Mortgage Bankers Association - "Freddie Mac Makes Several Changes To Seller And Servicing Requirements" (10-19-07)

"Prohibit the sale of adjustable-rate Mortgages (ARMs) with application dates on or after September 13, 2007 that have an Initial Period of three years or less and Margins of 400 basis points or higher, as announced in our September 7, 2007 Single-Family Advisory e-mail"

Mortgage Bankers Association - "MBA Welcomes Introduction of Coleman Delinquency Relief Bill" (10-19-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) applauded legislation introduced today to assist delinquent mortgage borrowers. S. 2201, The Home Ownership Mortgage Emergency Act, was introduced by U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) and would allow troubled borrowers to make penalty-free withdrawals from their retirement accounts in order to bring their home loan current."

Los Angeles Times - "Energy neutral homes urged" (10-19-07)

"California energy regulators Thursday adopted a target that all homes built after 2020 produce at least as much energy as they consume to reduce demand for electricity and cut pollution tied to power generation."

Los Angeles Times - "Bay Area home sales down 40%" (10-19-07)

"September home sales in Northern California sank to their lowest level in two decades as mortgages became harder to get, a real estate research firm said Thursday. A total of 5,014 new and resale homes and iniums were sold last month in nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, a 40.1% drop from the same period a year earlier, according to DataQuick Information Systems."

Reuters - "Bear Stearns in probe over funds" (10-19-07)

"Bear Stearns Cos is being investigated by Massachusetts securities regulators over whether the bank improperly traded with two in-house hedge funds that collapsed last summer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The paper, citing sources, said state investigators are trying to determine whether the bank traded mortgage-backed securities for its own account with the hedge funds without notifying the fund's independent directors in advance, the paper said."

FXStreet.com - "Wishful Thinking on the Housing Mess" (10-19-07)

"Just when a majority of strategists thought it was safe to go back in the water the proposed bailout of the SIVs once again threw the spotlight on the fragility of the credit markets. SIVs are the investment vehicles, known as 'conduits' and 'structured investment vehicles" that are designed to operate separately from the banks and off their balance sheets, It’s one thing to learn that that someone is taking action on a dangerous problem that was known for some time. But to suddenly hear that a problem hardly anyone was aware of as recently as two months ago was about to blow up is more likely to raise the question as to what else is out there that we still don’t know about."

The Washington Post - "Capital One Reports Loss From Closing Mortgage Unit" (10-19-07)

"Capital One Financial of McLean posted its first quarterly loss ever, from the expense of shutting down its mortgage lender, and warned of additional challenges in the credit card and auto finance businesses. The company said it lost $81.6 million (21 cents a share) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $587.8 million ($1.89) in the third quarter last year."

Yahoo - "Powers Vow to Limit Credit Crisis Damage" (10-19-07)

"Finance officials from the world's top economic powers pledged Friday to do all they can to limit damage to the global economy from a jarring credit crisis as Wall Street took another plunge. 'We remained committed to doing our part in sustaining strong global growth,' the finance officials said in a joint statement. While saying the functioning of global financial markets was improving somewhat, they warned that 'uneven conditions are likely to persist for some time and will require close monitoring.'"

CNN - "Delinquency risk rising" (10-19-07)

"As housing markets deteriorated over the summer, and a liquidity squeeze buffeted credit markets, delinquencies and defaults jumped. And now one forecast predicts that these numbers will climb even higher over the next six months. The Core Mortgage Risk Monitor (CMRM), an index of foreclosure risk compiled by First American CoreLogic, increased by 1.6 percent compared with the three months ended June 30."

Bloomberg - "Two-Year Treasuries Rise Most Since Sept. 11 Attacks on Credit" (10-19-07)

"Treasuries rallied and two-year notes posted their biggest weekly increase since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as credit-market losses stoked speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. Bonds rose for a fifth day and stocks tumbled on concern a housing slump and losses from securities linked to subprime loans will deepen. Home foreclosures led three of the biggest U.S. banks to report declines in third-quarter profit, while two structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, said they won't be able to repay all of their debt."

Bloomberg - "Company Debt Risk Rises the Most in Two Months on SIV Concerns" (10-19-07)

"Credit-default swaps rose the most in two months today as a U.S. Treasury-led effort to rescue structured investment vehicles didn't keep two funds from failing to repay maturing debt. Funds run by London-based Cheyne Capital Management Ltd. and IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG defaulted on more than $7 billion of debt after they didn't sell new commercial paper to repay obligations. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a fund initiated by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to help SIVs avoid a fire sale of $320 billion of assets may harm investor sentiment, Emerging Markets reported today."