Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Regulator Eases Asset Limits" (9-19-07)

"The Bush administration reversed policy, allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest sources of money for U.S. home loans, to expand their investments in an effort to make mortgages easier to get. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight will permit Washington-based Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to boost their loan portfolios by about 2 percent a year beyond a cap of about $1.5 trillion. Just two days ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in a letter to Representative Barney Frank said easing restrictions on the companies could prove to be 'ill-advised.'"

Bloomberg - "U.S. Economy: Homebuilding, Consumer Prices Decline" (9-19-07)

"U.S. home starts fell still more last month and consumer prices unexpectedly dropped, validating the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut to head off a further slowdown in the economy. The August housing figure points to a greater risk of recession from the downturn in residential real estate caused by increases in credit costs. As inflation recedes, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will have room for more rate reductions after the half- point move yesterday, economists said. The Fed cited the 'potential' for broader damage to the economy in justifying the first cut since 2003."

Bloomberg - "Subprime Borrowers to Lose Homes at Record Pace as Rates Rise" (9-19-07)

"As many as half of the 450,000 subprime borrowers whose mortgage payments increase in the next three months may lose their homes because they can't sell, refinance or qualify for help from the U.S. government. 'Short of the cavalry riding in over the hill, a lot of these people are just stuck,' said Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics at Santa Ana, California-based First American CoreLogic, the risk management unit of the biggest U.S. title insurer."

NAHB - "Builder Confidence In Rental Apartment Market Slips In Second Quarter 2007" (9-19-07)

"Builder confidence in current rental apartment market conditions dipped in the second quarter of 2007, amid concerns that an excess supply in the for-sale market is creating a shadow inventory of available rentals, according to the latest results of the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Multifamily Rental Market Index (MRMI), released today."

NAR - "Senate Moves FHA Reform Legislation to Help Homeowners" (9-19-07)

"The National Association of REALTORS® commended Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., for their demonstrated leadership in protecting the interests of America’s current and future homeowners by passing FHA reform legislation today."

NAHB - "Housing Starts Fall 2.6 Percent in August" (9-19-07)

"Housing starts fell 2.6 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million units as the downswing in the housing market continued, according to figures released by the Commerce Department today. Starts were down 19.1 percent from a year earlier, falling to the lowest level in 12 years."

CBIA - "July New Home Sales Fall 27.8% From Year Ago, CBIA Announces" (9-19-07)

"New home sales in July at California new-home communities continued to lag behind last year’s pace, the California Building Industry Association reported today. The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence New Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that new home sales in July were 27.8 percent below July 2006, continuing a trend of decline. For the month, 4,990 homes and condominiums were sold in the subdivisions tracked by Costa Mesa-based HWMI, compared to 6,915 in July 2006. Sales of single-family homes dropped by 20 percent, sales of townhomes and 'plexes' – duplexes, triplexes, etc. – were down 44 percent and sales of condominiums were down 40 percent."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (9-19-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 14, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 673.2, an increase of 2.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 657.4 one week earlier, which was a holiday shortened week. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 26.6 percent compared with the previous week and was up 12.8 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

CNN - "Subprime layoffs head for record" (9-19-07)

"If the banking industry, with its load of worries caused by the subprime meltdown, has another month like it did in August, it will be in record territory for job losses. Last month, banks with ties to the subprime mortgage industry laid off more than 26,000 employees, the most of any month since global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas began keeping such records in 1993."

Yahoo - "Congress Asked to Lift Debt Ceiling" (9-19-07)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday that the federal government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1. He urged quick action to increase the limit, saying it was essential to protect the 'full faith and credit' of the country, especially at a time of financial market turmoil. The current debt limit is $8.965 trillion. Unless Congress votes to raise that ceiling, the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due. The United States has never defaulted on a debt payment but the decision on whether to raise the debt ceiling often sparks a prolonged political battle in Congress."

Market Watch - "Fannie, Freddie can't do what they should" (9-19-07)

"Unless someone finds a way to bring more money -- responsible money -- into the mortgage business, the housing slump will worsen and make a recession more likely."