NAR - "Modest Recovery for Existing-Home Sales in 2008 as Credit Crunch Subsides" (11-13-07)

"Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the housing market will improve from a steady unleashing of pent-up demand, and from a wide abundance of safer mortgage products. 'The level of pent-up demand reaching the market next year is a bit uncertain, and it is possible for even higher home sales activity than we’re forecasting if buyers regain their confidence about the long-term benefits of homeownership. Over the near term, home sales are likely to be fairly flat as the ing impact of the credit crunch filters through the system through the end of the year.'"

Bloomberg - "Treasury Market Inflation Anxiety Renewed by Dollar" (11-13-07)

"For the first time in 18 months, the U.S. government bond market is showing growing anxiety that the plummeting dollar will result in runaway inflation. The combination of the currency's 31 percent decline during George W. Bush's presidency, oil prices near a record high and interest rates at a four-year low have convinced investors that consumer prices are poised to accelerate. While all Treasuries have gained during the worst U.S. housing market since 1991, none have done better than Treasury Inflation Protected Securities."

Bloomberg - "Weak U.S. Dollar May Be `Checkmate' for the Fed" (11-13-07)

"When the Federal Reserve talks about the risks to the economy, be it slower growth or higher inflation, it's usually an either/or proposition. What if it's both? What if the U.S. economy is facing the prospect of slower growth and higher inflation, a dual diagnosis requiring offsetting actions for each symptom? Certainly that's where the risks lie, as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out in congressional testimony last week."

Bloomberg - "Goldman Doesn't Plan Significant Mortgage Writedown" (11-13-07)

"Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, doesn't plan to take significant writedowns on mortgage-related assets, Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said today. Goldman rose 8.5 percent in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest gain in 6 1/2 years, after Blankfein made the comment at a conference in New York hosted by Merrill Lynch & Co. He also said the firm is still betting that mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations will drop."

Bloomberg - "BlackRock's Fink Says Credit-Market Writedowns Will Increase" (11-13-07)

"BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence Fink, one of the creators of mortgage-backed securities, said credit losses that have caused billions of dollars in writedowns at banks will increase."

Los Angeles Times - "Countrywide loan volume down 48%" (11-13-07)

"Countrywide Financial, in its monthly report on mortgage activity, says October loan volume fell sharply from year-ago levels, but rose slightly from September. Reuters: 'Countrywide Financial said October mortgage loan volume fell 48 percent from a year earlier, but credit quality has begun to stabilize as the largest U.S. mortgage lender curtails riskier home loans.'"

Orange County Register - "Homes to lose $223 billion from foreclosures" (11-13-07)

"The Center for Responsible Lending said in a report today that homes across the U.S. will lose $223 billion in value due to foreclosures near them. The study, which looked at the impact on neighborhood values and on tax revenues from foreclosures over the next few years, also found..."