Seeking a Financial Refuge (BusinessWeek Online)
BusinessWeek Online - The easy-money mindset that pervaded everything from subprime mortgages to private equity has faded, leaving many Wall Street watchers fearful of a credit crunch that might take down the economy. So how can you protect your portfolio? More »
Wall St lifted by upbeat profits (FT.com)
FT.com - A series of upbeat earnings reports on Thursday helped lift US shares in early trade but investor enthusiam was tempered by ongoing concerns in the credit markets and the subprime mortgage sector. More »
US mortgage rate edge down slightly (AP)
AP - Mortgage rates around the country edged down this week, with rates on 30-year home loans sinking to their lowest point in a month, good news for prospective buyers. More »
Earlier echoes of subprime blues (FT.com)
FT.com - The rapid unravelling of the US subprime mortgage market reminds us of the adage that history repeats itself: many of the sad excesses of today's subprime market are but an echo of the costly savings and loan crisis of the early 1980s. Perhapshistory will have taught the American taxpayer to resist vigorously picking up the bill, which this time around could prove even more costly than the earlier S&L meltdown. More »
Profits lift Wall St. even as credit concerns nag (Reuters)
Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday in another late-day rally as enthusiasm about strong earnings tempered nervousness about more weakness in credit conditions with news another mortgage lender may fold. More »
Wall St boosted by upbeat profits (FT.com)
FT.com - A series of upbeat corporate earnings reports helped lift US shares on Thursday, but investor enthusiasm was tempered by ongoing concerns about credit markets and the subprime mortgage sector. More »
Finance chiefs vie to soothe mortgage, credit 'crisis' (AFP)
AFP - Finance chiefs and international banks voiced caution Thursday, reminding investors that stock markets can fall as well as rise, as fears about the distressed US mortgage market and a credit "crisis" continued to unsettle global markets. More »
Axa IM defends funds with own money (FT.com)
FT.com - Axa Investment Managers, the Paris-based asset manager, has taken a highly unusual step to shore up two of its funds hit by the turmoil in the subprime market in order to protect its brand. More »
Accredited Home says working toward merger (Reuters)
Reuters - Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. , a subprime mortgage lender, said on Thursday it is "proceeding as planned" to work toward closing its acquisition by private equity firm Lone Star, which involves a tender offer. More »
Accredited Home plunges, says survival in doubt (Reuters)
Reuters - Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. , a subprime mortgage lender that agreed in June to be acquired, said its survival is in doubt and that bankruptcy is possible, sending its shares down 35.3 percent. More »
American Home Mortgage closing most operations (Reuters)
Reuters - American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said on Thursday it had ceased most operations and would cut nearly 7,000 jobs. More »
American Home Mortgage to close Friday (Reuters)
Reuters - American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. plans to close most operations on Friday and said nearly 7,000 employees will lose their jobs as the lender becomes one of the biggest casualties of the U.S. housing downturn. More »
Taiwan insurers under little threat (FT.com)
FT.com - Taiwan's leading insurers outlined their exposure to the US subprime turmoil on Thursday, but analysts said the overall exposure of the island's financial sector was small. More »
US says mortgage woes unlikely to affect broader economy (AFP)
AFP - The credit crunch in the US that has rocked global stockmarkets this week is unlikely to impact on the broader US economy, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said Friday. More »
Subprime problems spreading to Alt-A loans
American Home Mortgage to close, IndyMac tightening standards More »
Foreclosures, going once ...
Real estate broker Tom Reed and a group of investors have earmarked about $500,000 to spend on foreclosed homes being sold at two real estate auctions. More »
Craigslist community wins Inman Innovator award
Mortgage Fraud Blog, vFlyer among other category winners More »
Pinnacle Group Partners Plan Restructuring
Partners in The Pinnacle Group, the developers of multiple upscale projects in the Pinnacle Hills area of Rogers, have announced a restructuring of their partnership. More »
Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.6 Percent in July
Nonfarm payroll employment gained 92,000 jobs in July, but that's a slowdown compared with recent months, and the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent to 4.6 percent. More »
Sorouh invests in RealMaroc
Abu Dhabi-based Sorouh Real Estate has made a 'major' investment in the $450m RealMaroc social housing project in Morocco, according to Bahrain's RealCapita. The project is a joint venture of RealCapita's House Invest and local developer Jet Sakane. Units are due for handover early 2009. More »
Nakheel sells Greece for $15.5m
Nakheel has sold the island of Greece on The World offshore Dubai development for $15.5m, a spokesman has told Arabian Business. The buyer was not named, but it was not sold to US rocker Tommy Lee, Greek shipping magnate Theodore Angelopoulos, or easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, all of whom had been linked to the island. Around 40% of the 300 islands that make up The World have been sold. More »
Land prices hit Dubai plans
Property experts in Dubai have said that increasing land prices could see the end of some of the city's more extravagant building designs, as developers try to make maximum use of space, reported Gulf News. James Law, the Chairman of James Law Cybertecture International, said that while Dubai is still a 'hotbed for new ideas', sustainable and responsible designs were now key. Land prices have already spiked 24% since last year. More »