Bloomberg - "U.K. Consumers Cut Back on Beer, Shoes as Mortgage Crunch Looms" (7-31-07)

"Ben Craster says he'll be drinking less beer this summer, and Christine Baines is cutting back on clothes and cosmetics. They're among the millions of Britons preparing for a mortgage crunch. Craster, a London designer, and Baines, a company director from Knutsford, England, will have to arrange new home loans as fixed-rate discounts expire on mortgages they took out two years ago. The Bank of England has raised borrowing costs five times during the past year, increasing the average monthly mortgage payment by about 100 pounds ($200), according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders."

CNN - "Foreclosure filings skyrocket" (7-31-07)

"U.S. home foreclosure filings rose 58 percent in the first six months of the year and could surpass 2 million this year as the housing market continues to deteriorate, a report said. Foreclosure filings in the first half spiked from the same period last year to 925,986 as many overstretched borrowers have been caught between rising interest rates and falling home prices. The Federal Reserve has cited the faltering housing market as the biggest risk to economic growth."

CNN - "Home prices continued slide in May" (7-31-07)

"Prices of existing U.S. single-family houses extended their slide across the country in May, marking the 18th consecutive decline in the growth rate, according to an index of major metropolitan areas. The composite month-over-month Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 10 metropolitan areas declined 0.3 percent to 218.37, bringing the year-over-year fall to 3.4 percent, S&P said in a press release. The composite month-over-month Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 metro areas also showed a 0.2 percent drop, to a 200.04 reading, or a 2.8 percent year-over-year loss."

Bloomberg - "U.S. S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Declines 2.8%" (7-31-07)

"Home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell the most in at least six years, suggesting the housing recession has yet to touch bottom. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas dropped 2.8 percent in May from a year ago, led by declines in Detroit and San Diego, according to the report issued today by Standard & Poor's and MacroMarkets LLC. The drop was less than the median forecast of four economists surveyed by Bloomberg News."

Bloomberg - "Bear, Lehman, Merrill Trade as Junk, Derivatives Show" (7-31-07)

"On Wall Street, Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., are as good as junk. Bonds of U.S. investment banks lost about $1.5 billion of their face value this month as the risk of owning the securities increased the most since at least October 2004, according to Merrill indexes. Prices of credit-default swaps based on the debt imply that their credit ratings are below investment grade, data compiled by Moody's Investors Service show."

CNN - "IndyMac profit plummets on mortgage pain" (7-31-07)

"AndyMac Bancorp Inc., a big Southern California mortgage specialist, said Tuesday second-quarter profit fell 57 percent as the deepening U.S. housing slump hurt margins and loan volume, and more customers fell behind on payments. Unlike at many rivals, results were better than expected. IndyMac, however, did not provide its usual financial forecast with earnings, citing what Chief Executive Michael Perry called 'significant current uncertainties in the housing and mortgage markets.'"

Los Angeles Times - "Mortgage lender graveyard filling up" (7-31-07)

"American Home Mortgage is clinging to life, but its time will come. And when it does, it will join a very long list of failed mortgage lenders. The Implode-O-Meter blog, one of our favorites for news on the mortgage industry, now counts 105 lenders that have imploded. While we're at it, we also want to express our support for The Implode-O-Meter, and Aaron Krowne, in their current legal battle. Loan Center of California sued The Implode-O-Meter in May, alleging that an email posted on the blog in April caused such damage to the company that two of its major sources of funding -- Credite Suisse and Washington Mutual -- withdrew nearly $4 million in funding."