August Durable Goods Report Shows 4.5 Percent Drop, Weak Demand
New orders for durable goods fell 4.5 percent in August to $208.5 billion, which reflects the largest percent decrease since January, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. More »
Congress Pushed Fannie, Freddie In Wrong Direction During 1990s (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - It was October 1992, nearly 15 years before the housing meltdown and subprime crisis. More »
Economy - Thursday (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped 21 basis points to 6.09% this week, said mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Freddie said home-loan rates followed Treasury yields higher. The 15-year rate surged 42 basis points to 5.77%. The 1-year adjustable rate climbed 13 ticks to 4.16%. More »
Refinancing Window Open For Those With Good Credit, Equity (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Watch changing mortgage rates as big financial news keeps unfolding. It could be time to refinance. More »
KB Home 3Q loss widens as housing slump drags on (AP)
AP - KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, said Friday its third-quarter loss quadrupled from a year-ago period, missing Wall Street's expectations as revenue plunged by 56 percent amid falling sales and home prices. More »
KB Home posts bigger-than-expected loss (Reuters)
Reuters - Builder KB Home reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday as revenue fell by more than half because of the ongoing housing slump. More »
30-year mortgages jump after 5 weeks of declines (AP)
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been falling for five weeks, jumped sharply this week, reflecting the turbulence in global credit markets. More »
GSE nationalization was unavoidable: regulator (Reuters)
Reuters - The chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Thursday he had no option but to seize control of the mortgage finance companies in early September since they had grown so unstable. More »
US-USREPORT Summary (Reuters)
Reuters - Orders for costly U.S. manufactured goods plunged in August and new-home sales hit a 17-year low, while new claims for jobless benefits shot up last week, according to government reports on Thursday that showed the economy rapidly weakening. More »
New home sales and factory orders fall in August (AP)
AP - New home sales tumbled in August to the slowest pace in 17 years, while the average sales price fell by the largest amount on record, demonstrating the depth of the problem that Washington is trying to solve. More »
US new home sales plunge 11.5 pct in August (AFP)
AFP - US new home sales plunged 11.5 percent in August despite a sharp drop in prices, government data showed Thursday, with tight credit blamed for further distress in the battered real estate sector. More »
Durables orders, home sales skid lower (Reuters)
Reuters - Orders for costly U.S. manufactured goods plunged in August and new-home sales hit a 17-year low, while new claims for jobless benefits shot up last week, according to government reports on Thursday that showed the economy rapidly weakening. More »
Ireland is first eurozone nation in recession (AFP)
AFP - Ireland on Thursday became the first eurozone member to fall into a recession since the US subprime home loan crisis sparked a global economic slowdown, official data showed. More »
Wall St. up on bailout approval hope (Reuters)
Reuters - Stocks soared on Thursday as investors bet that Congress may be close to a deal on a $700 billion financial sector bailout that could help thaw credit markets and revive lending. More »
Bush warns of long recession without rescue plan (AP)
AP - President Bush on Wednesday warned Americans and lawmakers reluctant to pass a historic financial rescue plan that failing to act fast risks wiping out retirement savings, rising foreclosures, lost jobs, closed business and "a long and painful recession." More »
Bush warns of 'long and painful recession' (AP)
AP - President Bush on Wednesday warned Americans and lawmakers reluctant to pass a historic financial rescue plan that failing to act fast risks wiping out retirement savings, rising foreclosures, lost jobs, closed business and "a long and painful recession." More »
How A Clinton-Era Rule Rewrite Made Subprime Crisis Inevitable (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - One of the most frequently asked questions about the subprime market meltdown and housing crisis is: How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market? More »
Court sides with bank in mortgage loan case (Reuters)
Reuters - A lawsuit brought by a Wisconsin couple who accused a bank of deceptive lending practices and wanted to cancel their home loan has been stripped of class-action status in a victory for U.S. banks. More »
McCain's manager got thousands from mortgage giant: report (AFP)
AFP - The lobbying firm owned by John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, accepted half a million dollars from stricken mortgage giant Freddie Mac, reports said Wednesday. More »
FBI said to probe Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, AIG (Reuters)
Reuters - The FBI is investigating Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac , Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and insurer American International Group Inc , expanding its probe of potential corporate fraud, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday. More »
Today on the presidential campaign trail (AP)
AP - Days before debate on foreign affairs, Biden says McCain often wrong about security issues ... McCain seeks bailout opinions from Romney, business executives while in New York ... Poll finds 18 percent of voters are up for grabs, economy the key to getting their support ... Obama making big push to flip reliably Republican Indiana, while McCain camp stays low key ... Source says Freddie Mac paid $15,000 a month to lobbying firm of McCain campaign manager More »
Realtors say existing home sales fell in August (AP)
AP - Sales of existing homes fell in August, but the number of unsold homes on the market also dropped sharply from the previous month's record high. More »
US existing home sales fall 2.2 pct in August (AFP)
AFP - US existing-home sales fell a steeper-than-expected 2.2 percent in August, industry data showed Wednesday, amid deepening worries over the worst real-estate slump in decades. More »
US housing grim as financial rescue debate rages (Reuters)
Reuters - Prices of U.S. existing homes suffered a record drop in August and the rate of sales tumbled, offering little sign of improvement in the source of the financial crisis in the United States. More »
Most Americans Still Say Home-Buying Is Best Investment (Rasmussen Reports)
Rasmussen Reports - Two-thirds of Americans (66%) think buying a home is the best investment most families can make, despite the recent meltdown of the U.S. housing market. Just 19% disagree. More »