Here’s Bill Donoghue of Marketwatch who’s Wednesday’s article gave me a "Dang, I wish I’d said that ." moment this morning.:  [Thanks L!] SEATTLE (MarketWatch) — Call this the perfect financial storm or what you will; Wall Street has made fools of financial institutions around the world with their CMOs, CDOs, and greedy boo-boos. At least they didn’t lose as much as their customers. The stock market is in distress, bond insurers are looking for a $200 billion bailout, junk-bond markets are at risk of further losses and life-, home- and auto insurers’ risk has not yet been fully assessed….
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Renters- a word of warning- keep an eye on your landlord’s finances:  

A big hat tip to the "Angry Citizen" for this one.  Here’s a company that advises you on how to walk away from your mortgage: This seems so wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to start.  But let’s look at what they do- This company sells a "protection plan and kit" for "three easy payments" of $332.  So what does this provide, exactly?

If you missed the "60 Minutes" segment on housing last Sunday, I recommend this:  

HousingDoom will be going down for a few minutes for a software upgrade.

In last Friday’s post, HousingDoom pointed out a change in Fannie Mae’s website that we felt was significant.  Diana Olick of CNBC agreed, and took up the subject on her blog and on CNBC Friday morning.  Here’s the video:   Diana said in her blog post Friday: I want to show you something interesting–but first a big shout-out to housingdoom.com and Debi, who pointed this out to me. “About Fannie Mae” web page circa 2005: About Fannie Mae. Now take a look at the same page today: About Fannie Mae. The focus has clearly shifted from families: In 2005: “Our…
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For those of you who prefer your "Doom" live, Twist will be on Charles Goyette’s radio show 7:30 MST tomorrow.  If you are in the Phoenix area, you can listen on 1100 AM.  Outside the Phoenix area [or if you prefer online], you can listen live here. [Click the "listen live" button.]

Arizonans, Californians, Nevadans, Floridians- the following video should take you back.  It’s an Austin realtor talking about how Austin’s market will not see real problems–the story the rest of us heard a year or so ago:   There’s rumblings on the horizon though:

Talk about a sweet deal: LOS ANGELES (AP) – KB Home Chief Executive Jeffrey T. Mezger has been awarded a $6 million bonus for his job performance in fiscal 2007, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The company’s compensation committee also designated bonuses ranging from $350,000 to $450,000 for three other senior executive officers, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. KB’s committee also determined that any fiscal year 2008 incentive compensation for Mezger and three other executives will be tied to performance goals based on pretax income or loss by the company. The filing did not…
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Yesterday  the U.S. government decided to cure the economic ills brought on by irresponsible spending by doing more irresponsible spending.  ["Hair of the dog" economic theory???]  Among the more hair-brained proposals to come out was the idea to have Freddie and Fannie buy risky jumbo loans–loans which the private sector isn’t dumb enough to want–and believe that it is a GOOD Idea.  According to the Arizona Republic: There was, however, a glimmer of good news Thursday for buyers, sellers and homeowners, especially in such high-cost states as California and Florida, where home prices are falling and foreclosures are soaring. Congressional…
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You might not want to read this one and eat your breakfast at the same time.  U.S. lawmakers are nearing an agreement on how to "rescue" our economy: [Thanks L!] At a Wednesday evening meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made major concessions to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits in exchange for tax rebates of at least $300 for all people earning a paycheck, including low-income earners who make too little to pay income taxes. Families with children would receive an additional $300 per child, while those paying income taxes could receive higher rebates as well, a senior…
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The bull is back- here’s the Cramer that we’ve come to know.  He says yesterday we tested the bottom.  I’m thinking we’re closer to the chin:  

From Merrill Lynch, no less: [Thank you G!] HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Merrill Lynch forecasts nationwide U.S. home prices could decline 25% to 30% over the next three years, as new supply and weak demand weigh on the market. "This sounds dire… but would only reverse part of the unprecedented 130% price surge from 2000 to 2006," wrote economist David Rosenberg in a research note released Wednesday. Rosenberg added the S&P 500 may decline an additional 20% to 25% to breach the 1,100-point level if the market follows historical precedents at times when the U.S. economy is in recession.

The market is down, so what happened?  Here’s a lesson from a pig:  [No lipstick- sorry Tanta]  

From Marketwatch this morning: LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures moved off early lows on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve stepped in with an emergency rate cut, attempting to limit the risks of a recession after huge selling in overseas markets. S&P 500 futures fell 35.3 points to 1,288.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 43.5 points to 1,806.00. Dow industrial futures traded 298 points lower. The Federal Reserve cut its overnight lending rate by 75 basis points to 3.50%, the Fed announced Tuesday. "The committee took this action in view of a weakening economic outlook and increasing downside risks…
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