Bloomberg - "Paulson Says U.S. Hasn't `Hit Bottom Yet in Housing'" (10-30-07)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said it's too soon to call an end to the U.S. housing slump, as the Federal Reserve meets to discuss cutting interest rates in the world's biggest economy. 'We haven't hit the bottom yet in housing,' Paulson said today at a conference in New Delhi. Still, he added 'there is enough strength in the economy that we can grow through this.'"

CNN - "The $915B bomb in consumers' wallets" (10-30-07)

"This past summer's subprime meltdown involved about $900 billion in now-suspect securitized debt, reckless lending, and consumers who buckled under the weight of loans they couldn't afford. Now another link in the consumer debt chain - credit cards - is starting to show signs of strain. And the fear that the $915 billion in U.S. credit card debt (an uncannily similar figure) may blow up has major financial institutions like Citigroup, American Express, and Bank of America strapping on their Kevlar vests."

Reuters - "Fires out, California housing still burns" (10-30-07)

"The fires that scorched California may be out, but a bigger man-made disaster, the housing market, burns away, threatening the U.S. economy and holders of billions of dollars of debt backed by homes. The housing conflagration is fed by its own 100 mile-an-hour winds; impossibly high housing prices - the legacy of a binge of irresponsible borrowing - a credit crunch and rising repossessions."

Yahoo - "America's Big, Fat Housing Inventory" (10-30-07)

"Houston, you have a problem -- with housing inventory. And as the number of homes for sale in the country continues to creep upward thanks to waning demand, many other major U.S. cities are dealing with the same issue. At the current existing-home sales rate of 5.04 million units a year, it would take a full 10.5 months to sell the 4.4 million existing homes now on the market, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Oct. 24. The supply of existing single-family homes was at 10.2 months in September -- the highest since February, 1988. Compare that with the height of the housing boom in January, 2005, when it reached a record low 3.6 months."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Tosses Lifeline to Lenders Using Home Loan Banks" (10-30-07)

"Banks shut out of the market for short-term loans are finding salvation in a government lending program set up to revive housing during the Great Depression. Countrywide Financial Corp., Washington Mutual Inc., Hudson City Bancorp Inc. and hundreds of other lenders borrowed a record $163 billion from the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks in August and September as interest rates on asset-backed commercial paper rose as high as 5.6 percent. The government-sponsored companies were able to make loans at about 4.9 percent, saving the private banks about $1 billion in annual interest."

Bloomberg - "Goldman CEO Sees Regulatory Action on Subprime Crisis" (10-30-07)

"Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said he's concerned about the potential regulatory response to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and cautioned against policies that discourage home ownership. 'My concern is the backlash to subprime,' Blankfein, who heads the world's most profitable securities firm, told reporters in New Delhi today.'Housing is one of the U.S.'s great institutions, so when the pendulum swings, don't kill home ownership.'"

Reuters - "Greenspan says home prices could fall further" (10-30-07)

"Home prices have further to drop as builders become increasingly concerned about turning over their inventory, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday. Two years into the slump in the U.S. housing market, which has weighed heavily on financial markets and raised concerns of the United States possibly facing a recession, there is more pain yet to be felt, the former central banker said."