Bloomberg - "Foreclosures Doubled in September as Loan Rates Rise" (10-11-07)

"U.S. home foreclosures doubled in September from a year earlier as subprime borrowers struggled to make payments on adjustable-rate mortgages, RealtyTrac Inc. said. There were 223,538 foreclosure filings last month, including default and auction notices and bank repossessions, an 8 percent decline from August. California had the most with 51,259 filings and Florida was second with 33,354. The national foreclosure rate was one for every 557 households."

Reuters - "Ambac sees Q3 loss on $743 million write-down" (10-11-07)

"Ambac Financial Group Inc (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the world's largest bond insurers, warned on Wednesday it expects to report a third-quarter net loss after taking a $743 million write-down on its credit derivative portfolio. Ambac expects to report a loss of up to $3.50 a share in the third quarter. The company said a mark-to-market adjustment for credit derivatives amounted to an unrealized pre-tax loss of $743 million."

Yahoo - "Good jobs news causes rates to increase" (10-11-07)

"Want to goose mortgage rates higher? Get a job with the government and mess up the count of employment growth. On Friday, the Labor Department released the monthly employment survey, in which it reported that the economy grew by a net 110,000 jobs in September. That was unsurprising. But another number in the employment report did cause investors to do double takes. The Labor Department revised its August number upward -- way up."

CNN - "Beazer Restating Results On Mortgage, Accounting Violations" (10-11-07)

"Troubled home builder Beazer Homes USA Inc. Thursday said it will be required to restate financial results due to an independent internal investigation into its mortgage origination business and other practices. The company (BZH) said it will be unable to precisely quantify the impact on previous results until the probe is completed. However, it expects an overall increase in profit, but a decrease in earnings for fiscal 2006."

CNN - "N.C. treasurer seeks Countrywide probe" (10-11-07)

"State Treasurer Richard Moore has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the timing of stock sales made by the chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC) Moore, the trustee of a pension fund that holds more than $11 million in Countrywide shares, said in an Oct. 8 letter to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox that he was 'shocked' to learn that CEO Angelo Mozilo 'apparently manipulated his trading plans to cash in' as the subprime crisis was heating up."

Yahoo - "Foreclosure Filings Nearly Double" (10-11-07)

"Foreclosure filings across the U.S. nearly doubled last month compared with September 2006, as financially strapped homeowners already behind on mortgage payments defaulted on their loans or came closer to losing their homes to foreclosure, a real estate information company said Thursday."

Reuters - "Moody's cuts Centex, Lennar, Pulte to junk status" (10-11-07)

"Fitch Ratings said in a report that pressures on home builders are likely to get worse as the housing downturn proves more severe than previously thought. Moody's downgrades affect about $9.4 billion of debt and $3.25 billion of commercial paper authorizations, the agency said."

Reuters - "Countrywide lending slides, cuts nearly 5,000 jobs" (10-11-07)

"Mortgage loan fundings totaled $21.2 billion, down from $38.1 billion a year earlier. Fundings of adjustable-rate mortgages slid 76 percent, while nonprime loan fundings, including subprime, tumbled 92 percent. Countrywide Chief Operating Officer David Sambol said volume reflected 'current market conditions and more restrictive underwriting.' Delinquencies as a percentage of loans serviced rose to 5.87 percent in September from 5.05 percent in August and 4.50 percent in September 2006. Sambol attributed about half of the increase from August to there being four fewer business days in September."