."

Bloomberg - "Central Banks Add Cash to Avert Crisis of Confidence" (8-10-07)

"Central banks in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada added about $132.7 billion to the banking system in an attempt to avert a crisis of confidence in global credit markets. The Federal Reserve, in a second day of action in concert with the European Central Bank, provided $35 billion of reserves and pledged further funds 'as necessary,' in a statement unprecedented since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The European Central Bank loaned 61.05 billion euros ($83.6 billion) after injecting a record amount yesterday."

Bloomberg - "Countrywide, Washington Mutual Fall on Mortgage Slump" (8-10-07)

"Countrywide Financial Corp., Washington Mutual Inc. and MGIC Investment Corp. led shares of U.S. mortgage companies lower as demand for loans and sources of new money dried up. Shares of Countrywide, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, have lost a third of their value this year, wiping out $9.3 billion of market capitalization that took three years for the Calabasas, California-based company to generate. They fell as much as 14 percent today, the most since the 1987 market crash. Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, lost 2.2 percent and MGIC, the No. 1 mortgage insurer, fell 13 percent."

Bloomberg - "Gold, Silver Gain as Investors Seek Haven From Subprime Losses" (8-10-07)

"Gold and silver rose in New York as investors sought a haven from potential losses tied to the U.S. subprime-mortgage collapse. Stocks dropped in Europe and Asia after central banks around the world added billions of dollars to the global financial system to help meet demand for cash. Before today, gold had risen 5.5 percent this year after six annual gains."

The Washington Post - "Low-Risk Borrowers Now Feel Crunch" (8-10-07)

"Nicholas Schor and Liza Losada-Schor were ready and willing to spend up to $850,000 on a house in Maryland. That was a month ago, when the rate on their mortgage would have been as low as 6.25 percent. But a sudden shift in the mortgage market means that the couple -- he's a psychiatrist, she's a clinical nurse psychotherapist -- now face a rate of more than 7 percent, reducing their buying power even though they have solid credit. That's because in the past few days, rates on loans for more than $417,000, known as jumbo loans, have shot up."