posted by Bill Coppedge 

READ THIS – Fannie Mae New Rules for Appraisals -  This is a very big deal – It appears that Fannie Mae has finished or nearly finished its review, and is about to ruin several very large aggregators’ and thousands of pissant brokers’ day with a new set of rules regarding how appraisals can be obtained and what affiliations between lender and appraiser are acceptable … – Tanta – Calculated Risk
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Wells Fargo Names Most of California Severely Distressed – …  which requires LTV reductions of 5% for any conforming loan over 75% LTV and also eliminates financing over 75% LTV for any non-conforming loan. … -   Blown Mortgage
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Will Chase (JPM) or Wells Fargo (WFC) buy WaMu (WM)? – Sheldon Liber – Blogging Stocks
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US Home Foreclosures Jump 90% as Mortgages Reset (Update3) – Bloomberg 

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Barney Frank wants states to buy foreclosed homes – “It’s a good time to do some socially responsible bottom feeding” …  Boston Herald
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Prime Numbers: The Plastic Revolution -  Ronald J. Mann -  foreignpolicy.com 
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Lender ordered to halt foreclosures – A Massachusetts court, in an unprecedented decision yesterday, ordered the California subprime lender Fremont Investment & Loan to halt all foreclosures to give state officials time to review each mortgage. -  Boston.com 

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Investment Firms Buy Mortgage Loans – People behind on their mortgage payments may soon find themselves owing money to investment firms. .. A growing number of money managers, from BlackRock Inc. to Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, are looking to profit from buying whole residential mortgages, mainly ones where borrowers have stopped making payments. -  WSJ 

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Speech by Governor Kroszner on improving risk management in light of recent market events – at GARP NY – Fed

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1.  I hope Sam Zell is right! – Grave Dancer Augurs Housing Recovery – “I think (new home) starts have already pretty much bottomed out,” said billionaire Sam Zell. “I think the housing market this spring will begin its recovery phase.” -  Forbes

2.  comments on Zell – Is Wells Fargo’s Latest Memo a Sign Real Estate is Bottoming? – BIG 
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Old Maid: Bill Gross Has Right Game, Wrong Solution  – MISH disagrees with Bill Gross on the game of Old Maid – globaleconomicanalysis

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White House Will Veto Housing Bill – Originator Times

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February 2008 Economic Trends -  FRB Cleveland
has a lot … including
Economy in Perspective  -This Old House
What is the Yield Curve Telling Us?
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Declining Home Prices, Rising Mortgage Rates – The Fed’s effort to bail out the credit crisis and Housing crash has run into an odd problem: Despite cutting rates 225 basis points since September, mortgage rates have actually gone up – The Big Picture

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Inflation, Growth and Fed Failures -  Warren Mosler -  seeking alpha