Bloomberg - "Bond Market to Fed: Recession Threat Means More Cuts" (11-19-07)

"The headline in the financial futures market these days says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is withholding some vital information: The economy is so bad the central bank will have to lower interest rates at least three-quarters of a percentage point to avoid a recession."

The Press Enterprise - "From dreams to debt" (11-19-07)

"Investors say they expected to cash in on the hot real estate market when they entrusted money to a company in Murrieta. Instead, many are losing their homes and facing bankruptcy."

Bloomberg - "Housing Market's Stench Means Cut Price to Sell" (11-19-07)

"Raffles, festive balloons, open houses, car giveaways. Will any of these incentives sell houses? Not at the moment. You don't have to be particularly creative in a market glutted with homes for sale. The painful reality is that homes are commodities. There are more than 4 million of them sitting out there unsold and more coming on the market every day due to foreclosures. If you really need to sell a house, price is the one lever that will move a property."

Business Week - "The Economy's $2 Trillion Worry" (11-19-07)

"Just a few months ago, analysts believed the collapse of subprime mortgage securities and related investments would lead to losses of $50 billion to $100 billion, a large but manageable number. Now, a new report from Goldman Sachs (GS) says losses from subprime exposure could be much larger than recently assumed, hitting as much as $400 billion. But that's not the extent of the financial carnage: Goldman said the full impact on the economy could be even more substantial, because the losses could compel banks and other lenders to curtail lending by as much as $2 trillion."

The Baglady - "San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble" (11-19-07)

"Well, it’s been two weeks since the last update and in the last fourteen days about 305 homes in San Mateo County were listed on Redfin. This time 59 homes qualified as home sellers in trouble. This is nearly 20% of all the new listings in San Mateo! Quite a few of these homes are marked as lender owned. Here are some highlights..."

The Standard - "Six more hard years tipped for subprime fallout" (11-19-07)

"The US subprime crisis will continue for years to come and America may be facing a permanent decline as an economic power, famed investment guru Jim Rogers said over the weekend. 'The situation is going to continue to deteriorate,' he said in Hong Kong. 'When you have a bubble, it normally takes years to work out all the ramifications.' The subprime crisis is not over, Rogers said."

Bloomberg - "Slowing Economy Proves Fitzgerald Wrong: Rich Aren't Different" (11-19-07)

"F. Scott Fitzgerald had it wrong: In a slowing economy, the rich aren't that different from everyone else. Affluent consumers, pinched by shrinking stock portfolios, falling property values and smaller bonuses, are behaving like their less-well-off peers: They're reining in spending. That portends a steeper slowdown than originally forecast for the U.S. economy, or even a recession, because the richest fifth of American households accounts for almost 40 percent of consumer spending, the main engine of economic growth."

NAHB - "Builder Confidence Remains Unchanged In November" (11-19-07)

"Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes remained unchanged in November due to continuing mortgage market problems, a substantial inventory overhang and ongoing concerns about the effects of negative media coverage, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The November HMI held even with October’s upwardly revised 19 reading, its lowest point since the series began in January of 1985."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "MBA, ALTA and AEA Develop Standardized Instructions for Mortgage Transactions" (11-19-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), American Land and Title Association (ALTA) and American Escrow Association (AEA) today announced that they have developed uniform closing instructions to be used in future mortgage transactions. The instructions are being proposed to members for their comment. The purpose of these documents is to improve efficiencies and lower costs to the industry and consumers by replacing countless sets of instructions with two standard sets. The instructions will also help stem mortgage fraud and facilitate automated mortgage originations. The new general instructions will detail the requirements for all transactions and the specific instructions will provide a standard format for the details of each transaction including borrower(s) names, property address, loan type, etc. When the instructions are finalized they will not be required to be used by lenders but they are likely to be widely accepted."

Forbes - "Subprime Loss Is Swiss Re's... Loss" (11-19-07)

"Three weeks ago, a set of sturdy third-quarter results from Swiss Re made the world's biggest 'insurer for insurers' look like a shining beacon of safety among a storm of multibillion-dollar write-downs at financial institutions. But the Zurich-based reinsurance giant dropped a bomb on Monday morning, announcing that in the month of October a single client it had been insuring had seen its investment portfolio drop in value, and Swiss Re would have to pick up the bill."

Bloomberg - "Impac to `Significantly' Raise Loan-Loss Provisions" (11-19-07)

"Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., the California home lender that ceased most lending two months ago, said it will 'significantly' increase its loan-loss provisions as rising mortgage defaults hamper U.S. debt markets. Impac disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week that it will delay the filing of its quarterly report until mid-December because it needs more time to tally the discontinued operations, the Irvine, California-based company said in a statement today."

Real Estate Journal - "House Passes a Bill Curbing Mortgage Brokers" (11-19-07)

"The House passed legislation to give more protection to home-mortgage borrowers, but deadlocks in the Senate make it unlikely that such a measure can be enacted into law before next year, in the latest sign Congress is struggling to address the nation's mortgage crisis."