The Herald Tribune - "Treasury chief Paulson says US will continue 'strong dollar' policy" (11-16-07)

"U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expects more of the losses in the U.S. mortgage industry that have hit the dollar, but predicted a long-term recovery for the battered currency. 'We have very much a strong dollar policy; that's in our nation's interests,' he said in a South African radio interview, Dow Jones Newswires reported. 'Our economy, like any other, has its ups and downs and its long-term strength will be reflected in our currency markets.'"

Reuters - "CHRONOLOGY-The credit crunch of 2007" (11-16-07)

"The credit market turmoil of 2007 has seen banks register writedowns and losses totalling more than $50 billion and experts see no sign of let up this year. Following is a timeline of events..."

Bloomberg - "Fed's Kroszner Says `Rough Patch' Won't Warrant Cuts" (11-16-07)

"Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner said policy makers probably won't need to reduce interest rates further to help the economy weather a 'rough patch' in the coming year. 'The current stance of monetary policy should help the economy get through the rough patch during the next year, with growth then likely to return to its longer-run sustainable rate,' Kroszner said today in a speech in New York. Data consistent with such growth 'would not, by themselves, suggest to me that the current stance of monetary policy is inappropriate.'"

Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae Plunges on Concern About Credit Losses" (11-16-07)

"Fannie Mae tumbled, heading for its biggest two-day drop since 1987, after executives at the mortgage- finance company failed to ease investor concern that it may have downplayed credit losses. Fannie Mae fell $2.33, or 5.4 percent, to $40.90 at 12:46 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading after dropping to as low as $36.86 earlier in the day. The shares were pushed down 10 percent yesterday after a Fortune magazine article said Washington-based Fannie Mae altered how it measures the impact of mortgage foreclosures in a way that understates losses."

Yahoo - "Fannie Execs Defend Accounting Change" (11-16-07)

"Fannie Mae executives on Friday defended a change in the way the mortgage finance company calculates losses on home loans, responding to analysts' concerns as its stock price fell. Shares of Fannie, the largest U.S. buyer and backer of home loans, fell more than 4 percent. They recovered from an earlier dive of more than 16 percent and a decline of 10 percent the day before."

Reuters - "Auditors set to ensure banks don't mark to myth" (11-16-07)

"In the backwash of the credit crisis, U.S. and European banks have revealed more than $50 billion of writedowns and losses from U.S. subprime mortgage loans, leveraged loan commitments and other assets since the end of August. Big chunks of those writedowns are based on mark-to-model valuations, which banks must justify to their auditors."

Los Angeles Times - "Housing near Bolsa Chica wetlands OKd" (11-16-07)

"After years of bitter argument and compromises, the state Coastal Commission has cleared the way for a developer to build about 175 homes near the Bolsa Chica wetlands. It is a small victory for the developer, who had hoped to build 268 homes in what was once a part of the wetlands in Huntington Beach. But the vote most likely won't end the skirmishes between builders and preservationists."

Los Angeles Times - "Home prices fall in Bay Area" (11-16-07)

"Reluctant buyers and tightened mortgage lending combined to drag down October's home sales in a nine-county region around San Francisco Bay to the lowest level in more than 20 years, a real estate research firm said Thursday. A total of 5,486 homes were sold in the region last month, down 35.7% from 8,532 in October 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Sales increased 9.4% from September. It was the slowest October since DataQuick began keeping records in 1988. The previous low came in October 1990, when 6,443 homes were sold. The sales average for the month of October is 8,930 homes."

Forbes - "The Fed's Economy: Too Good To Be True?" (11-16-07)

"A fair bet for Tuesday's Fed rate decision is a quarter-point reduction in the federal funds. Otherwise, there's liable to be a run for the exits by panicky investors. With oil above $80 a barrel and gold above $700 an ounce, the status quo can't be what Chairman Bernanke thinks is the proper course of action. But truth is, we have a long way to go in the unwinding of leverage; the solvency issues among borrowers, builders and mortgage providers; the onslaught of credit downgrades; and the recalibrating of terms on multibillion-dollar private equity takeovers. Proof of the pudding: The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are having to pour reserves into troubled spots in the financial system."

Forbes - "If There's A Recession?" (11-16-07)

"The market's already celebrating a 50 basis point cut in the Fed Funds rate, which Ben Bernanke may deliver on Tuesday. Unless you can creep into the head of a Fed chairman and know what he's going to do before he does, find some other work. I'm sticking with my call for a weak economy but no recession--I could be wrong. All the economists missed the inflection point of the employment stats which turned negative, not the 100,000 job creation consensus. There's more to come. At least 100,000 layoffs in the construction-mortgage servicing sector will percolate through the next few months."