1.  Greenspan’s Bubbles by Bill Fleckenstein - book review at Specious Argument blog

2.  (Hillary) Clinton: Get Greenspan Working on this Mess, Stat - … The inclusion of Greenspan in Clinton’s latest proposal — she has also recently railed for a nationwide foreclosure moratorium — would seem sure to ruffle some feathers. Plenty of economic experts see Greenspan as the one to blame for the recent housing woes now facing the U.S. economy. … - Paul Jackson - housingwire

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Understanding Bernanke - Bernanke Wrote the Book on Inflation, Depression - Caroline Baum -  Bloomberg

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Key industry players blamed for mortgage mess - Should feds hold mortgage brokers, loan officers accountable for bad loans? - Jack Guttentag -  Inman

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It’s SO Over For Household Spending - Households have been running deficits – i.e., spending more than their after-tax income – since just before the peak in the NASDAQ stock price index. There are only two ways to spend more than you earn – borrow and/or sell assets. Households have been doing both … - Paul Kasriel -  riskcenter.com free reg.

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Not Good Times - talks about homeowners owning in-the-money puts on their upside down mortgages - Kathryn M. Welling interviews Paul McCulley of PIMCO

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More on leverage from Vernon Hill - The Fool’s Gold of Wholesale Funding -  bankstocks.com 

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options strategy - Bear Stearns Bid at $10: What to Do Now -  Daniel Jones - seeking alpha

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Fed’s ‘Loan’ For Bear Deal Actually a BlackRock Managed Fund - Steve Waldman - seeking alpha

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The Bear Trap - Bernanke feared if Bear Sterns went under, then the financial markets would unravel. - TIME.com
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Federal Home Loan Banks May Buy $150 Billion of Bonds - The purchases will be restricted to securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the board said. The approval for Federal Home Loan Banks … - Bloomberg

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Wave of Foreclosures Drives Prices Lower, Lures Buyers - Oversupply Triggers Lenders’ Fast Sales - JAMES R. HAGERTY and KRIS HUDSON - Wall Street Journal  

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Bailout Nation - has a list of many past government bailouts - Barry Ritholz -  The Big Picture

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has analysis - Will Downey Financial Go To Zero? -  The Mortgage Truth Teller -  seeking alpha
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1.  OFHEO: NEW U.S. MONTHLY HOUSE PRICE INDEX ESTIMATES 1.1 PERCENT PRICE DECLINE IN JANUARY - OFHEO
2.  Commentary: OFHEO is now releasing a monthly House Price Index. Note that this is a National index, but only uses data from Freddie and Fannie. -  Calculated Risk

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1.  How Counter-Productive is Realtor Association Spin? - … They have been calling the bottom in Housing, well, ever since the top 2 1/2 years ago; Their consistent claims of stabilization and price improvements later in the the year — as prices have continued to slide — have earned them the title of Worst. Forecasters. Ever.  … - The Big Picture 
2.  Existing Home Sales, Non Seasonally Adjusted, Explained - A few other data points to note when considering the monthly changes (our earlier NAR Spin discussion) … The Big Picture

posted by Bill Coppedge