Bloomberg - "Centex to Take $1 Billion in Charges as Slump Worsens" (10-12-07)

"Centex Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder, will take a $1 billion writedown on property and said it will generate less cash from sales than forecast. 'The housing market continues to be extremely difficult,' Chief Executive Officer Timothy Eller said today in a statement. 'These adjustments reflect the market's further deterioration over the quarter and the significant effects of the mortgage- market disruptions.'"

Bloomberg - "U.S. Michigan Confidence Index Declined in October" (10-12-07)

"Confidence among U.S. consumers this month fell to the lowest since August 2006 as the outlook for housing worsened. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment fell to 82.0 from 83.4 in September. The gauge compares with an average of 89.6 in the first half of 2007."

Los Angeles Times - "United States of Sub-prime" (10-12-07)

"Good morning. A number of commenters pointed out yesterday's excellent Wall Street Journal story exploring the sub-prime mortgage mess. It's a good story, worth a read, and adds a twist to conventional wisdom about sub-prime mortgages, which is this: conventional wisdom says the sub-prime crisis is mainly about low-income borrowers in low-cost areas. The Journal's analysis indicates the problem is more widespread -- that even in affluent suburbs, some borrowers chose high-interest loans so that they could stretch their way into more expensive homes: 'Among borrowers characterized in the data as white with annual income of at least $300,000, the number of high-rate loans jumped 74% last year, the numbers show.'"