NAR - "Realtors® Convene in Record Numbers, Aim to Improve Market Confidence" (11-12-07)

"NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun pointed to an increase in jobs and the projected growth of the gross domestic product at 3.3 percent as evidence of positive economic fundamentals. 'Interest rates remain at historically low levels,' said Yun. He explained that, in the early 1980s, interest rates hovered at 15 percent, and later stalled at 10 percent in the early 1990s. Today, interest rates are at 6.4 percent and are projected to remain near this level throughout 2008. Yun also told attendees that home prices are holding up extremely well. '2007 is shaping up to be a solid year with home prices at near record highs. In fact, only two years were better – 2005 and 2006 – which set records at the time,' said Yun."

Bloomberg - "Subprime Losses May Reach $400 Billion, Analysts Say" (11-12-07)

"Losses from the falling value of subprime mortgage assets may reach $300 billion to $400 billion worldwide, Deutsche Bank AG analysts said. Wall Street's largest banks and brokers will be forced to write down as much as $130 billion because of the slump in subprime-related debt, according to a report today by New York- based credit analyst Mike Mayo,. The rest of the losses will come from smaller banks and investors in mortgage-related securities."

Bloomberg - "Citigroup, Banks Agree on `Super-SIV,' Person Says" (11-12-07)

"Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the three largest U.S. banks, reached an agreement on the structure of an $80 billion fund to help revive the market for short-term debt, a person familiar with the talks said yesterday. Bankers working on the deal met at Bank of America's offices in New York on Nov. 9 and settled on a simpler plan than initially proposed last month, according to the person, who declined to be named because the agreement isn't public. Under the original initiative brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the fund would buy some of the $320 billion in assets held by so-called structured-investment vehicles, known as SIVs."

CNN - "Wall Street's money machine breaks down" (11-12-07)

"Two things stand out about the credit crisis cascading through Wall Street: It is both totally shocking and utterly predictable. Shocking, because a pack of the highest-paid executives on the planet, lauded as the best minds in business and backed by cadres of math whizzes and computer geeks, managed to lose tens of billions of dollars on exotic instruments built on the shaky foundation of subprime mortgages."

Bloomberg - "A $45 Billion Writedown Won't Stop Wall Street Profit" (11-12-07)

"Even after the record $8.4 billion writedown for bad debts at Merrill Lynch & Co., the unprecedented ouster of three chief executives within five months and the elimination of $84 billion of market value at the five largest securities firms, Wall Street still is poised to report its second-most profitable year."

Market Watch - "Countrywide warns on credit ratings" (11-12-07)

"Embattled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. in a regulatory filing conceded that if its credit ratings fall below investment grade, its access to the public corporate-debt markets 'could be severely limited.' Additionally, ratings agencies cutting its debt to junk status would lead to higher rates when the company renegotiates its financing arrangements beyond current maturity dates."

Forbes - "E*Trade Going Out Of Business?" (11-12-07)

"On Monday, shares plunged 54.5%, or $4.68, to $3.91 in midday trading, after a Citi Investment Research analyst said the online brokerage could face bankruptcy. Late Friday, E*Trade warned investors that its write-downs will be larger-than-expected in the fourth quarter."

Financial Times - "Credit turmoil hits commercial property" (11-12-07)

"Global credit turmoil has spilled over into the market for bonds backed by US commercial mortgages, threatening to push down property prices and scuttle deals. Issuance of US commercial-mortgage-backed securities fell to $6.3bn in October, down 84 per cent from a record $38.5bn in March, according to Commercial Mortgage Alert, a trade publication. The decline in CMBS issuance is crucial because such securities have provided an estimated 40 to 60 per cent of financing for new commercial property purchases in recent years."

Bloomberg - "Legg Mason Gives $100 Million to Money Funds, Arranges Credit" (11-12-07)

"Legg Mason Inc. invested $100 million in one of its money-market funds and arranged $238 million in credit for two others as a cushion against potential losses on commercial paper linked to subprime mortgages. Legg Mason holds about $10.7 billion in debt issued by structured investment vehicles, or 6 percent of its $167 billion in money-market assets, the Baltimore-based company said in a Nov. 9 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

Real Estate Journal - "Builders Pitch Philanthropy As a Lifestyle to Sell Houses" (11-12-07)

"The latest strategy for selling homes isn't to give something to potential buyers -- it's to ask buyers to give something back. In a shaky housing market that continues to be wracked by credit turmoil and rising foreclosures, developers and builders have been piling on incentives like free basement upgrades, and adding showy events like wine tastings. Now, they're hoping that home buyers jaded by self-indulgent amenities will be impressed by activities that have more depth. The annual rate of new-home sales was down 23.3% in September from a year earlier, to 770,000, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department."