Summary of famous people in foreclosure -  Luxury edition: Athletes, entertainers and even a politician face credit crises of their own  - SF Gate 

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In this issue of The Institutional Risk Analyst, we discuss a 20-year survey of risk-adjusted bank profitability.  Could it be that the retrograde “financial innovation” of the type beloved by Alan Greenspan, Hank Paulson and their ilk is destroying value in the US banking industry?   Big picture:  Have securitization and deregulation supported safety and soundness among US banks? 

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JOHN F. WASIK - Housing Bubble Didn’t Burst Everywhere in U.S. - Economic savants focused on the U.S. housing bust tend to neglect one overriding fact: Some of the market is doing fine. - Bloomberg

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Exchange Traded Derivatives Rise 30% to $692 Trillion, BIS Says - Liz Capo McCormick - Bloomberg 

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Dollar Policy for Dummies, Dimwits and Dolts: Caroline Baum - Bloomberg 

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Financial Times: HELOCs and Regional Lenders - … So is the next crisis Option ARM recasts or HELOCs hitting the regional banks?  The answer is probably both, but in different ways. … - Calculated Risk 
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Housing Prices Improve in May, But Rising Inventory Looms - The prices of properties listed for-sale actually increased in 15 of 26 major markets during May, providing the latest evidence yet of some surprising bounce yet in the step of… - Amy Mcalister - housingwire

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L.I. - At foreclosure risk, 300 meet lenders, counselors - MICHAEL AMON - Newsday 

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Should An Identifier Be Added To Standard & Poor’s Structured Finance Ratings? - S&P 

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A Perfect Recession Indicator - Barry Ritholtz -  The NYT’s Floyd Norris notes that the 12-month change in private sector jobs is down 125,000 jobs from may 2007 to May 2008. Since 1953, this indicator has a perfect record, identifying 9 out of 9 recessions. - The Big Picture

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NAR lowers 2008 price forecast - The median resale home price is expected to fall 6.4 percent this year, the National Association of Realtors reported today — that drop is 4 percent larger than the group’s previous forecast for a 2.4 percent decline, released in May. - Inman News 

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Lawsuit: Option ARMs: Bad Now, Worse Later - Kevin LaCroix - … The latest company to be sued in a securities class action lawsuit arising out of problems with Option ARM loans is Wachovia Corporation, which was sued, together with certain of its directors and officers, on June 6, 2008 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  … - D&O Diary

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Ira Artman Section - thanks Ira:

Bernanke Discovers the Dollar -  Editorial of The New York Sun 

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Nat City strikes agreements with regulators - Troubled Midwest bank signs MOUs with Cleveland Fed and the OCC; no details offered, however  - FinancialWeek 

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S&P president: Structured finance business in the tank - Sharma also concedes confusion about some ratings; ‘is a triple-A, a triple-A, a triple A?’ - FinancialWeek

posted by Bill Coppedge